708 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[April 2, 1900. 
To the Editor. 
TEA CULTIVATION AND MANURE. 
Dear Sik,— Where do you get tea estates 
upcountiy formed owt of "virgin soil" ex- 
cept perhaps "High Forests"? There can only 
be about 100 acres of such soil on Loole- 
condera. It was, as a whole, long before 
planted in coffee." In the lowcountry, of 
course, there are estates that fulfil these 
conditions and have been some time now in 
tea - sixteen years at any rate — such as Kan- 
angama in Dehiowita, in the Kelani Valley. 
Mr. Taylor of Loolecondera, told his friends, 
of whom I was one, that manuring only 
gave increased crops in the ratio of Avhat 
the land naturally gave when first opened. 
An estate that never paid from its com- 
mencement without manure, Avould never 
pay by the application of manure, for siich 
application would be costly and give no re- 
munerative I'eturn. Ex nihila^iihil fit. 
My impression is, and I know it is shared 
by others, that tea planted in new clearings 
now, with the best seed available, does not 
give so quick or so good returns, as young 
tea planted, say ten or twelve years ago. 
It is quite possible that Mr. Eraser's imi- 
tators will not get the same returns from 
their manuring as he did— though no doubt 
he will give them the best advice possible — be- 
cause he commenced manuring trees that had 
been planted with tea seed in its prime, and 
the atmosphere was not poisoned by the im- 
mense area of tea now planted all over Ceylon 
taking up the same ingredients in their culti- 
vation and throwing out the same excreta 
and gases. 
I met an intelligent planter the other day, 
who told me that he had been recommended 
to bury his prunings, because by leaving 
them on the surface he lost in three prun- 
ings what could only be given him by an 
ordinary manuring. He said: "Well, my 
estate soil is alive with white ants. They 
will soon eat all my prunings and migrate 
elsewhere : don't they take the chemical in- 
gredients of my pranings with them, and may 
they not in the laboratory of their stomachs 
evolve poisonous exci^eta that will pi'odvice 
some beastliness on my tea that may affect 
its price, or my bushes that may afi'ect the 
bearing ?" " My dear friend," said I, " get Mr. 
Bamber's opinion on the subject ; let him 
analyse youv prunings, your white ants, 
previous to and after gorging on your prun- 
ings, and mention my name, so that the fees 
yon will have to pay the worthy Analyst 
will be credited against my guax'antee." 
Is it the case that the wily planter, now 
that he has from the P.A. iu Mr. Kelw.ay Bam- 
ber's pamphlet the analyses of the soils on 
typical estates and Mr. Bamber's prescrip- 
tion for the manure needed for such 
estates, is quite satisfied to use such manure. 
" The old tea on Loolcondera, to which refer- 
ence only 18 made, always means the 100 acres 
field.— Ed. T.A, 
and so Mr. Kelway Bamber's "occupation is 
gone "as a soil analyst? ! OLD HAND. 
ISurely "Old Hand" will admit that the 
whole of the tea in the Nuwara Eliya and 
Kandapola districts was planted direct on 
forest-land — so with a great deal iu Upper 
Dimbula, Upper Dikoya and Maskeliya, and 
what about Balangoda? In fact, there are 
few districts, even in the Central Province, 
where some reserves of • ' forest " have not 
been planted within the tea era. — Ed. T.A.] 
THE NEW TEA DUTY AND PLANTERS. 
Dear Sir. — So 2d. extra tea duty is to be 
our war burden. The producer can ill afford 
it, let it be shared by the consumer and 
the dealers. Instead of manuring let the 
gi'Owers allow to lie fiiUow for a year a quarter 
of the cultivated area, and we shall then 
bring down on their bended knees, the wily 
blenders and mammoth dealers. Knockdown 
our export 20,000,080 11). instead of raising it 
30,(X)0,0fX) by manure and lOd will be the 
Ceylon average. — Yours truly, 
TEA FARMER. 
[Most satisfactory of results ; but who is 
to nock down the export— or rather the 
"manuring"? "Who will bell the cat " by 
declaring who may, and who may not indulge 
in Manure?!— Ed" T.A.] 
THE NEED OF ADVERTISING ALL 
ESTATES FOR SALE. 
Upcountry, March 16. 
Sir, — How is it that the fact of large estates 
in Ceylon being for sale is sometimes, kept so 
quiet, in place of being generally and freely ad- 
vertised ? We all remember Lipton's great baigain 
in getting poor Downall's estates from Messrs, 
Antony Gibbs by private negotiation, for £25,000 
— when, had the places been advertised, there 
were those in Ceylou at the time who could raise 
£30,000 or more to secure so fine a group. Now 
it is another Haputale group sold for £40,000 and 
I have heard one gentleman at least, who could 
easily have paid the amount, say " A very good 
bar£;ain — had I known of the places being for sale, 
1 should certainly have made an offer" — and 
perhaps a better one ! — Your truly, 
PUBLICITY. 
0 
RAINFALL RETURN FOR COLOMBO. 
{Supplied by the Surveyor-Oeneral.) 
1895. 
1896. 
1897. 
1898. 
1899. 
Av of 
30yrs. 
1900. 
January . . 
February . 
March 
April 
May 
.Tune 
JiUy 
August 
September 
October . . 
November.. 
December. . 
Inch. 
5-00 
0- 81 
1- 84 
9-34 
10-09 
13-99 
0-52 
0-92 
4- 09 
30-36 
5- 83 
9-44 
Inch 
2-92 
0-35 
5-64 
5- 93 
9-31 
8-37 
2-85 
6- 35 
10- 99 
16-78 
19.81 
11- 76 
Inch 
3-81 
1-68 
3- 66 
10-97 
8- 30 
10- 14 
5-24 
9- 09 
4- 58 
4-71 
11- 66 
8-89 
Inch 
2- 32 
1-98 
4- 21 
22-81 
5- 80 
10-94 
6- 15 
0-97 
6-90 
20-60 
17 -3S 
3- 05 
Inch. 
0-98 
2-78 
0- 88 
6-66 
17-73 
9-23 
1- 11 
0- 62 
1- 48 
12 99 
8-58 
4-44 
Inch. 
3- 22 
1-93 
4- 78 
11- 31 
12- 09 
8-37 
4- 38 
3-67 
5- 01 
14-52 
12-66 
6- 39 
Inch. 
3-72 
0-63 
0-78* 
Total.. 
92-23 
101-06 
82-73 
103-11 
73-48 
83-33 
i-11 
* From 1st to 28th March20-76 inch, that is up to 9'39a.m> 
on 29th M?i,rch.-ED, T,4. 
