April  i,  1893.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
613 
reepeots  from  what  he  understood  to  be  the  objeots 
of  the  resolution  taken  by  it.  Mr.  Hughes  ob- 
served to  me  “ When  writing  as  I did  to  the 
Planters’  Association  I contemplated  the  making 
of  such  analyses  as  might  enable  it  to  be  determined 
how  far  tea  exhausted  the  soil  and  the  nature  of 
the  constituents  it  was  desirable  to  return  to  it 
in  the  form  of  manure  in  order  to  prevent  ultimate 
exhaustion.  I was  induoed  to  suggest  such  a course 
because  the  returns  by  the  railway  seem  to  6bow 
that  the  amount  of  artificial  manures  sent  up 
for  application  on  tea  estates  is  remark- 
ably small,  far  less,  I should  say,  than  was 
the  case  during  the  era  of  ccffee  cultiva- 
tion. Now  we  have  full  evidenoe  that 
a leaf  orop  is  far  more  exhausting  to  the  soil 
than  is  a seed  crop.  This  is  fully  recognised 
throughout  English  agricultural  praotioe.  Many 
farming  leases  contain  olauses  that  insist  that 
in  the  oases  of  certain  crops  distinot  in  character 
from  seed  crops,  the  products  shall  not  be  removed 
off  the  land  except  certain  compensatory  manuring 
is  given  to  it.  This  is  particularly  the  case  wi  h 
regard  to  hay  and  several  other  growths  of  a 
similar  nature.  But  no  such  clauses  are  insisted 
upon  with  respeot  to  crops  of  the  D&ture  of 
corn,  that  being  essentially  a seed  orop.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  stripping  a plant  of  its 
leaves  deprives  the  soil  of  the  fertilization  which 
their  natural  dropping  would  return  to  it.  When 
you  denude  a tree  of  its  leaves  you  go  against 
natural  aotion.  When  you  pluck  coffee  berries, 
or  any  other  seed,  you  merely  forestal  what 
Nature  would  ultimately  aooomplish  for  itself, 
and  do  not  by  doing  so  rob  the  soil  of  what 
Nature  intended  to  return  to  it,  It  is  manifest 
from  this  that 
THE  RLUOKl'G  OP  THE  TEA  LEAP 
is  more  exhausting  to  the  soil  than  the  gathering  of 
the  coffee  berry.  Ergo,  it  follows  there  is  the  greater 
necessity  for  furnishing  artificially  to  the  soil  that 
which  you  have  artificially  deprived  it  of 
in  the  way  of  falling  leaf.  Upon  this  must 
follow  the  necessity  for  considering  with  exaotitude 
the  nature  and  character  of  the  constituents  of 
which  you  have  deprived  the  soil.  I proposed  to 
do  this  by  having  an  area  of  tea  growth  set  apart 
over  whioh  by  analysis  the  exhaustion  of  the  soil 
after  a oertain  period  of  cropping  might  be  estab- 
lished. An  important  question  has  next  to  be 
dealt  with.  Until  comparatively  recently  it  had  been 
thought  to  be  of  the  first  importance  to  provide 
by  artificial  manuring  for  a liberal  supply  of 
nitrogen  to  plants  to  be  absorbed  by  its  rootlets. 
