October r, 1890.] 
THE TROPiOAL AGRICULTURIST, 
289 
THE EUEL QUESTION IN CEYLON. 
With reference to the very natural desire of the 
Uva planters to see the planting of patauaa with 
timber trees on a large scale, reference may be 
made to Col. Clarke’s remarks on the heavy ex- 
pense of afforesting or re-afforesting processes. Wo 
can speak from personal experience of the coat 
of obtaining seeds which perhaps do not germinate 
or when they germinate are destroyed by insect 
or fungoid pests. Plants put out are also too 
often killed by unfavourable weather, and then, 
when the planting is successful, there is the long 
waiting for returns. Nevertheless, tea planters 
ought to plant trees. One who deserves to be 
listened to writes to us ; — ‘ This is a most important 
question for the Forest OfScers who have to keep 
up the railway supply, and are looked to to 
meet the wants of the planting community. The 
Government will doubtless do all it can, but the 
planters must look to their own resources. I 
know an estate on which the other day I strongly 
advised the planting of the available patana and 
waste spaces with teas, but the gentleman charged 
with looking after the interests of the estate opened 
the remainder in tea. I suppose to get a little 
money for the present, Planters upoountry ought 
to keep at least 25 per cent of their land in forest 
if they desire to making their own tea. 
Damba, the tree you mention as being liked 
on high estates, belongs to a family very numerous 
in this country,* almost all of which yield ex- 
cellent building timber. Wa, as you say, is 
esteemed by the railway ; but, I apprehend, it was 
only mentioned by Mr. Strong owing to its foliage 
and flowers standing out so prominently on the 
land bordering the Eailway. There are many many 
other woods equally good for fuel with wa, which, 
indeed, is too good for fuel, being quite a cabinet 
wood.” This agrees with what we heard about 
beautiful articles of furniture being made from an 
old iva tree (Gassia siamea, or C, Jlorida) at Ne- 
gombo. The timber is hard and beautifully mottled, 
^ 
A VISIT TO THE COLOMBO CIGAR 
FACTORY. 
(From a Correspondent.) 
I recently paid a short visit to the Ceylon 
Tobacco Manufacturing Company’s premises at 
Messrs. Cumberbatch & Co.’s mills in Vauxhall 
Street, and was much interested in what I saw. 
The cigar factory is an upstair building, formerly 
a oofl'ee store. Upon reaching the top of the stairs 
a busy scene was observed, men, women and 
children all actively engaged, each one at his or 
her own special task in the making of a cigar. 
First were a number of men stripping the ribs out 
of the tobacco, all seated in line on the floor. Then 
came a lot of women cutting it up and piling it in 
heaps ready for the packers. These were mostly 
boys, who are very expert in gathering up a handful, 
arranging it and quickly seizing a leaf rough wrapper, 
he places one end between his toes (not a very 
agreeable eight for those who smoke the cigars), 
stretches the leaf, and holding it by his right 
hand he rolls it into a sort of ship shape, which 
concludes his work. It is then passed to another who 
places it in a mould, which is put under a screw 
press. The mould holds about 15 cigars, and 
they are pressed in shape, and have to remain 
in the mould till partly dry. They are then taken 
out and another wrapper of the finest tobacco, which 
is imported in boxes and bales from Sumatra 
and Borneo, is put on. The cigars, after passing 
* The Eugenias are referred to,— Ed, T, A, 
87 
through all the hands who have to do with manu- 
facturing them, are passed on to another part of 
the room where they are packi d into boxes, after 
having beiii tied into bundles whh a pretty yellow 
silk ribbon. 
The boxes are all labeled “ Tlie Ceylon Tobacco 
Manufacturing CompaDy, Limited,” and passed down- 
stairs into the drying-room, which is built air- 
tight, with an iron hot-air tubs about 18 inches 
wide running through the contra of it. The 
thermometer usually registers more than 100 
degrees in the room, so that the cigars 
are soon dry, and ready to bo exported. The 
market usually chosen is Australia, where there 
is a ready and profitable sale for them. In the 
drying-room a lot of bricks are used to place on 
the top of the boxes to keep them from warping. 
There is also a room where the tobacco is steeped 
in vats, and placed on a sloping cement platform 
to drain off the water. This must be done before 
it can be worked with. 
The manager of the factory, Mr. Boyd, has great 
trouble with the coolies, who are very much addicted 
to chucking up their billets after they have been 
taught the art of manufacturing cigars, so that he 
has to teach fresh hands almost daily. There are 
about 60 hands in the factory at present, 
but they sometimes exceed 100. 
There is plenty of coarse tobacco in the country 
to be got cheap, which would do very well for 
manufacturing cavendish, and I don’t see why it 
should not Be tried ; there is plenty of sale locally 
for good black cavendish. The manager says that 
the ribs taken out of the leaves are all wasted 
here, whereas they are used up at home for 
snuff-making, but the heavy duty on tobacco at 
home prevents its being sent to the London 
market. Why not start a snull factory as well ? 
I am sure the natives here are large consumers of 
snuff, which is all imported, I presume, at present. 
I love a good cigar, and I must say I have smoked 
some of the finest to be had in the East, and they 
were turned out of the Ceylon Tobacco Manufactur- 
ing Company, Limited. 
♦ 
COFFEE IN GUATEMALA. 
Coffee is the principal staple commodity of the 
Republic of Guatemala, and its chief article of ex- 
port. The topographical features of the country are 
such that climatic influences are favourable to the 
growth of the berry, varying only according to altitude 
and care in cultivation, or as the degree of tropical 
heat may be tempered by copious rainfall, and precau- 
tions as to shade during the early age of the tree. 
The United States Consul at Guatemala says that in 
cultivating coffee, a nursery is formed by the choice 
of a level piece of virgin ground, in proximity to 
water, where the earth is rich. The laud must be 
thoroughly cleared, and the soil dug to the depth of 
at least nine inches, and made as friable as possible. 
It is then divided into beds, with narrow paths between. 
The seed, carefully selected from the soundest grains, 
either in parchment or with their outer husk, should 
be sown, row by row, about ten to twelve inches 
apart. A rope, the length of the beds, stretched 
from one end of the same to the other, is used for 
this purpose. The seed, if sown in suitable weather 
(April bring the best mouth,) makes its appearance 
in the tender blade above the surface after thirty-five 
to forty days ; so that a nursery formed during the 
month of April of one year has plants sufficiently 
matured to be set out during May or June of the 
following year. Preliminary to the all-important pro- 
gressive step in coffee culture, that of transplanting, 
is “ holing.” The field is prepared in advance for 
the reception of the nursery trees by digging holes 
(five yards apart when above 3,000 feet above the sea. 
