July 2, 1894.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 43 
Can you send me one of J.R.'s Tea Tabloi Is ? A friend 
of mine has just perfected a Wbi'key Tabloid, one 
of which I wi'l send in exchange; but be careful, Mr. 
Editor, in the use of same. A small piece will render 
you liable to write libellous articles; if you take and 
consume a whole one it will lay you under the 
editorial chair oblivious to your deadliest enemies' 
scathing criticism. Remember me to the boys iu the 
Kilani Valley and to me fin Irishisoa, if jou or 
they want a trip borne come up hf-re ; it will do you 
more good than the Sprudel Well at Karlsbad at which 
I last had the pleasure of having a drink with you. — 
Youra, I, 
CEYLON AND INDIAN TEA CULTIVATION : 
The Selection of Seed. 
June 9. 
Dear Sir, — Reverting to the comparison of Ceylon 
aDd Indian Tea Cultivation, in the matter of the 
selection of seed, in recent years, the Indian 
planter has shewn far greater discrimination than 
his Ceylon brother. 
To anyone who has seen the difference of results 
between high-clas3 Indian indigenous seed and 
the commoner sorts of seeds sold looally in Ceylon, 
it stems marvellous that there should be any 
qu'stion as to which to plant. It is a notorious 
fact that in most instances Helopeitis (mosquito 
bligb ) has appeared in Ceyicn on tea of inferior 
jat, whioh was grown from looal seed, and that 
this terrible post has increased and spread with 
alarming rapidity, no one who haa travelled about 
tho country will deny. 
Two or three years ago its attacks were prac- 
tically confined to a few estates in the lowcountry. 
Now it may b9 met with throughout the tea dis- 
tricts and I have seen it scattered on an estate 
at a higher elevation than Nuwara Eliya. 
Catohing the bug no doubt mitigates the pest, 
but the cost is heavy and the result only temporary. 
For some years past in India it has been 
fully recognized that certain high j&ta of 
tea are practically moequito proof as well as 
heavy crop-bearers and as a result the seed of 
this class sells at very high rates and is almost 
universslly used in India for extension, while 
thousands of acres have been uprooted to make 
way for this high-class plant— R100 to R200 per 
maund being freely paid for it on the spot. 
In Ceylon on the other hand the demand for 
oheap seed has been surprising and a large amount 
of rubbish has been planted throughout the 
island, the yield from which is so miserable that 
it barely pays the cost of cultivation and in fact 
some of it already has been abandoned while 
much more will soon have to follow suit, when it 
will act 8S a hot-bed to mosquito blight, — 
spreading the fell disease to the surrounding areas. 
I am indeed glad that the Director of the Bota- 
nical Gardens has already sounded a note of warn- 
ing and advioe to plant mosquito-proof jats in his 
last annual Report,as, coming from such a scientific 
authority, it should carry great weight- 
In this connection, Mr. Editor, I should 
like to ask you if a planter has no legal 
redress against a neighbour who forms a 
nursery for mosquito-blight by planting in- 
ferior jilt tea to the damage of surrounding 
estates ? Or should he not be compelled 
by law, when motquito-blight mal;e3 its a ppearanoe, 
to tike ordinary precautious for its destruction, 
at least till he beooines bankrupt, whioh I have 
no doubt he will be, when the distrioc oould 
subscrioe for the cost of firing the estate as 
pataua is done upoountry, extinguishing both 
tea and mosquito blight together with very 
beneficial effects. It might be well here to oon- 
sider how muoh is saved in the first instance 
by planting cheap and therefore inferior jat seed 
and what the difference of profits per aore per 
annum are likely to be subsequently. 
The cost of inferior jat seed ranges from RIO to 
R60 a maund and taking the average of R40, one 
maund being sufficient for 4 acres, we get RIO 
per acre as cost of seed. The high, dark indi- 
genous seed ranges from R100 to R200 per maund 
(a considerable quantity of this latter has been 
sold for next year's planting in Ceylon). Taking 
the average coat at R120, 4 acres to the maund 
gives R30 per aore, or a saving by using bad j&t 
seed in the first instance of R20 per aore, or 
£1-153 at present rate of exchange. 
Now as to results, I do not believe for an 
instant that inferior local seed averages over 250 
lb. an acre, while seed of highest ja r . under same 
conditions would certainly average over 400 lb. 
per aore. Indeed I can shew you fields adjoining 
in whioh the higher imported seed is giving more 
than double the orop of the looal seed. Taking 
the cost of production for 250 lb. orop at 33 
cents per lb. and the selling price as 50 cents 
we get a profit of 17 cents, equal to R42'50 per 
acre. A 400 lb. crop under same conditions 
will cost frcm 26 to 28 cents per lb., or eay 
27 cents to produce, selling at 50c, a profit 
of R92 per acre or a difference of nearly R50per 
acre per annum in favour of the higher jat tea 
on an initial expenditure of only R20 per aore extra ( 
I am presuming that the inferior jat tea is not 
ttaoked by mosquitos : should this calamity ocour, 
in most oases the profit is turned into an aotua 
loss on the working expenditure. 
No one who has not actually seen the ravageB 
of mosquito-blight can have any idea of the ter- 
rible scourge it is to the industry and «ith pre- 
ventative means at hand, such as we have in the 
selection of seed, I cannot understand under the 
circumstances how the inferior seed is planted at 
all. Should any of your readers be desirous of 
seeing the difference in these two teas, when 
the attack of mosquito-blight comes on, I will 
be very happy to shew them it, when they 
will find the flush iu one field week after week 
completely destroyed and appearing exaotly as if 
a singeing maohine had been passed over the bushes, 
the adjoining tea with no boundary whatever be- 
tween, flushing luxuriantly with no signs of 
Helopeitis on it. 
The importance of the subject and my desire to 
do what I can to prevent the further spread of 
this disease is my excuse for the inordinate length 
of this letter.— Yours faithfully 
EUROPEAN EMPLOYE. 
ELECTRO MOTORS FOR PLANTATION 
FACTORIES. 
Dear Sir, — It is now some time sinoe two leaders 
(see pages 813 and 839, Vol. XIII.) dealt with the 
question of the application of eleotro motors to the 
requirements of Ceylon tea factories. As far as I 
remember yourpap°r rather threw cold water on the 
proposal, as being too impraotioable to be worth 
the consideration of the Planting Industry, But 
even omniscience may err, and as we all know, 
the leader writers in papers of standing are nothing 
if not cmnisoient. When it was proposed to cross 
the Atlantic with vessels propelled by steam, a 
leading scientific man of the day undertook to 
eat the first steamer that did so, " beoause no 
steamer could oarry sulfioient fuel to last the 
voyage." 
