476 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST.  [Jan.  2,  1893. 
that  has  been  planted  up  with  tea,  the  soil  being  ex- 
hausted. On  good  land  and  where  transport  is  cheap 
manure  will  pay  with  tea  at  anything  over  8d  to  9d.  I 
do  not  see  how  we  can  avoid  attracting  some  known, 
or  giving  rise  to  some  at  present  unknown  pest. 
Thousands  and  thousands  of  acres  have  been  very  badly 
planted,  the  result  of  want  of  funds.  The  unfortunate 
bush  gets  no  rest.  Plucking  was  commenced  at  far 
too  early  a stage  of  its  existence.  Aud  certainly  one- 
third  the  area  planted  is  on  land  that  cannot  continue 
to  give  a paying  yield. 
What  more  do  you  want  to  start  a pest  ? With 
regard  to  the  remark  I have  made  on  the  im- 
possibility of  our  old  and  poor  land  continuing 
to  produce  tea,  I am  simply  going  by  the 
experience  gained  in  Assam,  where  with  far 
richer  soil  than  ours  ever  was,  and  w'itli  a winter 
rest  for  the  bushes,  it  is  found  that  tea  after  a 
time  ceases  to  yield  in  paying  quantities. 
We  may  talk  of  climate  and  subsoil,  but  this  will 
not  last  us  long  ; and  the  yield  must  fall  to  such 
an  extent  and  make  it  worthless  to  continue,  or  the 
leaf  will  be  so  poor  that  it  will  not  be  worth  manu- 
facturing. Tea  is  hardy,  extremely  so,  and  treated 
as  it  is  in  China  would  last,  I should  think,  an 
indefinite  time ; but  treated  as  ours  is,  it  cannot  hope 
for  a long  paying  existance. 
I am  sure  it  would  pay  us  to  allow  our  bushes  to 
run  and  rest  for  a time  before  pruning.  The  best 
thing  that  could  happen  to  us  would  be,  I think, 
for  a lot  of  the  tea  planted  on  the  poorer  land  to  go  ; 
it  would  lessen  the  chances  of  a pest,  and  it  would 
do  something  to  keep  up  the  good  name  Ceylon  tea 
made.  Tea  in  its  earlier  stages  in  Uva  generally 
grows  slowly,  as  did  coffee,  but  the  latter  was  none 
the  worse  for  that,  and  if  people  would  only  have 
patience  tea  would  benefit  immensely. 
Try  any  bush  or  shrub  in  your  garden  and  nip 
off  all  the  shoots  steadily:  the  earlier  you  begin 
the  treatment  the  sooner  will  you  stunt  the  plant  ; 
110  plant  will  stand  it  permanently  and  tea  is  no 
exception. 
On  tbe  contrary,  practical  horticulturists  point  to 
hedgerows,  the  more  you  dip  them  the  better 
they  be ! And  our  correspondent  forgets  we  have 
tea  pluoked  for  24  years  in  Hewahetta  and  as 
good  today  as  at  the  outset.— -From  a friend  in 
one  of  the  higher  districts  we  have:— 
Weloome,  thrice  welcome,  back  to  y-u.  Ton  d 
he  glad  to  find  everything  so  wonderfully  pros- 
norous  on  your  return,  and  eo  far  as  we  cm  tee, 
there  is  every  likelihood  of  a oontinumce  for  sorao 
time  to  come.  May  it  be  so.  That  was  an  admirable 
" 'tide  " Ceylon  and  its  Cycles”  in  Saturday’s  Observer , 
and  I hope  many  will  take  the  good  advice  to  heart. 
From  a low  district  we  learn:  — 
We  are  doing  finely.  Crop  will  be  short  ol  e3'.imite 
but  that  is  a general  thing.  The  estates  in  the  valley 
as  far  as  I have  seen,  seem  to  me  to  bo  good  for 
vears  and  years  to  come. 
From  a northern  distnot,  one  report  is 
Tea  both  in  Kelebokka  valley  and  Laggala,  is  doing 
as  well  I imagine  as  in  any  of  the  Kandyan  di  itricts. 
I mav  say  that  nearly  all  are  behind  last  years  out- 
put ’ aud  as  you  quoted  oue  top  estate  here  as  the 
rainiest  station  in  Ceylon  for  number  of  wet  days 
there  is  surely  some  reason  for  this  deficiency  ! Mr. 
Gordon  Reeves  has  sold  out  of  Laggala,  and  the  now 
proprietors  of  the  Brae  group,  now  including  Hattan- 
wella  are  opening  very  largely  and  will,  I believe,  ere 
long  ’have  some  600  to  700  acres  under  tea  ; and  this 
practically  all  new  forest  land  anl  sure  to  do  well. 
Again  from  a resident  in  a north-eastern  district 
we  have  the  following  , 
I was  very  glad  to  hear  of  your  safe  return  to 
the  little  island  once  more,  and  with  renewed  health 
and  vh'or  to  do  battle  for  us  in  the  old  Observer. 
I am  glad  to  say  tea  is  doing  very  well  both  in 
old  and  frOsh  Hnds  in  these  districts— al ways  pro- 
vided we  do  not  get  below  3,000  feet ; anything  under 
that  altitude  seems  to  suffer,  I fancy,  mostly  from 
insufficient  rainfall.  . , , ,. 
