436 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. December t, 1891. | 
Certain manures too have been found quite unsuited 
for delicite vegetables, through imparting to them a 
decidedly difagreoable flavor. 
On many of the famous vine-farms of Europe, 
manuring has resulted in entirely des'royiug the 
speoial bouquet o£ the wines made upon them. 
On the other hand, many plants grown for 
the specially delicate aroma of their produce have im- 
proved upon manuring, such as melons, peaches and many 
other luscious fruits, alliiough I should think as a general 
rale the delicacy of the aroma and flavor would be im- 
paired. . , 
Upon the tea 1 have mostly to deal with, manuring 
has so far not been found necessary to euch a degree 
as to enable me to form any opinion on the subject, 
but I shall cow have teas made from manured parts 
separately, to see if I can discover any distinctive 
character about them. 
Manure would, I should think, have a much more 
direct influence upon the immature leaf in this reepeot, 
smh as make the finest teas, than upon matured fruit, 
coffee for instance; for the ingredienls of the plant 
food and what accidentally may accompany it in the 
form of sup, would be in a less elaborated condition 
than in the maturer leaves that have more fully thrown 
off volatile matter with their gases and moisture. 
Another ascertained fact is the more general exis- 
tence of delicacy of flavor from plants grown in inferior 
rather than rich soil, an instance of which we have in 
our own cinnamon that has,! believe.neverbeen ben ten; 
and this rule applies to many other plants. 
However my opinion is chiefly by analogy and upon 
general principles, to which tea may be an exception, 
yet I should think there might be an uofavourable 
effect produced in this respect by the application of 
manure especially upon the finer grades, 
I regret that time will not allow me to write more 
upon so interesting a subject, so fully experiraente i upon 
by scientific cultivation which would I think be agaiust 
the application of moat of the usual fertilizing materials 
by those who desire to produce fine flavored teas. If 
quantity alone were sought my opinion would be 
different. Wm, Forbes Laurie. 
Another planter writes as follows :— 
Referring to " Novice's" letter about quality of tea 
and artificial manuring— I am unable to give you 
anything approaching proof for or against his theory. 
My opinion is at present an undecided one. I have 
manuiei here with artificial manure a small acreage 
during the last three years,'of which however I was ab- 
sent from the island fully 18 months. Since my return 
1 have been so busy that the question has not had as 
much attention as it deserves, I cannot say, however, 
that I have noticed any deterioration in quality ot tea 
from manured fields as compared with unmanured 
fields, and ou the other hand I cannot say I have no- 
tioed any improvement. I know however that 
Mr. Joseph Fraser used to thmk his tea 
from manured fields slightly better in quality. I leave 
e itirely out of the que^ilion all consideration of quan- 
tily. The question is an interesting one, but facts and 
rot opinions are what is wanted. 
Our inferior teas are always made during the season 
of rapid growth—whether due to this rapid growth 
or to bad climatic conditions for manufacture or to 
want of accommodation, &c.-that is a fact. Manure 
(artificiBl) certainly produces a more rapid growth 
also, which is at least somethim in favour of ''Novice » 
theory ; but I think the theory is contrary to the re- 
ceived ideas of jilmott all manuring. _ 
The dose ot castor cake and bones mentioned by 
your correspondent ^ivcs a very large dose indeed of 
phosphoric acid or soluble phosphate of lime per acre- 
far larger than there seoiiis auy necessity for, and is 
very much after the principles laid down by Hnfihes 
for co/Av, which is quite another matter. I thould be 
very curious to know wliat the yield of tea m|inuri;d 
with this mixture was, bi^foro application niid in the 
two Buccefjding yonrs (with d»l(;R of iirunii;^;"). 
TuriouBly enou!,di, " Novice" himsolf answered cur 
ciroula-, and in very decided terms, thus :— ^ 
In ftii.^wiT to your ciionliir h^tlc^r abovo " No7ioe ' 
manuring tea with artificial manure. My expjti- 
enc > is that the yitid is increased for 2 years by one- 1 
third on good tea and on poor tea doubled, but. 1 | 
urn now convinced the <)uality is not so cood. Liquor i 
from manured toa is [poor thin stuff and wanting in 
flavour ; this is my opinion after careful experiinenta 
froDQ leaf of the same field .t manured J not manured. 
It is for men iu position to settle the question, not a 
man with the experience of " Novice." 
Besides the Chittagong experiment to whioh we 
have referred, there ia tho experience of Mr. ' 
.JoFeph Fraser, entirely in favour of manuring 
both as regards quantity and quality. It is quite , 
possible that in the case quoted by " Novice " > 
over-manuring resulted in a rank growth, and that 
improvement in flavour would take place sub- 
sequently. But the experieneo in China eeems 
coDclusivQ in favour of manuring, The Chinese I 
collect and apply as manure every possible ! 
fertilizing matter, even the grossest, and yet the ; 
distinguishing merit of China tea has always been 
its delicate flavour! Indeed a China paper quoted ; 
by us in our issue of Nov. 11th distinctly attributes 1 
the recent falling off in the quality of teas brought 
to Fooehow, to neglect of manuring. The terms i 
of this impeachment are : — " These latter folk [the [ 
growers,] go on plucking tea from worn out plants, j 
growing in exhausted soil which is never renovated , 
by manure of any kind. How is any better tea to ' 
be obtained under these circumstances ? " In ' 
China, therefore, the belief seems to be in the 
absolutely beneficial effect of manure and the 
absolute necessity of manuring for the production i 
of tea of good quality. There may be questions \ 
as to the kinds and the quantities of manure ' 
to be applied to lea, but the conclusions of 
" Novice " carried to their extreme oonscquenoes 
would place tea in a category different to that i 
of all other cultivated plans, necessitating its ] 
culture after a fashion which would inevitably [ 
result in the utter exhaustion of the constantly | 
plucked bushes and the soil in which they grow, 
without an attempt being made to restore the 
waste, except at the risk of ruining the quality of ; 
the product. Who is prepared to accept such a j 
reductio ad ahsurdum ? In the vast mass of litera- I 
ture connected with the tea enterprise in India j 
whioh we have read, we cannot recollect that euch ' 
a question as the deleterious effect of manuring 
was ever raised, nor can we bring ourselves to ■ 
accept the conclusion that manures judiciously ; 
selected and moderately applied, can be other than ] 
beneficial as regards quality as well as quantity of j 
leaf. Surely there are estates even in so young j 
a tea country as Ceylon where experience has ! 
settled tho question of the influence of fertilizers ! 
on flavour. j 
KOADS IN AMERICA, GEEAT BRITAIN, | 
AND FRANCE. ; 
The common roads and country highways of the 
Uoited .Stales are in a condition at present some- i 
what similar to that which prevailed in England j 
and other parts of Europe one hundred and fifty j 
years ago. Some of the ancients were great road- j 
builders, notably the Romans and Carthaginians. 
Remains of the great Roman roads are still to be 
seen in Italy, and in many instances these old 
highways are either still in use or furnish the . i 
foundations for the modern roads. With the deca- j 
donee of the Roman power road building aod main- ] 
tenance suffered with everything else, and the great I 
h'ghways which radiated from the capital city were . 
left to tho care of the various neighbourhoods ^ 
through which thej passed. They suffered the 
severest neglect, but such was the solidity of their '•■ 
construction that some of them have remained till | 
