762 
THE TROPICAL AGEICULTUEIST. [May 2, 1904. 
€oxxm^onbtnct. 
To the Editor. 
THE CLOSE SEASON FOR WHISTLING 
TEAL. 
Nilambe Estate, Galaha, March 21. 
Dear Sir,— I read with interest Mr. W. 
Ferguson's letter re closing tinae for Teal 
shooting in your last issue. I cannot say 
I agree with him. My experience is, that 
whistling teal breed during the months of 
June and July. Mr. Ferguson says that he 
has seen unfledged teal being offered for sale 
in September at the camp. You cannot go 
on this, as in the most carefully preserved 
sport in the world, partridge shooting, you 
can see young squeakers in November. There 
are always some late birds that are hatched 
out after the others. In my opinion the 
season ought to open in the Southern Pro- 
vince not later than the 15th of August, as 
after September the birds all go into the 
interior for the tanks. Another thing is that 
owing to the difficult nature of the ground 
nearly all teal-shooting is by flight and if 
a teal is big enough to join in the flight he 
is certainly old enough to be shot. If he is 
not he gets into the middle of the big 
swamps when it is impossible to get him. 
A few but very few birds may have been 
captured by the natives when there was a 
safe for them at the Camp, but now as that 
sale has ceased I doubt very much if any 
are ever caught and sold now.— Yours etc., 
GEO. COX SCOT!. 
THE STRAITS AND CEYLON : RUBBER 
AND OTHER PROSPECTS COMPARED. 
Kandy, March 21st. 
Sir, — Your interview with Mr. North 
Christie, I am afraid, points to the fact that 
Ceylon will not be in the position with other 
countries as regards rubber cultivation it 
has enjoyed in regard to tea. Ceylon will 
waken up in two or three years to the fact 
that there are millions of acres elsewhere 
where they have maiden soil to grow rubber 
on, by which time we shall have done for a 
lot of our tea area by planting rubber 
amongst the tea bushes. The Straits Gov- 
ernment, Mr. Christie need never fear, will 
soon have a scientific experimental station 
like Gangaruwa with mycologists, agricultural 
chemists and entomologists, probably better 
and more complete than our own. They do 
not know what to do with iheir surplus 
revenue in the Protected States. Tin miners, 
especially Chinese, are splendid tax payers. 
I see January and February immigration re- 
turns land us with 6,000 coolies deficiency : — 
Immigrants ... ... 3,979 
Emigrants ... ... 10,172 
Loss of hands to Ceylon ... 6,153 
—Yours sincerely, CAUTIOUS 
RAMIE AND THE COTTON CRISIS. 
March 10th, 25, Birchington Road, Kilburn, 
London N.W. 
Sir, — Cotton is attracting the attention of.the 
whole world particularly England. " The death 
kneJl ",has been' sounded, unless immediate steps 
are taken, to Lancashire. It even figures in the 
King's speech, Parliament is called upon to legis- 
late. Millions in wages alone have been lost and 
the pinch of privation is upon many households. 
The poor operatives are the first to feel the effects, 
but unable to prevent them. Why does this all 
come about ? Simply because our own want of 
foresight has allowed one country to monopolise 
the world's production, 80 per cent at least is grown 
by America, who dictates the price we shall pay 
and to such a tune do we dance, that we are scream- 
ing out to be rescued. What from? The folly of 
neglecting to utilise the grand opportunities we 
have at our command. We have millions of miles 
of land that wants cultivation and much could grow 
cotton, but more could grow Ramie. Here is a fibre 
acknowledged to be the finest in the world and 
easily cultivated, easily worked, known to us for 
decades, yet neglected though admitted superior to 
cotton and which if it had been fostered would have 
prevented the present crisis. Even the waste of 
Ramie is superior to cotton. There are tut few 
Colonies that could not grow it. I have grown it 
even here. If the Government and our manufac- 
turers had done their duty, this grand fibre would 
have received the attention it deserves and repaid 
the effort by bringing untold wealth to the Empire. 
I do not say exclude cotton ; on the contrary, grow 
it.as it will have its uses, but alongside grow Ramie, 
the one will protect the other. Vast sums are 
being spent in experimental cotton-growing, much 
time and thought given to devise means to upset 
cotton-cornering. If a tenth part of this energy 
were bestowed on Ramie the solution of the diffi- 
culty would be found and another industry added 
to the Empire and an asset of vast importance 
secured to the National Ledger, Let our Chambers 
of Commerce, Technical Colleges, our Colonial and 
Home Boards of Agriculture take up Ramie, make 
exhaustive trials, and set about the enquiry in 
earnest. It is knocking at our doors. Admit it, or 
others will secure the trade, as the Americans have 
done with cotton, Germany, fully alive to the 
merits of Ramie,is subsidisingits Colonies to encour- 
age Ramie cultivation. The French are courting 
our Indigo planters whom the Germans have 
ruined, and Ramie is being grown to find 
its way to enrich the French, so it goes 
on all the world over : an open donr to all who 
avail themselves of our hospitality to impoverish 
their hosts. We allow the French, Germans, 
Danes, all and sundry to establish lucrative 
trades, all of which we could do ourselves. Take 
another instance. Dairy Produce. Ireland is an 
ideal country and could supply what we get from 
nations that are not so well favoured both geo- 
graphically and climatically. We allow our 
railways to set rates that encourage the foreigner. 
Foreign produce is carried at rates in many 
instances one-third of what our home produce is 
carried for. We have an Empire that can pro- 
duce everything we want— without, I believe, a 
single exception. We have stores of minerals, 
agricultural and other produce and would be in- 
dependent of the foreigner for supplies of every 
description, and we could produce cheaper ; yet 
we prefer tb enrich the foreigner, who is not 
even thankful for our custom but ready 
to abuse us at every opportunity. Yet we 
still offer him our money. How is this brought 
about,? By our own apathy and the want of 
education in our people especially the working 
classes. Here is an illustration : a carpenter out 
