196 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept. 1, 1908. 
ther districts and many professed a willingness to 
Oome with me if I could convince them that they 
would not be taken to Natal. Two men came with me 
and say they are delighted. They have written good 
accounts of this country to their friends and more 
may follow. 
The most striking point in the trip was the univer- 
sal dislike to Natal : of the many hundreds of coolies 
who have gone there, few have returned and none of 
those will go back at any price, preferring famine 
and death in their own country. 
Should a Ceylon man wish to try resruiting in 
Cnddapah, Guntur or Negapatam districts he must be 
prepared at all points, the country is being thoroughly 
worked by the native agents for Natal and the Straits, 
and they do not always play the game. In one dis- 
trict of a few miles in diameter one Agent has 300 
recruiters working for him. They leave no village 
untried as the high commission is worth their best 
energies. 
I could not expect the collectors or other high 
officials to give any assistance to one more than 
another, and letters of recommendation from Ceylon to 
these gentlemen are of little value, except to prove 
one's identity and the object of his mission. How- 
ever willing they may be to render assistance they 
have not time to do more than mention the fact to the 
Deputy Collectorp, Tasildars and other headmen in 
their districts. As these latter are the landholders 
and actual owners of the coolies we have come to take 
away, we cannot expect very great help from them. 
The best aids we have are the coolies who have 
already come over, to spread the fame of Ceylon, 
through their village and the next, and in time the 
others may think of trying this new country— Oej Ion, 
The Telugu coolies now in Ceylon, as a result of 
this trip are nearly all family men. Those who did 
not bring their wives are now anxious to send for 
them. Those who have thoir wives and children here 
will soon settle down and will think twice before 
undertaking the long and trying journey ba.ck to their 
country. 
Guntur is, I think, the most promising of any of the 
many centres of labour I visited, and saw with my own 
eyes many hundreds who would gladly exchange 
the constant toil and frequent famines of their native 
land for the easy work and happy life of the Ceylon 
estate cooly. 
COCONUT CROPd AND PRICES. 
Aug 3. 
Dear Sir, — I see from Chapman Anthony «& 
Co.'a Circular, to hand by the last mail, that a 
rumour is current in London that the Ceylon crop 
of coconuts this year will be 75 per cent lareer 
than last year. If such a rumour were started 
with regard to tea, what a hullabaloo of contra- 
diction there would be ! And yet, o"ne may say, 
not only that the rumour is absurd ; but that ic 
involves a physical, or agricultural, impossibility. 
Last year was an exceptionally good year for 
coconuts ; and I believe the crops gathered were 
the largest the island ever yielded. It is very 
seldom iu agriculture that two successive heavy 
crops aie reaped; but the rainfall of the latter 
half of 1902 and the first half of this year, gives 
promise that 1903 will also be a good year ; bat 
I should be surprised if the total outturn proves 
more than last year. If it does exceed the out- 
turn of 1902, it will be only by a little, chiefly 
from trees coming into bearing, It is absolutely 
impossible that the same trees can bear this 
year 75 per ceut more crop tlian they carried last 
rear ; and the extensions cannot yield anything 
approaching that increase, I should say he was 
a bold man who would venture to say, looking 
to the slov? growth of coconut exports, that the 
outturn 10, or even 15, years, hence will be 75 per 
cent more than last year. I am interested in a 
few hundred acres, all of it young, and some just 
coming into bearing ; and my crops this year 
.'how only the normal increase expected from 
young trees, and such as has been realised for 
years past. — Your faithfully, 
COCOS NUCIFERA. 
BIRDS AND TEA PESTS 
Upeonntry, Aug. 4. 
Sir, — Now that Mr. John Eraser and "Common 
Sense" have finished " going for " each other, 
it would be very interesting and instructive if 
any of your readers would give us a little infor- 
mation regarding bird-life in the tea districts. 
Planters are out in the fields most of the day 
and have splendid opportunities to study this in- 
teresting subject. I am surprised so little about 
bird-life has resulted from the numerous letters 
which have appeared in your columns.* 
There must be a number of planters who take 
an interest in the subject, who are able to write 
concerning it and to stick to the point. I am nob 
a planter and have not the time at my disposal 
to be out-of-doors as much as I wish, but I 
have been about somewhat and have been much 
struck with the fact that when travelling through 
dense jungle one seldom sees a small bird. An 
occasional flock of parrots may be met with; but 
it is on the outskirts of the jungle near the 
cultivated lands and dwellings that small birds 
are to be seen. My bungalow is situated in the 
heart of the tea districts, 4,000 feet elevation. 
In an hour on a Sunday afternoon in my small 
garden I have counted as many as nine varieties 
of small birds, and I have noticed that a small 
brown and yellow bird with a long bill is the 
most active on the orange trees tearing apart 
the leaves stuck together by pests of various 
kinds. This bird is vulgarly known in this dis- 
trict as the "honey bird," but it seems to enjoy 
the tit bits, spiders, grub, or eggs found when 
he or she manages to tear the leaves apart. One 
of your correspondents, sugjiested that it would be 
well to have the tea pests and not develope their 
natural enemy in case a cure might become worse 
than the disease. This seems to me to savour of 
armchair philosophy. Small birds are the natural 
enemies of pests such as we want to get rid of; 
there are a number of birds which prey upon these 
pests, but for want of proper shelter for nests and 
from enemies they do not increase as rapidly as 
the pests. There cannot be much danger in giving 
assistance to indigenous birds. The points are to 
find out, what birds want assistance, what are 
their habits, and in what way they can be helped 
to increase. 
Mr. Marks makes a very practical suggestion 
in connection with birds which frequent patanas ; 
but are birds indigenous to patanas of use to 
exterminate tea pests? For instance, a very large 
proportion of the tea estates lie a long distance 
from patana lands. I have mentioned a bird 1 
have seen busy at tortrix: I understand this biru 
hangs its nest on bamboos or creepers. I know 
the robin feeds on grubs, although I have seen 
* This is too-too: Mr, Eraser's letters afford much 
information if " Interested " will impartially con- 
sider them.— Ed. T^a, 
