382 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
(Df.c.  2,  1895. 
btoamer  “India”  in  30 days, it  was  considered  a great  feat. 
Since  that  time  the  large  and  powerful  steamers  of 
the  P.  & 0.  and  British  India  Company,  besides 
many  other  modern  lines,  with  the  opening  of  the 
Suez  Canal,  have  reduced  the  time  occupied  in 
transit  and  expenses  of  travelling  to  about  half  of 
what  they  were  up  to  as  late  as  1871.  Postal 
facilities  of  all  kinds  now  exist  which  were  undreamed 
of  in  the  40’s  50’s  and  GO’s.  The  early  planters  had 
among  other  difficulties,  that  of 
FETCHINO  THEIR  MONEV 
in  hard  cash  up  to  the  estates  which  generally  required 
a personal  visit  every  month  to  Kandy.  The  provision 
of  this  money  was  by  Government  uotes  cashed  at  the 
Kandy  Kachcheri.  Considering  the  temptation  to 
highway  robbery  and  the  facilities  for  it  in  ;onoly 
corners,  it  speaks  well  for  the  natives,  that  the  number 
of  these  crimes  might  have  been  counted  on  ine 
fingers  of  one  hand.  A greater  trial  to  the  planter 
was 
THE  LABOUR  QUESTION 
especially  for  clearing  jungles  for  which  Sinhalese 
villagers  are  specially  adapted ; those  were  not  the 
days  of  contractors  for  felling  and  burning,  and  4he  im- 
migration of  Tamils  for  all  the  after  operations  had 
not  been  systematised. 
.\MUSEMENTS 
were  few.  Governor's  Balls,  Kace  Balls  and  dinner 
parties  in  Colombo  were  about  all.  In  the  Planting 
districts  perhaps  the  monthly  visit  to  Kandy  where 
the  pioneer  enjoyed  himself  very  much  like  Jack 
ashore,  was  a beneficial  change  which  the  circum- 
stances of  his  life  required.  It  might  then  have  been 
said,  , , , . , „ 
“The  sound  of  the  church-going  bell 
These  valleys  ami  rocks  never  heard. 
There  were  Chaplaincies  in  Colombo,  Kandy,  Galle 
and  Trincomalie ; Missionaries  both  Church,  Presby- 
terians and  Non-Conformists  nt  several  stations  with 
Churches  and  Cliapcls  in  Colombo  and  Kandy , 
but  the  privileges  of  public  worship  which 
dwellers  in  the  jungle  now  enjoy,  though  those  might 
1)0  improved  and  extended,  did  not  exist.  The 
most  important  improvement,  and  cause  of  the  great 
contrast  between  the  present  and  the  earlier  times 
has  been  .the  introduction  of 
RAILWAYS. 
The  facile  communication  between  the  Plains  and 
the  Hills  is  a boon  to  the  health  of  Europeans,  whilst 
its  is  an  enormous  advantage  to  the  Planting  Interest, 
on  the  prosperity  of  which,  as  seen  by  its  ups  and 
downs  in  sixty  years,  the  well-being  of  the  island 
depends. 
JAPANESE  CIVILISATION. 
Bathino.  Cleanliness  is  one  of  the  few  original 
items  of  Japanese  civilisation.  Almost  nil  other 
.Japanese  institutions  have  their  root  in  China,  but 
not  tubs.  Their  hot  baths— for  they  almost  all  bathe 
in  verv  hot  water  of  about  110°  Fahrenheit— also  help 
to  keen  them  warm  in  winter.  For  though  moderately 
hot  water  gives  a chilly  reaction,  this  is  not  the  case 
when  the  water  is  extremely  hot,  neither  is  there 
then  any  fear  of  catching  cold.  There  are  some  eight 
hundred  public  baths  in  the  city  of  Tokyo.  111  which 
it  is  calculated  that  three  hundred  thousand  persons 
bathe  daily,  at  a cost  of  1 sen  3 iin  (about  a halfpenny 
Vnirliflh  money)  per  head.  A reduction  of  3 rin  is 
mafe  ^irchildrem  ^In  addition  to  this,  every  respect- 
able private  house  has  its  own  bath-room. 
HOW  TEA  IB  PRXJNK  IN  JAPAN. 
