Dec. 1. 1903.] 
THE TROPICAL 
9 
AGRICULTURIST. 
401 
SUB-TROPICAL FRUITS IN CEYLON. 
For some time past Mr A -T Pearson of 
Messrs. Brown & Co., Colombo, has been im- 
porting fruit trees from Australia with the object 
of seeing how they succeed in Ceylon, and some 
acccunt of his success with tliese will be of inter- 
est especially to LTpcountry readers in those dis- 
tricts which are sufficiently elevated foi- 
gro wins' the various trees. 
The Hitferent kinds which Mr Pearson has so 
far tried include citrus frnits, peaches, necta- 
rines, apricots, Japanese plums, fipa and grapes. 
Ic is of course, necessary to bring tlie young 
trees over when they are dry and dormant, nnd in 
the best possiVile condition for being lifted from 
the 8' il and travellina. This Pf riofl is 
DURING THE AUSTRALIAN WINTKR 
and it is in the months of June and July that the 
moving of the trees is aceomplisl ed. After many 
trials considerable expprience has been gained, and 
now Mr Pearson knows the right methods to be 
adopted and the plants arrive in Ceylon generally 
in perfect condition. Points in regard to pro|,er 
ventilation while travelling, and proper packing 
material have had to be learned, and now speci- 
ally constructed and ventilated travelling crates 
have been made and suitable fibre material used 
for packing. 
CITRUS FRUITS, 
including about a dozen varieties of oranges and 
several kinds of lemon have been brought into Cey- 
lon. Both oranges and lemons do well in tha island. 
Oranges, all of the yellow varieties, do very 
well where the climatic conditions suit them, 
but in many parts the eliniite is too wet and 
the fruit do not get sufficient sun to colour pro- 
perly. Very good results were obtained with 
Washington navel oranges, except that the fruit 
did not get the bright yellow colour so characteris- 
tic of that variety. iTn certain parts of Ceylou 
where the climate is dry, and there is plenty of 
continued sunshine to colour the fruit, oranges do 
well. The growth of the tree and fruit is good 
at FTatton, but they succeed better on the Uva 
side. Lemons also do well, the Uva district being 
best for them also. The trees are strong and 
quick growers and fruit freely. When the 
lemons attain a certain size they are picked and 
allowed to ripen and colour afterwards. Both 
oranges and lemons have proved very satisfactory. 
THE DECIDUOUS TREES. 
The deciduous trees which Mr Pearson 
has got over from Australia will not flourish 
below an elevation of about 4,000 ft. Above 
this they do fairly well, and ate satisfactory 
at Nuwara Eliya. All these deciduous trees 
are greatly handicapped in Ceylon by the want 
of a cold season. Deciduous trees require a 
dormant resting season, in which they shea all their 
leaves and the trees have a period of rest before 
again bursting into leaf and undergoinf the severe 
tax of fruit-hearing. This cold dormant season is 
wanting in Ceylon ; on the higher elevations the 
trees shed their leaves to a certain extent, but 
before they are properly shed the new leaves begin 
to appear. Amongst these deciduous trees are 
apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums and figs. Figs 
are doing well, and it is only in the last two years 
that these have been imported. Being very gross 
feeders figs require a great amount of manure. 
They grow well and begin to fruit very soon after 
planting. Japanese plums are also a recent in- 
troduction, ami they promise well. Peaches do 
fairly well, r'sppcialjy at bitrh elpvatiuns. 
AUSTRALIAN GRAPE VINES. 
Grape vines have been introduced from Ans- 
tralia, both fiirple and green varieties. A good 
number of tl.mi have bpen planted, but the same 
trouble is found with them — they want a resting 
season. Some cultivators have tried the method of 
giving the vines n forced rest by artih'ial means. 
The roots of the vine are exposed to the sun, and 
thus the How of sap in restrained and the plant stays 
partially dormant. Tn the drier Jflff"R district the 
grapes ilo well, but it is doubtful if they will 
be nineh good elsewhere : they ge^ gof d foliage 
but ilo not fruit satisfactorily. I{rga'ding the 
EXPORT OF FPUIT FROM CEYLON 
Mr. Pearson says that there is little use in 
trying to export nianf.oes for the London market ; 
they are too soft and will not stand the voyage 
even if pncked unripe ; the mango is a fiuit 
which must be eaten at the ri^'ht moment, — in the 
morning it may be too hard to eat and by evening 
almost too soft. Mr. Pearson is growing a number 
of pines — having i an acre under cultivation in 
Colombo — and vvill try exporting these to London, 
sendincr only the larger and finer fruit ; audit is 
flmnghr probab'e that these mny stand the voyage 
well. So far the introduction of snb-tropicnl fruit 
is fairly satisfactory, and we wish Mr Pearson 
further success in the enterprise, which he is still 
carrying on. 
THE CEYLON FISHING CLUB. 
INTEKESTING PROPOSALS FOR AC- 
CLIMATISED TROUT. 
HATCHERIES TO BE MOVED TO A COLDER SPOT. 
We leain authoritatively that the decision 
airived at by the Managing Committee of the 
Ceylon Fishing Club at the usual monthly 
meeting held at the Hill Club on Saturday, the 
24th October, in conueccion with the importation 
of Brown Trout Ova for 1904, is by no means due 
to the report that Brown Trout were freely 
breeding in the streraus at Muwara Eliya and 
HoriOQ Plains. Opinion with regard to the exact 
breed of these fry in the streams at Nuwara Eliya 
is much divided. A good many anglers assert 
it is the Rainbow Trout. Others say that it is 
the Brown Trout, and now some of the Com- 
mittee of the Fishing Club are of opinion that 
the fry is a cross between the Rainbow and the 
Brown. Mr John Cotton informed our represen- 
tative that it was more than probable that the 
latter was the case in the streams at Nuwara 
Eliya. He thought it was impossible to definitely 
tell what the fry were, unless they were isolated. 
He thought that some of the fry should be 
removed from the streams when they were 
between 9 and 12 inches, and kept in some special 
stream and watched ; he thought that the stream 
olFer-d to the Fishing Ciub by Mr A W A Pl^'e 
at the last general hieeting would be a suitable 
stream for expeiimenting purposes. The reasoa 
for not importing Brown Trout Ova next yedP 
is, we le;uu, that the Managing Committee 
aro assured that the water in the present 
hiiichi'iies is too hot for hatching out 
Brown Trout Ova ; and for rearing the 
fry. The perceutage of returns from Brown 
Trout during the last two years — though satis- 
factory as compared with India's success— was by 
no means what it should be. It is stated that the 
