January i, 1891.] THE TROPICAL AQRlOULTURI^t. 5*3 
I ■ iir|-|-r-|T-|l^ir-ni ' 
To ihi Editor. 
FOEKING OB DIGGING TEA— NO. L 
Dee. 1st. 
Dhar Sir, — la answer to “ Pervert” I have to 
state that I have seen it tried in many districts, and 
I oannot say that I have ever noticed any beuefioial 
result in forking alone. In fact as your aorrespondent 
mentions I also have noticed a marked falling-off 
in Tea after forking ; this I believe is owing to its 
being overdone, for the breaking of nearly all the 
feeding roots within 10 inches or a foot of the soil 
must seriously check the vigour of a tree for a time. 
Of course from digging in manure the results are 
well-known to be most satisfactory, and I have also 
seen digging in prunings in every alternate line tell 
most favourably on the tea bushes, but general 
digging I have not found good, but I believe if 
carefully done in every alternate row on certain 
stiff soils at the proper time, it cannot but have 
a bonelioial diect on the tea. V. A. 
No. II. 
Nov. 30th. 
Dear Sir, — I have found no good results whatever , 
follow forking, unless the operation is accompanied 1 
by the application of manure. I have tried it in | 
tea of difierent ages, and in diiierent soils, with | 
equally unsatisfactory results. T. 0, 0. 
No. III. 
Dear Sir, — Your correspondent “Pervert" is 
quite right in saying, that there ia a great diversity 
of opinion on the merits of forking tea, the effects 
of the operation being anything but calculated to 
inspire general confidence. 
In Dolosbage with a wet subsoil and heavy rain- 
fall, — the two things, one would say, that were not 
conducive to the euccess of such a system of 
cultivation, — several planters swear by it, and in 
the course of my wanderingsi I often hear of good 
results following the forking up of the soil in 
other districts ; but personally I am rather disposed 
to agree with your correspondent, and I have no 
desire to renew the experiments I have made. 
Digging in the prunings and rubbish on the 
ground, I think does good, especially if showery 
weather ia expected. ALPHA, 
No. IV. 
Dear Sir, — Digging, in my experience, shows no 
results whatever on the tea, unless manure is thus 
applied, when paying results always follow. I would 
only fork up every other lino. G. S. A. 
No. V. 
Lower Ambsgamuwa, Dec. 7tb. 
Dear Sir, — I have in my career as a planter had 
a big share in the digging and forking up of the 
soil, both iu coffee and tea land. My nine years’ ex- 
perience of this work with the latter product is oei- 
taiiily contrary to that of “Pervert.” Digging is scarcely 
at all needed where the soil is of a friable nature 
unless for the sake of economy : it you were re- 
novating such soil by applying manure, digging it 
in you will find pay better than the old-fasbionod 
holing sjstem. I say digging is a sine qua non.. It 
is perfectly true, and I admit that forking up will 
and does, as a rule, throw back the flushing tendency 
of the tea; but this is only wbat one must naturally 
expect. Tr.ke any other shrub, dig about it in a 
similar way, whatever its yield is to bo you will in- 
variably, uny always, find it on the diminishing after 
such a process, and for snob a time only as your 
shrub has had to battle with the efieots of disturbed 
()5 
nature. But what about the after results? Comment 
is unnesessary. In 1884, a field of 12 acres tea a 
year old was to all appearance stunted and far from 
having a healthy appearance, I resorted to digging 
as a last resource before finally abandoning the field. 
In six months after digging, it beat my most sanguine 
expectations, and today thut same field is yielding 
a considerable crop. This was purely a root-bound 
field, the soil requiring to bo broken up; once the 
roots had free play the bushes naturally grew and 
filled out. Digging ought to be periolioally carried 
out v/hsre our soil is so apt to get caked up. Apart 
from thi.->, it is one of nature’s requirements. I be- 
lieve digging up the soil lias been in vogue since 
the creation ; does not the good old Book teach us 
“Break up the 'fallow ground, dig about the roots”? 
— Yours truly, C. J. 
OEYLON TEA CHOPS AND FUEL SUPPLY. 
Dear Sir, — Looking over the Directory I find 
you estimate quantity of tea to be exported in 1891 
at 54,000,000 lb. 
I believe the quantity of wood fuel required to 
make 100 lb. of tea averages about 60 Ib., so that 
fuel is becoming a very important item. 
The Forest Department has done a great deal, 
but undoubtedly thinks too much about showing 
a profit on its working ; but after all “Heaven 
helps who help themselves,” and so proprietors should 
secure waste land in the neighbourhood of their estates 
and factories and plant quick-growing suitable trees. 
When demand for fuel reaches 14,286 tons a 
year, it will be a serious matter for those who have 
forgotten to look ahead. — Yours, TEA POT. 
THE WATCH COMPASS. 
Dear Sir,^ — I am surprised that “ Astro ” thinks 
that the watch could never be made to revolve 
around its hour hand in northern countries. Let 
him take a circular piece of pasteboard, lay a 
wire across it, fastening it on by gummed slips, 
and then pointing the wire to any quarter of the 
heavens sea if ha cannot twirl the disk. The hour 
hand of a watch corresponds to the wire, and the 
possibility of revolving the watch around it as if 
it were an axis, does not depend on the latitude 
of a place. This makes it plain that the watch 
does 7iot “ adjust itself to the plane of the sun's 
daily path.” It can however be adjusted by taking 
care to keep that point of the dial which is to 
indicate south higher than any other point, while 
the hour hand is pointing to the sun. This might 
easily be neglected if attention were not called 
to it, as I believe has not been done thus far, 
aud it would vitiate the whole experiment, and 
might give a serious error. This omission made the 
original rule practically valueless. The required 
adjustment introduces a complexity which lessens 
the advantage of the watch compass, and “ Astro ” 
admits that for five months in these parts the rule 
has to be altered and for other four months is 
only approximate. The fact is that anyone with 
a little ingenuity can tell the points of the com- 
pass quite accurately by simply noting the position 
of the sun, if he only knows the time of day 
—Yours truly, ANOTHER YANKEE. 
THE NUWARA ELIYA CARP AS FOOD- 
SUPPLY : 
SUPPLY OE FRY FREELY AVAILABLE FOR CULTURE 
IN PONDS, TANKS, &C. 
Nuwara Eliya, Deo. 6th. 
Dear Sib, — Will you allow me through the 
medium of your paper to draw attention again to 
the excellent food supply that the Nuwara Eliya 
carp (the PruBsiau oarp) yields. 
