824 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [June i, 1889. 
sumad by th- p iwers-t hat-be. In the meantime a 
fixed pr poition must be cultivat d, and t-huuld the 
offi ,i»l* opine that the cultivation is not as it ought 
to b«, the land can be promptly resumed. The idea 
never seems to have been entertained of ottering 
premiums for either discovery and working oi' metals 
an 1 minerals, or the cultivation of economic products. 
In fact the other way would seem to obtain, for the 
great oomplaint of the people in Lower Burma is 
that although surplus reTenue last year to the amount 
of about a miUion and a quarter st rling was trans- 
ferred from Lower Burma to the coffers of the Indian 
Treasury, the Government had in addition imposed the 
income tax which was so strongly opposed, though 
ineffectually so, in India. Tiue they say that Upper 
Burma shows at present a deficit of revenue, and 
th least that the Indian Government could do would 
be to make the surplus of Lower Burma pay the 
deficit in the revenue of the upper province, and 
than there would still be a considerable sum in hand 
to expend for the beoefit of Burma without the 
neoessity for the imposition of the offensive income 
tax. As it now stands annexation to India, drains 
the coffers of Burma to the benefit of the former 
country. As for Burma being the country for a 
young man to go to just now, I fail to see what he 
can expect to do there. There are numbers of 
y unj men being continually drafted over from 
India to fill all vacancies in the Police Force and 
the Forestry Department There are no agricultural 
operations in existence and no immediate prospect 
of any. The people themselves in Upper Burma 
have so long looked upon work as slavery, that 
they ore only now beginning to realise that they 
will be paid for their work, and that when they 
are paid they may do as they like with the money. 
Unaer these conditions they are beginning to come 
forward when they are wanted, such as for construc- 
tion of roads, railways, buildings, &o. Tms 
will in time (a long time perhaps, but none the 
less sure to come.) lead to the abandonment of 
the senseless waste of time, money, and skill 
now incurred in the construction of numberless 
pagodas and shrines of Gaudama, winch are 
allowed to fall into decay as soon u.a completed, 
and which eventually perish without conferring 
the slightest benefit upon anyone. 
The mineral wealth of the country has not as 
yet been gauged with any certainty. Gold and 
silver and preoious stones exist without doubt, but 
to what extent is quite unknown, though parties 
are engaged prospecting. Coal also exists in con- 
siderable quantities, and it would appear that coal 
mining will be the first industry of that descrip- 
tion that will be taken in hand, excepting of course 
the ruby mines. 
THE CEYLON TEA MARKET IN COLOMBO 
AND LONDON. 
A tea planter writes: — 
"Is it not pitiful to see the present state of the 
Lon jou and Colombo tea market, and one leels in- 
clined to ask — Is the art of tea making lost or 
forgotten in Ceylon ? Ihe faot that broken pekoes 
are selling for 7d., pekoes for 6d, and pekoe souchong 
for 5i in the Colombo market would make the 
late Wm. Cameron turn in his grave if he were 
only cognizant of it. 
"I do m-t think the tea-house receives now the 
attention it Uted to, and too much is left in the 
hands of the t«am.iker. Then of course we have our 
meeting and onr tennis and our cricket to look after 
and enjoy arid how fares the manufacture then ? — Of 
course i wou d r.iise a howl of indignation by 
suggesting sucn a reason for poor prices, but the 
fact remains anu of that lam perfictly convinced 
that ignorance of or inatuntion to manufacture or 
both, are the principal causes of the extreme low 
priceg which appear in every week's sale." 
THE PEOSPECTS OF A GEMMING COMPANY 
AT RATNAPURA.. 
AN UNWORKED RIVER PROLIFIC OP GEMS. 
Writing from Batnapura yesterday, a correspond- 
ent who has been studying the gemming industry, 
says : — 
" Gemming is almost at a standstill for the 
present, owing to so much rain. The Sinhalese don't 
like to work in the open during rainy weather, 
and the water oozing into the pits makes the work 
very expensive. There is little or no doubt about 
the success of a Company if started. I am person- 
ally aware that there is hardly a pit opened by 
the natives that does not, at least, pay expenses. 
This I have learnt from careful inquiry and obser- 
vation during the gemming season just past. The 
river — I am told by every native whom I have 
questioned, that is the Kaluganga — is even more 
prolifio in gems of a very superior quality than the 
land ; but gemming has been prohibited in it for 
the past 7 years, though doubtless if agitated for 
licenses could be again obtained as in former years, 
and were a Company started no doubt the con- 
cession would be granted by Government, as it 
would add much to the revenue I would not 
mind having shares in a Company if started." 
♦ 
TEA CULTURE AND PREPARATION : 
IK ANSWER TO PRACTICAL ENQUIRIES BY A PRACTICAL MAN. 
No I. — Amwer from the Kalutara DUtrict. 
1. The best tea would likely be made from trees 
in good heart ; but daring dry weather. We only 
know results and it is impossible to put the cause 
in a nutshell in this way. 
2. No data ; but neither are there data to shew 
deterioration of quality, and so increased quantity 
justifi- s the application. Cattle manure gives fine re- 
turns for several seasons. 
3. The medium course seems the best as in every- 
thing else. But fine plucking does not solve the 
difficulty. Manufacture even with the greatest care, 
may still be at fault. The best manufacture with fair 
plucking will no doubt give good results. 
No II. — Kelani Valley. 
4th May 1889. 
1. There is no doubt the best quality of tea should 
be obtained from a bush allowed to grow freely and 
plucked lightly every fortnight, but the yield would 
be infinitesimally small. 
2. Artificially manuring tea with bones, poonac, or 
castor-cake greatly increases the yield in the low- 
country. Mr. Megginson is my authority for saying 
that the liquor is poorer than from green leaf grown in 
nnmanured fields. 
3. Medium plucking is certainly the best all round 
for proprietors and the estates. It will not ensure 
sensational averages , but will show a satisfactory 
balance sheet. 
The present system of # deolaring monthly averages 
in tea brokers' catalogues is most misleading. 
I recollect in 1883 two estates that averaged 2s 
and Is 2d respectively per lb. of tea; yet their profit 
per acre were identical. W. Forbtthe. 
CULTIVATION OF COFFEE UNDER SHADE.' 
An old planter writes : — 
" You forget shade has been thoroughly ti 1 in 
most districts and by putting in all kinds of coffe hut 
with no good result. Get clear of leaf-di-ease .nd 
tben the old king may have a lower step on the 
throne, not till then. Ask Mr. Ingletou or Mr. Milne of 
Matale North and see what they say." 
But how does our correspondent explain coffee 
doing so well under shade in Coorg and Mysore ? 
