THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[July 1, 1899. 
the demand. Indeed, the work of extension 
had begun, when it was arrested by the 
enormous imjjorfcs of bounty-fed sugar ; and 
the Indian producer, more recently handi- 
capped by the rise in exchange, has beexi 
further victimised by the proclamation ot 
countervailing dutie;:; in America, whence 
large quantities or sHv;ar were diverted into 
India ! In the inteitsts of the poorer classes 
of both producers and consumeis, therefore, 
it is absolutely necessary that the cane and 
date sugar industries should nob be allowed 
to be crushed out, while encouragement 
should be given to the higher class of re- 
fineries, so that they might compete on 
equal terms with foreign bounty -fed establish- 
ments. Whether India can really hold its 
own in competition with Europe can be 
ascertained only by the withdi-ay/al oi 
bounties by continental nations, following 
which the "new duties must be withdrawn; 
but the alleged interests of consumers must 
not be aUowed to iuilict liardship on tens of 
thousands of agriculturists, whose industry, 
if it is once ruined, it may take years to 
revive. 
- - 
IIUBBER CULTIVATION IN CEYL(3N. 
There Ciin be no doubt of the practical 
value of the information which the Director 
of the Royal Botanic Gardoiis has put 
forth from' time to time m restieco of 
rubber-yielding trees and their cultivation 
in Ceyioii. Planters who ha^'e studied tne 
successive "Circulars," either at nrs^t baud 
or as reproduced in our Tropical jhjri- 
culhirist, must have acquired a gi'eat deal 
of useful information respecting the diiierent 
varieties of plants and their properties; 
but we fear they have not been at all 
prepared for the reversal of fortime wliicn 
has overtaken the particular rubber-tree which 
has so long maintained the lead as caief 
favourite, namely the Hcvea Bra-:i.hen&%s, 
or Para-rui)ber tree. For various reasons 
detailed in Mr. Willis's latest Circular, Para 
mav be said to be now dethroned, and 
Castilloa (the Mexican layal), belonging to 
the same group as our Bread-and J ak-truit 
trees has been erected in its place. We 
fear 'a number of planters who went m 
largely for "Para," following the leading 
in the earlier Circulars, will be apt to become 
a little impatient with the expert advice 
and will be inclined to ask (however unjustly 
or inappropria,tely)— 
"Pis true you dissembled your love, 
But why did you kicli us downstairs? 
In other Avord's, is "it not possible that Para 
mav be a little unduly depreciated, even 
in the Upht of the most recent discoveries 
and inventions, aiid that though it may 
be advisable now for all who wis a to 
cultivate rubber to appiy lor Castilloa,^ 
still that those who have planted ouu i ara 
should "ca' canny" as they say m .Scotland, 
and hY no means view their investinent 
ks a mistake. In the first p!n,ce, who can 
tell what another yeiiv, - :iii!.&iiei; revolution 
of the wheel of discovcay iuid invention,- 
niay reveal. Again and figaui has the 
"Whirligig of time brought in its re- 
venges," and we may yet see that further 
scientific as well as inventive progress has 
restored "Para" to its position of prestige, 
or at least brought it alongside of " Castilloa." 
So, while going in as freely as possible for 
the Mexican tree according to the latest 
deliverance, let not the clearings or bound- 
aries of the Brazilian variety be neglected. 
Why even the despised "Ceara," if all 
reports be true, is likely to come once more 
to the front, under the new influence of 
invention and scientific enquiry ; and we 
may have certain gentlemen who went in 
largely in the " eighties " for the quick 
grov/ing variety, looking out their clearings, 
chena-grown as they may be, and once 
more (loing justice to their pl.intings of ten 
to fifteen years ago. One such Ceara clear- 
ing if not rooted out for tea, should be 
found in the neighbourhood of Elkaduwa and 
another somewhere in the neighbourhood of 
Madawalatenna. 
Meantime we have yet to read the 
details of Mr. Parkin's Report which the 
Director is said to be preparing for the 
Press ; and even when Vv e have perused and 
digested this supply of scientific information, 
it may well be asked, have Ave arrived at 
"finality" or even at "definite results?" 
Has Mr. Biifen, or the home inventors, no 
further steps to mark ? He would be a bold 
man who would tender a negative to these 
questions. We must, of course, do the best l)y 
the light given to us for the present, and then 
wait in full expectation of learning more as 
time rolls on. No doubt, shrewd, observant 
men among our planters Avill begin to 
make experiments for themselves ; and the 
x'esults of these, when pu.blished, will pro- 
voke a healthy competition in the path 
marked out by scientific counsel, modified, 
it may be, by additional experience on the 
part of the cultivator. 
Meantime, the present may be a favourable 
opportunity for taking stock of the ]3rogi-ess 
actually made in the cultivation of the ditt'er- 
eat kinds of Rubber by the planters of 
Ceylon, up to the present time : and in an 
early issue Ave hope to summarise inform- 
ation already placed at our disposal from a 
number of districts, bearing on this important 
practical side of the question. 
TEA ON VIEGIN SOIL IN CEYLON. 
ITS RUPERIOKITY IN FLAVOUR AND STRENGTH. 
In oar last issue Ave quoted a Ceylon contemporary's 
reraaiks re the alleged supeiior quality which virgin 
soil gives to tea gtown thereon. Sta^iemeuts such 
as these easily pass into ciurent axioms and acquire 
the force oi: tradition if not rigidly examined at the 
or.tist. Without neg-itiviug tiie assertion, we should 
like to examine it closely and discover, if possible, 
the da,ta upon Avhich it is based. We presume the 
idea arose in the Avriter's mind from the fact that 
Ceylon teas in the early years commanded higher 
price than they do now, proportionately, and in fact 
at that time stood above Indians, Ihe reverse being 
riow the case. Generations among Europeans in the 
East being covered by but a short span of years, it is 
easy to lose sight of the circ-jm.=.t?.nces in the begin- 
ning of things. It i? plain to see that the Avriter of 
the assertion is not perfectly aufait with early tca- 
pUnliug in Ceylon. He has assumed that tea in that 
island vv'as oritjinally planted in virgin soil, which our 
inft rniJ.tion does not Av.:u'rant. It w.as, iu fact by no 
means the case universally. 
Tea was originally put down in Ceylon as an 
experiment by owners of failing coffee plantaitiong 
