870 
THR  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
June  i,  1897. 
Tr.amw.ay  Commission  (with  a Chairman  and  lead- 
ing nnollic.ial  member  wlio  only  had  a few  weeks 
to  spare  in  the  island  after  their  appointment 
is  a ea-e  in  i)oint — and  so,  to  some  extent,  is 
the  olVhimd  promise  of  a “ specialist  for  cacao 
diseas  witliont  any  proper  attempt  at  defining 
what  -n;  is  to  do.  'I’lierf  is  time,  however,  to 
have  1)0. h these  sli])s — failings  on  tlie  right 
side,  we  confess— rectilied  and  good  tlien 
can  only  result.  We  sliould  certainly  like 
Sir  West  Uiilgeway  to  consider  how  this  great 
Agricultural  < 'olony  can  secure  a .Scientilic  Stiiff 
such  as  Java,  or  moie  tlian  one  of  the  fruit-grow- 
iim  States  of  America— say  (.'alifornia — is  favoured 
with.  W’ould  it  he  considered  dreadfully  hereti- 
cal to  iidvise  llie  reduction  of  our  nine  (lovern- 
nient  Agmicies  into  four  or  live  Collectorates, 
and  the  devotion  of  thesalaries  and  .allowances  so 
save  1,  to  t!ie  eslalilishnient  of  an  Agricultural 
DeiiartmenC  and  .Scientilic  Stiill'to  deal  specially 
with  the  enendes  to  wliicli  all  our  food,  fruit  or 
other  commercial  pioducls,  .are  subject?  We 
have  often  pressed  this  view  on  successive  Gov- 
ernors and  the  lunger  we  live  in  the  island  and 
watch  what  is  being  done  in  India,  in  .Jiiva,  in 
New  South  W.ales  and  (Queensland,  tind  in  the 
Tnited  .States  of  America, — the  more  we  feel 
the  necessity  for  the  development  of  a truly 
active  Agricultural  and  Planting  policy  on  the 
part  of  the  Government  of  Ceylon.  How  to 
make  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  only  one 
grew  bef'ce, — how  to  increase  the  fruitfulness  of 
c.ac.ao,  Liberian  coffee,  coconuts,  &c.,  by  showing 
how  enemies  can  he  fought  and  got  rid  of— is, 
after  all,  a far  more  useful  service  than  the 
devising  of  better  means  of  collecting  revenue, 
or  the  w.atching  over  land  applications,  encroach- 
ments and  sales.  Since  the  abolition  of  the 
only  semblatice  of  land  revenue  .assessment  .and 
collections  in  Ceylon,  what  h.ave  our  nine  Go- 
vern incnt  Agents  to  do  of  any  importance  that 
\\  ( uld  not  he  disposed  of  by  two  or  three  Col- 
ie'ciors  from  Southern  India  ? A thousand  worries 
;ind  trifles  alfecting  Kachch  ud  rotitine,  do  not  and 
ought  not  to  count  in  such  a case. 
TOBACCO  CULflVATION  IN  JAFFNA. 
(Conuniniicatcd. ) 
Tobacco  is  cultivated  in  different  parts  of  our 
Peninsula,  mainly  in  country  plots  where  the  soil  is 
most  adapted.  Though  the  use  of  tobacco  is  strongly 
condemned  by  many;  yet  we  find  no  decrease  either 
in  its  cultivation  or  use  to  any  appreciable  amount. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  cultivation  of  to- 
bacco in  .Taffna  is  steadily  advancing  as  may 
clearly  be  known  from  two  facts  viz.,  the  fact  that 
extensive  tracts  of  land  which  were  at  one  time  left 
in  a state  of  chronic  uncultivation,  nnsuhjected  to 
the  plough  or  hoe,  have  now  been  developed  and 
tin  lied  into  fruitful  tobacco  gardens;  and  the 
faci.  that  a large  quantity  of  tobacco  as  well  as  cigars 
is  sent  occasionally  from  Jaffna  to  the  Metropolis, 
Galle,  Malabar  Coasts  and  other  emporiums. 
The  cultivation  of  tobacco  plants  requires  as 
careful  study  and  attention  as  any  others.  In  to- 
bacco plants  there  are  different  kinds,  of.  which 
the  following  are  well-known  to  our  tobacco  planters. 
