328 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Nov. x, 1893. 
REPORT FROM THE CENTRAL PROVINCE. 
(Notes from Wanderer.) 
Ootober 12. 
Tea Prices are certainly more encouraging. We 
are now only below last year's average at Bame 
date and exactly the same average as India. Lust 
year we were 2J:d under India. Our Indian 
brethren are now being treated to the same style of 
eentle chiding from the London brokers, meted out 
to Ceylon planters last year. Gow, Wilson 
Stanton thus discourse in their circular of the 
22nd Sept:—" Quality from some of the AsBam 
gardens is better, though not equal to last year. 
Daiieeling continues to send some fine tea, 
but in other districts the crop shows no new 
feature." India has therefore to take a back 
seat in the Lane this season. Neilghcrry 589 
packages averaging 7d, and Travanoore, 1,204 
packages, ejd. are not startling. Java, 1,711 
packages averaging 6Jd does not say much for the 
Dutchman's manufacture of the chuenng leaf. 
Weather — Matale and Dumbara men begin to 
hold up their heads, for rain has at laet fallen. 
Kain was wanted even in the Kelani Valley. Some 
estates there have had no rain for 20 days. 
Hblopeltis is now becoming scarce in the Kdani 
Valley, thanks to the catching of these troublesome 
pests. ' If they reappear, yigorous eteps should at 
once be taken to destroy them. 1 fancy " moequito 
blight," as they call it in India, will never be so 
troublesome or so destructive in Oeylon as in India, 
for we only lose a month's flush which can be made 
up later on. On the Indian Continent they have 
virtually only three months of heavy plucking, and 
if anything interferes with the flush in these mon the 
the whole season's yield is affected. 
Coast Advances.— Some planters are inclined to 
insinuate that the joint Committees of the P. A. 
and Chamber of Commerce have not done mtO*i to 
improve matters. They have on called they could 
and if their BUggestions are loyally carried out, we 
shall see a more healthy state of matters in 1894i 
FRUIT RPESERVING AT SINGAPORE : 
The Netherland Conaular report oa Singapore for 
last year, just published ia the Java Government 
Oatette, gives the folloowing partioluaiB regarding the 
preserved piceaple trade:— • , , 
"The preparation of preserved tropical fruits, 
chiefly pioeapleB, inorcised again during the year 
uQder report, the export beiog eotimated at 1,670,000 
piDeaplea against 1,»500,000 in 1891. I bis iooreaee of 
70 000 units ia, almcst exclusively, to be ascribed to 
the ttugmented export of 30,000 units to Great Britsia 
and 40 000 units to the Continent of Eorope, mostly 
to France. The steady extension of this branch of 
industry ia in oonsequenoe of the article beoomiug 
better kuown abroad, and of the considerable in- 
crease of pineapple cultivation in Singapore, Johore 
and adjacent places, as also on neifehbouriug iBlets 
in the Khio Archipelago. The pineapple crop wae, 
moreover, very satistaotory during the past year, so 
that the supply was considerably greater ihan in 
1891 The price realised, on the average, fell hence 
to 'i dollar cents for each pineapple against 6 cents 
in 1891 and this, too, in spite of an increase in pre- 
serving ' factories. During the year under report, at 
Singapore, five Europeans and five Chinese carried 
on the preserving business against four Europeans 
and three Chinese in 1891. D'rom the above men- 
tioned increase in the export, it need not, however, 
be made out that the ooujumption abroad has grown 
in proportion. A lot inconsiderable portion cf the 
export, indeed, mostly to England, liad to remain 
there unsold owing to a glut in the market, as also in 
consequence of inferior quality and less careful pre- 
paration of the product. These last mentioned 
ooneignmenta were largely from Chmeie factorjee, of 
which during tl^e pt'Bt year, Bsvetal stopped bueineBB 
Vbite etilJWi we»ei tip." 
SALES OF ESTATE PROPERTY. 
