THE  TROPIC 'VL  AGRICULTU  Rl.;  1 . 
467 
Jan,  I,  189O.] 
DIMBULA  FELIX  AND  ITS  TEA. 
Dimbula  Felix  is  unquestionably  a pvincc  amongst 
Tea  districts;  much  more  so  than  ever  it  could  have 
'"Tfter^pSng  along  the  damp  valley  of  Ambe- 
gambuwa  and  through  the  disma  drippnig  tunnel,  he 
prospect  on  emerging,  is  very  cheering.  At  hist  the 
Lates  retain  just  a little  taint  of  the 
we  had  been  passing  through ; but  presto ! all  is 
changed,  and  by  the  time  we  skirt  Ghrystleis  Farm 
we  breathe  a more  stimulating  air  The  patiiarch 
alas  ! has  gone  since  we  last  visited  the  locality  , but 
his  handy-work  remains,  and  no  pl-^ntfr  ever  d d 
his  work  more  neatly  and  methodical^ . Albeit, 
John  Martin  did  not  for  years  believe  in  tea.  Com- 
pared with  coffee,  he  said  it  was  “ 
And  he  was  not  alone  in  this  opinion  ; neai  y all  ti  e 
crack  planters  said  the  same  if  less  forcibly.  Old 
K.B.T.  often  declared  that  “tea  planting  was  only 
fit  for  creatures  in  cuinboys.  ' Yet,  here  wo  are  in 
the  midst  of  a general  prosperity  which  the  colfee 
era  never  brouglftus;  for,  it  war. 
cases  that  coffee  paid  the  poor 
together  the  fault  of  the  coffee,  much  less  that  of 
the  planter-but  there  was  always  too  great  a leak- 
ago  in  coffee,- too  much  Agency.  What  a change 
now  in  Colombo!  Twenty  years  ago  when  a planter 
went  to  see  his  agent  he  approached  the  great 
man’s  office  hat  in  hand.  Now  forsooth,  he  throws 
himself  into  a lounger  at  his  hotel  and  sends  a message 
for  the  fellow  to  come  to  him ! 
Dimbula  is  seen  at  her  best  as  we  approach  the 
heart  of  the  district.  The  broad  belt  of  land  stretch- 
ing due  South-west  from  the  Great  Western  towards 
Adam’s  Peak  is  probably  the  pleasantest  planting 
ground  in  the  island,  the  soil  so  uniformly  good, 
or  fairly  good,  the  climate  so  mild  and  even,— that 
any -novice  might  plant  with  success  and  live  as  long 
and- healthy  a life  as  he  could  anywhere  in  the  tro- 
’^'one^fs’^^giad  to  observe  a marked  improvement  in 
the  general  appearance  of  estates  during  the  past 
two  years  It  is  a relief  to  find  tliat  the  experimental 
stage  is  past,  and  that  the  cultivation  and  prepara- 
tion of  the  leaf  has  now  been  reduced  to  an  approv^ 
avsteni.  No  longer  do  we  hear  wild  guesses  at  600 
fn  1 000  lb  PGi'  Here;  they  tire  content  to  estimate  an 
average  return  of  400  lb.  No  longer  do  we,  here  and 
there,  see  the  unfortunate  tree  cut  down  to  within 
an  inch  or  two  of  the  ground,  the  leafless  stubble 
struggling  between  life  and  death.  A more  natural 
and  rational  system  of  pruning  has  been  uniformly 
ndonted  -The  cultivation  and  manufacture  of  tea 
has  in  ■ short,  been  fully  grasped  and  without  any 
reasonable  doubt  the  industry  has  come  to  stay  in 
Dimbula  Felix. 
Exotic  Trees. 
Nor  is  the  general  improvement  confined  to  the 
tea  plants ; the  beautiful  belts  of  exotic  trees  inter- 
spersed throughout  the  district  not  on  y give  a pleas- 
anter aspect  to  the  landscape,  but  they  afford  the 
tea  a better  chance  of  escaping  blight  than  ever 
poor  coffee  had.  It  is  all  very  well  111  temperate  or 
iold  latitudes  to  plant  up  wide  expanses  with  the 
same  product  ; but,  in  the  tropics,  plants  are  not  so 
sociable  and  the  greater  the  mi.xture  Bie  more  natu- 
ril  and  healthy  Is  the  vegetation  And  yet  some 
discrimination  is  necessary  ; for,  all  trees  are  not 
friendly  to  the  tea  plant,  which  after  all  must  be 
our  chief  consideration.  Many  of  the  Acncias  for 
instance  are  poison  to  tea;  the  ,S'a/mis  a sworn  enemy 
-Awhile  the  Bamhoo  is  a beast  that  will  tolerate  no- 
thing else  to  feed  in  its  neighbourhood.  Cmchoiia  ike 
coffee  is  a dead  horse,  and  its  place  is  well  filled 
bv  more  beautiful  if  less  profitable  substitutes,  ainong 
which  GremUea  is  tiie  chief  favonnte,  so  much  so 
that  it  too  threatens  to  be  over-done;  but  I itm  glad 
trsee  many  others  cropping  up.  The  rapid-growing 
Encah/pti  adorn  many  a swamp  and  odd  coiiici , 
but  fm  rapid  growth,  shelter  and  harmless  shade 
the  Aalhizzia  is  the  best  I have  seen.-the  timber  not 
so  useful  as  that  of  the  /nga  ; but  the  tree  is  more 
kindly  to  the  products  growing  under  it.  Ut  all  the 
recent  introductions,  however,  commend  me  to  th* 
59 
BucklaiuUn*  a large  leaved  vaiiety  of  poplar  habit, 
well-suited  for  wind  belts— and  being  closely  allied  to 
the  1 Aquidamhar  of  Formof-a — chiefly  used  for  making 
tea  chests,  the  wood  will  doubtless  one  day  come  in 
useful. 
