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THE  TROttCAL  AGRICULTURIST, 
[August  i,  1892. 
Indian  district  is  the  equal  or  superior  of  Ceylon  and,  as 
already  proved,  thetea grown  here  is  of  a betterqualitj  .* 
We  had  hoped  before  this  to  have  announced  that  a 
large  aoreage  was  beiDg  thrown  under  this  cultiva- 
tion during  the  present  monsoon.  But  it  was  not 
to  be,  and  it  is  hard  to  traoe  the  exact  reason.  In 
the  interview  referred  to,  this  remark  appeared  : 
“ Oeyloa  appears  to  me  to  be  consider- 
ably overrated.  It  is  by  no  means  the  bugbear  which 
you  Indian  planters  appear  to  consider  it.”  Ib  Ceylon 
the  buebesr  that  is  frightening  men  from  opening  out 
teainWynaad?  We  are  inclined  to  think  not,  but 
that  it  is  rather  a bogey  of  their  own  creation,  yclept 
labour. 
While  we  are  fully  aware  of  the  difficulties  that  have 
arisen  within  recent  years  in  obtaining  an  adequate 
labour  supply  to  carry  on  the  cultivation  of  coffee, 
which  does  not  require  the  same  amount  of  manual 
attention  as  the  tea-bush,  we  are  yet  at  a loss  to  un- 
derstand how  such  an  argument  can  be  applied  when 
no  organised  and  combined  attempt  has  been  made  by 
Associations  in  the  various  districts  to  tap  those  vast 
sources  of  labour  which  furnish  Ceylon,  Burma,  the 
Straits  Settlements,  Mauritius,  Natal  and  other  coun- 
tries with  the  labourers  necessary  for  their  agrieul  urel 
enterprises.  It  is  urged  by  some  that  Tamils  fiom 
Chingleput,  Arcot,  Tanjore  and  other  Southern  dis- 
tricts will  require  higher  rates  of  pay  than  at  pre- 
sent in  vogue,  but  so  far  the  coolies  that  have  come 
up  from  Coimbatore  have  been  content  with  the  cur- 
rent rates,  and  until  it  has  been  incontrovertibly 
demonstrated  that  that  labour,  which  now  figures 
in  the  emigrati  n returns  of  this  Presidency,  cannot 
be  procured  by  Wynaad  for  the  same  sum  as  is  now 
paid  in  that  district,  such  an  argument  cannot  be 
maintained  with  reason ; nor  should  it  be  adduced 
by  any  planter  or  any  man  connected  with  the 
planting  industry  who  has  the  welfare  of  Wynaad 
really  at  heart.  But  even  supposing  that  a higher 
rate  of  pay  must  be  given  to  obtain  the  labour  neces- 
sary for  successful  tea  cultivation,  which  course  we 
may  ask,  is  the  wiser:  to  refuse  it  and  to  allow 
Wynaad  gradually  to  relap'e  into  a lantana  jungle,  or 
to  pay  it  with  very  good  pro-pecte  inaugurating  a 
season  of  prosperity  and  affluence  ? 
We  refuse  to  believe  that  the  planter  himself  is 
lacking  in  enterprise,  and  we  feel  certain  that  if  once 
tea  were  started,  the  labour  which  the  industry  re- 
quired, would  in  a very  short  time  be  forthcoming. 
If  planters  had  paid  heed  to  the  advice  not  to  open 
out  cultivation  because  it  would  be  impossible  to  pro- 
cure the  necessary  supply  of  coolies  some  twenty  years 
ago,  what  is  now  the  most  successful  coffee  district  in 
Southern  India  would  still  remain  u nnlarious  bamboo 
jungle.  We  refer  to  South  Ooorg.  where,  owing  to  its 
extreme  unbealtbiness,  and  the  prevalence  of  malaria, 
there  was  at  first  much  difficulty  in  obtaining  coolies. 
In  like  manner,  we  know  of  many  coffee  estates 
whioh  are  now  flourishing,  where  equal  difficulty  was 
experienced,  and  whore  for  the  first  two  or  three 
seasons,  it  appears  the  height  of  folly  to  attempt  to 
cultiva’e  for  this  very  reaeon.  In  a previous  article 
we  remarked,  “ the  difficulty  of  labour  has  always 
been  the  difficulty,  with  tea  cultivation  but  this  can 
only  be  solved  by  practical  experiments,”  which  we 
hoped  at  that  time  would  soon  be  done,  having  always 
believed  that  such  a practical  experiment  would  be 
crowned  with  success.  In  the  meanwhile,  however, 
but  little  cultivation  is  being  carrie  f on,  secured  by 
this  bogey,  the  oreation  of  timid  or  prejudiced  minds. 
