130 
THE TROICAL AGHICULTQKIST. [August 1, 1898 
during the hot season, ^^j^ 'f^VAlTEs'" 
Koi^ewood, Niiw;u-a Eliy i. . . , „ 4i,;„i. 
[Not the iiai licular i vly o..as, wc UiinK, 
which feed on the coccu. ba^'.-the ^ ff llJ> 
Mr. (ireen wonkl be sure to have heasd of tliern. 
Ed. — T.a.] 
AGRIHOKTTCULTUHAL SHOW. 
June 16. 
DEAR SIR.-I an. glad to .see ti.e advice 
in vour cohmuis about the Show. If the su 
Lest^ions therein are carried out there is no doubt 
a really good Show will be hel.l every yea , 
vhich iill be most useful in improving Agnel l- 
is ean.l Horticulture. The rubbish uan s o be 
io ted out and the good and inimove-l thing. 
bmu.rht forward. This is impossible when a 
Show is only held once in six -'j V^^" 
-Yours, &c., PKAtllLAJ.. 
AN ANALYTICAL (;HEms^ THE 
TEA rLANrAIIO>S. 
Dear SlR,-Why should not you revive at 
th^ a.ue the sugge'stion that ^'"^ ^fe 
S'^^ould be, in n.y opi-^X^^-Jy^-,,. 
r A very useful suggestion : of course the sanc- 
tion of ^Govenunent wo.dd have to be got to 
IZ vote from the Cess Fund but vve wouhl e.x- 
pect it to be readily given.-Eu. i.-i.J 
THE PLANTING OF COCONUTS : 
THE OPINIONS OF TWO OF OUR OLDF.ST TLANTERS 
WHO NEVER HEARD OV THE MODE INSISTED 
ON BY "MK- OKU-KITHS" WHO IS IIE- 
OAKDED AS A " UO.\X " THOUGH IN 
FIJI HE POSES AS AN EX-CEYEON 
COCONUT PLANTER. 
Kurunegala, June 1.3. 
Bear SIR planting coconuts with the 
Xwnward - 1 have no knowledge oi, and 
n^vertr 1 eiaof such a n.ethod. In the white- 
aat warmin- soil, of Ceylon I d.,ub it lu per 
cent of the nnk would be allowed to grow : 
white ants would attack the nuts at once an.l 
Se eyes be destroyed. To guard against white 
ants nuts in a nursery are never entirely covered 
S.%r"j:i a^n l'Tal^-taken^L keep oft^he white 
ants from encroaching. I always sow my nur- 
series with the nuts standing upright and get 
from 80 to 90 per cent of plants Ample water 
should be allowed to nurseries in the dry weather : 
0^ copious watering every live or six days. 
? Vun'Uries the paths are an inch or two 
ll^^rh^ he surface of the beds and thu.s 
va er is retained. When the beds are raised 
1 fi.o nutbs six inches beloAv the surface of 
the ieds^Ss s he general practice) most of the 
^iter runs to wasteland the outer rows of nuts 
L not g ow with tlie san.e yigor as those m 
the centre That trees raised from nuts planted 
•?v, rhP eves downwards shoald come into 
bearing 'n ifal? the time that plants raised n 
the ordin'"-y>vaydo,seeins to me absurd, and the 
Xle story sounds very like a hoax. 
No. II. 
Mirigania, June 13. 
Dear Mr Lunou,— I have received your 
memo about phuitiug co<:oiiul>- «itli llie eyeb 
downwaril.-. I must confew that t!ii<s i» quite 
new to me. I have little faith in this mode of 
planting. I have this day put Hvelve iiiiUs 
in i: y nursery eyes ilownward?, twelve slanting, 
and iweh e eyes upwards. I shall let you know 
the result of the trial afterwards 
The following is an extract from the Cciflou 
Observer of lhe2«th June 1893 wlien I gave souic 
hints to those about to open land under coco- 
nuts Let the nuts be close to each other in 
a slanting position; shade I hem from the fun, 
and water during dry weather. The nuts will 
germinate within four iiDntlm from dale of putting 
down, and if at the end of five months there 
arc any which show no sign;^ of growth, reject 
them, for they will never make nealtliy tieei«. 
"When the seedlings are from two to twoand- 
half inches liigh transplant them at intervals of 
18 to 20 inehen in to another nurKery wheie tliey 
will have more sun ; a.^hes applied lightly after 
transplanting will help the gro.vth of the plaLts 
greatly. The plants when twelve months old 
will be Vug enough to put out into your clearinu, 
and sufficiently strong to withstand the attacKs 
of white antsi^ one of the most formidable of the 
enemies of a young coconut plant. On remov- 
ing the plants from the nursery carrying tliem 
by the branches must be strictly forbidde -. as 
want of care in this respect is very likely to 
result ill injury to the 'cabbage.' 
" May being a wet month is the best time in 
the ye.-ir tor planting."— Yours truly, 
CEYLON TEA IN THE UNITED STATES 
AND THE NEW TEA DUTY. 
Toronto, June 1". 
Dear Sir.-*,— You will, no doubt, have heard 
before this of the imposition of 10c per lb. duty 
on tea entering the United States and it might be 
interesting to your readers to get the opinion of an 
interested person on the siiot as to the probable 
effect it will have on Ceylon Teas. 
As m.any of your readers are aware, we, the ".Sa- 
lada" Ceylon tea Comi)any, have opened branches 
of our business and have been jmshing Ceylon 
Teas in the following cities in the United Statist- 
Boston, Butlalo, Cleveland, Detroit, I'iltsbnrg, 
Toledo, Rochester, etc. In many of these places 
we have our own warehouses and staff ; in others 
we have given the agency for our teas to whole- 
.sale tea firms, but are doing the advertising our- 
selves. Of cour.se, any change made by V.^Q Go- 
vernment is an annoyance to the trade, but we 
really believe that this imposition of a duty will 
redound, in the end, to the benefit of Ceylon and 
Indian teas, increasing their sale. We make some 
impression on coffee drinkers, winning not a few- 
over to tea, but our main gain has been from the 
drinkers of China and Japan teas. This duty will 
hurt these trashy tea^ far more than it w ill ours. 
A person is not very likely to import a low grade 
China or Japan tea — even one that will pass the 
standard— jiay the duty on it and perhaps " be 
hung up with it." And we believe that the effect 
of the duty will be to limit the importations of 
these teas. This is evidently recognized by the 
Japanese Government as they have made representa- 
tions, thiough their Ambas-sador, to the authori- 
ties at Washington, pointing out that this was 
aimed chiefly at their products. 
