March 2, 1S91.] 
THr TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
671 
know now of the character and requirements of 
the plant. I will certainly not tempt fortune a 
second time myself under any conditions ; but as 
there are bolder spirits in the field, some of them 
may possibly profit by the formulating of my 
experience. 
When the plant has had moisture enough to 
establish itself even in indifferent soil, it flourishes 
with high promise for the first two or three years 
unless attacked by hemileia, to which it is even 
more susceptible than the Arabisn kind and 
succumbs more quickly. It is when it begins 
to bear that it begins to fail. It does not 
like the Arabian species respond to the use 
of the knife, and should neither be topped nor 
pruned but allowed to grow at its own free 
will. It can hardly be classed as a “forest tree,” 
but in tolerably favourable situations it may be 
seen upwards of twenty feet in height. As to 
climate it probably needs somewhat greater heat 
than 13 necessary to the Arabian kind, but it 
should never be tried in the open in a climate 
subject to droughts of two or three months’ duration, 
each spell of which leaves it weaker and more 
bare. The conditions of success in the lowcountry 
are a deep aud tolerably rich soil under the shade 
of tall forest — the denser the better— that will not 
interfere with its upward growth. In such a 
situation the only cultivation required is to exter- 
minate the undergrowth and bury from time to 
time the fallen leaves, in which case 2 cwt. per 
acre may be fairly hoped for. W. B. L. 
[W. B. L. wrete before he saw about the 
Peradeniya experiment, but that was on a garden- 
ing scale, yielding R444 per acre worth of crop. 
—Ed. r. d.] 
INDIAN TEA EXPORTS. 
Indian Tea Association, Calcutta, 10th Feb. 1891. 
Dear Sib, — The General Committee have the 
pleasure to hand you their usual Monthly Return 
of shipments of tea from Calcutta, and also a 
Return of Ceylon ten for four years up to the 19th 
January 1891 
Exports of Indian Tea from Calcutta. 
1P91 
1890 
1889 
lb. 
lb. 
lb. 
Export to Great Britain 
from let May to 3 tat 
.lanuarv 
92,950,313 
89,129,802 
86,826,585 
Exports to Australia 
and New Zealand from 
1st May to 31st Jan.. 
4,345,120 
3,204,962 
2,750,773 
Exports to America 
from 1st May to 31st 
January 
113,510 
161,483 
143,409 
Exports to other places 
from 1st May to 31st 
January 
971,512 
1,329,970 
757,722 
Total Exports from 1st 
May to 31st January 
98.391,485 
93,829,219 
90,478,189 
— Yours faithfully, S. E. J. CL4.RKE, Secretary. 
‘JAMAICA SORREL.” 
Awisawella, Feb. 4th. 
Dear Sir, — Id your paper of 24th ult. (see page ,590) 
I notice a foot-note enquiring what “ Jamaica sorrel ” 
is. I believe it is the Jlibincus sahdariil'a or what 
is commonly known as llozella. It yields a very 
good jelly, and if the fruit is not loo old a very 
fair jam. This plant begins to flower in December, 
the fruit ripening in Januaiy and February. 
Tamil coolies value this on account of its acid 
leaves, and apparently ignore the fruit. In common 
with all the Hibiscus family it yields a good fibre, 
and I have found the roasted seeds a very fair sub- 
stitute for coffee. In a raw state they are good 
^ood for fowls, of a nutty and agreeable flavor. In 
a former T. A. I remember reading that this same 
plant is much valued in Queensland. The calyces 
of the fiuit are gathered and dried and have a 
Qommeroial value, besides being used for preserves. 
A wine is manufactured therefrom. — Yours, 
PLANTER. 
ROOFING FOR CEYLON: PRACTICAL HINTS; 
A TREADMILL FOR PRLSONER, 
Kinmylies, Travancore, IGth Feb. 1891. 
Sia,— With reference to your article on Roofing 
for Ceylon I wish to say that I hear that many 
Missions and many Native Companies have been 
making the Mangalore tile all along this coast of 
India, and that the supply is very large at present. 
It occurred to me when tho experiments with 
mana-grass for making tea chests commenced, that 
if it were successful, a shingle, or tile, made of that 
or other Ceylon grown fibre, treated like the 
Willesden patent paper, ought to follow. I think 
you did onco refer to paper-maehe walls for bun- 
galows or factories as an idea for the future. 
With regard to the question of keeping tha 
Colombo lake full by pumping from the Kelaniganga, 
I would suggest a treadmill on which the Siuhalese 
felon might take enough exercise to give him an 
appetite for that plainer food we hear lie now en- 
joys : but he should be exposed to the public gaze 
though out of the reach of tobacco and betel. — 
Yours etc., E. F. DAVIEs'. 
WOODCOCK IN CEYLON. 
Algooltenne, Elkaduwa, Feb. 2,3rd. 
Sir,— It may interest some of your readers to 
know that I shot a woodcock in my jucgla this 
morning. I saw one in the same spot in 1883. 
—Yours faithfully, A. M. HURST. 
MONARAGALA : ITS NEWS AND ITS CROPS. 
Koslanda, Feb. 2.3rd. 
Sir,— A s an example of English as she is 
wrote ” the reports of your Monaragala corres- 
pondent are admirable, and the persistency with 
which he urges the appointment of a J. P. ie 
much to be commended. 
Further, I entirely agree with him that the 
district will grow excellent tea, though the fact he 
mentioned the other day that plucking had been 
begun on some estates with an average of half a 
pound a oooly may not bo in itself convincing proof 
of this. 
But when he speaks of poor crops aud makes 
sweeping if somewhat inappropriate reference to 
“ Pharoah’s lean kino ” he should discriminate. 
There are crops and crops now-a days, and one pro- 
duct, viz. cacao, is doing very well at Monaragala 
A. B. 
COCONUrS AND TEA. 
Dear Sir, — I see you have lately been noticing 
with favour the planting of tea and coconuts to- 
gether on the same land, in which it appears to 
me you are somewhat on the wrong aide 
of the line. As a principle notlfing is ever gained 
by the attempts to make land do double duty by 
planting two or more species of crop, yielding 
perennial plants as permanent ooeupants by way 
