162 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept,  i,  1892. 
copy  for  reference.  The  paper  was  originally  pub- 
lished in  the  Field  for  the  special  notice  of  Hop 
growers  in  Kent,  Sussex  and  Worcester.  It  was  re- 
published however  in  the  Ceylon  Observer,  and  judging 
from  the  letters  of  inquiry  I have  received  seems  to 
have  attracted  some  interest,  indeed  already  a trial 
shipment  has  been  sent  out  by  the  “ Clan  McIntyre' 
which  I see  arrived  at  Colombo  in  the  6th  inst. — 
Believe  me,  yours  faithfully, 
(Signed)  John  Hughes. 
SOUTH  WYNAAD  NOTES. 
(from  our  own  correspondent.) 
At  last  the  monsoon  has  condescended  to  look  us 
up,  but  quite  in  the  most  lady-like  manner.  No  bluster 
or  fuss,  just  a gentle  drip,  drip,  from  morning  till 
night,  and  again  from  night  till  morning.  Perfect 
planting  weather.  There  is  a very  brisk  demand  for 
plants,  Liberian,  Ledgers,  and  tea,  and  great  energy 
in  putting  them  out.  All  last  month  we  had  lovely 
weather  speaking  from  a personal  comfort  view,  and 
no  end  of  good  work  was  done  in  weeding,  pruning, 
and  manuring.  We  had  little  or  no  rain  all  through 
June,  and  therefore  obtained  the  full  benefit  of  any 
amount  of  Cherma  labour,  so  that  the  estates  pretty 
generally  look  wonderfully  clean  and  tidy  for  the  time 
of  year.  Leaf  disease  is  beginning  to  show  up,  I re- 
gret to  say,  even  with  the  small  rainfall  we  have  had, 
and  there  will  probably  be  a sharp  attack  on  before 
this  month  is  over.  But  we  are  thankful  for  the 
respite  we  have  enjoyed  and  which  we  may  hope  will 
help  the  trees  to  mature  their  crop.  The  show  of 
new  wood  is  splendid,  stronger  and  healthier  in 
appearance  than  I have  seen  it  for  some  years.  The 
berries,  too,  are  far  more  developed  than  they  were 
this  time  last  year. 
Our  Canarese  are  taking  it  easy,  and  drifting  in  as 
slowly  as  they  possibly  can.  They  like  to  arrive  after  all 
the  bad  weather,  just  in  time  for  the  light  pleasant 
picking  work,  utterly  regardless,  of  course,  of  contracts 
and  advances.  The  Chermas  flock  down  to  the  coast 
for  one  of  their  feasts  next  week,  and  we  shall  see 
them  no  more  for  another  fortnight  at  least.  As  it 
happens,  they  will  have  timed  their  departure  well, 
a3  in  all  probability  our  “ big  burst  ” is  not  far  off, 
and  while  that  lasts,  next  to  no  work  can  be  done. 
It  seems  a pity  that  all  the  lovely  weather  we 
have  had  lately,  has  not  been  more  utilised  to  repair 
and  generally  do  up  the  fine  imperial  road  which  has 
been  bestowed  upon  us.  The  side  drains  are  only 
partially  cleared,  the  hedge  rows  rampant  in  unchecked 
luxuriance  of  lantana  ; undeniable  cart  ruts  are  to 
be  met  with,  and  the  grass  has  encroached  so  much 
that  our  Imperial  road  looks  more  like  a Devonshire 
lane  1 And  this  is  all  the  more  visible  in  contrast 
with  the  magnificence  of  our  new  bridges,  which 
really  are  quite  too  splendid  ! 
St.  Louis  asks  me  a question  anent  tea  cultivation 
in  Wynaad,  which  I find  it  not  too  easy  to  answer. 
“ Why  have  the  companies,  hinted  at  some  six  months 
nr  so  ago,  come  to  nothing?”  Well,  as  far  as  I can 
judge,  not  being  personally  concerned,  I should  say 
it  was  a case  of  Mr.  Muchafraid  wandering  about 
the  gardens  of  Giant  Despair.  The  promoters  of  the 
roposed  companies  were  probably  sanguine  enough, 
nowing  the  exceptional  advantages  which  Wynaad 
offered  for  tea  enterprise.  But,  the  gentle  public,  not 
to  say  “ the  city,”  loved  not  the  name  of  Wynaad. 
Said  they  (and  not  unnaturally),  “ It  is  there,  it  is 
there,  my  child,”  that  we  dropped  our  money  on 
oreless  gold  mines  and  cropless  Arabica;  we  do  not 
care  to  burn  our  fingers  yet  again  in  that  speculative 
.cauldron.” 
Then  Ceylon  stood  in  our  way:  Ceylon  with  its  un- 
limited talent  for  swamping  every  market,  Ceylon  backed 
up  by  aNidas  of  its  own,  smashing  itself  with  Arabica, 
to  pick  itself  up  again  with  cinchona,  down  again 
with  that,  nevei'  mind,  plenty  more  money  where  the 
rest  came  from,  and  cardamoms  and  tea  follow. 
Then  arises  the  cry,  Ceylon  will  swamp  the  tea 
market,  what  is  the  use  of  forming  new  companies  in 
India?  And  so  the  “much  afraids”  gave  it  up.  I do 
pot  myself  think  that  we  need  be  discouraged  by  this. 
