268 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Oct. I, 1S97. 
However some are certainly less forward in the 
race and for these we (myself amongst the rest) 
must continue to ti’y and worry at improvement. 
I have written a good deal, and still write for my 
own information ; I got a good deal of knowledge by 
finding out what to write about, and I have come to 
certain conclusions which are perhaps only the 
beginning of enquiry 
About M.vnueing — There are two answer's as to the 
object of Djanuring: The manager will tell you that 
it is to improve tire bushes. The proprietor may say 
that it is to get a good return for money spent. 
And so there will be two ways of using manure : 
the one, which will improve bad bushes and take a 
long time to give any return, and the other to apply 
manure to the best bushes and get an immediate 
and maximum return. I would say that if you have 
R.500 to spend on manuring, put it on to the bad 
bushes, because even a good percentage of profit on 
E500 would hardly be noticed in the year’s accounts ; 
but if you have from B,3,000 to R5,000 to spend, 
then put it on to the best bushes, and it is possible 
that you will get cent-per-cent profit, and this will 
make a great show, and encourage you to go in on 
a large scale, 
Strong manures are generally put down in large 
quantities and the effects are supposed to last for 3 
years or so. It appears to me that it would be 
wiser to use one-third the quantity and apply it 
annually. Then this strong manure is placed at 
the roots of the bushes with the idea that 
it will be more readily assimilated ; but by digging 
up the soil near good bushes, it will be found that 
the roots are not far from the surface at a distance 
of 2 feet from the stem; and these are the roots 
that creep about to find sustenance. So it will be 
well to distribute the manure all over the surface 
and dig (or wash) it in to within reach of these 
roots. Possibly the best method will be to apply the 
manute with water if available, or broadcast and 
hoe it in, both these mt-thods would cost less than 
the one of digging a small trench round the bush 
and covering up the manure. 
Manure will be of some benefit w'hen it is looked 
to as a source of revenue and not as a bush- 
improver — that is to say that money spent in 
manuring good tea will probably yield more percen- 
tage of profit than the same sum put into opening 
out new extensions. An estate will spend R10,000 in 
extensions. I think that the same sum spent in 
manuring its present tea would pay better. 
The effect of extending new tea and manuring old 
tea will be the same i.e. it will help to re 'uce tea 
shares to 5 per cent, profit. We must always been 
this in view and not be sad as each step brings us 
nearer to the end. 
Pkuning. — I have a fairly wide experience. In 
Cachar, Assam, and Sylhet pruning is done every 
year, nearly all the year’s growth is cut off, only 2 
to 4 inches are left. When the bush grows too tall 
it is cut back to the manager’s fancy — (from the 
ground to 24 inches). In those places you can do as 
you please with the bushes. In Kangra and up 
country districts the tea is allowed to grow, cutting 
back is resorted to as seldom as possible, heavy 
pruning is done in June, light pruning in the cold 
weather, the (bush is allowed very little growth. In 
Chota Nagpur the bushes are pruned every second or 
third year, and not touched with the knife in between. 
Plucking.— In Assam &o., the plucking begins by 
leaving 2 or 3 leaves on the new shoot, 1 leaf on 
every subsequent shoot to the end of the year (some 
few gardens pluck all close down for the last few 
flushes in October and November) —the consequence 
is a growth of from 18 inches to 3 feet, and this is all 
cut off in December. 
In Kangra one leaf only is left on the new 
shoots after the cold weather pruning and after 
that each shoot is taken clean off ; the growth of 
the year is about 4 to 6 inches. On hard 
pruned bushes (pruned in June) they allow 
3 leaves of the 1st flush to remain, and pluck close 
titter thati 
In Chota Nagpur 3 leaves are left on the new shoot 
after pruning, and from that time to the next prun- 
ing, every shoot is taken (if possible) as soon as it 
has two leaves and a bud. 
TOBACCO IN RELATION TO HEALTH. 
Sir, — A late number of the Nineteenth Cen- 
tury has an interesting article on this subject. 
In 1895 the total weigh: of tobacco for home 
consumption in the L’nited Kingdom was 
78,200,272 lb. or a trifle under 2 II). per bead 
of tbe i)opulation ; the duty on it amounted 
to £10,547,310. 'I'lie co.st to the nation of tliis 
quantity of tobacco was approximately about 
£32,554,108. The value of wheat con.sumei'. in 
1895 was £33,000,000. Tims we see Imw nearly 
the sum expended upon tobacco-smoking ap- 
proaches the .sum spent upon wlieat. It is cal- 
culated by tlie Customs’ authorities tliat no le.ss a 
value than £1,000,000, is literally thrown into the 
gutter in the shajie of ends of cigars and 
cigarettes. Holland uses the leaf up to 7 lb. per 
lieail of her i)Opulatioii. Austii;i 3'8lb. ; Den- 
mark 3’7 lb. ; Switzerland 3'31b. ; Belgium 3"2 lb.; 
Cermany 3 0 lb. ; Sweden and Norway e;ich 2'3 
lb. ; France 2'1 lb. ; Italy 1 lb. ; Russia and Spain may 
1)6 classed together with a consumption of 1 i lb., 
while the IJniteil States rises in the scale to 4i 
lb. for each inliabitant. These figures give the 
comforting assurance that the United Kingdom 
is not so bad as her neigh hours by a pound or 
more, taking tlie average consumption of the 
leading nations of the world. The whole world 
smokes and it is estimated that two thousand 
millions of pounds weight are consumed every 
year, and that its money value exceeds live hun- 
dred million pounds sterling. 
Investigations made at the instance of the Board 
of Inland Revenue concerning the fate that befalls 
cigar ends, have been the means of revealing curious 
facts. Amid the crowd glimpses may be caught of 
a quiet fellow plodding along the liigliwaj’s and by- 
ways, with a bag slung over his shoulder and 
bis eyes fixed on the gutters, picking up cigar 
and cigarette ends, or wending his way to the 
side door of some hotel or hall for the same 
purpose. Many a young hopeful of slender purse 
hugs with pride his penny or two penny cigar, 
clad in a netv coat, little dreaming of its having 
in a former existence shone glow-worm like, in 
another .sphere. Then there are fancy mixtures 
made up for the pipes out of these cigar and 
cigarette ends, enticingly scented with an odour 
unknown to the weed. As regards the consider- 
ation of the effects of tobacco on health and 
character, it cannot be too strongly emphasizep 
that there is no question as to the baneful 
action of tobacco in any form on growing youths. 
Until the age of twenty-one years has been at- 
tained, there should be no thought of smoking. 
The tests and experiments of physiologists, 
the untrained observ'ation of laymen, and the 
accumulated experience of civilised nations are 
agreed in this conclusion, Every one knows that 
children cannot go on smoking with imjninity, with- 
out, in fact doing themselves life-long injury. But 
instreets and lanes boy.s from nine to ten may be seen 
smoking. In Ceylon, amongst the Sinhalese and 
Tamils, boys of six to nine may be seen smok- 
ing in the presence of their parents. Since 
parents are so heedless of tlieir children’s wel* 
fare to prevent them from pursuing a practice, 
the inevitable results of which will by and bye 
appear in stunted, weakly growth, and the trai^ 
