Siipr. r, t^03.1 THE TROPICAr, AGRICULTURIST. 
157 
Description of Manure. 
li 
ill 
1 s 1 
Weights of nitrogen in 
lbs. in the manures. 
Weights of potash in lbs. 
"in the manures. 
Ceylon Cattle Manure No. 1... 
2,960 
13 2 
' 28-1 
Do do No. 2... 
8,042 
51-8 
85-9 
Castor-Cake (best) ... 
25.5 
17-9 
3-2 
Do (lower quality)... 
493 
24 7 
7-4 
Bone dust ... 
32 
1-1 
•3 
Potash Table. 
This table gives the weights of certain manures 
which will return to the soil potash equal in 
amount to that removed from the soil by two years' 
crops, including pulp and leaves, viz., 46 6 lbs. 
potash together with the weights of nitrogen 
and phosphoric acid in the manures : — 
Description of Manure. 
AVeightsof manures in lbs. 
which contain 46-6 lbs. 
potash. 
Weights of nitrogen in 
lbs. in manures. 
Weights of phosphoric 
acid in lbs. in manures. 
Ceylon Cattle Manure No. 1 
4900 
21-9 
12-3 
Do do No. 2... 
4391 
28-3 
4-0 
Castor-Cake (best) ... 
3728 
261-0 
1081 
Do (lower quality)... 
3106 
155'3 
46 6 
Nitrate of Potash ... 
11-6 
1-8 
Muriate of do (80 %) 
5-8 
Sulphate of do (50 %) 
9-3 
Kainit (13-5 %) 
34-5 
The results of ordinary experience hitherto in 
the manuring of coflee, had not shown, except 
perhaps in the case of nitrogen, that the important 
elements of plant food should be added to the 
soil in the proportions in which they ai e removed 
by crop, etc., thus when using cattle manure 
No. 1 instead of adding the important ingredients 
of plant food in the propoi tions of 1 theoretical 
dose of nitrogen, 1 of phosphoric acid and 1 of 
potash, these are added in the proportion of 1 
of nitrogen, 3 of phosphoric acid and 2 of p;)tasli. 
Mixtures of Castor-cake and Bone-dust, such as 
planters have been long accustomed to use, dej)art 
still further from the theoretical quantities ; thus a 
mixture of i lb of Castor-cake and ^ lb. of 
Bone-dust added to eacli tree represents per acre 
1 theoretical dose of nitrogen, 20 of pliosphoric 
acid and 0"2 of potash, and when a mixture of .J lb. 
of Castor-cake and h lb. Bone-dust is adiled per 
tree, such a manure adds to the soil \h times 
the theoretical dose of nitrogen, 21 times the 
theoretical dose of phosphoric acid and 0'3 of 
the tlicoretical dose of potasli. The mixtures of 
artificial manures which planters have been 
accustomed to use, thus: fully keep up the supply 
of nitrogen, add many times the theoretical 
quantity oi phosjilioric acid, but fall fiir short 
of the theoretical quantity of potash. For some 
years past the iuUlitioii of potash salts to manures 
has been practised by some, but with what success 
compared with tlie method of manuring with 
Castor-cake and Bone-dust only, there do not 
appear to be any published nuniei'ical data to 
show. 
Some of the special commercial manures for 
Coffee cultivation will be found in the chapter 
on Manures. 
THE FUTURE OF THE AMERICAN-CEYLON 
TEA PLANTERS' COMPANY, 
The latest information to hand relative to the 
proceediut^s of ibe nbova Company would epposr 
10 wan ant some hopi that the good work ac- 
ocmplisbeJ by Mr. Elwood May and Mr. Pineo 
IS not to ba left to utter failure. Very larga 
interests in the welfare of the undertaking have 
bi en created by Mr. May's arrangements for 
advertising entered into with several leading Ameri- 
cm newspaper propri'tors. These last evidently see 
that, failing some effort on their part, there is 
no ohance of their obtaining any return 
fcr the Bpeoulative work they have hiiherto done 
under that arrangement. For the first time we 
Lad lately made Inowu to us, and that in a very 
atrifeing way, the results hitherto obtained by the 
Company. We propose to recapitulata the figures 
showing the progressive nature of the busineES 
done. From October J 890, when work first com- 
menced, to January 1891, the gross profits made 
were only 697 dollars. From the latter date to 
May of the same year 1,290 dollars were obtained 
From May 1891 (o January 1892 the profit equalled 
•2,586 dollers. From January 1892 to April 1892 
It was 1,856 dcllars ; while from the last-mentioned 
date to April 22ad of the present jear the return 
had risen to 8,830 dollars. Now although the 
last-mentioned amount of profit is certainly not 
largf, it shows a very striking bound upwards. ludeed 
the figures would seem to indicate quite a sudden 
Bpprtciation of our teas in America, the evidence 
of which has otly ju:t been fotthcoming as 
unavoidable mi-jfortune has fallen upon the 
oompauy. With eucdi indications of rapid 
progress in the future, it will be a thousend 
pities if some mode of catrjing on the 
work so well begun cannot be found. Such, 
no doubt, is the feeling which now aotujtes the 
proprietors of the American newspapers who have 
inte eated themselves in the operation of the 
Company, and who are its oreaitors to a very 
large amount. We see it stated that the value of 
the advertising done in one form or another 
represents the sum of 99,855 dollars. To that 
extent Cey'on tea has been prospectively benefitted, 
auJ this without any outlay whatever by this 
islt.td beyond the value of the grant made by 
the Tea Fund of 9,0001b. of tea. This grant 
we see is assessed in the Company's aoeounts at 
l,i:92 dolla's. or an average of about ten-pence the 
pjund. Taking the general analysis of profit and 
1. ss, which iooludes the amount due for advertising 
the debit ba'aace stands at 220,655 dolLirs. This 
is a serious amouni ; but it is, so far as the 
a-l^ertising account goes, in part only a nominiil 
loss, and by no means represents any tiuanoialri- 
snlt to aotuil trading. All the figures would seem 
to show that the crisis had arrived just at the 
junoture when the large outlay on adveriisiog was 
about to bear iruit. We observe that it had been 
de'ermined that the oNim of Mtssrs. Wat.son and 
F*rr is to be "vigorously resisted" or opposed, 
, Hccording to the Oommittee's report, " to the terms 
I of iheir agreement with the Company sod to the 
I 'Common understanding bad with all the parti 
