5^4 
TME  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Feb.  I,  1897. 
Fevy  estates  are  witliin  easy  reach  of  cattle  sheds; 
and  the  cart  roads  passing  Ihrougli  or  along 
Slue  estates  are  seldom  main  arteries  of  com. 
munication.  The  cattle  establishments  of  the 
coliee  era  have  almost  all  been  dismantled,  and 
we  fear  that  the  thorou;^hness  and  sense  of  per- 
manent settlement,  which  distin;^iiislicd  men  of 
thetype  of  “K.  B.  T.”,  Lo^ie  Eljihinstone  and  Mat- 
takelle  Smith,  are  to  somee.'ctenb,  at  least,  wintin;^ 
among  individual  proprietors  of  the  present  day" 
This  drawback  should  be  cured  by  the  resources"  of 
the  big  Companie.s  which  are  taldng  tlie  i)bice  of 
large  proprietors  ; for,  the  e.vperience  of  places  like 
Mariawatte  would  seem  to  establish  that,  for 
leaf  crops,  cattle  manure  answers  splendidly  ; and, 
of  course,  bulky  mxnure.s  are  more  benellcial  to 
worn  out  and  long-cropped  lands  than  artificial 
compounds.  Curiously,  the  very  first  letter  in 
our  series  contains  a warning  against  “bazaar 
manure” — but  why? — and  ([uestions  whether  cattle 
and  farmyard  manure  is  as  beneficial  to  tea  as 
It  was  to  coffee.  Surely  it  should  be  tfie  other  way? 
The  third  question— Whether  the  manure  sent 
by  train  is  used  by  itself  or  in  combination 
with  other  stuff  ? —elicits  replies  whicfi  point  to 
the  desire  of  planters  generally  to  mi.v  it  wiili 
bulk,  and  to  the  difficulty  of  securing  tlie  latter 
except  in  favoured  situations.  Castoi"cakc  would 
seem  to  be  a prime  favourite,  mixed  with  fish 
manure,  and  a small  proportion  of  bones — tbou'''h 
the  latter  is  objected  to  as  producing  seed,  lime 
we  have  an  exanii)le  of  how  scieiice  and  ex- 
perience meet,  and  how  valuable  the  observation 
of  even  the  most  ignorant  may  become.  Tlierwb/«, 
readily  uses  bone  dust  for  ids  paddy  fields',  but 
he  abliors  cattle  manure  as  producing  straw  rather 
than  grain  ? 
There  is  a strong  consentrs  of  opinion 
— all  but  general -in  response  to  the 
fourth  (luestion,  not  only  that  no 
harm  is  done  by  the  use  of  artificial  manures, 
but  that  the  buslies  and  crops  are  distinctly  ini- 
proved.  Tlie  only  exception  is  to  bo  found  in 
E.  G.  It’s  vigorous  condemnation  of  artificial 
manures  as  “doing  harm  to  the  tea  enterprise,” 
of  castor  and  bones  as  giving  “a  fictitious  cnor'W' 
to  the  jdants  whiidi  sooner  or  later  must  produc'e 
the  worst  results.”  Yet,  even  E.  (i.  K.  would 
use  artificial  manure  mixed  with  bulk  ; .so  th.it 
it  really  becomes  a <|ue.sf.iou  of  ajiplyiiu'  only 
suitable  manures;  ami  that  brings  us' to '"one  of 
the  propositions  with  which  we  started,  that 
what  is  food  to  one  may  be  poison  to  anotlier.  It 
is  thus,  not  the  intelligent  use,  but  the  thougiit- 
less  abuse,  of  manure  which  is  to  lie  mianled 
.against,  and  what  more  effectual  safeguard  can 
one  have,  coupled  with  close  observation,  than 
the  analysis  of  soil  and  the  analysis  of  manures 
both  as  a means  of  checking  fraud  and  usiim 
the  riglit  thing?  We  are  by  no  means  disposed 
to  provoke  a contest  between  “Killaloe”  and 
**  E.  G.  It.”  whether  with  shillelagh  or 
rifle,  the  more  so  as  the  decline  of  the 
former  cannot  apply  to  the  latter,  but  as  a 
set-off  to  the  growl  from  Uatnatenna,  we  would 
place  the  cry  from  Talawakele,  that  artificial 
is  to  be  preferred  even  to  bulk  ma  iu.e  and 
that  “persons  who  object  to  manuring  ‘on  principle’ 
are  usually  hand-to-mouth  men,  who  have  no 
money  to  pay  for  it,  or  who  wish  to  [lump  their 
jiroperties”  ! And  that  brings  us  to  our  last 
question — How  the  oldest  manured  tea  comtiares 
with  unmanured  of  the  same  age  ?— the  answers 
to  which  ai e most  gratifying  and  encoura*’’^im*’ 
With  almost  one  voice  they  record  a great  im- 
provement in  the  appearance  of  the  bushes  and 
greatly  iucieased  yields.  “ E.  S.  A.”  from  Dikoya 
estimates  the  increase  in  yield  at  200  to  250  lb. 
