44 
THE  TROWCAL  AGRICULTURIST, 
[July  i,  1892. 
factory,  it  may  be,  are  taxed,  that  it  is  impossible  to 
prepare  with  the  same  deliberate  care.  No  doubt, 
in  some  cases  “coarser  plucking”  also  explains 
difference;  indeed,  (here  are  not  a few  plantations 
where,  in  view  of  lower  prices,  even  for  fine  teas, 
it  has  been  found  more  profitable  to  give  up  fine 
plucking  and  the  very  careful  preparation  of  a limited 
quantity  of  superior  teas  in  favour  of  the  harvesting 
and  preparation  of  a larger  quantity  of  more  ordinary 
cheaper  teis.  This  fact  accounts  for  the  falling  off 
in  the  average  quantity  of  certain  roarkf,  rather  lhan 
any  deterioration  in  the  tea  bushes,  the  soil,  or  any 
other  circumst’.nces  affecting  the  et  bility  of  the 
Ceylon  tea-planting  industry.  I may  be  told  by  Mr 
Hawes  and  other  London  tea  authorities  how  much 
better  it  would  be  for  the  Ceylon  planter  (o  aim,  above 
all  things,  at  keeping  up  the  quality  of  his  teas  ; and 
prima  facie,  it  may  be  argued  that  such  a coarse  as 
taking  )tss  leaf  off  the  bush,  and  to  less  out  of  the 
soil,  must  be  cnnduoive  (o  the  permanency  of  the 
industry.  But  London  authorities  do  not  know  every- 
thing about  the  tea  bushes;  no',  for  that  matter 
does  the  Ceylon  planter  ss  yet  profess  to  know  all 
And,  among  the  rest,  there  is  the  experience,  under 
certain  weather  conditions,  of  the  flush  becoming  so 
abundant — of  the  flush  running  away — that  it  is  only 
by  plucking  very  freely  that  the  planter  is  able  to  keep 
his  bush  in  proper  order,  and  he  is,  peibaps,  forced 
by  the  circumstances  of  the  caso  to  make  as  much 
tea  in  one  mouth  as,  ordinarily,  lie  would  do  in  two 
or  three  months.  In  this  connection  it  must  not  be 
overlooked  how  greatly  our  tropical  rains  in  Ceylon, 
rich  as  they  are  in  nitrogenous  properties  (in  am 
monia),  contribute  to  the  production  of  leaf  crops. 
But,  again,  let  mo  notice  bow  perplexing  sometimes 
to  the  practical  planter  is  the  advice  be  gets  from 
London  in  regard  to  the  advantage  of  only  pre 
paring  superior  fine  teas.  This  was  a doctrine  taught 
free  from  the  metropolis  during  I860,  and,  as  a 
journalist  (dreading  more  particularly  production  in 
quamity  outstripping  consumption),  I preached  it  in 
eeason  and  out  of  season  towards  Ihe  beginning  of 
that  year  in  Ceylon.  I remember,  too,  liow  much 
my  opinion  was  strengthened  by  the  visit  of  the  late 
lamented  chairman  (Mr.  David  Beid)  of  the  Ceylon 
Tea  Plantations  Company,  Hie  theory  then  was  that 
the  ordinary  Ceylon  teas  (chiefly  from  the  low  dis- 
tricts) would  henceforward  come  in<o  competition 
with  the  average  Indian  teas;wherers  the  finer  and 
high-grown  Ceylon  teas  could  always  have  a profit- 
able market  of  their  own,  with  scarcely  any  competi- 
tion from  India  and  China.  How  much  better  and 
more  profitable,  then,  for  the  planter  to  do  all  he 
could  to  turn  out  fine  teas  ! Such  was  the  advice 
given,  and  in  many  cases  acted  on,  in  1890.  But 
what  happened  in  the  London  markets  P I need 
only  ask  you  to  recall  the  anomalous  condition  of 
affairs  during  ihe  latter  half  of  1890  and  first  half  of 
last  year  in  Micciug-lane  to  understand  the  discredit 
that  temporarily  overcame  the  “fine  tea”  theory. 
Without  much  warning,  the  prices  for  the  contemned 
common  Ceylon  teas  rose  almost  to  the  level  of  those 
paid  for  fine  high-grown,  end  continued 60  for  months; 
•ihe  planter  who  had  taken  our  advice  and  perhaps 
reduced  his  cropping  from  a ratio  of  500  lb.  to 
600  lb.,  to  say  300  lb.  to  100  lb.  an  acre,  in  order  to 
secure  fine,  delicate  teas,  found  that  while  he  got, 
perhaps,  an  increased  -average,  his  neighbour,  who  went 
on  his  old  course,  and  gathered  the  equivalent  of  crops 
30  per  cent  to  50  per  cent  more  per  acre,  got  prier-s 
averaging  nearly  as  high,  and  was,  in  fact,  making 
far  more  profits  through  disregarding  the  advice  of 
London  tea  men— (I  learned  two  days  ago,  in  Mincing, 
lane,  of  a case  where  the  same  quality  teas  from  the 
yame  plantation  realised  nearly  double  the  price,  within 
a fe;y  months  after  the  strong  demand  for  common 
teas  set  in  ' — an4  the  consequence  was  that  early  in 
1891  a large  uu.7'ber  ,c'f,  Ceylon  planters  made  up 
their  minds  that  tnJT  PpHoy  in  the  direc- 
tion of  'quantity  ralher  than'  dUftLty.  I merely 
give  this  as  an  illustration  of  the  dim"’1 
down  hard-and-fast  rules. 