We  have  beeq  so  busy  in  the  past  planting  up, 
that  very  little  has  as  yet  been  done  in  the  way  of 
manuring  ; but  we  have  commenced  experiments,  and 
I will  be  glad  to  keep  you  posted  in  results  later  on. 
lor  my  own  part,  I am  rather  dubious  about 
manuring  tea — considering  there  arc  4,000  and  more 
bushes  to  the  acre  against  1,600  of  coffee  : its  rather 
a serious  undertaking. 
And  another  : — 
Tea  on  this  side  has  been  rather  backward  in 
flushing  during  most  of  the  present  year,  mostly 
owing  to  excessive  wet  and  cold  weather,  most  of 
places  are  behind  with  estimates,  but  there  are 
some  who  will  get  the  quantity  estimated.  Tea 
planted  in  old  coffee  land  continues  to  improve  : iu 
the  high  fields  where  coffee  did  little  in  the  way 
of  crops,  except  in  a very  dry  season,  the  tea  is 
good  and  where  it  has  got  to  10  years  old  it  doe3 
well;  the  tea  planted  in  the  lower  fields  where  we 
had  heavy  bearing  coffee  is  rather  poor  and  gives 
very  little  leaf,  but  I think  will  improve  as  the 
roots  get  farther  down.  I have  not  heard  of  anyone 
abandoning  any  fields  or  even  patches.  I am  not 
aware  of  any  one  manuring  or  experimenting  with 
manure  ; and  I do  not  think  it  would  pay  where 
transport  is  heavy,  at  least  I would  not  care  to 
try  the  experiment.  The  weather  throughout  the 
year  has  been  most  unusual : we  have  about  50 
per  cent  more  rain  up  to  date  than  we  usually 
get,  and  have  had  no  lull  between  the  S.-W.  and 
N -E.  monsoons.  A certain  percentage  of  the  short- 
ness of  crops  for  the  year,  I think,  might  be  found 
to  be  due  to  people  plucking  rather  finer  when  the 
prices  were  low. 
Cardamom  crops,  I believe,  will  be  a good  deal 
under  the  quantity  estimated  owing  to  the  conti- 
nual wet  misty  weather. 
PLANTING  NOTES  FKOM  PEEKMAAD. 
TEA  AND  COFFEE;  CARDAMOMS  ; TIMBER  TREES;  BEES, 
CINCHONA  ; TEA  “ POOCHIE.” 
The  weather  since  I wrote  last  has  heea  steadily 
improving  ; bot  mornings  and  plumps  of  tain  towards 
dark  are  now  the  rule,  and  whilst  the  latter  keeps  the 
ground  damp,  it  is  not  enough  to  cause  waste  on  the 
hill  sides,  and  the  hot  sun  iu  the  mornings  produces  a 
steamy  atmosphere  most  beneficial  to  the  tea  plants, 
and  also  for  ripening  op  the  coffee.  The  thing  we  now 
all  dread  is  the  approach  of  the  land  wind,  whichdiies 
up  ground  and  vegetation, aDd  is  neither  good  for  man, 
beast  nor  plant  ! This  month,  after  the  many  rains  of 
October,  will  probably  give  far  the  biggest  yield  of  lea 
of  any  month  during  the  year.  I heard  this  week 
of  one  estate  giviDg  a picking  of  4,000  lb.  in  a 
day,  and  coolies  generally  all  over  the  district 
are  picking  20  to  25  lb,  of  leaf  a bead.  On  some 
estates  every  work  has  had  to  give  way  to  the 
rush  of  leaf  men,  all  being  employed  in  keep- 
ing down  the  flush.  Luckily  up  here,  the  labour 
supply  is  fairly  good,  but  1 question  if  any  single 
planter  would  not  hail  an  increase  to  his  foroe  with 
delight?  Prices  are  going  up  steadily.  I see  that 
little  if  any  tea  sold  under  Id.  daring  the  week  end- 
ing October  26lb,  and  3 months  ago  few  places 
could  rise  much  above  8 d.  Supplies  seem  short  every- 
where, eo  there  is  every  prospect  of  prices  keeping  up, 
at  aoy  rate  till  April  next.  And  as  tea  oan  be  sold 
for  about  6%d.  a lb.,  in  London,  without  a loss,  an 
average  of  9d.  or  10(7.,  whioh  no  doubt  will  be  obtained 
shortly,  should  show  a good  balance  on  the  right 
side.  Coffee  crop  is  coming  in  but  slowly  ; still  it 
seems  now-a-days  that  it  never  does  muoh  else. 
Coffee  now  is  so  difficult  to  get  by  fair  means  or 
foul,  that  natives  ere  taking  to  use  tea  to  some 
extent.  Aud  I have  already  noticed  signs  of  a new 
industry  being  started  for  getting  this  article  at  not 
too  expensive  a rate  ! I fancy  an  Act  will  before 
long  have  to  be  granted  for  this  product. 
The  cardamom  crop,  which  of  course  is  a Govern- 
ment monopoly,  is  now  getting  into  swing.  These  old 
monopolies  are  very  curious  thiDgs.  In  Travancore 
you  are  bound  to  give  up  all  the  cardamoms  that 
