212 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept,  i,  1892. 
Very  large  dividends  were  paid  even  last  year  by 
most  of  the  Tea  Companies. 
There  are  two  elements  of  success : high  quality 
or  large  quantity  of  produce.  The  strong  highly 
flavoured  teas  still  command  high  prices,  and  must 
oontinue  to  do  so,  as  the  supply  of  such  mast  be 
limited.  It  is  the  price  of  the  low  quality  tea,  which 
competes  with  ordinary  China  tea,  that  has  fallen  so 
much.  Quality,  as  has  been  ably  explained  by  “Rust'c" 
in  the  Ceylon  papers,  depends  not  only  on  scientific 
and  careful  manufacture,  but  also  on  elevation,  soil, 
high  jat  (which  means  the  nearest  approach  to  puro 
Assam),  and  especially  to  fine  plucking,  that  is  gather- 
ing from  the  tea  only  the  smallest  leaves,  and  not 
taking  the  leaves  which  are  made  into  the  Souohong 
and  CoDgou  marks. 
The  cost  of  plucking,  manufacture,  packing,  carriage, 
shipment,  freight,  and  home  charges,  is  about  the 
same  on  all  tea,  and  maybe  taken  at  from  4d  to  5d 
per  pound,  according  to  circumstances. 
The  cost  of  upkeep  and  cultivation  of  the  plantation 
may  be  taken  at  R40  per  acre,*  or  with  a yield  of 
6101b  made  tea  per  acre,  at  Id  per  lb;  320  lb  per 
acre,  the  cost  will  be  2d  per  lb;  160  1b  per  acre,  the 
cost  will  be  4d  per  lb.  Thus  at.  9d  per  lb,  average 
price  of  the  tea.  610  lb  per  acre  will  give  a profit  of 
£ 8 sterling  per  acre  ; 320  lb  per  acre  will  give  a profit 
of  £2  4s  per  acre  ; while  160  lb  per  acre,  w 11  only 
pay  the  cost  of  production,  and  it  can  only  be  very 
high'  quility,  from  fine  pluokiQg,  thnt  will  pay  at 
such  a small  yield  per  acre. 
The  above  figures  can  only  be  carried  out  on  an 
estate  of  not  less  than  300  acres,  thoroughly  cultivated., 
as  it  would  be  in  Ceylon,  kept  free  from  wee  Is,  and 
with  the  best  and  newest  machinery.  It  would  cost 
£20  per  acre,  or,  say,  £6,000  for  330  acres,  to  bring 
the  plantation  completely  into  full  bearing,  with 
buildings  and  machinery.  Applying  the  above  facts 
to  Wyuaad,  what  are  the  advantages  of  this  district  ? 
Acoentiug  the  principle  that  in  the  struggle  for  exis- 
tence it  is  only  the  fittest  that  will  survive,  with 
the  prospect  of  continued  extension  of  tea  cultivation 
notwithstanding  the  collapse  of  China,  yet  Wynaad 
will  have  special  advantages.  Although  there  is  still 
very  much  to  be  learnt,  yet  vast  strides  have  been 
made  in  the  last  few  years,  especially  in  Oeyloo,  in 
the  scientific  study  of  the  industry,  and  in  taking  np 
the  business  cow,  it  will  have  the  advantage  of 
Ceylon’s  experience  to  guide  and  warn  the  Planter. 
In  the  rush  to  open  tea  quickly  in  Ceylon,  sufficient 
regard  was  not  given  to  the  purity  of  the  6eed  ; when 
good  seed  could  not  at  once  be  obtained,  any  seed 
or  plants  availab'e  were  acoepted,  so  as  to  get  the 
fields  planted. 
In  Wynaad  there  is  now  a very  considerable  supply 
of  pure  Assam  sei  d.  There  is  probably  some  30 
acres  of  seed  bearrrs  available,  whose  pedigree  can 
be  traced  back  sixty  years;  when  the  seed  was  brought 
from  Aesam  by  the  then  Collector  of  Salem.  And  as 
these  Assam  plants  bear  no  seed  until  they  are  over 
five  years  old,  it  is  of  the  utmost  advantage  having 
suoh  a supply  of  good  seed  to  start  on.  The  great 
importance  of  this  high  jat  tea  in  opening  a planta- 
tion is  now  generally  admitted ; the  produce  per 
acre  is  very  much  larger  than  from  China  and  hybrid 
plants  and  the  quality  is  also  very  much  stronger  and 
more  valuable. 
So  fully  is  this  recognised  in  the  North  of  India  that 
whole  gardens  which  had  been  planted  with  inferior 
tea  have  been  gradually  uprooted  and  replanted 
with  the  purest  Assam.  In  Ceylon  at  the  present 
time  more  than  one  plantation  of  pure  jat  tea  is  reserved 
for  seed  bearirig,  so  great  is  the  demand  for  good  seed 
there  now.  One  estate,  the  original  seed  of  which  was 
collected  by  its  proprietor  from  wild  indigenous  Assam 
plants  in  the  forest,  has  been  a source  of  large  profit 
to  its  owner,  without  manufacturing  any  leaf.  The 
experience  so  far  obtained  in  Wyuaad  goes  to  show 
that  the  production  per  acre  is  very  large,  and  that 
the  quality  of  the  tea  made  from  these  high  jat  plants 
is  exceptionally  good. 
