533 
Feb.  I,  1897.]  THE  TROPIC \L  AGRICULTURIST. 
MANURING  BY  CKYLUN  PLANTERS 
AND  OTHERS: 
THE  NEED  OF  A FERTILISERS'  ACT. 
The  time  has  not  yet  come  for  .summing  up 
the  valuable  information  contained  in  the  several 
letters  sent  us  in  reply  to  the  circular  on  the 
Manuring  of  Tea  Plantations.  Indeed  only  a frac- 
tion of  the  responses  have,  as  yet,  seen  the  light. 
In  the  last  budget  published — including  t'vo  letters 
from  Northern  Districts,  one  from  Dimbula  and 
one  from  Maskeliya, — there  was  given  not  only 
practical  information  of  the  utmost  importance 
to  all  engaged  in  tea  cultivation  ; but  a ques- 
tion was  raised,  not  for  the  first  time,  to  whicli 
attention  should  at  once  be  drawn.  From  the 
Correspondence  we  refer  to,  it  is  becoming  evident 
that  planters  are  awaking  to  the  necessity  of 
Guaranteed  Purity  in  Manures.  More  than  one 
of  our  coriespondents  makes  pointed  reference 
to  this,  and  the  e.vamples  which  both  “ Hantane” 
and  “ D”  have  adduced,  show  how  buying  in 
tlie  dark  is  about  as  unsatisfactory  as  the 
proverbial  purchase  of  “a  pig  in  a poke.” 
Things  according  to  their  showing  have  been 
improving  in  some  directions,  and  falling  away 
in  others,  but  even  where  the  improvement  is 
most  marked,  the  need  for  still  further  care  is 
manifest  enough.  Fifteen  to  twenty  per  cent  of 
sand  in  “ lish-manure  ” is  a very  large  propor- 
tion, and  wlien  it  is  remembered  tliat  this  use- 
less stuff  may  have  to  be  conveyed  to  distant 
estates,  and  all  the  expense  of  applying  it  gone 
through,  while  the  i)lanter  is  wholly  unaware 
of  the  value,  it  is  about  time  that  something  were 
done  to  let  in  light.  In  the  mother  country, 
there  is  a “Fertilisers  and  F'eeding  tttutfs  Act” 
which  has  done  very  much  to  protect  buyers 
of  artilicial  manures,  and  it  would  seem,  as  if 
now  that  the  question  of  manuring  is  locally 
so  much  in  evidence,  and  the  need  to  avail  our- 
selves of  every  advantage  in  connection  with  our 
principal  product  is  so  keenly  realized,  that  some 
such  Ordinance  should  find  a place  in  the  Statute- 
book  of  Ceylon.  What  is  wanted  is  a warranty 
of  sale.  “ Every  person,”  says  the  English  Act 
“ w'ho  sells  for  use  as  fertiliser  of  the  soil,  any 
article  manufactured  in  the  United  Kingdom, 
or  imported  from  abroad,  shall  give  to  the  pur- 
chaser an  invoice  stating  the  name  of  the 
article  and  whether  it  is  an  artificially  com- 
pounded article  or  not,  and  what  is  at  least 
the  percentage  of  the  nitrogen,  soluble  and  in- 
soluble phosphates,  and  potash,  if  any,  contained 
in  the  article,  and  this  invoice  shall  have  effect 
as  a warranty  by  the  seller,  of  the  statement 
contained  therein.”  If  the  fertiliser  is  not  up 
to  the  standard  guaranteed,  there  are  penalties, 
■\yhich,  of  cour.se,  ai'e  only  inteiuled  for  the  frau- 
dulent Before  the  Act  came  in  force  tlie  trade  in 
artificial  manures  in  the  United  Kingdom  had 
become  very  degenerate;  but  now  things  are  com- 
pletely changed  and  the  Act  is  a hardship  to 
no  one,  as  the  seller  know-s  what  he  sells,  and  the 
buyer  what  he  buys.  Merchants  here  can  easily 
protect  themselves,  through  local  analytical  talent, 
and  a Fertilisers’  Act  would  .be  a boon  to  all 
concerned  — to  the  dealers  tuid  importers  as 
saving  all  disputes  and  dissatisfaction  on  the 
part  of  their  customers  ; and  to  the  i)lanters  as 
showing  them  precisely,  the  value  of  the 
fertilising  constituents,  they  were  a[)|)lying  to 
their  tea.  We  do  not  think  His  E.xcelleticy 
the  Governor  wouhl  liave  the  slightest  ob- 
jection to  the  passing  of  such  an  Act. 
