Aua. 1, 1900.1 
THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
125 
of a tea field liaving been manured wilh sulphate 
of ammonia alone, or to the extent of two to three 
cwts. per acre as in the Kotiiainsted experiments. 
Half of the smaller dose named and tiiat always 
in combination with other manures is tlie 
quantity generally applied in Ceylon. One may 
just as well conclude that salt is danaierous to 
the iiunian race because it would be attended 
with fata! results if no other food were takeii. 
1 hope at an early <iate to meet Mr. Talbot 
at Rotliamsted and to see him convinced that there 
is much yet to be learned before he can venture to 
apply what he sees tliere to tea planting: and I 
re^vet there has not been an opport'inicy of doino- 
so before, but I could nob allow liis speech on 
tliese matters to pass unnoticed, if for no other 
reason than that his remarks seemed to me to 
reflect on those who differ from him and who 
know he spoke without book, which the London 
tea shareliolder could not, — Yours faithfully 
JAMES SINCLAIR. 
C Copy. J 
1st June, 1900. 
Sir JoHft Lawes, Bakt, Eothamsted. — Dear Sir, — 
I take the hberty of addressing you on a sur ject 
which is causing some commotion amongst tea 
planters in Ceylon in respect of manuring Tea Plan- 
tations, and as your authority has been given for a 
statement made by Mr. Talbot, who is a director of 
a large Tea Company, in recently addressing his 
shareholders, I am most anxious lo have it verified 
by you as I cannot help thinking that bj a misappre- 
hension on the part of Mr. Talbot an opinion has 
been attributed to you which, if all the cnnditionsi 
under which the tea-bush is planted, grown and 
cultivated, had been laid before you, you would not 
have given. 1 am well aware how frequently ojjinions 
are attributed to scientific men which have been 
formed through incorrect data having been supplied 
to them. I may mention that I was a practical agri- 
culturist in this country from 18.59 to 1868, having 
been born oa a farm and brought up to farming, 
and for 32 years have been in the management of 
coffee, cinchona, and tea estates. During that time 
I have kept myself in touch with your experiments 
at Rothamsted whenever I could find an account 
of them in print. When, however, I come to apply 
what 1 have gathered from my study of these to tea 
cultivation, I am disposed to think that BIr, Talbot 
has unwittingly misinterpreted you or that, perhaps 
when you have the data which I shall here supply, 
you may modify the opinion attributed to you. Mr, 
Talbot in his speech, in referring to the danger of 
using forcing manures, to the tea plant is reported to 
have said ; — " I have also had the advantage of con- 
sulting Sir John Lawes whom you all know as a great 
authority on Agricultural Chemistry and he deprecates 
the use of forcing manures such as sulphate of am- 
monia as being undesirable to use," Now I have no 
doubt that manures, such as sulphate of ammonia 
and nitrate of potash, etc., used immoderiitely are 
to be deprecated as a fertiliser for tea, but I diff._-r 
entirely fiom Mr. Talbot when he holds, as he seems 
to, that those who have been cultivating largely and 
applying these manures are doing it to an extent 
which will endanger the normal life of the tea bush 
by forcing or impoverishing their soils, 
To enable you to form an opinion on this and to 
give your advice as to whether any of the ingre- 
dients of the Mixture I, in common with moat others 
in use, I give you the analysis ^^^ a fair sample of the 
soil to which it is applied. (Here follows soil analysis 
and description and quantities of different manures 
applied). On the high lands of Ceylon the bush is 
pruned, or more properly speaking, cut across the 
hard wood two, inches above the previous pruning 
and practically all the foliage thus pruned falls 
on the ground, the healthier and more manured 
the bush has been the greater the bulk of green 
foliage, but on an average on the estates I refer 
to each bush gives not less than 5 lb. of pruninga 
which are ofte.> left to decay on the surface but 
on _ well-managed estates are buried in holes or 
mulched la with some such mixture as I have given 
above. This pruning is dona once in 24 months, the 
weight of prunings tharef-jre, combined wilh the 
natural fail of the leaf during the 24 months would 
ran to about 9 tons per acre when green. During 
the two years between pnmings the green leaf taken 
off the bnsh for manufacture into tea would weigh 
about 4,000 lb. before being manufactured: this is all 
that is removed from the soil per acre as against 
live times the weight of prunings returned to it. 
The questions thereforel would ask are the following:— 
1. Considering the amount of prunings returned 
to the soil whether mulched iu or not, do you think 
any of the mixtures named too forcing, an,l if not, 
were the quantities doubled what would be the result ? 
2. Could the castor or rape cakea or any part of 
the mixture be left from a soil such as that of which 
I have given an analysis provided the prunings are 
carefully mulched in a green condition ? 
To make it more clear to you, I ought to have 
stated that the tea bush being an evergreen its prnn- 
ings are quite unlike that of any bush in this pruned 
in the early spring, the green portion would prob- 
ably be two-thirds of the whole weight, one-third 
being matured wood. It is very difficult to say what 
the life of a tea bush is under normal conditions, 
but if we take it at 50 years I think the yield would 
be 350 lb. per acre per annum with no aid from ferti- 
lizers, thus the total yield would be 17,500 lb- during 
its life. Against this on a similar soil the same yield 
would be got in 32 years with the cultivation we 
give our estates. 
Is there any reason to conclude that the latter 
would be nearer its limit of life than the former? 
My experience of 10 or 12 years' manuring opera- 
tions points to the contrary, but I should be very 
glad to have your opinion,— I am, dear sir, yours 
faithfully, (Signed) JAMES SINCLAIR. 
[Please note.— The answer to this letter was quoted 
by me in addressing the meeting of the Dimbula Valley 
shareholders.]— J. S,— See page 112, 
GREEN TEA MANUFACTURE. 
Stagbrook, Peermaad, Travancore, July 11. 
Sib,— In re your article* of July6th in which 
you ask what my terms for "royalty" on my 
•'process" and "machine" are, I may briefly 
state that the price of the machine covers 
all royalties, and in comparison with other 
patent tea machines, the price as advertised 
by my agents, Messrs. Brown & Co., is a 
moderate one. What I wish the public to 
understand is that, if they prefer to use any 
other "steaming machine" or process of 
ai'iiiynig steam to "green tea leaf," which 
is the substance of what I beheve my patent 
c iviTs, that in tJiat case, I hold them liable 
for a special royalty of R250, which must be 
paid to my agents, Messrs. Brown & Co., for 
myself and partner in the patent. I do not, of 
course, expect to exact a royalty on all green 
tea_ manufactured in Ceylon. "Oolongs," 
which as most planters are aware, are 'a 
species of Green Tea, have been made before 
my patent, and can be made, free of royalty, 
so far as I am concerned. The leaf for them 
is rendered pliable by hot air, but the fer- 
mentation or oxidization is not ever thorougJily 
checked by that process, and, therefore, the 
* Local " Times," 
