March  2,  iSQr,.]  THF.  TROPICAL 
SoiU’Lspoiulonco. 
To  the  Editor. 
RUBBER  CULTIVATION  IN  CEYLON  : 
CAUSE  OE  ITS  FAILURE. 
Powis  Place,  Queen  Sq.,  London,  .31st  Jan. 
Dkar  Sir,— Much  obliged  for  paper.  I think  you 
must  attribute  the  failure  of  the  Rubber  Enterprise 
in  Ceylon  to  the  mismanagement  at  Kew.  I went 
to  Kew  to  enquire  into  their  methods  ; but  there  was 
nobody  in  the  place  who  had  ever  been  in  a rubber 
country,  or  who  knew  an  atom  about  cultivation, 
collection  &o. ; in  a word  they  knew  absolutely 
nothing  beyond  the  Latin  names  of  the  trees.  I am 
not  a botanist,  but  I have  seen  rubber  trees  and  col- 
lected rubber  from  them  ; and  I feel  sure  that  had 
your  planters  obtained  help  from  natives  of  South 
America  instead  of  from  the  incompetents  of  Kew 
Cardens,  tlie  caoutchouc  inrhistiy  would  now  be  a. 
'most  llonrishing  trade  in  your  island.  — \\  itli  tliaid,': 
for  voiiv  cmntesv,  -A'onrs  faithfully. 
().  PCRCELli  TAYLOR. 
TWIN  AMD  TRIPLET  COCONUT 
PLANTS. 
Marawila,  PAb.  19. 
Dkar  Sir, — I suppose  you  are  aware  of  the 
phenomenon  of  two  coconut  plants  growing  out 
of  one  nut.  This  is  often  met  with.  A friend 
of  mine  once  told  me  he  had  three  growdng 
onr,  of  one  nut,  and  I Avas  at  first  inclineil  to 
think  lie  was  romancing,  more  especially  as  he 
tohl  me  he  had  separated  the  plants  and  they 
were  all  growing.  As  a rule,  wlien  two  plants 
grow  from  the  same  nut,  one  is  weakly  and 
does  not  hear.  From  wdiere  I write  there  are 
three  trees  growdng  together,  evidently  out  of 
one  nut.  A.S  regards  .si/e,  vigour  and  hearing- 
properties  tliej'  are  hard  to  heat. 
A coconut,  as  every  man  knows,  has  three 
“eyes.”  The  sprout  is  from  one  of  these.  1 
Avas  ahvays  under  the  impression  that  each 
“eye”  contributed  a sprout  Avheu  more  than 
one  plant  resulted  from  one  nut.  The  accom- 
panying has  disillusioned  me.  As  you  Avill  see, 
the  twin  sprouts  are  from  one  eye.  Others  may 
have  knoAvii  and  noticed  this  before.  I did  not. 
— Truly  yours,  B. 
BLIGHT  ON  TOMATO  PLANTS. 
Jali'na,  I’eh.  21. 
Dear  Sir,— Do  you  know  any  cure  for  the 
blight  which  makes  vigorous  tomato  plant  curl 
up  their  leaves  ami  pretty  much  stop  groAving 
and  bearing?  T.  S.  S. 
[Perhaps  some  corresi>ondent  Avill  ansAver  the 
above. — Ed.  T.H.] 
THE  KIND  OF  TEAS  THAT  ARE 
REQUIRED. 
would  draAv  the  attention  of  planters 
to  the  following  e.xtract  from  Messrs.  I.  A.^  Rucker 
& Bencraft’s  Aveely  tea  circular,  dated  I'chruary 
()th,  received  by  this  mail 
“ Last  Aveek  Ave  stated  that  broken  pekoes 
Avere  the  cheapest  teas  on  the  market.  This  Aveek 
they  are  Id.  to  -2d.  cheaper.  Eniiuiry  sheAvs  that 
the  dealers  are  rather  over  supiilied  Avith  this 
grade,  of  Avhich  a large  proportion  out  of  recent 
invoices  has  consisted.  The  jiractice  of  cutting 
up  pekoes  and  pekoes  Souchongs,  and  mark- 
ing them  broken  pekoe,  in  order  to  secure 
a higher  average,  Avas  a subject  Ave  discussed 
fully  this  time  last  year.  It  is  noAV  .apparently 
about  to  Avork  out  its  oavu  cure.  Seldom  do 
Ave  see  the  best  made  of  the  broken  pekoes, 
80 
AGRlCUl/rURLST. 
Avheu  Uie  jiroportiou  is  greater  than  3U  per  cent 
of  the  Avhole  invoice. 