THE  TEA  ESTIMATES. 
A proprietor  writes  ; — 
“ V.  A.  surely  meant  1C  millions  over  last  year’s 
estimate,  not  15  millions  over  actual  shipments. 
District  estimates  for  1897  are  compared  with  1896 
estimates,  not  with  the  actual  outp>ut. 
“ Something  should  be  done  to  make  the  Customs 
and  Chamber  of  Commerce  returns  correspond. 
At  present  it  is  very  much  a case  of  you  don’t  know 
where  you  are.” 
That  would  mean  116,  iu  place  of  120-122  millions 
lb.  for  1897  ; but  surely,  in  the  case  of  the  districts, 
the  comparison  will  be  between  actual  results  for 
1896,  and  the  estimate  for  1897.  Why  should  a 
Committee  with  the  actual  results  available,  go 
back  to  an  estimate  framed  nearly  ayear  ago  7 We 
agree  that  it  wouhl  be  an  advantage  and  great 
convenience  to  have  the  Export  figures  of  the 
Customs  Department  and  Chamber  of  Commerce 
made  upon  the  same  basis,  if  that  were  possible, 
and  so  to  agree. 
COFFEE  PLANTING  IN  NORTH  BORNEO. 
F'rom  the  letter  of  a reliable  correspondent 
this  Dependency,  we  quote  as  follows  : — 
“ Coffee  is  ceitainly  looking  up  in  B.  N.  Borneo 
Large  clearings  are  being  opened  in  Maundu  Bay, 
and  felling  has  just  begun.  Labour  is  very  plentiful 
just  at  present.  Could  you  not  induce  a few  more 
Ceylon  planters  to  come  over  ? There  are  only  two 
])lanters  here.  I am  sure  either  Mr.  Henry  Wal- 
ker or  myself  would  be  most  happy  to  give  all 
information  about  the  country  and  coffee.” 
Here  is  a chance  for  young  gentlemen  command- 
ing a certain  amount  of  capital  and  who,  after 
learning  all  about  “ planting  ” in  Ceylon,  find  the 
openings  for  moderate  cajdtal  and  experience,  are 
locally  few  and  far  between. 
MANURING  TEA  AND  THE  LABOUR 
SUPPLY. 
An  experienced  planter  in  sending  in  his  answer 
to  our  circular  .sa^  s I cannot  help  thinking 
were  all  owners  of  tea  estates  on  old  coffee  lands 
to  go  in  for  manuring  systematically  we  should 
find  we  had  not  done  half  enough  in  pushing  our 
teas  into  new  markets.  That  the  extra  production, 
the  result  of  manuring  with  the  increasing  area 
coming  into  bearing,  would  prove  too  great  for 
the  demand,  provided  we  had  the  coolies  to  apply 
the  manure  and  harvest  the  result.” 
^ 
THE  CEYLON  TEA  OU.'PUT: 
A HARD  CASE? 
The  editor  of  the  “ Times  of  Ceylon  ” thinks  we 
have  dealt  hanlly  with  him — indeed  that  our  cen- 
sure is  for  his  not  suppressing  the  truth  ! — and  fur- 
ther that  Mr.  James  Ryan  put  forward  the  “fact  ” 
on  which  his  remarks  were  based  and  that  we 
did  not  attempt  to  justify  our  own  position.  Well, 
let  us  compare  tlie  “Times”  of  the  6th  Jan.’ 
with  that  of  the  4lh  Jan.  : — 
“Ceylon  Times,”  Jan.  6th. 
We  recently  called  attention  to  the  fact,  newly 
revealed  by  the  figures  published  by  Mr.  James  Ryan 
the  Hoii.  Secretary  of  the  Dimbula  Planters’  Asso- 
ciation, that  some  of  the  larger  upcountry  districts 
having  all  their  large  acreage  already  planted  up, 
in  tea,  had  nearly  reached  the  limit  of  production 
“Ceylon  Times,”  Jan.  4th. 
Other  things  being  equal,  Dimbula  has  nearly 
reached  the  limit  of  its  production.  And  the  same 
remark  holds  good  of  several  other  distJets,  such 
as  those  we  have  named  [Dikoya,  MaskeliyaJ  and 