We heard some werks ago from a Fort basinesi- 
man that a nice little racaa property wai in the 
market at what feemfd a very low price — the 
explar atioD being that it vita to Burtounded by 
native thieves that tb« crupa co« d ueter te se- 
cured ! We do not know if tb:* is the reason ; 
but now Itarn tbat Kundewatle (.iautatioo of 162 
acres (116 in cacao) in the Dumb>ra district, hat 
been sold to a native by Mefsrs. Ctiaf. Strachan de. 
Co. for B12,600 which seems a bargain if the treea 
are in good condition. 
Auotber sale ie tliat ofNugswella tea estate in the 
Pussellawa district — 191 acrt-a, 160 in tea — b; Mr. 
A. O. White to Mr. M. B.Evaos for 14,000 or i^l.dOO. 
It is reported that the Cejlou and OricBtal 
Estates Company are buying a Kruop of Badaila 
rstatea. 
A contemporary has the fullowing : — 
Mr. E. U. Stewart, of VV'aitegama, has purchased 
the property known as the Naraudande lands from 
the UeyJon Tobacco Company, Limited, at presetit 
in liquidation, and they vill, I bear, together with 
the Burronndii g landf, aho purchased by tbe taoj* 
gentleman, , be koonn in fntore as " GillLuiy Estate." 
The property in question is situated ^betweea Kata- 
gastota and Wattegamme.— Eandy Cor. 
PLANTING REPORT FROM UVA. 
Badulla, Oct. 16th. 
The weatber daring the latter part.of September 
was showery and we all thought the North-East 
monsoon had made an early burst. Some few were 
adventurons enough to plant. It is now hard and 
dry. Wind at night from the South- West and, though 
clouds bank up in the East in the afternoons, no 
immediate prospect of rain. The weather now i* 
particularly bright and the mornings are very 
charming. 
Tea ia still flushing well, though not quite ao 
heavily as it was three weeks ago. The pruned 
fields have recovered wonderfully well, and those 
fields pruned in July and August are flashing very 
well. Ulearings are being busily proceeded with and 
a very considerable acreage will go into tea in this 
district this year. With the older tea yielding as 
it is, proprietors have every encouragement to in- 
crease their acreages. I understand tbat a very large 
Central Factory is being built in Badulla by the Uva 
Company to serve the estates in that vicinity. 
CoKFEB is looking well, and bug, though present, 
does not seem spreading or doing any particular 
harm. The dry weather we are now having means 
a good deal to coffee proprietors, for higher estates 
wiU give another blossom yet, if it last a little longer. 
There is a good blossom in spike. There was a 
very nice sprinkle of blossom out last week, and 
every little helps at present prices. Autumn crops 
are coming in weU, and as fax as my experi- 
ence goes will everywhere exceed estimates The 
quality is, moreover, excellent, and there is practi- 
cally no light coffee. 
Your remarks re patana land for tea in Uva 
interested me much, I do not myself, however, 
think that there are the large acreages available 
generally supposed. There is patana land and 
patana land and I think a very large proportion ie 
tmsuited for tea The patana that does grow tea 
grows it magnificently, but I.very much doubt immense 
acreages of it being available. The finest patana pro- 
bably lies on the spurs of the hill country. Bat 
here the rainfall is very generally doubtful, and the 
climate is not very desirable. Most of the Uva 
patanas proper are more suited to cattle grazing than 
tea growing, and I wonder no one has attempted an 
experiment of this sort on a large scale. Has 
manuring of grass land with lime ever been tried ? 
LWe think not in Ceylon.— Ed. T. A.] 
I believe the Railway is taking almost the whole 
of the Badulla traffic, and I fancy — and hope— few 
carta are working on the Ratnapura road, li would 
be interesting to know what produce does reach 
Colombo from Uva bv that conte. The Police re- 
|te;i|ig BtationB woula sappl; tl)9 information, 
