THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
Nov.  i,  1892.] 
323 
CEYLON  PRODUCTS  BEFORE  THE  LONDON  CHAMBER. 
I have  not  yet  seen  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
Journal  with  the  second  portion  ot  my  paper.  Dr. 
Trimen  who  has  read  it  all  in  “ proof  ” gives  me 
one  or  two  important  oorreotions  and  is  good 
enough  to  write  : — “ I have  enjoyed  reading  your 
leoture,  which  gives  an  excellent  review  of  the 
present  position  of  our  1 planting  ’ industries.  I 
am  glad  you  speak  up  for  cacao  and  Liberian  coffee. 
As  to  rubber,  I do  not  expect  it  ever  to  become 
an  article  for  private  cultivation,  and  still  less 
can  guttapercha  be  so,  as  the  trees  are  cf  little  value 
till  80  years  old,  and  then  the  yield  is  small.  As  to 
the  introduction  to  Ceylon  of  some  of  our  leading 
produots.  Coffee  was  certainly  unknown  in  Tropical 
Asia  till  tho  Dutoh  introduced  it  to  Java  in  1690  ; 
it  was  brought  thence  by  them  to  Ceylon,  pro- 
bably about  the  same  year.  I have  not  my  books 
and  notes  here  to  refer  to,  but  I am  pretty  sure 
that  the  following  are  the  known  facts  as  regards 
tea.  Bennett  gives  a figure  (a  good  one)  of  the 
real  tea  plant  which  he  says  was  collected  near 
Batticaloa  (1  think  in  1826),  but  from  the  text  he 
dearly  confused  it  with  our  1 Matara  tea,’  the 
leaves  of  the  ‘ Ranawara’  ( Cassia  auriculata).  Still 
I think  true  tea  may  have  been  grown  in  some 
gardens  in  Ceylon,  as  it  was  certainly  in  the 
Botanic  Gardens  at  Kalutara  before  1824,  the  date  of 
Moon’s  ‘ Catalogue.’  This  is  the  earliest  date  I have 
met  with  for  it,  and  I have  no  reason  to  suppose 
it  was  in  Ceylon  in  Dutch  times.  Assam  tea 
was  sent  from  Calcutta  as  early  as  1839  and 
planted  at  Nuwara  Eliya.  As  to  cacao,  the 
history  is  somewhat  the  same.  The  first  certain 
record  is  Moon’s  ‘Catalogue'  (1824),  and  as  the 
plant  is  not  mentioned  in  a list  of  useful  things 
introduced  in  1804  (given  I think  in  Percival’s 
History)  I put  its  introduction  somewhere  between 
these  dates,  and  am  inclined  to  think  we  owe  it  to 
Moon  himself.  It  may,  of  course,  have  been  some- 
one else,  but  the  date  must  be  about  that  indicated 
above,  and  therefore  after  the  Dutoh  periods.” 
I am  disappointed  to  learn  that  Dr.  Trimen  does 
not  favour  private  cultivation  of  rubber  trees:  I 
was  quite  hopeful  that  the  later  experience  gained 
in  Dumbara  and  Hewa  Eliya  would  show  that  it 
was  worth  going  in  for  the  quioker-growing  rubber- 
yielding  trees  and  oreepers.  The  information  as 
to  the  beginnings  of  ooffee,  tea  and  cacao  in 
Ceylon  from  Dr.  Trimen  is,  of  course,  the  most 
reliable  extant.  My  term  “ shrewd,”  as  applied  to 
our  worthy  Director,  has  been  challenged  as  soarcely 
so  applicable  as  “oautious”,  but  I should  certainly 
insist  that  he  is  both  or  at  any  rate  keenly  observant 
as  well  as  scientifically  exact,  and  withal  as  truly 
modest  as  the  great  Darwin  himself.  By  the  way 
Dr,  Trimen  tells  me  that  “ Grains  of  Paradise” 
are  quite  a different  product  from  cardamoms, 
though  they  are  certainly  given  as  synonymous  in 
Porter’s  and  other  works  on  tropical  products. 
Among  others  present  at  the  lecture  whom  I missed 
was  Mr.  T.  C.  Owen  who  says  it  excited  great 
interest,  though  some  dissatisfaction  over  the  allu- 
sions to  West  Indian  planters  and  oacao.  By  the  way 
I am  reminded  that  Mr.  Owen’s  remarks  on  the 
difference  in  “flavour”  of  Ceylon  teas  referred  to 
high  estates  of  which  it  is  the  characteristic  in 
their  teas;  while  “strength,”  the  characteristic  of 
the  lowcountry,  was  not  referred  to  by  him.— 
Another  old  friend  (Mr.  T,  Wright),  after  reading 
the  leoture,  sends  me  the  following  interesting  and 
suggestive  remarks  : — 
“Vour  London  lecture  ought  to  have  a wide  cir- 
culation and  you  should  send  a copy  to  the  editor 
of  each  leading  London  and  Provincial  newspaper. 
