866 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [June i, 1889. 
me that the proprietors of Blaokstone, Agar's Land, 
Beaumont, ftookwood &c. are hard-headed men 
who know what they are about, and have an eye 
to the main chance, so " hit the happy medium," 
say L You Know Who, 
XXXIV. 
Kaipoogalla, Paadaluoya, 10th May. 
Aa I do not manufacture, having no factory here, 
I got what information I could from those that do, 
and the result is that the quality of the tea is worse 
when the bushes flush more freely. A quick flush gives 
weak tea ; a slow flush strong tea. No one here has 
had experience with manured tea. They agree with 
No. 3 in the paragraph. 
XXXV. 
Maskeliya, 10th May. 
1. Best tea is always made here in July in sni f <-> of 
wet leaf, and I believe that it is owing to the rapidity 
of the flushes having been checked by the rain which 
causes the increased strength in liquor ; anyhow be 
that as it may July and August teas are generally 
speaking better than those made at any other time of 
the year unfavorable weather notwithstanding. 
2. So far have not tested whether manure improves 
quality, but there is no doubt about its increasing the 
quantity largely. 
3. Everyone must work out this problem for them- 
selves, but qualify can be got with fair medium pluck- 
ing ; vide Gleaugie and Gorthie estates, also Ovoca 
and many others no doubt. On the three estates 
mentioned, the yield is a fine one and the plucking 
certainly not fine. Shadow of the Peak. 
TOBACCO IN THE EASTERN PROVINCE. 
Thereis a great deal of "talk" and writing about 
tobacco now-a-days, and a little chat about it may 
not be uninteresting to your readers. 
Jaffna tobacco is coarse and rank, thick ribbed 
and large leaved; and the generality of it makes 
execrable cheroots, as no one will deny who has 
ever passed to " windward " of a Jaffna Trader or 
Dhongman, in full blast ! A very little of the Jaffna 
tobacco is of a better kind, more delicate in leaf, 
and of it is composed those cigars sold by Jaffna 
traders, in bundles of 10 cigars each, in all the 
post towns of Oeylon, as well as in the interior. 
An Englishman, Mr. Hardy, grew and traded in to- 
bacco in Jaffna many years ago, but failed to make, 
a fortune by it. And a high caste Native, Muttu 
Veloe Chettiar, used to supply Jaffna tobacco to the 
"Travancore Sirdar" under contract, but after many 
years he failed, and died in Benares as a pilgrim. 
The late Henry Edward O'Grady, whose last 
appointment in the C. C. S. was that of G. A. of 
Trincomalee, was a great smoker and a first rate 
Judge, and he stated that the finest tobacco for 
smoking grew in Uva and Batticaloa, and that the 
finest tobacco in the E. Province was grown at Sen- 
gelady, which remains true to the present day. 
The greater part of the Batticaloa tobacco is grown 
either in tobacco gardens or on high spots on paddy 
fields. Nearely every paddy field has its plot of to- 
bacco, and all the best tobacco grown here is every 
season shipped off to Jaffna (and probably the 
Ooast of India 1 * by Jaffanese settled here, either as 
Government employes, traders, or agricultural resid- 
ents, who advance sums on coming crops a long 
while before the plants have matured, and the eager- 
ness with which it is snapped up is a plain proof 
of its superiority over Northern produce. 
The soil at Sengelady and its neighbourhood is red 
with a very small percentage of small gravel and is 
exactly like the soil all round Mauepy, Mallagam, and 
Oopai, near Jiiffua, called there the " Ohembatu- 
Poomi," and the neighbourhood is famous for its 
organe.s, mangoes and jacks, and of the same kind is the 
Chavakucherri soil which produces the finest vegetables 
in the North Peninsula. 
The Seugelady tobacco is smalllbr- loaf, thin in rib 
and varies from dark brown to pure, black in colour. 
The seed is first sown broadcast then planted out in 
rows, slightly ridged, and plentifully watered, the young 
plants being carefully shaded at fi-st start ! The only 
manure applied to the plants is that of cattle. 
When a place is selected for a tobacco garden, it is 
well fenced, and cattie-penue 1 on it for (say) 20 days 
in succession ; (the more the better) and tne grouml 
having been well mammonied, and turned up, is prepared 
for the young plants, (which may afterwards get dry 
manure applied to them as a surfa ce, or top dressiug). 
The plants are never allowed to r un to flower, (except 
a few for seed) aud the leaves i n due gradation are 
picked as Nos. 1, 2 and 3 on the list, the lowest leaves 
being the least valuable. 
They are "then tied up in bundles of 16 leaves each , 
which are suspended under cover, and under a smoul- 
dering wood fire. 
The last process is that of sw eating, when the 
tobacco is fit for either sale or consumption. It 
sometimes happens that when too much sweated the 
tobacco gets rotted slightly, but some of those who 
chew tobacco among the Natives prefer it in that 
condition. 
Tobacco is sold, either in bundles (of 16 leaves 
each) at the market place, or to wholesale purchaser 
by the talam, consisting each of 24 bundle*, and is 
valued at 12s. 5d. the tulam, for chewii;g, and 6d. 
the tulam, for smokiug tob .ceo. The intermediate kind 
sells for about 6s. a tulam, or even less. — E. A — " Inde- 
pendent." 
PLANTING IN JAVA AND SUMAT1U : 
TOBACCO, CINCHONA AND COFFEE. 
The Deli Tobacco Company held its annual meeting 
on the 30th April, at which the directors presented the 
report of the last year. Tne quautity brought to 
market was 21,162 bales tobacco grown on the com- 
pany's own estates, aud 47,879 bales shipped by consign- 
ment to the company. The average price realised for 
their own tobacco was o. 132, aga inst c. 173 in the 
previous year. This unfavourable result is mainly 
owing to the unfavourable weather which diminished 
the quantity of the crop, while tun quality was pre- 
judiced to the extent; that the late ar rivals were dif- 
ficult of sale. The balance sheet was approved, aud a 
dividend declared of f. 452 per share, As regards the 
1888 crop the weather has been more favourable, and 
the production larger than in 1837, and the quality 
seems also to be better. The possessions of the com- 
pany in Deli and Langkat were increased by the pur- 
chase of two further estates known as Poeugey and 
Paya Bacon, both of which are favourably situated, 
and besides these another estate will be opened up 
near the Batang Seraujau. The increase of capital 
sanctioned at the meeting of the shareholders in 
November last ha^ now been accomplished, the shares 
being taken up at the rate of 200 per cent. This 
increase of capital has enabled the company to 
purchase the new estates referred to. With regard to 
the cooly difficulty it is expected that Deli will be 
able to provide its wants of Chinese coolies by direct 
immigration. The negotiations of the commission 
sent to British India for the purpose of regulating 
the Kling immigration seem to have had a good 
result. The ratificatiou of this regulation, however, 
has met with some opposition on the part of the 
Dutch Government, but it is expected that a satis- 
factory agreement will be made, as the proper settle- 
ment of this matter is of much importance to the 
whole of Sumatra. The import of Javanese workmen 
has increased considerably of late. The Artesian 
well at Medau is so far unsatisfactory, as on a 
depth of 230 metres being reached no quantity of 
water was found. 
Prom the report of the West Java Oinchona Agri- 
cultural Company for the year 1888 it appears that 
tha condition of the estates was satisfactory, but as 
the market for cinchona has not been so good, the 
expectations at the beginning of the year have not 
