June i, i88 9 .j THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
857 
the cheats are loaded carefully with their lids all 
uppermost, so that on opening the bulk shall appear 
all the same (notwithstanding the shaking they 
have had on the journey) which side of a chest 
should be marked so as to insure the top, i. e. 
the lid as it is put on in the factory, only being 
removed when the tea is inspected in London ? — 
Yours, 0. H. J. 
YESTERDAY'S TEA SALES — THE CRISIS— 
AND GOOD ADVICE. 
Colombo, May 16th, 1889. 
Dear Sir, — You cannot too seriously impress 
upon the planting community the imperative 
necessity of looking facts straight in the face 
and preparing for what may almost be termed a 
" crisis " in tea. Low as the rate may be at which 
many estates can lay down their produce in Colombo, 
you have only to glance at yesterday's sale list to 
see that the prices offered must leave, in a num- 
ber of instances, been an absolute lost; to the pro- 
prietors. Out of 140,214 lb. put up only 44,613 lb. 
were sold, and probably when u he unsold teas 
reach the London market there will be a still 
further decline in price. London brokers have, for 
a very long time past, incessantly urged planters 
to go in for quality, not quantity, but how many 
men have acted upon their advice ? Men who have 
secured high averages have been pointed to as " fine 
pluckers " who could not go on for long, but how do 
they stand now ? They are not only getting a 
profitable return from their properties, and able to 
look with equanimity upon current prices, but have 
been the sole means of keeping up the average 
of Ceylon teas. Had every planter gone in for 
his 400 to 600 lb. per acre the average would 
probably now be 6d instead of 9J per lb., and what 
then ? Simply absolute ruin for many men. It 
is not too late to mend, and I hope you, sir, will 
use your powerful influence and persuade planters 
first, to go in for quality not quantity, and so 
materially curtail the output ; secondly, to stop 
all further opening up of tea land ; thirdly, to 
plant other products as auxiliaries to tea ; fourthly, 
to economize more in estate and personal expendi- 
ture ; where possible and lastly to assist in opening 
up new markets for their produce. 
I am not a tea planter, but am closely connected 
with the planting community, and offer these re- 
marks through being profoundly impressed with 
the present outlook of the tea market.— Yours 
faithfully, A COLOMBO MAN. 
COTTON GROWING IN UVA. 
Wilson's Bungalow, 13th May 1889. 
Sia, — I send by today's post to your address a 
parcel of cotton grown by me at Welimada. 
Please let me know your opinion of the same. 
— I am, sir, yours faithfully, 
HENRY E. DAMBAWINNE. 
[We are pleased to be able to give Dambawinne 
Ratemaha maya a favourable report on his cotton. 
The Secretaries to the Cotton Spinning and 
Weaving Company are good enough to re- 
port follows : — " The cotton you send us 
sample of is the rata-kapu of the Sinha- 
lese or Peruvian or kidney, but the natives 
know it by the first-mentioned name. It is ex- 
cellent stuff, and we shall gladly buy all we can 
get at from 20 to 25 cents a lb. We had some exactly 
similar from Mr. Fisher, Badulla, a few days ago. 
It is not necessary to put it up in the * finger 
lengths ' as in the sample : we only require it as 
it comes from the pods. The rata-kapu is the kind 
for the natives to extend the cultivation of." — 
There can be no doubt that Uva is well adapted 
to become a great cotton-growing country. The 
sample sent to us is very neatly put up and can 
be seen at this office. — Ed.] 
Coffee. — A telegram from the Governor- 
General of Netherlands India, dated the 17th inst., 
mentions that the Government's coffee crop in Java 
for this year, it is estimated at 530,480 piculs. — 
L. d G. Express, April 26th. 
The Match industry is flourishing in Japan. 
According to returns, issued at Kobe, there 
were no less than 8,007 cases exported from 
Hiogo-ken and Osaka-fu during last month. There 
was an increase of 2,465 cases. — China Mail. 
Tea-Boxes. — Mr. F. Street has sent us for in- 
spection one of the Scotch tea-boxes referred to 
in his advertisement today : it is certainly a very 
serviceable and workmanlike article as might be 
expected, from the country in which it was made, 
The package is of inodorous pinewood, good in 
quality, very strong but light and should we think 
compare favorably with any in the market. We 
can only add what Mr. Street himself says :— 
" To show you how these packages were approved 
of I may mention that the first planter who saw them 
snapped 5-6ths of the whole trial consignment and has 
asked me to get out more. This speaks volumes from 
so good a planter as Mr. of , Dikoya." 
Liberian Coffee to the Front ! — We are 
much pleased to learn from Mr. F. H. Shelley 
of Mousava estate, Madawalatenna district, that 
" the Liberian coffee on the estate, in spite of 
leaf disease, bug and neglect, gives good crops year 
after year. It is, in my opinion, a grand product, 
which, with cocoa, receives very poor treatment." 
En passant, we may recall the rumour that "Mou- 
sava " with its fine cacao and Liberian coffee was 
the estate, we believe, that Kandy Kachcheri 
officials under a previous regime wanted to take 
possession of under the ordinance for abandoned 
estates I — so much knowledge had they of a property 
in continuous cultivation. Mr. Shelley's present 
welcome news ought to encourage everyone who 
has still Liberian coffee trees, as well as cacao, 
to the fore; to do justice to these products. May 
we not see a renewal even of the planting of 
Liberian coffee in view of the approaching scarcity 
of the berry ? 
Christmas Island — one of the most recently- 
acquired of British possessions — is about to be 
settled by the well-known Ross family, who have 
enjoyed possession of the Keeling Islands since 
1825. It is not perhaps generally known that the 
Keelings— sometimes called the Cocos Island — 
possess the richest coconut plantations in the world 
and the output of copra from them is considerable. 
The nuts are of an ex :ellent quality, and they 
have been introduced at various times in Fiji ana 
other copra-producing countries with marked success. 
In 1857 the islands were taken possession of by 
the British Government, the father of the present 
owner, Mr. George Clunies Ross, being recognised 
as Superintendent. The colonising proclivities of 
the sturdy Scotsman who pioneered the Keelings 
over 60 years ago seems to animate the present 
representatives of the Ross family. Christmas 
Island lies some 200 miles to the south-west of 
J ava and about 500 miles from the Keelings, and 
it was landed upon some time ago by Captain J. 
G. Clunies Ross. Shortly afterwards the Union 
Jack was hoisted upon it, and now we learn that 
the youngest of the Ross family, with his wife, 
and thirteen natives of the Keelings, have per- 
manently settled there. We heartily w i 8 h them 
success in their new enterprise.— Colonies and 
India. 