Many  of  them  want  enlightening  on  coffee,  tea  and 
cocoa  questions.  For  instance  only  the  other  day 
the  editor  of  Manchester  Guardian,  in  an  editorial 
note,  called  attention  to  the  enormous  figures  repre- 
senting 1891-2  (financial  year)  clearances  of  tea  for 
home  consumption  in  United  Kingdom  indicating 
196  odd  million  of  lb.  Why,  10  years  ago,  the  clear- 
ances were  just  as  heavy  per  head,  if  the  population 
at  that  time  is  taken  into  account.  There  has  been 
a vast  increase  in  liquid  measurement  no  doubt,  but 
that  is  to  be  deplored,  for  the  people  are  ‘ stewing  ’ 
strong  Indian  and  Ceylon  teas,  to  their  detriment 
of  course.  The  teas  are  now  cheap  enough  in  all 
conscience  and  if  3 minutes’  brew  were  the  universal 
practice  instead  of  the  exception,  as  respects  the 
majority,  250,000,000  lb.  to  300,000,000  lb.  would  be 
consumed  by  the  people  in  the  United  Kingdom  who 
now  take  so  vigorously  to  tea  drinking  owing,  in 
a great  measure  no  doubt,  to  coercion  brought  about 
by  had  trade  unfortunately ! 
“ Tin  Cans  fob  Tea. — Send  to  ‘ The  Self-opening 
Tin  Box  Company,  Limited  ’ for  their  list  of  sizes 
and  prices  and  a sample  tin  to  show  you  what  the 
lever  tin  is  like.  It  is  perfection  and  should  suit 
the  American  market,  and  most  excellently  so  for 
the  Chicago  Exhibition  and  for  the  United  Kingdom 
too.  These  tins  can  be  opened  and  closed  hermeti- 
cally again  in  a moment,  and  they  can  be  used  over 
and  over  again.  Flavour  in  them  will  be  never  lost. 
They  are  made  all  sizes  and  very  cheap.  [I  have 
sent  for  prices  and  sample. — J.F.l  Referring  to  your 
appendix  to  lecture  and  taking  the  United  Kingdom 
consumption  of 
Tea  . . @ 1/6  per  lb. 
Coffee  . . @ £5  per  cwt. 
Cocoa  . . @ £5  per  cwt. 
£17§  millions  sterling  represents  the  total  value  of 
the  lot.  The  duty  alone  on  tobacco  last  financial 
year  come  to  over  £10  millions  sterling  and  what 
the  value  of  alcohol  sold  each  year  is  now  I know 
not,  but  it  increased  itself  by  £20  millions  in  the 
last  10  years ; so  I read  somewhere  the  other  day. 
This  is  awful  and  the  Board  Schools  must  teach  the 
rising  generation  something  on  these  questions — how 
to  prepare  tea,  coffee  from  the  green  berry  and  cocoa 
from  the  nib  for  instance,  or  with  bad  years  in  front 
of  the  nation  its  proud  position  of  late  years  will  be 
fo!  lowed  by  years  untold  of  distress  and  decay.  Two 
hours  per  month  or  24  hours  per  year  could  be 
well  spent  in  inculcating  such  necessary  knowledge 
and  the  young  boy  would  take  the  news  home  to 
their  elders.  Send  lecture  also  to  Dr.  Cameron,  M.P. 
for  Glasgow,  who  is  taking  up  the  food  and  drug 
act  to  amend  coffee  adulteration  with  chicory. 
Mr.  Wright’s  suggestion  as  to  school-board  teach- 
ing is  not  at  all  a bad  one:  how  to  make  tea^ 
coffee  and  cocoa  properly  for  drinking  purposes 
should  be  quite  as  practical  and  careful  a lesson 
as  one  on  sewing  or  playing  the  piano  for  little 
girls  at  Board  Schools.  I must  report  to  you  about 
the  “ self-opening”  tins. — In  another  note  Mr. 
Wright  remarked  that  “ the  heavy  importations  of 
low  China  tea  were  no  doubt  causing  an  increasing 
demand  for  strong  and  fla,voury  high-priced  teas 
from  India  and  Ceylon  for  blending  purposes; — 
but  such  importations,  on  an  increased  scale  too, 
must  result  badly  snd  may  therefore  be  expected 
to  come  to  a close  soon.  Meantime  they  are 
doing  positive  harm  to  Indian  and  Ceylon  planters.” 
-o- 
TEA  ON  THE  NILGIRIS. 
The  history  of  tea  cultivation  on  the  Nilgiris  dates 
from  the  year  1835,  when  some  boxes  of  plants  were 
sent  from  Calcutta  to  the  Nilgiris,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  Coorg,  Mysore  and  the  Agri- Horticultural 
Society  at  Madras.  The  plants  received  on  the  Nil- 
giris were  planted  chiefly  at  the  Experimental  Farm 
in  the  Kaity  Valley  between  Ootacamund  and  Coonoor, 
and  they  are  cared  for  by  Colonel  Creive  and  M.  Per- 
rottet,  the  French  botanist.  They  had  been  raised  from 
seed  brought  direct  from  China  by  Mr.  Gordon,  the  Se- 
cretary of  a Committee,  specially  appointed  by  Lord  W. 
Bentinck,  then  Governor-General,  to  consider  means 
