Jlfnk 1, 1899.] THE TROPICAL 
FACILITTKS V'Mi MAKING GOOD TEA. 
In coiitiiHUition of the notes .and coraments 
deahnf with the above subject, on we shall 
next take np two sets of replies to our circular, 
received from the Kelani \'alley, which rej^ard 
the situation from dillVrent stand points. And 
that is one of the advantages of eliciting infor- 
niation, by means of circulars, from men who 
are engaged in the same vocation, but who 
work necessarilv under conditions more or 
less ditferent. One of our iilanting friends 
congratulates himself that the old fancied 
dra^- backs to making good tea are being 
overcome, and that better tea is now benig 
made on a majoritv of estates : another 
deals \\ith the' drawbacks as still potent 
factors. Tlie two he gives prominence to 
are the scramble for quantity, and the 
attempt to cut down expenditure as much 
as jtossible. The inflated j-upee compels the 
strictest economy, and the planter must 
show a saving on the cost per lb. of tea laid 
down. By sacrificing quality he attains 
this end ; ' and if (piantity yields a very 
slight profit, he excepts the inevitable, but 
at the cost of the estate's name in the 
market. If the craze for (luantity has not 
altogether subsided, we doubt if ever before 
in the historv of the enterprize there has 
been a great'- r trust in quality than during 
the past few inontlis : and perhaps the 
wave has spread into the Kelani Valley too, 
since the answers to our circular were 
penned. 
As regards jat, both wi iters hold it to be 
poor oirmost old estates, wliile land more 
recently opened, up had the benefit of the 
best jats. Neitliei' is prepared to class the 
prevailing jats as inff.'vior : but merely 
medium: but even so, we fancy, both 
quality and vicld must be affected by the 
failure ti) secure the best types of indigen- 
ous and hvbrids'. On the other hand, 
these were " scarce and difficult to get 
at the out set of the enterprise ; and in 
l*>a. as in other things, it is experience 
that teaches. In soil, too, the lower parts 
of the district are wanting, with alaterite 
and white (piartzy stratun). Though the 
higher ))arts are much better, there is no 
rich deep loam to speak of. most of the 
good soil being shallow, and many estates 
have a sub-stratum of slab rock. In these 
circumstances, we sliould say careful drain- 
a"-e for the conservation of soil and manur- 
iiig for its inipro\ ement. are of prime i)n- 
iHHtance, even though no estates can yet 
lie s))oken of as worn out. It is \\\t\i a 
Held here aiul a Held there that abandonment 
begins, and w ith 1 imely atl ention, a venture 
wfrich might olln'rwise pro\c muenmnerative 
may be made to yield what may be 
called a living lelurn. One of the jjapers 
before us is most emi>hatic that manuring 
is j)r(iHtable and impro\es the tea, and it 
records the heav> a))plication of manures 
dui-ing the i)ast tuo years on son\e estates 
with the b(-sl results : while the other is 
more cautious. It admits the impro\ement 
of tea by mamuing. doubts whether, 
the results are generall>' renumerat ive— the 
fear being expressed that, if a continued 
ilownwaid tendency in prices rentier ex- 
pendituve on manures impossible, the last 
state of the tstate would be wovbc tjjaji 
10? 
AGRICULTURIST. 827 
the Hrst ! We trust such apprehension is 
out of place now— at any rate average 
estates — and that the i-uling prices will justify 
and repay the lil)eral treatment of bushes. 
Except in small privately-owned places, there 
is, according to one report, sufficiency of 
withering room and well-e(iuipped machinery, 
but the other refuses to regard accoimuoda- 
tion which cannot cope Avith a week of 
rainy weather as adequate. As leaf must 
l)e plucked when it is fit, and manufacturing 
cannot wait, it is always better to eiT on 
the safe side, and a factory Avhich cannot 
provide for a rush must be deemed deficient. 
The second report puts it in this way 
"I consider a factory should liave a roller to 
take 350 lb. witiiered leaf for every 100,000 lb. ot 
niaile tea, so a factory making 500,000 lb. tea 
should have five of tliese, and diiers in proportion. 
Very few factories in tiie island have, at least I 
do not know many, and in this district I do not 
know one factory." 
In motive jiower, however, both report.s 
agree there is no deficiency to mention, and 
such as there is being yearly lessened. 
Both reports speak of a more than suffi- 
ciency of labour — and that is not an unmixed 
blessing. .Superabundant labour means short 
time, and that, however comforting to the 
worker temporarily, means less pa>', ivith 
all the trouble incidental to it. Tliere i.-, 
ha[ii)ily, a concensus of opinion that the day 
of too severe pruning is past. The lessons 
of experience have not been lost ; and light 
pruning, at interv;ils of li to 18 months, 
now commands confidence as suited to the 
Kelani A'alley at any rate, and is practised 
on_ most estates. It is cheering to learn 
that, though the Valley does not prt^fess to 
turn out Darjilings, or to match Udapussel- 
lawa and Nuwara Eliya, it beats them in 
yield, in pungency, and in transport facilities; 
while it is happy in its labour, and only 
wants a l-ld. rupee to be content all round, 
even wiiile looking to lapton as its best 
customer ! With more supervision, too, said 
to l:>e directed t<3 manufactiu'e than afore- 
time, and with the Railway in -view, there 
is no reason Mhy old plantei's and young 
should not hold up their heads proudly in the 
great ^'Oiing district. 
AMBALANGODA ULSTRICTS NOTES. 
April.i33» 
WKATHlCl!. 
Fine weatlier aet in a<.,'ain on the •Jotii inst., 
after most useful showers which came on every 
day for over a fortnight. The rains freshened up 
everything and lia\ e not only made the tea bushes 
llusii vigorously, but put renewed life into 
all the vaiious products cultivated in tiiese dis- 
tricts—coconuts cinnamon, >ugar cane, arecanuts, 
&c., »Ve. 
Sinhalese pluckers have at last put in an aj)- 
pearance after their sumewiuit i)rolonged new year's 
junketings, much to the relief of mind of many 
an estate manager about here, visions of the gar- 
den covcreil with bushes yaids hi;,d', iiaving been 
prominent as the llush sprung up so rapidly. Ah 
usual the wenches all vlemaiuled a new year's gift 
each iu cash on coming to work ajrain. Is this 
custom peculiar to the low country Sinlmlc;e, 
or dees U prevail too amoc^' the Kaudyans? 
