April i, 1889.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
701 
— 
To the Editor. 
THE COCONUT LEAF DISEASE. 
Negombo, March 8th, 1889. 
Sih, — The coconut leaf disease, which is causing much 
alarm in the Veyangoda district, has induced me 
to go over many districts and see for myself, as I 
am greatly interested in coconuts. I have seen much 
of the Negombo and Ekala districts, and have not 
found any trees infested with the disease. The trees 
in these districts are in a most flourishing condition, 
especially that of Ekala. I was surprised to see the 
Veyangoda district. Even though the drought is al- 
most at its beginning, the sight of the trees with 
their drooping branches and bunches of nuts propped 
up by sticks is a sad sight. The drought seldom 
or never affects coconut trees in the Negombo or 
Ekala districts or those bordering the sea-coast. As 
you go further inland the trees seem to grow worse. 
I am of opinion that the coconut trees in the higher 
districts will not thrive for long. They flourisa at 
the beginning, but you will find that after 20 years 
or more they gradually go down and do not last long. 
In the Veyangoda and Henaratgoda districts and 
higher up as you go as far as Ambepussa, there is 
no depth of soil. After a certain depth the roots 
reach a slab rock and the trees suffer. The leaves 
look yellow and as if they are scorched by fire. I 
witnessed this 10 or 12 years ago and expressed my 
opinion to a friend. An estate in Jaela belonging 
to the late Mr. David Wilson is suffering in similar 
manner to the Veyangoda trees. The soil is hard 
and does not take in moisture. The late owner 
terraced the grounds and drilled holes near about 
the trees, so that they may take in mois- 
ture, but it was of no avail, as the roots 
had reached the slab rock. I believe Mr. Jardine 
of Golua Pokuna was in charge of this estate many 
years ago. Any amount of ashes or manure will 
not benefit the trees as the soil is hard and stiff 
like concrete and will not take in manure. I fully 
agree with Dr. Trimen and Mr. Jardine to feed up 
trees but on the above-mentioned soil nothing will 
have' effect. I saw a place in Kataua, Negombo 
district, with the leaves affected like the Veyangoda 
trees. This place has been neglected, I believe 
nothing has been done to improve it for the 
last 25 years, but the soil unlike Veyangoda 
is not stiff and with proper cultivation per- 
haps may be brought round. I have seen Mr. 
Drieberg of Ekala, and he is of opinion that 
the trees in such soil as of Veyangoda ought 
to be worked up during the heavy monsoons. Ap- 
plying manure in dry weather is a wastage of money 
and labour and will have no effect in the trees. 
PLANTER. 
[This correspondent talks of slab rock and stiff 
subsoil as if they were the equivalents of each 
other, which they certainly are not. We observed 
no evidences of slab rock, but hard subsoil, which 
can be ameliorated, does prevail.— Ed.] 
THE NEED FOR A CEYLON- AUSTRALIAN 
TEA COMPANY LIMITED, AND THE 
GOOD OPPORTUNITY NOW PRESENTED 
FOR FORMING ONE. 
Naseby, Nuwara Eliya, 12th March 1889. 
Dear Sir, — Resting here awhile a9 a preparation 
for another Bpell of close unremitting labour in 
newspaper editing and " book-building," it is not 
difficult even in a few days to lose touch with 
topics attracting public attention and challenging 
opinion. How far, therefore, the thought has entered 
the mind of the community that the opportunity 
presented by Mr. A. Sinclair of making a new 
departure in the Ceylon- Australian tea trade should 
be availed of, I am not able to judge. But I feel 
constrained, as a private individual, to say how 
great will be the pity, if not the blunder, if our 
tea planters ignore what seems one of the most 
practical and businesslike proposals yet suggested 
for increasing the consumption of Ceylon teas. 
There are no tea drinkers in the world in whom 
Ceylon planters should take a greater interest than 
in our fellow-subjects throughout Australasia. 
They are well-known, individually, to be the largest 
consumers of tea in the world. They afford us 
the nearest market for our staple. Ceylon is not 
unknown to them. To the more intelligent and 
travelling portion, our island is ever an object of 
interest and they are ready to be influenced in 
its favour or in favour of its products. To show 
that an article comes from Ceylon, is likely to 
secure its acceptance by a large proportion o£ 
Australians. 
There is moreover, the other evident and grand 
fact that unlike the United States and the Con- 
tinent of Europe, Australasia is already a tea- 
drinking country. The Ceylon planter in canvassing 
Australians has not to create a taste for tea per se, 
nor for the particular brands he is ready to bring- 
to market. The population of America and Europe 
(always excepting the United Kingdom) are em- 
phatically coffee and cocoa rather than tea drinkers ; 
and it is uphill, though very commendable, work 
trying to supersede the taste for " green " and 
artificially "faced" Chinese and Japanese teas, by 
one for the pure and more robust and refreshing 
Ce>lon or Indian product. But as already said, 
the people of Australia and New Zealand are in 
exactly the same position as those of the United 
Kingdom were, say ten years ago, in 1879, when 
127 million lb. of China teas were consumed against 
some 27 millions of Indian, the latter being chiefly 
used in blending. They are as ready to reverse the 
positions as have been the drinkers in the mother- 
country when the better, purer teas were brought 
to their markets and to their very doors in a 
businesslike and persistent way that commands their 
attention and ensures a constant steady supply. We 
have precisely the same class of tea-drinkers to deal 
with as in the mother country; only a population 
in the mass far better able to afford, and to ap- 
preciate a really good class of teas. Can a single 
reason of any weight be advanced why if a system- 
atic and adequate attempt be made to push our 
teas into every distributing town and centre of trade 
in Australiasia, in five years (or less) from this date, 
the position of China, and Indian and Ceylon, teas 
in the Southern Colonies should not be entirely re- 
versed — and twenty to thirty millions lb. of our tea 
be annually shipped thither against one or two 
cargoes, four or five millions lb. of China teas? 
Is there anything in the relations subsisting 
between the Australian Colonies and Celestial Em- 
pire to justify the adherence of the former to a 
China, rather than a Ceylon, tea trade? Is there 
a reciprocal trade, or any other compensating ad- 
vantage, or even any bond of union between the 
peoples? Our tea planters must know well that on 
every head an emphatic negative answer can be 
given. As the Melbourne Argus said only a few 
months ago in discussing the Ceylon tea at the Ex- 
hibition', the Chinese do not buy £1,000 worth of 
Ausfralian produce in return for the large amount 
of Ausrralian gold annually paid for China teas ; 
while Ceylon anil India are ready to deal increasingly 
in Australian meat, frozen, or in live stock, in 
horses, in wines, fruits, &c. , &c. There are no re- 
ciprocal advantages whatever to the Australians from 
the China trade ; and moreover there hus hpriiug up 