“ Two  or  tliree  invoices  are  before  us  in 
Avhich  the  broken  pekoes,  and  pekoe  souchongs 
,so  marked,  .nre  in  the  proportion  of  50  to  75 
per  cent  of  broken  jiekoe.” 
At  the  present  time  Avhen  every  eH'ort  is 
being  made  to  open  up  new  markets,  this  is 
Avorthy  of  special  con.sideration,  as  particularly 
iu  both  America  and  Russia  the  Trade  must 
iiave  Avell  made  teas,  small  broken  llakey  sorts 
are  itseless. — Yours  etc.,  J.  A.  J.  C. 
THE  PLANTING  INDUSTRY  OF 
SOUTHERN  INDIA. 
Madras,  Feb.  29th. 
Sir, — In  your  issue  of  25th  inst.ant  you  com- 
mence your  leading  .article  headed  “ The  NVynaad” 
iu  tbe.se  words  : — 
The  Tjondon  Time  :,  in  an  ahl',  \vriilr-n  article  liav- 
inS'  for  il,.s  text  Ihi'  deputation  ol  the  plantern  of 
Southern  India  that  lately  had  an  int.-'i-A'icAv  with 
liord  Elgin,  recite.",  th.'  loading  diiliciill  ies  nnderwhicli 
the  planting  eidcrprise  in  the  Wynaad  now  Hiiifor.s. 
Want  of  comnumication  with  the  seaboard,  of  pro- 
tection for  produce  iu  transit,  proper  organization  of 
labour,  and  fixity  of  tenure,  and  of  security  of  the 
results  to  taxation,  are  among  the  chief  disabilities 
set  out  in  this  article. 
The  actual  Avoids  used  by  the  Avriter  iu  the  Times 
Avere  as  folloAvs  : — 
The  grievances  of  the  Southern  Indian  planters  are 
very  practical.  He  makes  no  great  demands  on  the 
Government,  but  the  demands  which  he  does  make 
he  regards  as  indispensably  necessary  for  thoAvork- 
ing  of  his  business.  Fixity  of  tenure  in  his  estate, 
safeguards  against  fraud  in  the  supply  of  his  labour, 
protection  of  his  produce  against  theft,  and  adequate 
means  of  communication  towards  the  sea — these  are 
the  initial  conditions  for  successfully  planting  iu  any 
country,  and  they  sum  up  the  total  of  the  South 
India  planters’  requests. 
\lloAV  me,  however,  to  point  out  Ib.at  the.se  Avords 
of  the  Times  ilo  not  refer  specially  to  the 
\Yyn,a.ad  but  to  the  i)l.anting  industry  of  Southern 
India  ,as  a Avhole.  The  former  is  a single  dis- 
trict, the  latter  includes  fourteen  difi'erent  districts, 
and  therefore  Avh.at  may  be  a genuine  grievance 
to  |)lanters  resident  in  one'  or  other  of  these 
fourteen  districts  may  have  and  does  have  no 
meaning  to  the  Wyn.aad  planter.  For  instance, 
the  lixity  of  tenure  and  the  means  of  communi- 
cation Avith  the  se.a-board  are  excellent  in  the 
AVyna.ad  ; and  I do  not  think  any  Ceylon  planter, 
certainly  not  one  from  the  Dimbula  district, 
Avould  liaA  C cause  to  quarrel  with  the  organisa- 
of  labour.  As  regards  protection  of  produce  in 
Southern  India  may  I be  alloAved  to  quote  these 
words  from  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Planters’ 
Association  of  Ceylon  on  cocoa  stealing 
“Your  Committee  regret  that  apparently  the  Gov- 
ernment is  apathetic  in  the  matter  and  has  taken 
no  further  steps  to  check  what  has  been  and  again 
will  be  the  scandalous  insecurity  of  growing  crops.” 
The  planting  industry  of  Southern  India  ad- 
mittedly suiters  from  “ beams,”  but  is  that  of 
Ceylon  altogether  free  from  “motes”?  I am  afraid 
not.  HoAveAmrmy  mainreason  foraddressingyou  is  to 
request  you  nob  to  make  the  Wynaad  the 
scape-go.at  of  the  Avhole  industry.  I feel  that  I 
am  in  part  to  blame  for  this ; for  had  there  been 
no  reference  in  the  article  of  the  Times  to 
my  pamphlet,  you  Avould  hardly  have  headed 
your  leading  aricle  Avith  the  name  of  a district 
Avbich  is  never  once  referred  to  by  the  Avriter  in 
the  Times.  He  coniines  himself  entirely  to 
the  second  ch.ai)terin  my  book  Avhich  1 have  par- 
ticularly mentioned  has  reference  to  the  plant- 
ing industry  of  our  Sothern  India  as  a xvliole. 
— Faithfully  yours,  FRANCIS  FORD. 