per  acre ; “ B ’ from  Holmwood,  while  strong 
in  condemnation  of  “ unscientific  manures,” 
estini.ites  manured  tea  to  give  twice  the  yield 
of  unm  mured;  “D”  from  the  Central  Province, 
puts  down  the  average  at  700  lb.  j>er  acre  from 
m inured  te  i and  350  from  unmanured,  in  a 
suggestive  letter ; while  our  other  correspondents 
te-itify  to  the  im])iovement  both  in  appearance 
and  yield  of  the  bushes.  It  is  impossible  to 
resist  the  effect  of  sucli  evidence  ; and  when  we 
take  into  account  the  acreage  of  young  tea 
coming  into  b-caring  or  to  matmity,  the  proved 
and  ascertained  effects  of  manuring  which  is  be- 
coming more  general,  and  even  the  new  clearings, 
though  they  are  not  particularly  extensive,  we 
cannot  understand  how  any  intelligent  person 
can  speak  of  tea  in  Ceylon  having  reached  its 
maximum  production. 
♦ 
( Letters  Continued.) 
No.  XIII. 
Lower  Ambagamuwa,  Jan.  1. 
Dhar  Sir, — 1.  With  the  exception  of  one  or 
two  estates,  manuring  is  not  done  systematically 
in  this  district  ; most  estates  do  a little  manuring 
each  year,  but  the  manure  is  chiefly  appliel  to 
their  ridges,  or  fields  that  show  signs  of  weakness. 
2.  Tlie  bulk  manure  is  very  little  used,  in  fact 
hardly  at  all,  except  by  estates  situated  near 
villages,  whe  e town  manure  can  be  had. 
3.  Manure  .sent  up  by  Kailway  is  used  .alone, 
the  mixture  generally  applied  being  crushed  bones 
.and  castorc.ake,  1 of  the  former,  to  3 of  the 
latter;  5 ozs.  of  the  mixture  being  as  a rule, 
a|)plicd  to  each  tree. 
4.  Certainly  not. 
.5.  h'avorably. 
To  get  the  best  results  from  manuring,  the 
manure  should  lie  applied  (dug  in  if  the  land  be 
not  too  steep)  .as  soon  .as  possible  after  a severe 
cutting  down. — Yours  f.aithfully, 
TEA  FARMER. 
No.  XIV. 
B ilangoda,  Jan.  1. 
Dkah  Sir, — Thanks  for  your  circular.  Sorry 
I cannot  tell  you  mucii  aViout  manuring 
tea,  as  down  here  little  or  nolhing  has  been  done 
as  yet.  Though,  1 believe  they  .are  beginning  to 
do  more  in  Haput.ile.  Personally  1 am  in  favour 
of  bulk  manure,  one  basket  full  between  four 
trees.  Have  done  two  or  three  acres  here  with 
good  rc-mlts.  This  ]>ist  year  h.as  been  an  awful 
one  for  r.iin,  and  as  I write  8 a.m.  its  pouring 
steadily. — \ours  truly,  B.\LANGODDE. 
No.  XV. 
M.at.ale  N.E. 
1.  A few  estates  here  manure  with  excellent 
results. 
2.  \V  hen  bu  ky  manure  is  available  it  is  al- 
ways .ap[>lied,  but  it  is  very  limited. 
3.  So  far  as  I .am  .aware  the  chief  manures 
are  castor  cake  and  bones  mixed — also  fish  manure 
with  a mixture  of  the  above. 
4.  No — wherever  manure  has  been  judiciously 
applied,  it  has  greatly  improved  the  appearance  of 
the  tea  and  increased  the  production  of  leaf. 
5.  On  oil  coliee  land  the  ohlest  manured  tea 
gives  nearly  double  the  yiehl  that  the  unm  inured 
tea  does,  that  is,  where  manure  has  been  re- 
gularly applied. 
I am  of  opinion  th.at  more  m.anuring  wouhl  be 
done  on  old  cofl'ee  lands,  but  for  the  insnflicient 
and  uncertain  labour  suj)ply.  W. 
