414 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Dec.  2,  1895. 
pierce,  and  right  clown  tc  the  Miueriyawa  Lake — which 
as  an  inland  sea — shone  like  a burnished  silver  disc 
in  the  very  far  distance.  Soon  we  reached  our  des- 
tination, and  duly  inspected  the  lots  for  sale.  It 
reminds  me  of 
OXn  IINE  LOT 
especially,  with  a splendid  outlook,  gentle  slope, 
covered  with  forest  trees  of  say  2 or  3 hundred 
years’  growth.  What  a temptation  it  was  to  a poor, 
but  industrious  coiloe  planter  in  those  long-ago  days! 
But  I remembered  the  warning  I had  given  me: 
“Take  care,  it  may  be  wind-blown,’’  and  1 thoug’nt 
of  the  rapid  and  unbroken  descent  from  the  top  of 
the  Lagalla  hills  to  the  fiat  and  outlying  lowcountry, 
I enquired  of  qur  guide,  if  the  district  pleased  him, 
and  what  were 
ITS  FUTURE  I’ROSl'ECTS 
as  a coffee  district.  A shrewd  sort  of  expression 
came  over  his  face  and  he  said  only  in  a whisper. 
“Howling  winds,  three  months  on  bud,  trees  stripped 
of  leaves ; berries  size  of  an  ordinary  pea ; hungry 
wolves  howl  around  my  wigwam  for  (5  or  8 w'eeks 
at  a certain  time  of  the  year ; rain,  yes,  torrents  of 
it.  The  coffee  tree  may  stand  : but  persistent  gales 
of  wind  are  death-blows  to  the  tropical  coffee  planter’s 
prospects.’’  On  our 
RETURN  .JOURNEY 
with  a broiling  sun  overhead,  I noticed  as  we  neared 
Batotta  that  the  plant  yielding 
OINOELLY  OIL 
called  in  Tamil  bj'  coolies  Nalyenna,  was  grown  in 
native  gardens,  and  onwards  at  places  most  of  the 
way  I think  to  Matale ; and  I was  pleased  to  see 
the  coffee  shrubs  grow  well  on  the  new  clearings 
along  the  river’s  bank,  as  we  crossed  over  it.  As 
we  arrived  at 
RATOTT.Y 
which  consisted  then  of  a tiny  Resthouse,  Post  Of&ce, 
and  store,  kept  by  a Mr.  Bone,  if  memory  serves 
me  right,  we  were  lucky  enough  to  get  seats  on  Her 
Majesty’s  Royal  mail-cart — a coftiu-like  vehicle — 
made  to  imitate,  I suppose,  the  gay  scarlet  and  gilded 
mail  carts  that  used  to  start  from  St.  Martin’s-le- 
Grande,  years  ago,  and  a very  poor  model  it  was. 
Anyway,  we  were  right  glad  to  get  rid  of  our  stumb- 
ling ponies,  and  get  a lift  on  the  Ratotta  mail-cai’ 
to  the  Matale  Rostliouse.  In  the  evening  we  mi't 
a few  friends,  the  Government  Sni’veyor  and  one 
or  two  others,  unlucky  jjropidctors  of  Lagalla  lands ; 
and  afterwards  I was  assured  that  from  Lagalla 
right  down  to  Nitre  Cave,  peisistent  and  cruel 
winds  had  ruined  many  promising  young  coffee  es- 
tates, in  fact  almost  snuffed  out  the  coffee  enter- 
prise in  those  storm-swept  regions;  which  with  good 
soil,  could  only  be  expected  to  grow  root  crops, 
such  as  ginger,  arrowroot,  Ac. 
TLANTING  AND  I’RODUCE. 
A Gold  Med.yl  for  Indian  Tea. — In  connection 
with  the  Empire  of  India  Exhibition  it  is  gratifying 
to  hear  that  a diploma  for  a gold  medal  has  been 
awarded  for  the  exhibition  of  Indian  teas  made  by 
the  Indian  Tea  Association  under  the  direction  of 
IMr.  E.  F.  Langdale.  The  diploma,  which  is  in  course 
of  preparation,  will  be  delivered  at  an  early  date. 
A Nation  of  T'ea  Drinkers. — “ 'The  extent  to  which 
Ceylon  and  India  on  a small  scale  jjacket  tea  is 
pushed,’’  writes  a correspondent,  “ is  remarkalrle. 
In  remote  villages  in  Cornwall  and  in  small  inland 
hamlets  all  over  England  you  will  find  some  form 
of  Ceylon  or  Indian  packet  tea.  'The  cottager  when 
ho  can  afford  it  takes  his  tea  wiili  regularity,  and 
the  village  alehouse  must  suffer,  I should  imajgino; 
for  good  or  evil  w'c  have  become  a nation  of  tea 
drinkers  ’’  We  agreed  with  our  correspondent. 
Certainly  the  representatives  of  Ceylon  and  India 
have  worked  hard  and  well  to  push  theii-  products. 
Then  and  Now.— 'Those  who  object  to  the  tea- 
drinking  ways  which  now  prevail  would  no  doubt 
have  appreciated  the  custouis  of  the  Restoration 
periods  in  a new  volume  of  “ Seventeenth  Century 
tuglftud  ’’  just  published,  we  find  that  people  then 
had  a “ Jiiornlng  drought’’  of  ale,  with,  bread,  butter, 
and  radishes  for  breakfast.  Dinner  was  at  1 o’clock, 
and  so  early  were  the  hours  kept  that  the  debauch 
often  began  then.  There  were  plenty  of  drinks 
available.  More  than  12,000,000  barrels  of  beer 
were  bi'ewed  in  1688 ; the  one  spirit  in  common 
use  was  brandy  ; of  Spanish  wines,  canary,  sack, 
inalaga,  and  sherry  were  common,  as  were 
clar-et,  burgundy,  and  Rhenish  wines.  Water 
was  scarcely  ever  drunk,  even  children  drink- 
ing small  beer.  In  town,  coffee  was  usual,  tea 
rarer.  Pepys’s  wife  was  informed  by  the  “ potti- 
carry  ’’  that  tea  was  ‘ good  for  her  cold  and  de- 
fluxions.’’ Merchants  went  to  work  at  six  a.m., 
and  in  summer  the  majority  of  folk  were  in  bed 
at  sunset. 