' * Deolaied  by  a subsequent  writer  to  be  impossible,— 
Ed.  2.A. 
There  is  a large  area  of  good  land  available  here 
(Wynaad)  not  in  a wild  district,  bnt  in  opened  country, 
with  a really  splendid  main  road,  and  good  minor 
communications.  Bazaars,  hospitals,  magistracy,  ard 
police  are  established,  as  weli  as  post  and  telegraph, 
and  it  lies  in  the  midst  of  populous  districts,  where 
ample  labour  is  available,  and  where  the  cost  of 
labour  is  some  30  per  cent  less  than  in  Ceylon.  It 
is  this  vicinity  to  their  own  villages  that  has  made 
the  labour  in  Wynaad,  hitherto,  irregular;  being 
able  to  reach  their  homes  quickly  make  the  occasion 
of  a native  festival  the  excuse  for  a general  exodus, 
and  it  is  probable  that  for  the  permanent  labour 
which  is  necessary,  a considerable  increase  in  the  rate 
of  pay  will  be  required,  to  obtain  men  from  more 
dis  ant  district?. 
Wynaad  lias,  unfortuuately,  an  evil  name  in  the 
London  money  mark  t.  So  much  cspi'al  was  col- 
lected and  squandered  in  the  gold  mania  of  a pre- 
vious decade  that  it  is  though^  that  no  good  thiDg 
can  come  out  of  it. 
But  this  prejudice  is  being  gradually  overoome, 
and  we  may  hope  to  see  the  district  rise  again, 
before  long,  to  something  of  its  former  success. 
New  blood  and  new  capital  will  agiin  flow  in,  to 
the  enoonragement  of  the  old  Piauters  who  have 
survived  the  many  vicissitudes  of  ifce  past,  and  of 
whom  the  planting  oommuuity  of  Wyuaad  mostly  con- 
sists, among  whom  is  Senex. 
— Madras  Times. 
♦ 
NOTES  FROM  OUR  LONDON  LETTER. 
London,  July  29. 
THE  TWO  PUBLIC  OCCASIONS 
to  which  my  last  letter  made  reference  came  off  duriDg 
the  present  week  on  Monday  last.  The  first  of  these, 
the  reading  by  Mr.  John  Ferguson  of  a paper  on  “The 
Production  and  Consumption  of  Tea,  Coffee,  Cacao, 
(Cocoa),  Cinobona,  Coconuts  and  Oil,  and  Cinnamon, 
with  reference  to 
TROPICAL  AGRICULTURE  IN  CEYLON," 
before  the  London  Chamber  of  Commerce  took 
place  at  the  Chamber’s  rooms  in  Eastoheap  at 
2 p.m.  on  the  day  referred  to  above.  Unfortu- 
nately thi3  paper  has  not  as  yet  been  printed,  and 
pressure  of  time  has  prevented  him,  Mr.  Ferguson 
tells  me,  from  preparing  a copy  of  it  to  send  you. 
So  he  has  suggested  I should  forward  you  such 
notes  of  his  paper  as  it  was  possible  for  me  to 
take  duriDg  its  reading.  The  room— a large  one — 
was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity,  many  atten- 
dante,  who  inoluded  a number  of  the  leading 
London  merchants,  being  unable  to  find  seats. 
Sir  Arthur  Birch  presided,  and  amoDg  those  present 
were  Sir  Arthur  Gordon,  Sir  G.  W.  B.  Campbell, 
Mr.  D.  Morris  (of  Kew  Gardens),  and  Messrs. 
Epps,  J.  Whittall,  Grinlinton,  Robert  Wales,  W.  J. 
Thompson,  J.  Chambers,  Charles  Shand,  W.  M. 
Leake,  J.  Haddon,  John  Capper  and  John  Anderson. 
The  Deputy  Chairman  of  the  Chamber,  whose 
name  is  not  known  to  me,  briefly  opened  the  pro- 
ceedings. He  referred  to  visits  paid  by  him  to  Ceylon 
and  to  his  having  on  these  oooasions  made  the 
acquaintance  of  the  lecturer  and  of  his  venerable 
uncle,  both  of  whom,  as  journalists  and  writers, 
had  done  so  much  to  bring  the  subject  of  tropical 
| agriculture  prominently  before  the  public.  He 
begged  to  propose  that  Sir  Arthur  Birch,  whose 
name  had  been  before  associated  with  Ceylon, 
should  take  the  chair.  Most  of  those  present,  he 
thought,  must  know  a great  deal  about  Ceylon, 
but  doubtless  Mr.  Ferguson  would  be  able  to  ex- 
tend their  knowledge  of  it  most  usefully  and 
pleasantly. 
Sir  Arthur  Birch,  on  taking  the  ohair,  said  he 
had  known  Mr.  Ferguson  for  many  years,  and  that 
the  subjeot  to  be  treated  of  in  the  paper  that 