('Iiouif/ii  (of  which  there  are  two  species  white  and 
black)  Aimneathan,  Thattim  and  KuJai/an.  The 
young  plants  are  obtained  from  seeds,  which  are  smaller 
than  the  mustard  seed.  They  .ire  at  fir.st  reared  in 
the  mnsei  y for  about  a month  and  a half  Then  they  are 
planted  in  parallel  straight  lines,  care  being  taken  to 
jiresci  ve  a di.slance  of  a couple  cubits  between  two 
))hinls.  J'lie  time  of  iilaiiting  usually  begins  in 
November  and  continues  till  T'chruary.  Before  plant- 
ing, the  ground  should  be  well  manured,  ploughed  and 
hoed,  the  manures  used  being  cowdung,  green  leaves 
of  plants  such  as  Kavilaii  Poocarasu  etc.  After  plant- 
ing, the  next  thing  to  be  done  is  watering.  While 
young  the  plants  should  be  watered  daily  ; but  after 
they  attain  a couple  of  months  growth  they  are 
watered  every  other  day.  The  plants  then  grow  up 
day  by  day  assimilating  the  manure,  the  air,  and  tlie 
water  and  spreading  their  leaves  all  round  the  stern, 
till  they  reach  the  st’ge  of  blossoming.  At  this  stage 
the  most  essential  part  that  should  inevitably  he  per- 
formed in  growing  tobacco,  is  topping.  It  is  usually 
best  done  by  cutting  off  the  heads  of  theplant.s  beyond 
a certain  limited  number  of  leaves,  which  vary  between 
10  and  14.  As  the  result  of  topping,  secondarie.s  will 
make  their  appearance  at  the  joints  of  each  leaf,  and 
unless  these  DC  carefully  pulled  off  the  total  amount 
of  money  labor  and  time  spent  on  it  would  he  of  no 
avail.  The  very  object  of  topping  is  to  maki  the 
leaves  increase  in  length  breadth  and  thickness.  The 
task  of  palling  off  the  secondaries  is  as  necessary  a.s 
that  of  topping.  Tiiis  i.s  done  usu  illy  thrice  u.iiil  the 
plants  attain  their  full  growth.  The  rain  at  this  time 
is  unwelcome  to  the  plants,  since  it  wishes  off  th.^  s ip 
and  tears  away  the  leaves.  A bunip^r  tobacco  crop  in 
its  state  of  Cull  development  is  indeed  very  pleaiant  to 
look  at.  The  signs  of  full  development  are  some 
colored  marks,  or  spots  on  the  leaves.  The  leave  are 
then  cut  off  with  a part  of  the  stem  and  subjected  to 
the  manifold  prooesses  of  curing.  It  should  be  noticed 
that  like  tea  and  coffee,  paddy  and  other  plants,  the 
tobacco  plant  is  not  free  from  the  attacks  of  disease 
or  worms.  The  most  destructive  of  the  latter  are  ihe 
Allukanavan  and  the  Arrahottian. 
If  careful  attention  is  paid  to  the  manuring  plantiug 
and  pruning  of  the  tobacco  plants  they  are  sure  to  grow 
well  and  be  remunerative. — Patriot. 
FACTS,  FIGURES,  AND  THEORIES  ON 
THE  DECLINE  OF  CHINESE  TEA. 
INDIA  AND  CEYLON  AS  COMPETITORS. 
DECAYED  TEA  PORTS. 
(from  our  special  shanghai  CORRESPONDENl’.) 
The  history  of  commerce  presents  few  examples 
of  a national  industry  having  to  pass  through  such 
an  ordeal  as  the  China  tea  trade  is  now  under- 
going. Tear  by  year  for  the  greater  part  of  a 
generation  it  has  declined,  until  now  it  is  a mere 
shadow  of  its  former  self.  But  beyond  the  fact  of 
the  decline  we  know  little  either  as  to  its  extent 
or  as  to  its  economic  effects  on  the  Chinese  tea 
growers.  How  they  have  adapted  themselves  to  the 
d'sastrons  change,  or  if  they  have  paid  any  atten- 
tion to  it,  is  a mystery.  Whether  or  not  they  have 
found  new  markets  elsewhere  in  place  of  those  lost 
to  them  in  Western  Europe  is  open  to  dispute. 
Whether  or  not  they  have  reduced  the  tea  growing 
area  is  a question  differently  answered  by  various 
authorities.  All  we  can  make  sure  of  is  that  the 
British  tea  trade  with  China  is  rapidly  shrinking  up. 
The  present  season  (1896-97)  so  far  from  holding 
out  any  hope  of  improvement  exhibits  more  rapid 
retrogression  than  ever.  With  one  solitary  exception 
every  port  of  shipment  exhibits  a decrease. 
The  exports  to  Great  Britain  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  season  to  the  middle  of  Januarv  fell 
from  43,362,0001b.  to  37, .336,000 lb.  The  northern, 
central,  and  Southern  districts  have  all  the  same  tale 
to  repeat  of  reduced  demand.  The  Hankow  and 
Shanghai  shipments,  which  take  the  lead  in  quautit  . 
lost  nearly  three  million  pounds  as  compared  with 
the  corresponding  period  of  .1895-96,  their  aggregate 
to  date  having  been  only  18,410,100  lb.  again.st 
21,317,000 Ih.  Tlie  central  districts  shipping  by  Foo- 
chow are  more  than  two  million  pounds  short— 
12,749,000  lb.,  against  14,676,(X)0  lb.  The  Southern  dii-- 
tricts  shipping  from  Canton  and  Macao  are  over  one 
million  lb.  short— an  aggregate  to  date  < f 6,317,00011)., 
against  7,368,000  Ih.  on  the  uui'res^)onding  period  of 
last  season. 
