fm TROHCAL AORlCtTLTtJRIST. 
[Nov. 2. 1908. 
clause seriously? Trees 2 feet in circum- 
ference means 8 inches in diameter, about 
the size of a post we generally cut for the 
centre of our Oooly Lines, and certainly that 
size is wanted lor centre posts tor bunga- 
lows. Then what about timber "under that 
size " y I Why Mr. Storey will have to call 
the Forester every time he wants a pole of 
any kind ! All this is very important, but 
nothing as compared to the fact that if he 
, carries out conditions in clause 4, he can grow 
nothing on the soil. If every tree 8 inches in 
diameter and over are to be left standing, 
what will grow under them ? Certainly coco- 
nuts will not- They must have thoroughly 
cleared land till they are in full bearing. 
Rubber may grow in small uncleared chena 
land, but I Uoubt if it will grow under 
high trees 8 inches in diameter and over. As 
for fruit trees, &c., there is not a fruit tree 
that I know of in Ceylon that will grow and 
bear under a forest shade. 
The thing is an utter farce and can't be 
worked. With the worry and trouble about 
the timber, and the expense of clearing land 
with numerous tiees standing, and the Forester 
at one's heels, and miserable sickly products 
trying to grow under shade, the whole 
thing will be an utter failure. I hear from 
good authority that the natives are with- 
drawing from the lands under the numerous 
tanks in the i<orth-Central and Northern Pro- 
vince because Government is too exacting. 
It is a big venture on the part of Mr. 
Storey to spend his money so far away 
from the centre of business. He has the 
climate to contend with, as well as labour 
and other small items too numerous to men- 
tion. As an encouragement to him, and to 
others, who will follow him and buy up 
land, if he is only successful, Government 
should sell him the block as it stands timber 
and all for RIO per acre, to be paid in in- 
6l;alments--say, one rupee an acre per year 
for ten years, binding him to clear so much 
of the land yearly.— Yours faithfully, 
' A, H. T. 
GAME AND FISH PROTECTION. 
Abbotsford, Sept. I8th. 
Deab Sir, — I am probably rushing into 
print as per usual without "flue consideration 
or cause, as all kind friends will say ; but 
can any sportsman resist it? — seeing how keen 
Messrs. Greene and Fyers are over the 
protection of game and the fining of all 
delinquents. Men in their position can do 
ever so much for sport of every description, 
so I hope I may be excused for publicly 
calling on them to take our trout under 
their wing. The Rajah Patna stream, 
stocked some years . ago for breeding pur- 
poses, was entirely swept by, it was said, 
coolies employed by the ITorest Department 
for the supply of firewood to the Railway. 
Anyhow the stream was cleared out ; but, as 
an attempt has been made to stock it once 
more, may I ask these gentlemen to help us 
to protect it? Portions of the Ambawella 
Oya, 1 believe, have been tampered with 
more than once as I have done the stocking 
of 'tUat sbreatu for jeaxs, aad 4;here£ord ought 
to know where fish should be. But, bless you, 
they are conspicuous by their absence in the 
best out of-the- way jungly sections oi theriver. 
I have beard a weird tale of sackfuls of 
trout having been brought down from the 
Horton Plains by platelaying railway coolies. 
It is an undoubted fact that a deal of dyna- 
mite disappeared just at that time, buu— as 
my good friend Tliomas Farr says— it's all 
"tommy rot," I, of course, humbly but not 
over-quietly, accept his dictum. He lells 
me old age and otters account for the dis- 
appearance of a lot of well-marked big fish 
up yonder, but I cannot swallow that. 
I hope our A.G.A. will refuse all licenses for 
hunting sambur in this neighbourhood in 
future. Durais of sorts, dogs of sorts, Lee- 
Enfields, blunderbusses, vittu-catties and 
niggers innumerable make it positively too 
dangerous to even indulge in a stroll round 
the garden of a Sunday morning. — Yours 
truly, JOHN FRASBB. 
INGREASED TEA DUTY IN RUSSIA. 
THE COLONIAL OFFICE APPROACHED. 
Kandy, Oct. 6. 
Dear Sir, — I enclose herein copy of corre- 
spondence received from Mr. Leake between 
the Ceylon Association in London and 
Downing Street, on the subject of Increased 
Duty on Indian anH Ceylon Teas imposed 
by the Russian Government, for the informa- 
tion of all interested.— Yours faithfully, 
A. PHILIP, 
CEYLON ASSOCIATION IN LONDON. 
(Copy.) 61 and 62 Gracechurch Street. 
London, E. C, 14th Sept., 1903. 
Sir, — I aui instructed to invite your attention 
to the announcement that the Russian Govertiment 
has, by a recent Ordinance, increased the duly on 
Indian and Ceylon Teas imported by the European 
Frontier or the Black Sea by 1^ roubles per pood 
equivalent to about 1 J/8 per pound. From this 
increased duty China and Japan Teas will, it 
seems, be free. 
• The total import of Tea of all growths into 
Rusda is about 126,000,000 lb annually, of, which 
about 50,000,000 lb is imported by tlie European 
Frontier and the Black Sea. 
The following comparative figures for the years 
1899 and 1902 show how rapidly Indian and 
Ceylon Teas have been displacing rival growths in 
this latter portion" of the trade when on even 
terms, 
1899. 1902. 
lb. lb. 
Ceylon Tea shipped direct ' 
from Colombo 3,949,740 11,727,068 
do re-exported from 
London 1,587,286 3,647,807 
5,537,026 15,374,875 
Ikdian Tea shipped direct 
from (Jalcatta aad 
Uhittagong 44,811 4,001,423 
do re-exported from 
London 727,262 2,886,445 
773,063 6,887,868 
Total British-grown Tea 6,309.089 22,263,74a 
or aa iiubrease of- 350 per cent ia 3 yeara. 
. 1 <Ji.1 — .t.t(ii I'.'i L'WV.Si". i^y'•i 