Government  Reserves  not  Requiiied. 
With  such  a beautifully  mixed  cultivation  it  may 
well  be  asked  what  earthly  necessity  is  there  for  largo 
Government  reserves  ? Let  every  estate  proprietor 
be  bound  to  cultivate,  say  50  fdrest  trees  per  acre, 
and  dispense  with  the  foresters  and  their  antiquated 
notions  regarding  the  cause  of  rainfall  and  water 
3upplj\  The  classic  grounds  of  Abbot.sford  are  a ease 
in  point,  an  example  of  what  may  be  done  by  a njixed 
cultivation.  Tweiuy-tive  years  ago,  men  laughed  at 
the  seemingly  haphazard  way  in  which  trees  all  and 
sundry  were  pitchforked  into  this  property ; but  see 
them  now,  after  judicious  thinning  out,  and  you  will 
laugh  with  the  otht  r side  of  the  mouth. 
'There  is  only  one  thing  that  cannot  now  be  helped 
in  Dimbula,  and  that  is  a considerable  jproportion 
of  poor  jat.  What  a contrast  some  of  the  fields  show 
in  this  respect  ? And  it  is  curious  to  note  how 
much  there  seems  to  be  after  all  in  sheer  luck.  It 
isn't  foresight,  it  isn’t  brains.  “Brains,’’  said 
the  late  James  S.  Martin,  “.are  often  a posi- 
tive encumbrance  to  a planter,’’  a crumb  of  comfort 
of  which  I was  forcibly  reminded  in  crossing  a 
certain  boundary  the  other  day.  On  the  one  side 
the  pure  and  beautiful  broad  and  toiider.’leafed  ma- 
nupuri.  On  the  other  a nondescript  jut  with  little 
leathery  leav#i. 
Yet  to  think  of  the  owners  of  these  two  adjoining 
properties  a dozen  years  ago  1 The  one  with  a gi- 
gantic intellect  and  with  unique  means  of  gaining 
information  and  supplies  of  every  green  thing  obtain- 
able. With  the  other,  alas  I nature  had  been  very 
niggardly.  Yet,  look  at  the  tea  he  planted.  By  mere 
good  luck  he  simply  stumbled  upon  the  very  finest 
jilt,  and  now  the  estate  he  left  is  worth  4;20  an 
acre  more  than  some  of  the  neighbouring  properties. 
Planters  of  tlie  present  day  have  indeed  an  im- 
mense advantage  over  their  predecessors ; profiting 
as  they  do  by  past  experience.  Yes,  it  w'as  worth 
waiting.  The  advantage  of  good  jiit  being  now  so  pal- 
pable that  it  would  be  culpable  folly  to  plant  inferior 
stuff.  The  real  difficulty  is  now  however,  whore  to  plant. 
This  reserve  policy  of  a demented  Government  is 
really  an  outrage  on  common  sense  without  a parti- 
cle of  reasonable  argument  in  its  favour  while  the 
loss  to  the  Colony  is  incalculable.  Again.  I say,  look 
at  the  mixed  cultivation  on  these  be.iutifiil  high- 
land estates.  Could  any  forester  suggest  a better 
cover  ? 
There  are  few  prettier  rural  scones  in  the  High- 
lands of  Ceylon  than  can  be  seen  from  the  veran- 
dah of  Abbotsford  bungalow,  a picture  so  often  and 
so  beautifully  painted  by  an  Old  Master,  that  he 
would  be  a bold  amateur  who  would  now  touch  it, 
and  I only  approach  the  subject  to  record  how  much 
the  near  prospect  has  improved  by  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  many  ornamental  trees,  particularly  ihe  Corypha 
Australis  which  thrives  so  much  better  here  than  in 
its  own  nati\<e  land.  I cannot  however  refrain  from 
bewailing  one  little  bit  of  vand  tlism  by  a neigh- 
bouring proprietor  who  has  planted  up  portions  of 
the  pretty  palana— Mount  Pisgah  to  wit — in  stiffly 
* We  (Ed.)  quote  as  follows  from  the  “ Treasury 
of  Botany”: — “Bucklandia.  The  name  of  a genus 
belonging  to  the  order  of  witch  Hazels,  having 
stamens  and  pistils  in  the  same  flower,  or  in  different 
flowers  on  the  same  plant  ; or  some  plants  have 
stamens  only,  while  others  have  only  pistils.  The 
calyx  is  almost  bell-shaped,  adherent  below  to  the 
seed-vessel  ; the  anthers  are  supported  on  awl- 
shaped  filaments.  The  flowers  are  in  head-like 
groups,  each  subdivision  of  which  consists  of  eight 
flowers.  The  name  Bucklandia,  which  has  also  been 
employed  to  designate  certain  fossil  spe  ies  of  plants, 
was  givcii  in  honour  of  the  late  Dr.  Buckland,  well 
known  as  a geologist.  The  only  species  is  an 
Indian  tree  with  the  general  aspect  of  a poplar ; 
its  leaves  are  alternate,  stalked,  and  variable  in 
outline.  [G.  D.]” 