If  planters  are  going  to  wait  until  the  labour  comes 
begging  to  their  doors,  they  will  have  to  wait  for 
many  and  many  a long  day.  Like  Mahomed,  they 
must  go  to  the  Mountain,  bnt  until  their  fields 
are  ready  for  the  labourers,  it  is  idle  to  bewail  that 
they  will  not  come.  The  whole  history  of  the  plant- 
ing enterprise  in  India  and  in  every  other  country 
teaches  that  success  is  only  to  be  won  by  over- 
coming difficulties,  and  the  greatest  of  there  always 
has  been  connected  with  the  labour  supply.  Tea  in 
Wynaad  pays,  ami  we  sincerely  trust  that  planters  will 
not  permit  themselves  to  be  blinded,  and  the  Companies 
* Small,  first  samples  are  no  proof. — Ed.  T.  A. 
will  not  be  frustrated  by  any  such  foolish  or  pre- 
judiced cry,  that  it  is  impossible  to  arrange  for  an 
adequate  labour-supply.—  Madras  Times. 
[Apart  from  the  labour  difficulty,  capitalists  no 
doubt  are  influenced  by  the  consideration  that  the 
tea  grown  in  India  and  Ceylon  is  already  about 
equal  to  and  likely  soon  to  be  in  excess  of  the 
market  demand.— Ed.  T.  A.] 
TEA  IN  FOOCHOW. 
May  21st. 
A couple  of  benevolent  persons,  as  they  style  them- 
selves, have  been  going  about  the  different  tea  districts 
exhorting  the  planters  to  pluck  up  their  tea  plants  and 
grow  sweet  potatoes  or  any  other  crops  they  may 
choose,  as  the  present  low  prices  and  unprofitableness 
of  growing  tea  is  a clexr  proof  that  the  money  got 
fiom  the  hwangyang  or  foreign  devil  is  bad  fbigshui  and 
the  sooner  tea  growing  is  put  a stop  to  the  better. 
Several  Manchu  tea  I uyers  have  arrived  to  make 
their  annual  purchases  for  the  UBe  of  the  Imperial 
household  and  the  officials  of  Peking.  Money  is  seDt 
down  in  advance  and  entrusted  to  a man  whose  head- 
quarters are  in  Sin-Chune-Kve.  A great  variety  of  teas 
is  taken,  all  of  the  finest  quality  of  course  ; and  all 
specially  prepared.  A tea  that  corretponds  to  Fouch- 
ong  is  most  largely  taken,  and  amorgst  other  kinds 
Flowery  Pek'  e and  Green  lea.  Price  teing  no  objeot, 
fabulcus  figures  are  paid  for  the  choicest  quality  run- 
ning up  we  are  informed,  as  high  as  TIs.  300  per  picul. 
Tbo  orders  which  are  retailed  out  in  the  different 
distric's  are  much  sought  after,  ss,  naturally,  there  is 
a good  profit  attaching  to  the  business. 
May  2Sih. 
We  hear  that  a teaman  havirg  obtained  the  lean  of 
n couple  of  thousand  dollars  wrnt  up  to  one  of  the 
Tea  districts  with  them  taking  four  oth  r men  in  his 
company.  That  was  seme  twenty  days  ago  now  and 
nothing  baa  since  been  heard  ot  him.  It  is  feared  that 
either  be  has  been  murdered  by  the  four  men  he  took 
with  him,  or  that  the  whole  company  has  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  highway  robbers.  While  waiting  for  the 
mystery  to  bo  cleared  up,  we  fear  the  p.-06pect  of  the 
advancer  ever  seeing  his  dollais  again  is  small. 
The  authorities  are  adopting  strmgent  measures  to 
stop  in  toto  the  use  of  beiosine  oil  in  the  city, 
spies  being  set  on  on  the  watch  night  and  day,  to 
catch  buyers  and  fellers.  Several  of  the  unfortunate 
dealers  have  already  fsllen  into  the  traps  cf  these 
runners  and  ere  paying  dearly  for  their  disobedience. 
Fear  of  fire  is  the  oatensible  reason  for  the  suppression 
of  the  use  of  this  oil ; but  it  is  pretty  generally 
known,  that  the  real  reason  is  to  help  the  trade  in 
tea  and  other  vegetab'e  oils. — Echo. 
Writing  on  the  28tb  ult.  a Foochow  correspondent 
of  the  Daily  News  says: — The  arrivals  of  new  tea 
crop  ere  repotted  at  35 ,000  chests.  But  few  musters 
have  been  fhown  so  far.  There  is  nothing  in  these 
to  lead  to  the  expectation  that  the  quality  of  the 
crop  will  be  aDy  hotter  than  1 st  year.  It  is  thought 
improbable  that  the  market  will  open  within  a fort- 
night of  the  present  time. 
Coffee  Planting,  &c.,  in  Centeal  Africa, 
— Our  readers  may  recollect  our  publication  of  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Henry  Brown,  formerly  of  Ceylon, 
detailing  his  adventures,  fighting  amongst  the  rest, 
in  Cential  Africa.  That  letter  was  written  in  Aug. 
1891.  Mr.  Brown  wrote  again  in  Ootober,  but  the 
letter  has  not  come  to  hand.  We  now  publish  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Brown  dated  so  far  back  as  February 
of  this  year,  so  that  “pest  haste”  does  not  have  much 
significance  in  Africa.  It  will  be  seen  that  Mr. 
Brown  had  succeeded  in  planting  100  acres  of  coffee, 
which  looked  well  ; but  labour  and  transit  difficulties 
seem  likely  to  delay  extensive  enterprise. 