J have  said  above  that  tho  Ceylon  tea  planter  doe  j 
not  profess  yet  to  know  “all  about  his  tea  bush” — what 
may  be  the  very  best  mode  of  cultivation,  of  harvesting 
and  of  manipulation  of  the  leaf.  There  is  no  suoh 
school  iD  the  world  for  the  tropical  agriculturist  as 
Ceylon.  Our  planters  vie  with  each  other  in  obser- 
vation, experiment,  and  interchange  of  ideas.  MaLy 
of  them  are  practical  engineers,  some  are  well  read 
in  scientific  agriculture,  while  there  are  local  working 
engineers  giving  full  attention  to  the  requirements 
and  the  improvement  of  the  tea  faotory.  Already  in 
Ceylon  much  advance  has  been  made  on  the  old  Indian 
system  ; but  there  is  room,  I am  o.invinced,  for  a 
great  deal  of  improvement  still.  The  whole  question 
of  “ manuring  ” witli  reference  to  quantity  and  quality 
of  leaf  has  yet  to  be  experimentally  dealt  with.  The 
best  mode  and  time  for  “ pruning,”  the  style  of  “ pluck- 
ing ” best  suited  for  different  altitudes,  and,  above 
all,  means  to  ensure  more  complete  withering,  the 
proper  degree  of  time  and  temperature  for  drying  the 
leal,  and  the  due  amount  of  fermentation,  will  all 
form,  in  'he  course  of  the  next  few  years,  the  sub- 
jects of  careful  inquiry  and  experiments.  I know 
even  now  of  very  important  experiments  beiDg  made 
in  these  directions.  The  aid  of  the  analytical 
chemist  as  well  as  of  the  practical  engineer,  will 
be  freely  availed  of  by  the  Ceylon  planters,  and 
whatever  men  in  their  position  can  do  will 
be  done  to  ensure  farther  sucoess  in  turning  font 
good  teas  with  profitable  results,  aDd  in  ensuring  the 
s’ability  of  their  industry.  In  this  respect,  the  bardy 
tea  bush,  with  its  deep  roots,*  offers  great  advantages 
over  the  more  delicate  coffee  shrubs.  If  necessary, 
it  would  be  possible,  in  the  case  of  an  epidemic  of 
insect  or  fungus  pest  on  tea,  to  deal  with  it  in  a far 
more  radical  way  than  could  ever  have  been  tried 
with  coffee;  but  there  is  no  need  to  go  into  details. 
Already,  I fear,  my  letter  is  too  long,  although  I 
have  said  so  much  in  order  to  indicate  ground#  for 
our  belief  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  tea  industry 
of  Ceylon  at  present,  or  the  mode  of  cultivation,  &c-, 
which  justified  tho  statement  that  it  is  not  likely  to 
be  as  stable  as  aDy  other  tropical  industry.  No  one 
can  tell,  of  course,  what  the  next  twenty  or  thirty 
years  may  sho  v — even  five  or  ten  years  are  a long 
spell  in  tropical  experience ; but  certainly,  I see  no 
good  reason  (it  prices  keep  np  within  a decent  reach 
of  present  averages)  why  Ceylon  tea,  for  ten  years 
to  come,  at  least — or,  indeed,  for  twenty  or  thirty 
should  not  continue  to  show  as  prosperous  and  stable 
an  industry  as  at  present.  Let  me,  in  conclusion, 
recapitulate  briefly  some  of  the  special  advantages 
appertaining  to  tea  cultivation  in  Ceylon: — 
(1)  Easy  access  to  the  planting  districts,  wbioh  are 
served  by  railways  or  roads,  or  both,  affording  ready, 
certain,  and  economical  means  of  transport  to  and 
from  the  shipping  port,  whence  there  iB  alwys  freight 
available  at  moderate  rates  to  London,  Australia  or 
Amcrfca. 
(2)  A good  supply  of  free  arid  fairly  cheap  labour, 
the  labourers  being  among  the  most  docile  and  steady 
working  in  the  world. 
(3)  The  comparatively  healthful  character  of  nearly 
all  tho  island’s  planting  districts,  the  larger  portion 
of  the  bill  oountry  having  one  of  the  finest  climates 
in  the  world. 
(4)  A olimate  and  soil  admirably  adapted  to  the 
tea  plant,  with  an  abundant  rainfall,  rioh  in  ammonia, 
well  calculated  to  develop  leaf. 
(5)  A large  body  of  good  artificers,  and  even 
skilled  artizans,  among  the  Sinhalese  and  ’Tamils, 
ready,  not  only  to  do  duty  in  the  workshops,  but  to 
aid  planters  in  their  factories  with  the  machinery 
and  various  processes  of  tea  preparation. 
(6)  A community  of  planters,  many  of  whom 
have  passed  through  the  fires  of  adversity,  and  are 
ready  to  do  their  utmost  in  devising  means  of  econo- 
mising expenditure  compatible  with  doing  justice  to 
* A planter,  with  prolonged  Assam  experience  before 
he  came  to  Ceylon,  assures  me  that  he  has  found 
the  tap  root  of  the  tea  plant  in  our  tropical  island 
running  down  to  a much  greater  depth  than  he  ever 
-w  in  Ag0»m, 
