704 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST.  [April  i,  1897. 
that  a certain  percentage  of  l»nshes  die  under 
the  treatment ; while  we  can  ([uite  understaiul 
that  it  permanently  injures  the  weaker  bushes 
which  are  seldom  or  never  what  they  were  before, 
in  symmetry  or  plucking  surface.  Indeed,  there 
seems  to  be  a consensus  of  opinion  that  many 
months  ensue,  after  such  severe  pruning,  before 
the  quality  or  flavour  of  the  tea  is  what  it  was. 
This,  then,  is  one  of  the  causes  which  have  led 
to  tlie  lowering  of  our  average  prices.  “H.A.D.” 
leans  to  this  view;  but  he  regards  cutting  down 
at  intervals  of  .3  to  4 years  absolutely  neces.sary 
for  the  production  of  flush  in  buslies  of  low  jat 
at  medium  elevations.  He  does  not  believe  that 
manuring  has  contributed  towards  low  jirices, 
or  that  coarser  plucking  is  very  generally  adopted; 
nor  does  be  think  that  less  care  is  bestowed 
on  manufacture  than  formerly.  Inadequate  and 
faulty  withering  arrangements,  he  considers  res- 
ponsible for  much  of  the  deterioration  in  ([uality, 
while  he  notes  some  attempts  at  improved 
arrangements  ; but  the  chief  exi>lanation  of  lower 
prices  is  to  be  found  in  the  growth  of  production. 
Few  will  dispute  this  last  conclusion  ; but  should 
not  the  very  fact  of  an  increasing  supply  suggest 
the  need  of  greater  care  in  preparation  ! It  is 
not  enough  to  say,  there  has  been  no  falling-oil 
in  care.  Witli  greater  experience  and  improved 
machinery  we  should  be  able  to  i)rodnce  tea  of 
bettor  quality  ; but  how  is  this  to  be  done  with 
leaf  laiil  out  a foot  deep,  and  even  the  bunga- 
low rooms  utili/ed  for  withering? 
“ Mid  Dimbnla  ” regards  course  plucking  as  a 
result,  rather  than  as  a cause,  of  lower  piices 
which  he  refers  iirincipally  to  increaseil  ])roduction. 
When  men  lind  that  the  same  quatity  of  tea  brings 
them  in  a diminisbed  income,  they  naturally  try 
to  increase  the  quantity,  so  as  to  improve  their 
income  ! Neither  manuring,  nor  inattention  to 
manufacture,  in  the  opinion  of  this  correspon- 
dent, explains  the  fall  ; but  shortness  of  laliour, 
as  interfei'ing  with  careful  plucking,  has  contri- 
buted towards  it,  as  also  heavy  luuning,  for  from 
b to  10  months  after  the  cutting  down.  And  a 
point  generally  lost  sight  of  is  that,  whereas 
12  to  15  years  ago,  300  to  350  or  400  lbs  was 
considered  an  outside  figure  for  most  estates; 
many  now  yield  double  that,  and  haveacorrespond- 
ing  lack  of  appliances  and  labour  to  deal  w'ith 
it.  That,  we  should  say,  ))oinfs  to  a 
form  of  insutlicient  attention  to  manufacture. 
“ I)iuibuldanda-oya,”  on  the  other  hand,  while 
holding  that  coarser  plucking  exnlains  the 
fallinf"oil’  in  prices  in  individual  cases, 
thinks  that,  generally  speaking,  the  plucking  is 
liner  now  than  it  was  live  years  ago.  Exoner- 
ating as  he  doe.-!  both  manuring  and  heavy  prnr.- 
ing  from  responsibility  lo  any  appreciable  ilegree 
for  the  fall,  and  liolding  that  wider  experience 
and  bigger  factories  contribute  to  more  careful 
manufacture,  he  regards  overproduction  as  the 
principal,  almost  the  only,  cause  of  poorer 
pi-ices — especially  as  shortness  of  labour,  he  says, 
leads  to  the  abandonment  of  flush  that  cannot 
be  overtaken,  and  the  plucking  as  usual  of  what 
can  be  plucked.  ‘'N,*’  too,  thinks  ])lucking  is 
much  as  usual,  tind  that  manuring  certainly 
has  not  tohl  on  piices— in  proof  of  which,  he 
refers  to  Hauteville  in  Agrapatana,  ami  Dewaturai 
in  the  lowcouutry.  More  scientific  pruning, 
whereby  both  ([iiality  and  yield  might  be  bet- 
tered, is  possiide  ; the  .scarcity  of  labour  has  not 
told  mucli  on  prices,  but  over-production  has, 
and  will  tell  yet  more  ; while,  in  his  view,  the 
l<’actory  is  the  weak  point  in  our  system.  Our 
