luLY 1, 1900.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
47 
TEA MANa^KING AND SEVERE PRUNING 
CONDEMNED. 
(From a Correspondent. ) 
"I am very much surprised at the manuring 
and prunhig that is now going on in the 
island. To me it is burning both ends of 
the candle. You see fine tea cut down to the 
ground : the prunings buried and more or 
less rich manure put in to force tlie trees 
to give big yields, and, as far as I can learn, 
with loss of flcivour, though an increase of 
yield, I see tea treated this way in the 
that to my thought, does not require manure 
for years, and I am not alone in this view. 
All very well to manure in the poorer 
districts to get an increase of yield, where 
estates can barely pay without ; but in this 
fine district, with its splendid tea, to me, it is 
agricultural murder and must do in the end 
no end of harm. But what I most wish to 
find fault with is the extremely severe 
pruning tea is subjected to. I have seen tea 
hacked down to 6" or 8" with large Assam 
pruners, but often without any slope, and 
after a year or so you find rot right down 
the centre of the tree. This cutting is done 
for cheapness and to force a crop. I hear 
of fields abandoned, tiiat a few years ago 
were subjected to this treatment, and that 
by a well-known V.A., who now says 
Ceylon tea will not last. No, I should say 
not. The whole of this treatment to me 
spells ruin." 
[But then the ruin has been " lang 
o' comin " : look at Mariawatte for system- 
atic manuring and pruning, for instance — 
it goes on giving 1,000 to 1,100 lb. made tea 
per acre year by year and seems none the 
worse. Still there is no doubt room for 
considering what our correspondent srys 
above, in some other cases. — Ed. T.A.] 
CATTLE SALE AT THE AGRICULTURAL 
SCHOOL, CEVLON. 
The periodical sale of calves at the Agri- 
cultural Dairy Farm last month was not so 
well attended as usual nor the competition 
so spirited. This was partly due to the calves 
not being so well up to the mark. Sonie 14 
were sold, including a cow and calf, chiefiy 
to country native gentlemen, and the prices 
of the calves ranged from R22 to R50, the 
cow realizing R70. All were of the Scinde 
stock which does so well, both for dairy 
and breeding purposes at the Farm. Scinde 
cattle were first recommended to Mr. 
Drieberg by his Edinburgh schoolfellow, Mr. 
Mollison, now in charge of the Poonah Dairy 
Farm. Aden cattle seemed to be even more 
suitable ; but they are very difficult to get. 
Mr. Rodrigo has now some 87 cows, 4 bulls 
and some 70 calves under his care on the 
local Farm and all look very healthv and in 
fair condition. 
Unfortunately most of the villagers cannot 
afford the price of one of these calves. We 
would suggest that some of them be given 
away as prizes at Agricultural Shows or 
for meritorious conduct otherwise. 
Nothing more has been heard of the Com- 
mission on the Agricultural School, of which 
the Hon. W. T. Taylor is Chairman, with 
Messrs. Ellis, Burrows and Willis. It is very 
questionable if it would be wise to move 
the School from the lowcountry and certainly 
it would never do to locate the Royal 
College, where the Agricultural and other 
connected Schools now stand. A prudent 
plan would be to retain the present institu- 
tion and establish a Branch Farm and 
School near Heneratgoda, or Veyangoda, and 
indeed Mr. Willis might have a third bi-anch 
near Kandy. As the improvement of farm- 
ing and cattle in the low country is one chief 
object of the School and Farm, it would 
seem only reasonable to work under much 
the same conditions. 
GUNS AND ELEPHANTS INUVA, CEYLON. 
(From Mr. BaumgaHner's Report.) 
The number of gun licenses issued in the 
past three years was— in 1897, 248 ; in 1898, 
202; in 1899, 514. Details are given in the 
Appendix. 
The game Hcenses issued in 1899 were— to 
Europeans, 34 ; to others, 21. 
Elephants were numerous in the Province. 
From my own observations 1 can speak to 
their prevalence in many localities ; e.g., in 
Wellawaya division near Kataragama, and 
again near Tanamalwila, where I saw two on 
the high road on the 24th July; also near 
Balaharuwa and Hambegamuwa in herds : 
also between Hambegamuwa and Kotawera- 
mankanda they are numerous, and included a 
solitai-y elephant of large size known as 
" Kurakkan-hora." This elephant was sought 
after by a sportsman, but not found, for the 
jungle scene at the Paris Exhibition. 
In Buttala division, with its immense un- 
broken stretch of forest, elephants are plenti- 
ful; and it was here, near the Kumbukkan- 
oya, that sixteen elephants were captured 
under licenses in 1899. Six more were cap- 
tured without license, but were allowed to 
be kept on payment of R.50each. 
In Wellassa, not far from Siyambala An- 
duwa, I saw tracks of a very large herd on 
2nd April. They are also fairly' plentiful 
about Dambagalla and thence towards Nil- 
gala. They are found in Bintenna and in 
Wiyaluwa within twenty miles of Badulla. 
They do much damage to crops in outlying 
places. I have also seen about fifteen coco- 
nut trees in a poor villager's garden laid low 
and torn to pieces by elephants. This was 
at Ulwita in Buttala Wedirata. 
Tea in Russi.a.. — Some interesting corre- 
spondence—sent by the Planters' Association 
— will be found on page 46. The ex- 
periment in growing tea near the Caucasus 
need not alarm us any more than what is 
done in Natal, or in Carolina, U.S., by worthy 
Mr. Shepherd. It i-i however, specially in- 
teresting to learn that the consumption of 
Ceylon Tea in Russia is increasing so rapidly 
as these figures show :— 
1895 2,000,000 lb. 
1897 ... ... 6,000,000 „ 
1898 11,000,000 „ 
1899 Estimate ... 17,000,090 „ (?) 