Late  home  experience  seems  almost  to  have  decided 
that  vegetable  growths  absorb  most  of  the  nitrogen 
they  require  from  the  atmosphere  through  their 
leaves.  It  has  been  found  that  peas  and  beans  for 
instance  have  not  benefited  in  the  least  by  the 
application  of  nitrogenous  manures.  Their  growth 
and  power  of  bearing  experienced  no  improvement 
when  such  fertilizers  were  applied,  and  the  con- 
clusion was  forced  upon  agriculturists  that  such 
growths  must  obtain  their  vital  supply  of  nitrogen 
through  some  agenoy  apart  from  their  roots,  and 
consequently  from  some  source  of  supply  apart 
from  the  soil.  Now  as  the  atmosphere  is  mainly 
composed  of  nitrogen  it  has  naturally  been  deduced 
that  that  is  the  source  of  ‘supply,  and  that  the 
agent  by  which  this  is  taken  up  is  the  leaf.  I do 
not  pretend  to  say  that  this  fact  is  conclusively 
established,  but  it  is  one  which  now  finds  very 
general  acceptance.  Supposing  the  deduction  I have 
mentioned  to  be  a corrreot  one,  it  must  be  mani- 
fest that  in  all  cases  when  the  leaf  is  system- 
atically removed,  as  in  the  case  of  the  tea  bu&b, 
the  plant  is  deprived  of  the  means  of  taking  up 
from  the  atmosphere  the  supply  of  nitrogen  re- 
quired by  it,  and  it  must  be  given  to  it  in  some 
other  way.  It  is  to  determine  this  and  kindred 
points  that  I desire  the  opportunity  suggested  in 
my  letter  to  the  Planters’  Association.  How  far 
that  body  proposes  to  work  on  that  line  by  get- 
ting out  a specialist  to  work  on  the  spot  I cannot 
say  ; but  from  what  I have  heard  I conjecture  that 
it  is  proposed  to  undertake 
A SERIES  OF  ANALYSES  OF  TEA 
grown  and  prepared  on  different  estates.  I doubt 
very  much  if  this  would  be  found  to  be  a course 
likely  to  yield  satisfactory  results.  The  conditions 
for  such  analyses  must  vary  bo  greatly  that  no 
general  comparison  of  them  oould  afford  reliable  in- 
formation. Apart  from  the  varying  nature  of  the 
soils  there  must  exist  other  different  conditions 
which  must  effectually  prevent  useful  com- 
parison. There  would  be  temperature,  method 
of  preparation,  relative  humidity,  and  many  other 
minor  conditions  that  must  necessarily  vary  the 
chemical  constitution  to  be  ascertained  by  analysis. 
These  difficulties  are  so  fully  recognised  here  at 
home  that  great  manufacturing  establishments  to 
whioh  oorrect  chemical  analysis  is  a constant 
necessity,  such  as  faoiories  for  the  preparation  of 
artificial  manures,  invariably  ktep  their  own 
analyst  and  confine  his  work  to  their  own  pre- 
parations. The  proprietors  of  such  factories  know 
very  well  that  they  oan  obtain  no  guidance  from 
the  analysis  of  manures  prepared  in  other  factories, 
the  conditions  as  to  whioh  may  differ  materially 
from  those  under  whioh  they  themselves  are  work- 
ing. They  therefore  rely  much  more  upon  results 
obtained  in  tbeir  own  works  and  from  tbeir  own 
products  than  upon  those  obtained  by  the  expert 
of  any  Government  department  or  centralized 
union  of  their  trade;  This  experience  and  its 
result  should  not  be  lost  sight  of  by  your  Planters’ 
Association  if  I have  rightly  conjectured  what  its 
aims  and  objects  are  io  seeking  to  obtain  the 
services  of  an  analyst  on  the  spot.  I do  not  of 
course  say  that  suoh  servioes  would  be  altogether 
fruitless;  but  they  must,  in  my  opinion,  fail  of 
such  practical  result  for  the  reasons  1 have  Btated. 
Mr,  Hughes'  statement  to  me  as  recorded  above 
seems  to  be  pregnant  with  sound  advice,  and  to  be 
based  upon  an  experience  so  wide  as  to  give  it 
great  value.  My  own  entire  ignorance  of  the 
subjaot  dealt  with  must  preclude  me  from  offer- 
ing any  conclusion  of  my  own  beyond  that  of 
advising 
FULL  CONSIDERATION  OF  MR.  HUGHES’fl  REMARKS 
before  your  Planters’  Association  commits  itself  to 
aoy  cause  which  must  entail  upon  it  heavy 
expenditure.  The  services  of  a thoroughly  com- 
petent man  oould  not  be  secured  save  at  a 
considerable  cost,  and  there  must  also  be  contingent 
expenditure  of  a serious  amount.  It  would  be  a 
mistake,  as  it  seems  to  me,  if  this  outlay  were 
incurred  without  the  fullest  estimation  of  what 
would  be  likely  to  be  gained  by  it. 
TEA  IN  CHINA. 
(China  Overland  Irade  Report,  Feb-  22.) 
Foochow,  Feb.  11. — Since  the  14th  ultimo  560,000 
lb.  have  been  shipped  in  the  calling  steamers  “Tele- 
machus”,  “Oopack”  and  “Glengyle.”  With  these  ship- 
ments the  sesson  has  come  to  an  end,  and  the  total  ex- 
port to  Europe  is  18,000,000  lb.  sgainst  20,336,000ib.  last 
season,  showing  a falling. off  of  millions  of  lb.  The 
demand  has  been  somewhat  fitful  doling  these  last 
four  weeks  of  the  season,  and  the  settlements,  which 
aggregrate  5,600  chests  QoDgou,  hays  been  made  at 
