March 2 , 1891 .] 
THF TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
659 
... 249-33 
... 2U8-84 
... l'J7'21 
nearer station 
years is 246‘45 inches ; Theberton for 11 years 
22l'll, — an increase to Eifindale of 25*34 mean., by 
being closer to the mountain. 1890 rainfall gave 
more viz.; — 
Eifindale ... ••• 
Theberton Factory 
Bungalow .. ••• 
I expect tba increase to the u a iir 
to the mountain would be more or less, as the 
monsoon has more or less southing or westing in it, 
or maybe when it is stronger, so carrying ram 
clouds further off. I believe if a gauge was kept ou 
Lftxapanaga'a say * niifs west of Eifindale, it would 
show a much heavier rain fall than Eifindale. Strange 
at Laxapanagala bungalow, which is about a mile 
in a straight line N.-W. from E-findale, the rainfall 
is said to be less. This is accounted for by the 
mountain decreasing in elevation as it runs to the 
west, below Laxapanagala falls. I should say, they 
had a much better climate than here, that is still 
further west — as I note the sun shining often there 
when we are alt cloud and mist here. Though I see in 
today’s Observer that at Arsleua (which is lower down 
in Dikoya Valley) the rainfall is very heavy.* The 
main reason our rainfall being so heavy the hot 
air is carried right ou to the mountain troni off tho 
lowcountry without any hills of any considerable 
elevation taking the moisture out of the S.-W. current. 
1 rather fancy the S.-W. about middle RIaskeliya travels 
across a lot of high land, which wrings the moisture 
out of it before it falls in the Valley. I trust I am 
not intruding by sending you these notes. As I 
know you take great interest in these things I thought 
you might like to see them. If you think it worth 
while you might send these notes on to Uolombo, 
Mr. Greig of Laxapana having sent you notes of his 
rainfall, I thought yon would also like to se^ ours, 
which in a way are unique. Mr. Galton of Blfiudale 
kindly gave me his rainfall for 5 years. The rainfall 
has been kept off and on on Eifindale for many years, 
hut I am afraid previous to r. Galton’s, they are 
not to be relied on; besides they were kept at the 
bungalow, which is right under the Laxapanagala 
cliffs, and I believe the rainfall there was very largo. 
Unfortunately the retnrus could not have been kept 
jOgularly. Tea flushing very well. We have had a 
at of red spider and mosquito blight; but since the 
nice showers we have had this week, the pests are 
disappearing. Thunder storm last night in S.-W . 
Looks at present (Feb. 6 th) like more rain. 
I am Surry to see my good friend Mr. Grigg’s 
reference to red spider and hdopeltis as having 
given him trouble. I do not attach much importance 
to the former, so far as I have seen or heard of 
it in Ceylon, It seems to come and go away, 
without doing much harm. The contrary seems 
to be the case in India, as witness the following 
extract from a Darjiling letter in the Indian Planters' 
Gazette ; — 
Mr. Ohristison, the General Manager of the Lsboug 
Tea Company, has been carrying on a series of ex- 
periments with sulphur as an insecticide with especial 
reference to red spider, which has been working such a 
vast amount of havoc ou very many tea e.states in this 
district- Mr. Ohristison has always gone thoroughly 
into everything he takes up since he came to the 
district, something like thirty years ago, and as he 
is particularly well up in matters connected with 
agriculture, the results of his investigations, carried 
out as they have beou during a number of years, 
over a very large acreage, and very accurately noted 
are deserving of weighty consideration in all the tea 
districts. After trying all probable euros for red spider 
blight, such as tohacco, juice, lime water, kerosiue 
oil, soap suds, and mud ami water Mr. Ohristison 
found sulphur by far the host remedy for this 
pest. He has been using it since 1879 up to the 
present time, end over an area of about 400 acres, 
so that the trial hiis been an exceedingly exten- 
sive ona, and may be looked ou as having passed 
well beyond the merely oxp. rimental stage into that 
* 226'43 inches against 249'33 pu Elfipdalp. 
of sound practice. This year the Lebong Company’s 
gardens are being sulphured in d-iwnright earnest, as 
no less than 15 tors (a large order indeed) of it have 
been procured for the special annihilatinn of tho spid: r. 