The  tea  drunk  in  respectable  Japanese  >^o}|«eholds 
generally  costs  about  25  cents  a pound,  while  from 
yo  cents  to  «1  will  be  paid  for  a better  quality,  fat  to 
set  before  an  honoured  guest.  The  most  expensive 
Uiitea  costs  $0  per  pound.  At  the  opposite  end  of 
the  scale  stands  tho  so-called  ftoacAa,  the  tea  of  the 
lower  classes,  5 cents  a pound  made  out  of  chopped 
lorves,  stalks,  and  bits  of  wood  taken  from  the  trim- 
Ss  of  the  tea-plant;  for  this  beverage  is  tea.  after 
3l  Stlo  R3  ita  flavour  haa  in  common  with  that  of 
Bohea  or  of  Uji.  Other  tea-like  infusions  sometimes 
to  be  met  with  are  Kosen,  made  by  pouring  hot  water 
on  a mixture  of  various  fragrant  substances,  such  as 
orange-pool,  the  seeds  of  the  xanthoxylon,  etc;  S'llcura- 
Ifu,  an  infusion  of  salted  cherry-blossoms  ; JIugi-i/u, 
an  infusion  of  parched  barley ; Mame-c.ha,  a similar 
preparat  on  of  beans.  Fuhi-Ja,  or  “ luck  tea,”  is  made 
of  salted  plums,  sea-weed, and  xanthoxylon  seeds,  and 
i?  pariakeu  of  in  every  Japanese  household  011  the  last 
niglit  of  the  year.  Japanese  tea,  uidike  Chinese, 
must  not  be  made  with  h.-iling  water,  or  it  will  give 
an  intolerably  bitter  decoction  ; and  the  finer  the 
quulit)  ot  tho  tea,  the  loss  hot  must  Le  the  water 
employed.  The-Japam  se  tea  equip.ige  actually  includes 
a small  open  jug  called  the  “water-cooler  ”{yu-:;amashi), 
to  which  the  hot  water  is,  if  necessary,  transferred 
before  being  poured  on  the  tea-leaves.  Even  so, 
the  I'lr.-'t  brew  is  often  thrown  away  as  too  bitter  to 
drink.  The  consequence  of  this  is  that  Japanese 
Beivauts,  when  they  first  come  to  an  English  nouso, 
always  have  to  be  taught  how  to  treat  our  Chinese 
or  Indian  tea,  and  generally  begin  by  giving  practical 
proof  of  their  incredulity  on  the  subject  of  the  in- 
dispensable virtue  of  boiling  water. — li.  II.  Chamberlain. 
THE  OPENING  UP  OF  NORTH 
TRAVANCORE. 
Interesting  experiences  or  mr.  eenzie. — Mr.  Geo. 
Benzie,  the  well-known  siuveyor,  gave  ns  some  in- 
teresting information  yesterday  on  the  subject  of 
the  big  work  he  is  now  carrying  on  in  Travaucore. 
with  u!  r.  Chas.  Gordon,  in  connection  with  the  cart- 
road  to  be  made  through  the  western  side  of  the 
Sylhet  Tea  Company's  new’  propertv’,  to  provide  an 
outlet  for  it  in  the  direction  of  Cochin.  Tho  new 
road  will  only  go  to  the  boundai’y  of  the  Sylhet  Com- 
pany’s land,  and  between  that  point  and  the  present 
termination  of  the  Cochin  road  there  is  an  interval 
through  which  it  is  hoped  the  Travaucore  Go- 
vernment will  eventually  make  a road,  eo  as  to 
establish  complete  communication.  In  tho  mean- 
while the  SylUet  Company  are  pushing  on  with  their 
I'oad  at  ail  speed,  tho  contract  being  in  the  hands 
of  Ml'.  Benzie,  assisted  by  Mr.  Gordon. 
Talking  about  his  recent  trip  to  Travaucore,  Mr. 
Benzie  said : — “ I was  over  there  for  six  weeks  this 
time,  and,  when  I left,  the  first  eight  miles  of  road- 
way wore  completed,  and  the  work  was  going  on 
under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Gordon.  How  long  the 
road  will  ultimately  be  I cannot  say,  but  I should 
think  to  the  boundary  of  the  Sylhet  Companj’’s  land  it 
must  be  from  30  to  35  miles.  1 spent  the  bulk  of 
my  time  this  last  visit  in  exploring  the  country  and 
looking  for  ways  and  means  of  cutting  the  road,  for 
that  part  is  nearly  all  jungle.  It  is  a very  wild  country 
to  have  to  travel  through,  and,  in  parts  where  I went, 
natives  even  had  never  been.  The  natives  of  this  parti- 
cular part  of  Travaucore  are  a nomadic  class.  They 
put  up  grass  huts  and  stay  in  them  for  a time, 
cultivating  kwakkan,  like  our  natives  do  here,  one 
year,  but  the  following  year  they  may  be  40  or  50 
miles  away.  They  are  called  Mathuvars,  or  back- 
carriers— that  is  to  SHV,  they  carry  everything  on 
their  backs.  They  are  splendid  jungle  men  and 
handle  ]their  jniigle — knives  well,  and  they  work  will- 
ingly enough,  but  unfortunately  their  uum  jers  are 
few.  They  are  Tamils,  i>f  course,  but  as  compared 
with  the  Tamil  coolies  you  see  in  Ceylon  they  are 
a civilised  race.  They  are  much  (he  same  as  tho 
coolies  in  regard  to  build  and  physicnl  appe,. ranee, 
but  their  manner  is  more  independent ; tiioy  don’t 
come  up  to  you  in  the  cringing  way  that  a Tamil 
cooly  (Joes,  and  they  are  a heap  pluckier  tiian  the 
coolies. 
The  Home  or  the  Elephant. — “ The  whole  place 
swarms  with  elephants.  On  the  Cardamom  Hills, 
which  belong  to  the  liajah  of  Travaucore,  ami  which 
abut  on  the  Sylhet  lands,  it  is  estimated  that 'here 
are  fully  6,000  elephants,  and  you  cinnof  leave  a 
house  or  a tent  of  a night  without  a watchman  and 
big  fires  without  running  a very  great  risk  of  its 
disappearing  before  the  morning. 