Gratifvino  Evidence. — The  tabulated  statement  of 
the  results  of  the  working  of  Indian  tea  companies 
compiled  by  Mr.  George  Seton  a nd  published  in  our 
columns  has  called  forth  many  favourable  com- 
ments in  the  newspapers  on  the  position  and  pros- 
pects of  Indian  tea.  'The  Grocer  says,  referring  to 
Mr.  Seton's  tables : “ Roth  financially  and  commei'cially 
the  Rritish  industry  in  tea  affords  very  gratifying  evi- 
dence of  its  growth  and  prosperity,  as  nearly  all  the 
companies  have  been  doing  well,  and  the  i-ates  of 
dividend  in  some  cases  have  been  exceptionally 
high.  In  this  respect  the  Assam,  the  Brahma- 
pootra, and  the  Joi-ehaut  with  their  payments  of  20 
per  cent,  take  the  lead,  followed  by  the  Chand- 
pore,  the  Lebong,  and  the  Moabund  concerns  with 
their  l.">  per  cent  dividends.  Next  to  these  were 
the  tea-growing  districts  of  the  Dooars,  the  Leesh 
River,  the  Attaree  Khat,  the  Doom  Dooma,  the 
Doloo,  the  Allynugger,  th  e Borjuli,  the  Chubwa,  the 
Dapoota,  the  Jhanzie,  the  Jokai,  the  Lungla,  the 
Mazdehee,  the  Moran,  the  Sephinjuri  Bheel.  and 
the  Shumshernugger,  where  the  dividends  earned 
and  paid  have  ranged  between  10  per  cent,  and 
121  per  cent.  Other  tea  companies  have  distri- 
buted in  this  way  rates  vaiying  from  5 per  cent  to 
8 per  cent.,  and  in  this  group  maybe  included  the  Rar- 
aoora,  the  Borokai,  the  British  Indian,  the  Cachar, 
the  Cliargola,  the  Darjeeling,  the  Dojoo,  the  Eudo- 
gram,  the  Indian  of  (Jachar,  the  Land  Mortgage 
Bank,  the  3Iajuli,  the  Mookhamcherra,  the  Noaka- 
charee.aud  the  Hco  tish  Assam  estates.  A few  gardens 
pay  only  from  2.1  per  cent  to  I percent  profit,  and  in 
one  instance  there  w’as  simply  nothing  to  hand  over 
to  the  iiroprictois.  As  regards  the  sevei'al  crops, 
the  aggregate  weight  of  tea  raised  by  the  forty  com- 
panies enumerated  was  :>y, 612,815  lb  for  the  season 
1804,  and  among  the  largest  contributors  to  this  grand 
result  were  the  planters  representing  the  Assam  Com- 
pany, the  Jokai.  the  Dooars,  the  Assam  Frontier, 
the  Land  Mortgage  Rank,  the  Brahmapootra,  the 
Borjuli,  the  Jorehaut.  the  Doom  Dooma.  the.  Cliargola 
and  the  Upper  Assam  interests,  firoducing  a yield  of 
from  1,218,458  lb  to  3,2.-)I,127  lb  each.  The  plantation 
yielding  not  more  than  from  about  800, 000  lb  to  ‘.100,000 
ib  of  tea  a])icce,  though  not  necessarily  associated 
with  the  least  prosperous  ol  their  class  were  the 
Allynugger,  the  Attaree  Khat,  the  Raraoora,  the 
Rorelli,  the  Borokai,  the  Rritish  Indian,  the  Cachar, 
the  Chandpore.  the  (.finibwa,  the  Dapoota,  the  Dar- 
jeeling, the  Dejoo,  the  Doloo,  the  Eastern  Assam, 
the  Endogram,  the  Indian  of  Cachar.  the  Jhanzie, 
the  Lebong,  Leesh  River,  l-ungla,  Majuli.  Moaband. 
Mookhamcherra,  Moran,  Noakacharee,  the  Scottish 
Assam,  Sephinjuri  Rhccl  and  the  Shumshernugger. 
'I'he  smallest  cropgrown — 185,0'.l01b — wasin  the  district 
of  the  Mazdehee  Company,  but  such  a diTiwback  if 
it  may  bo  so  termed  did  not  prevent  the  cultivators 
from  earning  a dividend  of  10  per  cent  and  instances  of 
this  nature  could  be  easily  multiplied.'' — IJ.  d-  C.JIail. 
Royal  Gardens,  Kew. — Bulletin  of  Miscellaneous 
Information  for  October  has  for  contents; — New 
Rubber  Industry  in  Inigos:  Diagnoses  Africanni : 'VIII. ; 
Citrus  T’ruits  in  Sicily  ; Miscellaneous  Notes  ; Weather 
and  .Vttondanee  of  \ isitm  s in  Siqitcmber ; Bota- 
nial  Mug'll/, inc : (lUiccnsland  Chenv  ; Dried  Rlants 
from  British  North  Romeo;  Fruit  of  Sararanga ; 
liortus  Fluminc-nsiS ; Liberian  Coffee. 