As  you  know,  tea  is  being  planted  in  Wynaad  on  a 
rapidly  increasing  scale  ; there  is  nothing  which  suc- 
ceeds like  success,  and  I have  not  the  least  doubt 
that  when  a few  years  hence  it  is  proved  by  sound 
practical  experiment  tea  of  the  best  quality  can  be 
made  to  pay  here,  that  fresh  companies  will  be  formed, 
and  capital  introduced,  which  will  restore  the  pros- 
perity cf  Wynaad,  I do  not  think  that  those  who  are 
now  planting  are  likely  to  fall  into  the  lamentable 
error  of  employing  any  but  the  very  best  machinery 
for  the  manufacture  of  their  tea.  This  mistake  has 
been  made  formerly,  and  the  result  of  it  has  been  that 
whilst  the  tea,  fresh  from  the  factory,  was  delicious, 
it  would  not  keep,  owing  to  insufficient  drying.  It  is 
well  known  that  the  tea  here  is  far  more  full  of  sap 
than  that  grown  at  a higher  altitude,  and  therefore 
exceptional  care  is  required  in  having  the  leaf 
thoroughly  dried.  This,  even  with  exceptional  care, 
is  next  to  impossible  if  the  machinery  is  inefficient, 
so  that  it  is  really  bad  economy  to  hesitate  on  the 
subject.  I know  that  nothing  but  the  best  jats  are 
now  being  planted.  There  is  no  fear  that  our 
soil  will  fail  them.  Tea  here  grows  most  lux- 
uriantly, and  does  not  seem  to  be  troubled  by 
diseases  of  blights.  Given,  therefore,  that  the 
raw  material  is  excellent,  the  machinery  perfect, 
and  the  manipulation  thoroughly  ski  ie«i , we  are  surely 
bound  to  place  in  the  market  such  »n  article  as  will 
obtain  favourable  notice,  both  for  itself  and  for  the 
district  in  which  it  has  been  grown.  Later  on  I 
propose  sending  you  an  outline  of  the  available  land 
suitable  for  tea  in  this  ami  neighbouring  districts, 
with  any  notes  of  interest,  which  I may  gather  about 
them. 
In  another  of  St.  Louis’  Dotes  there  is  a query  from 
“Bones  aDd  I,”  on  the  subject  of  Bone  and  Poonac, 
to  which  I venture  a reply.  It  seems  to  me  that 
the  reaBon  why  “Bone  aod  Poonac”  has  been  abused 
by  some,  and  is  said  to  do  more  barm  than  good,  is 
because  its  use  has  not  been  continued.  Poonac,  the 
active  part  of  it,  is  “nitrogenous,”  and  as  such,  forces 
the  coffee  tree  or  stimulates  it  iDto  an  increased  life 
and  production  of  branch  and  leaf.  The  bone  provides 
many  of  the  constituents  of  the  berry,  and  the  tree 
only  takes  up  just  as  much  as  is  necessary  for  the 
development  of  the  berries,  which  the  other  manure 
has  brought  to  birth.  Anything  over  will  remain  in 
the  soil.  But  under  a tropical  clime  the  force  of  the 
poonac  manure  is  soon  spent,  aod  if  the  dose  is  not 
repeated,  a vast  mass  of  rootlets  and  corresponding 
branohes  are  brought  to  life,  only  to  find  themselves 
turned  out  into  a hard  cold  world,  with  no  delicate 
foot  left  to  beep  them  going ; so  they  dwindle 
away  and  die,  and  the  last  state  of  those  trees  is 
wor^e  than  their  first.  No,  the  dose  must  be  repeated 
every  year,  and  well  dug  in  and  mixed  with  the  soil,  so 
that  the  roots  may  not  find  it  all  at  once  and  so  reap  the 
fruit  of  greediness;  let  them  feel  about  for  it  and  spread 
themselves  ard  get  other  nourishment,  by  the  way,  and 
a good  hold  of  the  oil.  Two  parts  of  poonac  to 
one  cf  bone  (aod  not  half  and  half  which  is  simply 
a waste  of  bone)  is  the  usual  mixture,  and  a lb.  of 
this  is  quite  sufficient  for  each  tree.  But  remember 
that  it  must  be  well  dug  in  and  thoroughly  mixed. 
In  Soutn  Wynaad,  poonac  and  bone  can  be 
brought  up  from  tbe  coast,  and  applied  to  the 
trees  for  about  R70  a ton,  which  will  do  an 
acre  and  a third,  and  will  give  muoh  more  than  its  worth 
in  crop,  but  the  application  must  be  annual,  and  I 
fanoy  from  what  “ Bones  and  I ” wrote  on  the  subject, 
that  herein  he  failed  and  so  blamed  the  manure, 
unfairly.  I give  my  opinion  from  many  years’ 
experience,  and  trust  that  it  may  be  found  satis- 
factory. 
An  association  meeting  was  held  at  Mappanddy 
yesterday,  an'd  a very  fair  number  of  members 
assembled  considering  the  state  of  the  weather.  There 
was  a loDg  discussion  about  the  “ Planting  member  of 
Council”  question.  There  were  several  other  subjects 
entered  upoD,  and  it  is  evident  that  we  and  our 
Ooorg  brethren  cannot  quite  agree  upon  the  re- 
gistration of  Canarese  Maistries.  The  reason  of  which 
is,  perhaps  not  difficult  to  understand  !— Madras 
1 Times,  July  13th, 
