March  i,  1S97.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
THE  MANURING  OF  TEA  ESTATES. 
f Continued  from  pnyc  570.) 
The  following  i.s  another  instalnient  of  the 
letters  w'e  have  received  in  reply  to  our  circular 
to  representative  planters  asking  information  on 
the  following  points;— 
1.  Has  the  manuring  of  tea  estates  become 
general  in  all,  or  only  in  old,  districts?  or,  if 
your  experience  is  local,  in  your  own  district? 
2.  Is  bulky  manure  chielly  used? 
3.  Is  the  manure  sent  up  by  raihvay  used 
alone  or  mixed,  and  is  th.ere  much  of  bone-dust 
and  nitrates  as  well  as  of  castorcake  and  fish 
manure  now  used  ? 
4.  Do  yon  think  harm  is  being  done  to  any 
extent  by  the  use  of  artilicial  manures  in  the 
case  of  tea? 
5.  How  does  the  oldest  manured  tea  comj)are 
with  unmanured  tea  of  the  same  age? 
No.  XXXVI. 
High  District,  Jan.  7. 
1.  Manuring  is  general  in  all  districts,  prob- 
ably fifteen  to  twenty  per  cenc  of  estates  use 
artificial  manure. 
2.  Artificial  manure  is  usually  used,  with  the 
exception  of  a few  estates  with  special  facilities. 
Only  small  acreages  can  be  manured  with  bulky 
manure. 
3.  Nearly  all  the  manure  is  mixeil ; — one-third 
of  Hones  to  tw'o-thirds  of  Castor,  is  the  usual  pro- 
portion. 
4.  So  far  no  harm  appears  to  have  been  done 
to  the  tea,  but  a great  deal  of  soil  must  be  washed 
away  by  manuring  steep  slojies. 
5.  Manured  toa  gives  150  to  200  lb  per  acre 
more  than  unmanured. — M. 
No.  XXXVII. 
Jan.  8. 
Dear  Sir, — In  reply  to  your  questions  rc 
manure  : — 
1.  I cannot  say  whether  manuring  has  be- 
come general  in  all  districts  or  even  in  this 
district,  but  it  i.s  being  done  here. 
2.  Where  bulky  manure  c.an  be  had  it  is 
,api>lie(l  and  preferred  for  its  lasting  qualities,  but 
more  is  being  done  with  artilicial,  mostly  white 
Castor  and  Hone  Meal. 
3.  Manure  is  generally  mixed  in  the  Colombo 
mills  before  being  sent  off,  (unfortunately  we 
have  not  yet  a r.aihvay  to  bring  it)  ; it  mostly 
consists  of  Castor  and  Hones  in  the  ratio  of 
three  to  one. 
4.  Far  from  tiiinking  harm  is  being  done,  I 
am  confident  much  good  is  being  done  by  man- 
uring tea.  I began  at  first  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling ; but  now  I am  a staunch  advocate  of 
manure,  as  it  increases  the  yield,  and  gives  a 
more  healthy  appearance  to  the  bush,  but  I 
think  the  (juality  sutlers  somewdiat.  The  only 
really  serious  charge  lying  at  the  door  of  arti- 
ficial manure,  is  the  contamination  of  the  water 
supply,  hence  the  greater  prevalence  of  typhoid 
fever  “ et  hoc  genus  omne.” 
5.  Compares  favourably  in  every  way,  only 
manure  wlien  once  begun  must  be  continued 
at  least  every  three  years,  or  the  bushes  will 
go  back,  as  the  artificial  stimulant  must  be 
kept  up. 
KELANI  VALLEY. 
619 
No.  XXXVIII. 
OLD,  AXD  MEDIUM  ELEVATION,  DISTRICT. 
1.  IManaringin  this  di.strict  is  very  general  and 
ap[)Cars  to  be  carried  on  to  a large  extent  on 
estates  at  a medium  elevation  and  where  trans- 
port is  easy.  It  is  by  no  moans  general  in  all 
the  planting  drstricts,  at  very  high  elevations 
scarcely  any  arlificial  manure  is  ajiplied  ; and 
on  estates  to  which  transport  is  far  and  difficult, 
but  little  is  carried  out. 
2.  Hulk  manure  is  a[)[)lied  whenever  procur- 
able, but  on  many  estates  there  is  little  or  no 
bulk  manure  worth  speaking  of. 
3.  When  systematic  manuring  is  carried  on 
a mixture  of  Castor-cake  and  Hone-meal  oiiijears 
to  be  most  geuerodly  applied,  though  fish  manure 
and  nitrates  are  also  used,  but  not  to  so  large 
an  extent.  In  some  instances  fish  manure  is 
mixed  with  Castor-cake  and  Hone-meal. 
4.  I do  not  think  that  harm  is  being  done 
to  tea  by  the  application  of  artificial  manui-es; 
on  the  contrary  I think  th.e  bushes  are  streng- 
thened thereby,  though  I think  wlien  artificial 
manuring  i.s  starteil  it  miisl  be  continued  or  the 
Imshes  would  cease  to  yield  jirolitable  flushes. 
5.  Old  manured  fields  compare  very  favorably 
with  unmanured  fields  of  tlie  same  age,  the 
bushes  being  larger  and  much  more  healthy  in 
appearance,  and  the  fields  present  a much  liner 
cover.  I might  mention  however  two  drawbacks 
to  manuring,  viz.,  the  additional  cost  of  weeding, 
and  the  loss  of  soil  by  wash,  caused  by  the 
constant  cutting  of  holes;  this  of  course  refers 
chiefly  to  wet  districts  and  to  steep  land. 
rEQUUS  IN  AliDUIS. 
No.  XXXIX. 
Matale,  Jan.  9. 
Dear  .Sir, — In  rejily  to  your  favor,  I only 
manured  22  acres  with  bulk,  last  year,  and  this 
ye.ar  I have  manured  with  Castor-cake  and  Hones 
45  .acres.  I therefore  really  have  not  the  necessary 
experience  to  give  an  opinion.  There  is  very 
little  m.auuring  of  tea  in  West  Matale.  I 
cannot  speak  of  other  districts,  and  I have  not 
heard  of  any  one  in  Matale  West  using  artificial 
manures  except  myself.  The  little  manure  used 
in  Matale  is  nearly  all  bulk,  I believe.  I cannot 
say,  that  the  artilicial  manure,  I have  used  this 
year,  has  reduced  the  price  of  my  tea,  and  it 
h.as  certainly  increased  my  yield.  The  45  acre 
field  manured  with  Castor-cake  and  Hones 
has  given  1,0501b.  jier  acre,  and  the  22  acres 
manured  with  bulk  last  year  has  given  9501b. 
per  acre. 
The  Bones  and  Castor-cake  I got  were  mixed  in 
Colombo,  The  bulk  manure  used  was  bought  from 
natives,  and  was  not  anything  like  equal  to 
manure  made  on  the  estate.  MANAGER. 
No.  XL. 
Wattegania,  Jan.  9. 
1.  Not  gener.al  yet,  though  .some  estates  have 
adopted  it  with  marked  benefit. 
2.  No  -too  costly  except  near  towns  and  vil- 
lages and  where  lay  of  land  [lermits  of  easy  cart 
transport. 
3.  Mixtures  vary ; but  Castor-cake,  Hones  and 
.Sulphate  of  Ammonia  and  Nitrate  of  Pot.ash  are 
favorites,  and  fish  is  largely  used,  and  kekuna 
ne.ar  villages. 
4.  Less  chance  of  harm  would  exist  here  ; 
a,rtificial  manures  always  mixed  with  bulk.  I(j 
78 
