Nov. 1, 1898. J 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
363 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Green Tka.— That the Indian Tea Association 
shoiihl lif<ht shy ami think " green tea" cannot be 
made up to saniiiles, is surely no reason why Ceylon 
Planters should not succeed. How often have Cey- 
lon men led th.e way and sliown their brethren on 
the opposite Continent, " how to do it." 
Kdyal Gardens, " Kew Bulletin," of miscerane- 
ous inform i-ioii for S ;pteraber 189S has the following 
contents : -Cuina grass : 1891 ouwxrds ; Decades Kew- 
enses: xxxi-xxxiii; Miscsllaneous Notes— Commissioner 
of Agi'ioii!rtu-e foe the West Indies— Mr. D. Tannock— 
Colonial Worlc of Kew — Botanical Magazine — Flora of 
China— Iiioecse Tree=i of the West Indies. 
"Golonia: The Colonial College Magazine." — 
The following are the contents for Summer Sessions, 
August, 1893 : — Old Siudents' Column : — Communi- 
cations from Africa, Canada, Oeylon, West Indies, 
United States and Central America; College Notes ; 
The Athletic Club Report ; Weather Report— May 
to July, 1893; Estate, r'arm and Building Notes; 
Veterinary Notes; Liboratory Notes; Reviews of 
Books; a" Chat About our Body Heat ; The Mission of 
the Colonial College ; Rhodesia ; The British South 
Africa Police ; Old Students' Directory (revised) ; 
Notice to Correspondents. 
R.\MiE OR China Gra.ss and it.s Fibre : 
Very Important Deliverance. —The latest 
"Kew lJulletin" (September) lias a full re- 
cord of tlie present position of tiiis industry 
and of the working of several machines and 
processes invented, including the " MacUonald- 
Boyle. ' Here then is the surnnnng-up of the whole 
matter : — 
Summary. 
Few practical problems have consumed so much 
time and eneigy as the attempt to bring China 
grass and Ramie into use for manufacturing purposes. 
Notwithstanding all the expenditure of mechanical 
skill and inventive ability, the conclusion cannot be 
evaded that we are still as far off aa ever from being 
able to place upon the market a finished product 
which wdl effectually compete with silk, flax, uud the 
better qualities of cotton. 
The plants can be grown with the greatest ease, 
But when the problem of treatment ia solved, the 
supply of the raw material will be limited to warm 
countries. The cultivation of China grass in temper- 
ate regions will never be able to compete successfully 
with thai of Ramie (or perhaps of China grass) in 
the tropics. It is known that when ribbons can be 
produced sufficiently cheaply, these can be degnramed 
and turned into (ilasse at a small cost. The whole 
questiou then still turns, as in 1888, on the production 
of ribbons. We are still waiting for a decorticator 
which will not merely turn out ribbons fit for fur- 
ther manutacluruig processes — that has been accom- 
plished — but will turn out, say, half a ton a day at 
a small cost. Till this has been found, the planter 
cannot protitably deal with his crop, and the de- 
gumming processes now almost entirely dependent on 
hand-cleaned fibre from China are paralysed for want 
of a supply which will allow _the finished product to 
compete with other fibres. 
The ribbons must be susceptible of being delivered 
to the dcgumming factories at a cost not exceeding 
to £9 per ton. This would pay the planter if he had 
a decorticator which would enable him to prepare the 
ribbons at a cost which would leave a profit. At present 
ho cannot produce riblions under £12 to .£1.5 a ton. 
Then the dcgumming processes should turn ont 
filassc at a total cost of £.-S(i to £10 per ton. At this 
price liio demand v, ould be considerable, and a large 
and prosperous industry would result. To put tlie 
position in other words, filasse must bo put upon the 
market at about -Id a lb. To use the words of one of 
the speakers in the discussion at the Society of Arts, 
" unless it could be brought down to something like the 
price of cotton or flax, it was impossible to make any 
proitout of it." 
Coffer Prospects.— The American Grocer, after 
Giving statistics sliowing the World's Supply of 
CoU'ee on 1st September, adds:— "These (igures 
show a total visible supply equal to about one- 
half the world's jnoduction — a pretty good in- 
suiance ag.iinst any rise in )jrice until there is 
a marked failure in ])roduetion." 
The Duckwari Tea Pl-vntation Co.— We 
direct attention to the report ■which we publish 
on? page 356, and congratulate the share- 
holders upon the dividend declared — 7 per cent 
on preference shares and 5 [ter cent on oidinary 
siiares. The Company goes in for high cultivation 
and during the past year the directors have ex- 
pected £471 7s lOd in manuring. 
Tea in India.— There has been a discussion 
on the subject of cultivation and preparation 
of tea, in the columns of the Pioneer, and one 
of the most instructive letters we have seen 
is signed " H. C." Here are two extracts 
giving |iractical information of a practical 
character in answer to a would-be mentor who 
signs "Sirocco": — 
My plucking rff China was rigidly two leaves and, 
the bud ; and off Assam hybrid about a third finer, 
that is half the leaf was only 1 leaf and the bud. 
The great question now is whether or not to cut the 
second leaf altogether, as is being done, I am in- 
formed, by one or two gardens in Assam that habi- 
tually top the market with their teas of Assam indi- 
genous. Assam hybrid will, I believe, pay better with 
one leaf and the bud, than with two. China, I am 
very doubtful about. I believe the loss of crop by 
dropping the second leaf would r.ot be compensated 
for by the increase in price. Cliina is the rotten- 
est stuff in the world, and I don't believe Confucins 
himself could make a decent beverage out of it, 
pluck it how he would. I do not know what district 
'■ Sirocco" works in ; but when he talks of cropping 
from February to December, say 10 months, I have 
to take a back seat, for I never get more than seven 
months, and last year and this my cropping season was 
and will be completed in GJ months. 
What would be really interesti-ig is to hear from 
'• Sirocco"' (1) how much has tea averages in the 
market. (2) What is his outturn per acre. (3) What 
is his profit per acre. Any planter can work out the 
other details for himself — excepting of course what 
the middlemen get out of the tea. I lay special 
stress upon the prorit per acre : it is the only true cri- 
terion. Dividends are delusive things. For instance 
I have, for my sins, to pay a dividend on a capital of 
Rl,080 per acre. Locking into the pages of Capital 
I see one favoured garden which is only capitalised 
at R117 per acre. A dividend of Ik per cent on my 
concern, would workout 10 per cent on the concern 
I have my eyes on. Therefore let us stick to prorit 
per acre and we shall know where we are. And not to 
ask for more than I am willing to give, here are my 
figures : — 
Actual Estimated 
1897 1898. 
Average value of 
tea at Calcutta . . 6i as lb 5i as lb. 
Outturn per acre . . 42S lb 4101b, 
Profit per acre .. R37-1-0 R1G-13-U 
I don't call RlG-13 profit per acre " making a tea 
garden pay." In a risky investment like tea RoO per 
acre at least is required to gain that distinction. My 
estimated deficit this year as compared with last is 
R20-4 0 per acre. I apportion and debit it aa 
follows : — 
R a. p. 
To the Government of India account 
currency policy . . 10 0 0 
To the Clerk of the Weather 
nocount, drought .. .. 3 0 0 
To till middleman account ex- 
ci .^s ve charges ,, 7 4 0 
And there you are 
