776 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
KALUTAEA. DISTRICT; 
and on Monday last had the good fortune to 
meet nearly all the planters of the district at 
a cricket match played between the K.G.C. and 
the M.CC. There was some hitch about the 
first day and the match coninieneed and wrs 
finished on Tuesday tlie 9th instant and was a 
very interesting match, displaying good fielding 
and bowling. 
In fact the contest between the gentlemen or 
Kalutara and Moratuwa was so keen and fierce 
that it was continued to the finisli in a storm of 
heavy rain and only won by two wickets by the 
M.CC. 
The drive home was cool and pleasant and 
then another good climb in the dark to Glanrhos 
Bungalow, a warm bath and Pyjama Suit — good 
dinner and early to bed. 
PRODUCTS. 
The district of Kalutara is a huge tropical 
garden; everything flourishes: the jak or artoearpus 
integrifolia, the breadfruit or artoearpus incista, 
with a bioad-leafed artoearpus of the forest left 
as a shade tree intermingled with kittool and 
arecanut palms, coconut palms, cotton trees, 
acacias, lunumidella, and other useful and orna- 
mental trees. 
Kiibber is largely cultivated and giving some 
returns ; cloves, nutmegs and Liberian coffee are 
all doing v/ell in Kalutara, 
There is a new Papau introduced from the 
West Indies, a fruit which when stewed resembles 
the Californian pear. 
Flowers are in great profusion : beautiful cro- 
tons equal to those seen in Colombo gardens ; 
the Dracfena or Chinese palm, many handsome 
marautus and BougainviUeas ; the numerous shade 
trees, including the Grevillea, give the Kalutara 
estates the appearance of Botanical Gardens. 
TEA. 
The first tea estate visited was Clyde, a most 
compact and valuable property with large factory. 
Glanrhos managed by Mr. J P Dove is another 
valuable tea estate with a large miscellaneous 
cultivation suited to the climate. The jat of 
Assam hybrid in Kalutara is much better than I 
expected to find and some of the places we visit- 
ed though rocky give very fair returns of tea 
leaf per acre. 
Putupaula (including Crurie) managed by Mr. 
H A Tipple is a beautifully situated estate com- 
manding a grand view of the Kaluganga River and 
Mountain Scenery including some of the highest 
mountains of the Central Province. 
The carriage drive through the Neboda Group 
(includin!/ Digalla and Narthupane) was very 
narrow ; we left the trap and horse at the factory 
and walked to Putupaula in a very hot sun and 
felt rather pumped by climbing the short cut to 
Mr. Tipple's bungalow, who kindly invited the 
writer to accompany Mr. Dove to visit him; we 
were rewarded by having several games of chess 
when the I'ain was falling heavily outside. 
The picturesque scenery from this bungalow 
was well worth the hardship of the trudge to 
and from the carriage drive to the cart road and 
we felt all the better for the walk and drive 
back. 
We passed a very comfortable bungalow or 
rather two-storeyed house with a windmill to pump 
water up the hill ; this nicely situated resideace 
[May 1, 190L 
l>elouged to Mr and Mrs Morrison away from 
Ceylou. We met Mr Heaih at the factoiy re- 
turning to Glanihos. 
The Sinhalese holiday lias commenced and a 
man got kilted last night for stealing toddy. 
Plenty of Chinese crackers are going oil" in the 
villages below us this eveniuir. 
The weather .■^dll continues stormy, great heat 
during tite day and heavy rains in ihe afternoon 
preventing me from ex;)luring the district, especially 
as I have no horse and kaow^so few people. 1 had 
tl'.oughc of travelling across the low country to 
Avisawella and tlien through the Kelani Val ey, 
but, after making enquiries ab^nt the tea estates 
and the planters of that ilistrict, I lind that a 
new generation has sprung up, that knows not 
Joseph. 
I had the pleasure of seeing the Duke and 
Duchess of York at the grand reception given to 
Lord Koberts in London and hope their visit to 
Ceylon has been a success H. CottaM, 
A CEYLON PLANTER OX TEA-GROWING 
IX RUSSIA : 
MR. E P WILLISFORD TAKES CHARGE OP MR. 
POPOFP'S ESTATES NEAR BATOUjI. 
GREAT EXTENSIONS PLANNED— NOT PLEASANT 
READING. 
We extract from a letter .sent to our evening 
contemporary, dated 18th March last :— 
Mr. Popoff owns three estates in the Caucasus, 
near Batoum : the principal one, Prevolnoyer, is 
where I live. It is about two miles' drive from 
Batoum— the hills, which are very similar to those 
in Ceylon, run dov.'n clo>e to the sea— the house 
is situated on the top of the highest, overlooking 
3; fort, and with the whole of Batoum and a lon<' 
line of sea-coast to the north oi it below. My 
interpreter lives \»ith me, and there are two rooms 
in the house reserved for Mr. Popoff's use when 
he visits. The factory is on this estate. About 
two miles further inland is another estate called 
Zawatnoyer, and the third estate, Otradnoyer, is 
reached by rail (station on theesiate) eight nii'les 
from Batoum. Out of 13,950 tea bushes" brought 
by Mr. Popoff from China, Japan, Cevloa, Huu- 
alayas, Assam and Java, only some 2,760 are now 
alive ; but there are on the three estates a total 
of plants, putout to the end of 1896, equal to 17 acres, 
and in 1897, 24 aeies— taken at 2.70u to the acre 
—there are now in all about the equivaleut of 
185^ acres planted. After I had thoroutrhly gone 
over these three estates I proc'eedeil to Moscow 
—a day and night l.y steamer and 52 hour.s by 
train— to interview Mr. Popoff. I found the cold 
too terrible, in spite of the fur coat Mr. P was 
good enouah to lend me ! My stay in Moscow was 
protracted longer than M-ould have been the ease, 
as the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland was on a 
visit to Mr, and .Mrs. Popoff, and his time 
was not always at my disposal. All estate matters, 
as conducted in Coy Ion, were most thjroughly 
gone into with a i'iev>- to the introducti-ni ol such 
changes in working as niifhfc be sui' ible here 
It was decided that no new cleariois should be 
opened this year, but that the existing area should 
be worked up to a better state than at present 
We were delayed by a gale on our return jour- 
ney to Batoum. The hillsides are terraced, 
and the banks of the terraces tnrfed - 
from a distance this has a very untidy 