corre.spondent  does  not  content  himself  with 
merely  condemning  preparation  ; he  puts  his 
linger  on  the  lack  of  scientific  knowledge  as 
the  blot,  and  refers  to  the  upward  tendency  of 
Java  tea,  in  the  prejiaration  of  which  a qualified 
chemist  helps,  while  our  teas  are  going  down  in 
price.  “ L ” from  Ramboda  admits  the  evil  influ- 
ence on  prices  of  coarse  plucking,  while  acquitting 
manure  of  all  blame.  He  also  admits  the 
weakening  of  the  tea  jiroduced  for  many  months 
after  severe  pruning  which,  however,  he  regards 
necessary  at  least  once  in  10  years,  after  bushes  have 
attained  a certain  age.  With  greater  attention 
than  before  paid  in  the  Factory,  and  with  no 
deficiency  of  labour  in  his  district,  the  chief 
cause,  in  L’s  opinion,  of  the  fall  in  price  is  a 
change  in  the  taste  of  buyers.  But  would  not 
that  tell  on  their  purchases?  They  do  not 
neglect  our  teas.  They  buy  more  than  ever 
they  did  before  ; but  they  value  the  teas  ac 
less.  It  seems  olnious  that  they  could  not  do 
this,  if  we  produced  less  and  the  competition 
were  keener — whether  their  taste  was  changed  or 
not;  but  the  question  is.  Is  the  tea  the  same  as 
it  was?  Can  we  do  nothing  to  command  tiie 
better  prices  of  Indian  .sorts?  “V”  difl'ers  from 
“ L”  as  legards  coarser  plucking;  he  blames 
severe  jiruning ; he  acquits  short  labour,  and 
holds  the  Factory  responsible.  More  care  and 
more  accommodation  are  necessary  ; and  very  little 
dejiends  on  the  field,  if  the  Factory  does  its  duty. 
“Bohea”  from  Dimbiilla  admits  that  labour 
exigencies  lead  to  faulty  plucking ; that 
manure  does  tell  on  flavour  and  price,  nut  only 
for  a short  time,  and  in  rainy  weather ; so  also 
with  heavy  pruning  ; that  heavy  cropping  in  one 
year  (as  in  1896)  following  a large  crop  (as  in 
1895),  does  tend  to  exhaust  the  finer  principles 
of  tea — and  even  the  buoyant  energies  of  the 
stall'  through  continuous  and  monotonous  woik. 
But,  with  all  this,  over-production,  he  regards, 
.as  the  main  cause  of  the  fall.  “ Bohea”  puts  his 
case  well,  especially  when  he  emphasizes  the 
difficulty  of  h.andling  a heavy  crop  in  damp 
weather,  and  the  influence  of  under-withered 
and  over-withered  le.af  on  the  total  out- 
turn. “1897”  puts  down  coarser  plucking  as  the 
chief  cause  of  lower  prices,  wfiile  heavy  pruning, 
which  is  inevitable,  also  tells ; but  he  acquits 
manuring  of  all  responsibility  and  denies  that 
less  attention  is  p.aid  in  the  Factory  th.an  before, 
though  when  there  is  a rush  .and  night  work  be- 
comes necessary,  the  resulting  tea  is  bad.  The 
poverty  of  the  soil,  the  state  of  ihe  money  market, 
increased  production,  congested  sales,  and  con- 
tinuous plucking  without  decided  seasons,  have 
all  contributed  towards  the  fall. 
Of  the  four  letters  from  Talawakele,  “Jay” 
from  Dimbnla,  and  “B”  deny  coarser  plucking  ; 
while  the  last-mentioned  in  one  word  establishes 
the  importance  of  adequate  Factory  accommoda- 
tion. His  Factory  is  equal  toi  million  lb.  ; in  1895 
he  turned  out  318,000  lb.  which  sold  at  Is  O^d.  ; 
in  1896  the  outturn  w.as  340,000  lb.  and  the  price 
was  Is  l^d.!  The  plucking  was  the  same,  the 
yield  was  larger,  the  prices  higher.  We  agret^ 
th.at  starvation  wages  to  Suprintendents  should 
not  be  the  reward  for  results  even  approfc'iiig 
this.  “N.C.D.”  admits  coarser  plucking,  and 
thinks  the  increase  of  lou  country  estates  tells 
on  the  aver.age.  In  other  respects,  tiiese  corres- 
pondents do  not  dill'er  1 hey  admit  the  im- 
portance of  care  in  the  Factory,  but  realize 
the  evil  influence  of  shortness  of  labour  and 
irregular  plucking.  M.anuring  is  not  condemned; 
but  the  deteriorating  ell'ects  of  “ cutting  down”  are 
admitted.  Heavy  lu  uning,  however,  is  regarded  as 