The Sulphur is liberally applied to the bushes in the 
following manner, which certainly has the advantage 
of being very simple inde- d. As soon as the spider 
begins to show any signs of life, or when there is a 
longisli spell of diy weather without any wind large 
garden syringes are brought into use; with these the 
bushes leaves, stems, branches and all are thoroughly 
syringed with water, the powdered sulphur is then 
thoroughly c'u'-itod all over the bu-hes out of a canister 
or a gauze bag. If no min fahsfor some time after 
the bushes have been sulphured, all the better; so 
that it is of importance that an appropriate time of 
year should be chosen, say, from January to theeud 
of April. The advantage of this sulphuring the bushes 
is that it is inexpensive, is at all events handy, and 
the requisite labour for carr.vii g out the work is, 
generally speaking, more available during the cold 
westher, and up till the end of April, which is 
a very important point. Mr. Ohristison tells me 
that, his treatment has a wonderful effect, far ex- 
ceeding any other cure. The plant so thrives and 
grows after it for three years that one would almost 
think it acted as a m-anure, in addition to killiog the 
spider entirely ihe first year. The pest does return 
after three years, but by that time the plants have 
become invigorated to some extent and can the better 
grow out of the spiders’ attacks. Mr. Ohristison is 
inclined to thick that in three years the capital ex- 
pended in sulphuring the bushes will be returned in 
increased outturn with about 15 per cent, extr.i, and 
that the plants at the end of that time will have been 
vastly improved. The fumes of the sulphur can be 
smelt from afar as one pas.ses by, 300 yards off, and 
even can be detected in tho factory in April and Rlay. 
The result of the brokers’ valuations and of actual 
sales have not shown that there has been any de- 
terioration in the quality of the tea sent to market ; 
and as a matter of tact, the fumes have entirely 
gone off before the tea is finally packed. These care- 
fully observed and recorded facts are deserving the 
attention of all interested in tea manufacture, and I 
commeud it to their notice through the medium of your 
columns. 
The application of sulphur, after the fashion de- 
scribed, ought to be equally efficacious, I should say, 
against the “mosquito blight,’’ which, from what 
I saw of the savages of helopeltis in Java and what 
I have read from its tarrible effects on the yield 
of Indian tea plantations, I consider much the 
more formidable 
ENEMY OF THE TEA PLANT 
and the tea planter. But as Mr. Grigg’s mention of 
“the spider and the fly” (beetle, rather) is the first I 
have seen or heard of for -a long time, I trust the 
attack noticed is isolated, and that it will neither 
recur nor spread. Up in this region, there is not 
the slightest trace of any insect or fungoid plague, 
except a little moss on the stems of the bushes 
and a little bronzing of old leaves which is of no 
consequence. Even the moth, which at one time, 
some years ago, gave trouble in curling up the 
flush, seems to have entirely disappeared. 
Keepino Machinery from Rusting. — A mechanic 
says th it in order to keeji machinery from ru.s iiig 
he takes one ounce of camphor an I dissolves it in a 
pouud of melted Urd, taking off the scinu, and mixing 
lu as much fine black le-das will give it colour. The 
machinery is then cleaned and .smeared with tli’s 
mixture. After 24 hours the mae.hiuery is rubbed clean 
with soft linen cloth, an I it will keep clean for months. 
The same artisan gives the following method of harden- 
ing tools : P.irge tho tool into shape, then melt in 
a dish sufficient Babbitt metal to cover the en I of 
the tool as far as it is wished to har.leu it. Thrust 
the tool into the metal aud let it cool. This meth- 
od mates the tool uiucli lurdor than cooling in oil or 
tempering by any other process,— C'/t'cayQ Tribunt, 
