THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 
[Jak. 1, 1901. 
I'ush to buy good Ledger seed from Java, but 
the necessary cave does not appear to have 
been taken everywlieie bestownd upon it, ■so that 
'very little seed f^ierniinatrd. I i'ertaii;!y "^aw no 
S'lil that I should judge suitable for L 'dger ; 
v.e need not therefore be very anxious regarJing 
the competition of Ceylon ; there is, however, 
much cause to fear that we in Java will ourselves 
again ruin the .market l)y too great planting. 
What is still harvested of cinchona bark is for 
the most iiart sold in Colombo on account of the 
German lirms and despatched packed in square 
bales, 
Tea is now the chief culture of Ceylon. It 
is planted from somewhat above sea-level to over 
7,000 feet and on every sort of soil, even upon 
rocks. Only on two places did I sec no tea 
planted, namely on the roofs of the factories and 
between the railway rails ; everywhere else I saw 
tea on flat ground and on slopes only accessible 
for rock-goats on jiretty deep yellow-brown soil 
(good exception) and on soils i to 2 feet deep 
above solid strata of granite and quartz, nay even 
on bare rocks each bigger than a factory, in far t 
everywhere where there is a crevice of a finger's 
breadth or a handful of quart z gravel, which has 
the appearance of the government salt with us, 
tea has been planted. Each )jlanter has his 
own opinion reparding method of planting and 
manufacture exactly as in Java. The most widely 
planted is the small-leaved Ceylon hybrid ; I saw 
also, however, indigenous Assam or what came 
very near to it ; it is found that a little hybrid- 
isation makes the plants stronger. Kust (helo- 
peltis) and other diseases I saw little of, though 
I understood that borer, red spider, &c., were 
experienced. 
The Distance BetweR-J Plants varies from 
3 into 4 to 5 into 6 and 7 feet; on high-lying 
grounds the conclusion has been arrived at that 
one must not plant too closely. Planting is 
generally in strait lines without terraces and 
without following the configuration of the land. 
On sloping grounds open drains without banks 
are cut in an almost horizontal direction. The 
ground is generally weeded quite clean or entirely 
surface-worked with the pafjoel* ; blind drains or 
deep working of the soil as in Java I never saw 
practised. The ground is often therefore as hard 
as pncZo.st ; hut it must not be forgotten that 
the large quantity of gravel gives a natural drain- 
asre. It seems strange to ine, that nearly every- 
where rows of SHADE TREES are planted along 
the boundaties and at distances of 50 to 200 feet 
tliroughout the estates, usually Grcvillea rohufita^ 
and on higher latids varieties of Eucahjpfits, 
The object of this is to break the winds, and also 
to obtain firewood, which is veiy scarce ; more- 
over n)any jdanters on low-lands find light shade 
useful for tea. 
Much more care seems to be bestowed in Ceylon 
than in Java upon systematic pruning ; I believe 
that to this and to the excellent climate must 
be ascribed the good yield per acre. Pruning is 
done branch by branch witli pruning-knives some- 
what la'ger than those we use for the coffee, 
and the aim is to cause the bush to increase in 
breadth from below upwards ; knots on the 
branches are not allowed to remain, but other"' 
wise ilili'erent systems are followed. On high" 
lying lands for instance heavy pruning is carried 
* Jav. pachal, hoe, mamoty. 
t Bolidified earth. 
out once in four yeais and then three months left 
before plucking ; on low-lying lands in shorter 
periods. 
Manuke. — They I;av(: begun fu ii-c, -^i.izc in 
Ceylon, that the very poor .soils neeu nmnuiing, 
and since stall manure is only exceptionally 
available, expeiiments are being made with 
" feoew^/i-i^.* fish and tea manure." I was shown 
an old China tea garden, t' e production of which 
was, so it was said, brought up from 400 pounds 
to 1,200 pounds per acre, by putting into the 
ground every other year 80 rupees worth of manure, 
beside the cost of transport. 
Plucking I saw was the three leaves about 
every ten days ; the women have for this a large 
basket on their back, which is suspended by a 
string over the head. The plucked leaf is often 
collected in the garden and then transported to the 
factory. (See Means of Transport.) 
The Tea Factories are mostly built with a 
more liberal hand and more all of a piece than 
in Java. The buildings are laiger and especially 
higher, often two to three stories. Where it is in 
some measure possible, water-power is employed 
and then mostly turbines, so necessary with the 
help of steam and petroleum machines for the 
dry season. The buildings and machinery are 
generally erected by firms like Walker, Sons & 
Co,,Ld., and others, who also supply all other 
needful appliances. Building oneself is much less 
in use than in Java. The wood is imported from 
Canada, Burma, &c., and iron joiscs are also much 
used. 
Withering. —Withering is carried out much 
more thoroughly here than in Java and generally 
artificially in lofts. Tainp'irs ■\ are not used for 
withering ; it is done on slielves that are generally 
filled in with " Hessian cloth," a kind of fine gunny 
stuff either flat = = or, for 
the more corivenicfit filling and emptying. 
sloping 
in such a way that one end can be loosened ; the 
c'oth is then rolled up each time, and the work 
goes on in that manner by means of trained 
labor more rapidly (one woman per 100 pounds 
1 >af). I also saw shelves with their planks and 
also with loo?e meshes of yarn. Each one finds 
his construction the best, if more goes on it. 
KOLLING is done twice, thrice or even four tiires ; 
thrice is the most usual, that is to say, the leaf 
is first rolled with little pressure J to f hour, 
then sifted in the toll-breaker, the large leaf again 
rolled 2 to :| hour, sievi. (1, &c.; the times for"tlie 
different rollings varies much. 
Fermentation is often entirely omitted on 
low- lying lands, prolonged rolling being sufficient. 
On higher lands however fermenting is well done 
and then often in rooms that are kept cool by 
means of ventilators and vet curtains. 
Ke-Kolling after fermentation seems to be no 
no longer usual, only on a high lying estate the 
tea is first rolled for half-an-hour (in the dry 
season f hour), then fermented 1^ to 2 hours, and 
after that only the coarse leaf re-rolled | hour (in 
the dry season one hour ) 
For Drying all kinds of dryers are in use ; 
I saw mostly the "Paragon." Sifting is mostly 
* Oil-cake poonac, 
t Jav. tampah, fan. 
