Sept. ], 1898.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
199 
cost 10$ per aero. They also contract for the 
buildings, such as sheds and lines at a nioie 
moderate cost thau in Ceylon. 
A certain amount of Tamils (called Klinfjs 
there) are also employed, more specially as 
cartnien. 
The Malays have many privileges and only 
few of them care to serve as house "servants. 
They have their own lands that they cultivate, 
but nowhere have I seen a wet paddy held. 
They have groves of nutmeg tiees ; but the pro- 
duce is all consumed in the country for no ex- 
port is reported, so are the coconuts and the 
areeanur.s, the former being sold at ^.5 per 1,000. 
Nearly all the rice is imported from yingapore, 
or Penaiig being raw rice from Siam and Burma. 
The Chinese work on the tobacco estates where 
their more skilled labour is more remunerated or 
have holdings of their own, particularly in the 
tobacco country wheie they produce large quan- 
tities of sweet (lotatoes, nianioca. beans and 
vegetables. They do nearly all the trp.de of sup- 
plies, none being given to the coolies by the 
managers of plantations. Nearly all the artisans 
belong to that race. 
The uni\ ersal language is Malay. 
The interior ot Sumati'a is practically unknown. 
Exploration requires the special permission of 
the Resident on account of the danger. It is in- 
habited by the Rattaks, a warlike race of good 
physique. They have no racial connection with 
the Malays, who came over from the Straits some 
centuries ago and repulsed them. Their features 
have much affinity with those ot the Tamils, but 
of a paler hue, probably due to the more cloudy 
sky. They have their own writing and make 
their own weapons ; but, nevertheless, are canni- 
bals. One of iheni working on the plantations 
ailmitted in my presence having eaten human 
flesh. They cultivate diy paddy and other 
grains, sweet potatoes, manioca, tobacco, etc. 
They are very jealous of their females. I was 
told that they were not fetiches but could 
obtain no details as to their religions. 
^ 
PRODUCE AND PLANTING- 
Tea Br.iGHT. — A report appears in the " Bulletin 
of Kew Gardens," on the subject of the diseases and 
parasites which attack the tea plant in Assam. It 
is by Mr. Massee, who de:ils with these maladies. 
The first is the " giey bli^lit." It is a disease that, 
it not checked, may easily reduce the productiveness 
of gardens by 50 per cent. It might, iu fact, convert 
Assam fiom the prosperous province the planters have 
made it to cue of extreme distress. Mr. Massee states 
that this fungus is identical with the parasite com- 
mon on leaves of cultivated species of camellia 
in Europe. He believes that if the diseased leaves 
were collected and burned at once tha disease would 
soon be stamped out, as the mycelium of the fungus 
is not perennial iu the tea plant. One of the very 
worst blights on tea is the second malady known 
as '• blister blight," another kind of fungus. The 
earliest indication of the disease is the appearance 
of translucent spots in the leaf, dr.e to the disappear- 
ance of the chlorophyll and starch grains. Iu hia 
advice to the tea planters Mr. Massee says that the 
removal of diseased portions before the sports are 
m iture would go far towards preventing a recurrence 
of the disease. The third ro:\lady is " thread blight." 
Delicate white strands of mycelium run along the 
surface of the bark to the tips of the young shoots, 
branching irrcgidarly: thence they not infrequently 
pass on to the leaves, where they form a yet more 
delicate, ivrcgnlirly branched pattern. Microscopic 
examination of the diseased brinch shows that the 
slender mycelium extends to the young wood, the 
vessels of which soon become choked with a dense 
weft of it. Mr. Massee, however, is confident that 
even the spread of this disease can be checked by 
proper precautions. The best remedy, he thinks is 
to make a trench round the ba;e of the stem ai,d 
fill it with lime or wood ashes. 
A Suggested New Source of Phofit. — Planters can- 
not complain of a lack of counsellors in view of a 
continuance of bad times. The ImUaa Planters' Gazette 
advises tea planters to turn their attention to — in con- 
jucclion with or as an adjunct to general factory work 
— dairy farming. 
Thirty Yeahs Ago. — The task to be performed on 
behalf of the Cslestial Empire if the tea of the United 
Kingdom is to be recaptured will be a tall one. The 
Indian and Ceylon ijositii u is a strong one, and the 
victory over China tea is complete, while the con- 
sumption of tea has increased enormously during the 
last thirty years. In ]86S the total consumption of 
tea in the United Kingdom was 107,085,000 lb., givino- 
an average of 3 5^ lb. per head of the population. 01 
this 93 per cent, was Chinese tea and 7 per cent. 
Indian. Since that date the consumption has increased 
to 227,785,509 lb., an average of 5-73 lb. per head of 
the population. But at the present moment li pgr 
cent, only of the entire coi samption is Chinese 
whilst India supplies 5-1 and Ceylon 35 per cent — ' 
II. and C. Mail,'3\i\y 
« 
A VISIT TO THE PEKADENIYA GARDENS. 
I was induced by Mr. M 's lefer in the 
Ohsei vcr of the 12th instant to pay one of my periodical 
visits to the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeuiya 
rather earlier than usual, bitt that did not in any 
way detract from the interest the old place i-.l,vays 
affords to me. The Giant Orchid, which is here now 
displaying for the first time in the history of Ceylon 
tall and gracious tusses of flowers, is itself worth a 
visit by all who are interestei in this most beautiful 
and wonderful class of plants. It is certainly entitled 
to he called 
THE " queen of orchids " 
as the proportions of both foliage and flowers are at 
once pre-eminent among it) kind. But it is the 
size of the monster orchid that is remarkable rather 
than the attractiveness of the flowers, and' people 
who expect to find it bearing huge masses of cattleca- 
like flowers will be somewhat disappointed on seefnc 
it. There are however very many interesting and 
unique plants to be seen both in the immediate 
neighbourhood of the giant orchid and elsewhere. 
Efforts are being made to get togelher in the Orna- 
mental Lake an interesting and useful collection of 
WATER PLANTS, 
among which are shortly to be planted several plants 
of the giant water-lily (Victoria Regia) which are 
now being carefully nursed in a tank with other 
aquatics. This very handsome plant with huge tray- 
like 1 eaves which are sometimes 25 to 30 feet in 
circumference and 8 to 9 feet in diameter, has been 
found within the last 2 or 3 years to succeed at Pera- 
deniyawith careful treatment. The general appearanc* 
of the garden struck me as having greatly enhanced 
in beauty within the last few years. What have 
only recently been uncared-for quarters, are now made 
to assume an appearance that is more in keeping 
with the best kept parts. Of course it is impossible 
for a large botanical establishment like this to be 
properly judged by a person who is otherwise than a 
botanist, so that these few lines do not pretend to 
touch on the scientific character of the Department • 
but that the Peradeniya Gardens combine the func- 
tions of a botanic garden and the features of a magni- 
ficent Public Park lo a degree not elsewhere 
equalled in the world, is a well known and undeniable 
fact. This is to a great extent due to the naturally 
favourable position of the Garden, the large river 
alvcost surrounding it, and the beautiful undulating 
character of the land. Yet notwithstanding this, 
the greatest drawback the Curator particularly de- 
plores is 
THF, MEAGHE SUl'PLY OF WATK.lt, 
the river Lcing too much below the level of the Garden 
to ho availed of by ordinary means, Tliis is a de- 
