47l 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Jak. i, 1894. 
export," (from Mexico) "ie the fibre of the magae; i 
—it is one of the most useful fibres kuown in textile I 
industry. In this motley throng, the maguey | 
armed with its bristling sheaf of sword blades forme 
the rank and file. All the way from Tebuantepeo 
to the Bio Grande it is seen; now massed in 
cultivated fields of hundreds of acres, and again 
straggling in neglected wildnees by the roadside or 
on the rooky crests of inaccessible hills. So 
(lagglish is its vital action that it grows and thrives 
where other forms of vegetation perish from sheer 
inanition. — As a valuable fibre plant the maguey 
is the basis of an industry which is steadily in- 
creasing in importance," Again on p. 336 :— " The 
shipments of ixtle (magueyt end other fibres have 
quadirupled in volume;" and p. 327 : "The maguey 
grpws .without cultivation in every hollow and on 
every hilUide-" 
Of another fibee called " henequen,'' it says that 
in 1890 over 5,000,000 dollars worth was oariied to 
the Amerionn market. — " The henequen farmers 
live at Merid<i in great comfort andi spend money 
freely" (p. 294 ) 
It you have not already quoted the above, it may 
interest or even eventuelty prove profitable to such 
of your Bubsoribera as are ppsaessed of patana land 
or abandoned coffee.— Yours truly, X. 
[A great deal of information about these and 
other fibres is given in past numbers of the Tropical 
Agriculturist.— -Ea. T.A-l 
TEA, CULTIVATION: IN CEYLON— No. 1 
WHAT ABE THE CONDITIONS HEOEBSART TO BEODBE OOOD 
OBOFS AND aOOD PBICE8? 
Deab Sir,— Seeing that our shrewd old friend 
Mr. Butherford is again in our midst with the 
purpose of making a regular tour round our 
planting districts, would it not be advisable to 
ask him to be good enough to keep his eyes 
skinned whenever he comes across an estate 
which gets " at tnd-out" prices for its teas, and 
before taking iiis departure from our flavory iele 
to oblige us by giving his ideas as to why these 
favoured few get such Jine prices and such large 
returns per acre. 
My idea is that good j^t, good soil and a good 
high elevation are all absolutely necessary to 
obtain this enviable position. With any two of 
the above, yop may get a fairly decent average ; 
but you will never be " galleried" in the Lon- 
don lists nor will your returns aa to quantity be 
anything beyond the general run. 
With oil ttheae bad, it is a very blue look-out 
unless you have such a stimulating climate that 
it ' compeoBates for the lack of soil if nothing 
•Ise. — Youra truly, 
25 YEABS A PLANTEE. 
No. II. 
Dear Sib»— You oa(wot nuktce a " silk purse out^ 
of a Bowta ear " is a true saying. Neither can you 
manufacture really «2a^9 , tea from npoor jS,t, 
■oil, and at a low elevation. 
I do not believe in a mixture of Indigenous, 
Hybrid, add 'Obiaa j&t; Tlid aamsivprooeas for 
withering leaf, .etai idoea not J Buit: them, and the 
a(Ui.Bfiqoenae is lan oxi/i-iaxn,,,'' uneven," etc. etc., 
Bee t]olombo broker'4 repprts, and in h<nci many 
<K^<:4n9«,f . you will note r" uneven '' etc,^ etc., men. 
tiQ.i)e<L Ttds prpves ftow Twanj/ estate? »«- Ceyi<>?t have 
a iaiiced j4t, hence the great dtfflouU^ in manu-. 
faiitariQg a uniform hl^ih standard tea. 
To eniWe thsJ^)lf^pterJ^aWrn <>ut a Ugh.-cUfBed 
Ua, uniform j&t it bne of^ ^the ea$eQtialB. 
I io D9t ftgcM Witt) ^ouK ecftrt ondeat 6i " iS'i 
Years," that good j&t is necessary at a bigb eleva- 
tion ; by good jat I mean " iDdigenooa." 
I am inclined to think that at an elevation ef 
4,0CO at 6,000 feet above sea level, a Cbioa }U 
or Hybrid will give the beet quality tea. 
Analysis of soil is highly detirabl^. It will enable 
the planter to supply the neeeoaary eompooenli 
for propagating "flush" that can be worked into 
uell flavoured high clats tea. 
A PLANTER SINCE '69. 
No. in. 
Dbab Bih,— " 25 Years a Planter" t%jt " with 
any two of the above " i. e. (good j&l, good aoil 
and a good high plevatioD) you may get a deeent 
average but you will never be *palUried ' in the 
London lists nor will yuur returns be anythine 
beyond the gemral run." 
It by the above " 25 Years a Planter" meane 
that estates in the lowcountry do not make 
such good profits per acre, as estates at high 
elevation, I believe be is quite wrong, and till be 
gives fiKures to prove hie assertion, will cnnlinoe 
to think he is wrong. 
If he will look at Meesrp. O. White 4 Co.'e 
last month's sale list he will see,— putting the 
qupstion of elevation on one aide altogether — 
Kiluiara holds a most respectable poeition amongst 
the Ceylon averages, while taking its heavy yield 
and cheap production into aoeonnt I question, if 
as a district, it is beaten in the island in profit 
per acre. 
Mr. Rutherford's advice is always valuable and 
I hope he will give it to the public before he goes. 
is a matter of fact, China tea is more tippy 
and fiavory than high j&t tea, but the fiaeat indi 
genous will not fluth at very high elevations. 
The great advantage of high j&t tea in the 
lowcountry is its immunity from blight and 
insect pests, its large cropping qualities and the 
deep thick liquor it gives. 
I am convinced that acre per acre on an average 
soil, "Indigenous" gives double the profit of hybrid 
tea, in the lowcountry ; and three times that of 
lew jat, hybrid, and China.— Yours taiihlully. 
EALUTARA. 
No, IV. 
Deab Sib, — As regards yield and quality of tea at 
high elevations, I have had soil, elevation ami a fair 
j&t to work upon. My best teas were characterized by 
both flavor and strength, and from individual fields 
I have obtained yields of 4001b. to 60Olb. per acre. 
My own theory regarding flavor is that it is very 
much depeudent upon climatic influences. Tbe 
best teas are undoubtedly made whsn tbe flush 
is not of too vigorous a growth, and I think the 
sap undergoes a ripening or mellowing process. 
This, of course, is more the ease at high elevationa 
than at lower elevations where the growth is 
always forced. 
3ii affects yield more than quality. A good. 
Hybrid is tbebest for high elevations. ALTITUDE." 
No. V. 
Central Proyinc<V'n«)o/.ilst. 
Deab Sib,— Flavour in tea is ehirfi\L in my 
opiDioo a matter of elevation combined with a more 
or lesB dry climate, but yield and etrength are 
mostly, I should say, a question of soil and jit. 
At the highest elevationa I am doubtful if j&t 
is ao all -important either in tbe matter of yield or 
strength ; further experience it seema to .me is 
w^bted tbiB point. 
