THE TROPICAL AGRICULTDRIST. 
279 
O'CT. I, 1897. J 
'‘HOWTO ECONOMISE THE AVAIL- 
ABLE LABOUR SUPPLY ON OUR 
TEA PLANTATIONS.” 
KEVIEW OF LETTERS NOS. X. TO XVII. 
The last eight letters must now claim our 
attention ; and they are full of variety and 
interest. “L” from the Northern Districts, 
is able through experience to anticipate the 
doubt wliich “ M ” from Matale North gives 
e.xpression to later on in regard to the suit- 
ability of wire shoots for the transport of pro- 
duce ; and the directness and conhdence with 
wliich “L ’ asserts that lie has “ worked shoots tor 
many years ” and “ for all purposes,” illustrate 
one of the many advantages of the interchange 
of ideas for which we have arranged through 
our circular. Expenentia docet ; and here is a 
writer who has used shoots “ for sending fire- 
wood, tea leaf in coir bags, iungle soil for 
manure in gunnies etc., etc.”; and all he sti- 
pulates for is that there should be “ lots of 
packing ” at the delivery end, so that the leaf 
may not be damaged, as it would be, if the 
impact were against the tree or rock to wliich 
the shoot is attached. The hesitancy of tlie 
unbeliever, — that is of the inexperienced, — should 
vanish before such testimony, supported as it 
is by “ A ” from a medium district, who has 
seen shoots used in the great saving of both labour 
and time on extensive and steep estates. In one 
case, he says there was a saving of five miles in 
transport through three shoots which took the 
leaf to the store in 20 minutes. What this 
means in coolies available for other work and 
exemption from grumbling, only those who have 
experience of shoot and coolie labour can appreciate. 
“ R ” from Uva tells the .same story ; also “ T ” 
from Medium District and “ T ” from Northern 
District three-fourths of whose leaf is brought 
in by means of shoots ; while “ G ” in his 
lengthy and instructive communication, though 
having no personal experience of shoots, affirms 
that their use is capable of “ very great exten- 
* sion and improvement.” Experience of aerial 
I tramways, too, confirms the general feeling 
in their favour ; and most of our correspond- 
I ents doubtless regard them in the light of im- 
■ proved and more scientific shoots ; but there 
] appears to be a consensus of opinion that the 
j initial cost of rail tramways is prohibitory, and 
places them beyond the reach of any but the 
I most extensive estates, and even in tlieir case, 
if they can be easily roaded, light bullock-carts 
will be as serviceable while saving the heavy 
original outlay of a tramway. 
On the question of lighter and less expensive 
Weeding, the present batch of letters show's, 
with one exception, the same conservatism as 
I the preceding batch, and even some little im- 
li patience that the question should be revived, 
I “Surely this question has been threshed over 
long ago” protests “I;,” who w'ould have “a 
clean estate, or none at all though looking 
to the great deficiency of humus in our 
clayey soils, he would prefer to grow 
nitrogenous weeds — or say the Californian 
Cow Pea— and fork them in, if the labour 
were forthcoming. From Uva we learn that ex- 
periments have told against less frequent w'eeding, 
leading to the ultimate use of mamoties with 
disastrous results ; while in Dimbula the re- 
tention of mosses and ferns threw’ coffee back 
35 
rapidly and seriously. “ A ” similarly sticks to 
clean weeding, both for its own sake, and as 
helping to satisfy the contractor-kangany ; while 
“M,” who holds the same opinion, advocates the 
more general growth of shade as a means of 
keeping-off weeds and preventing wash. With 
that advantage, we fancy, must go the drawback 
of a falling-off of flush which needs sunlight 
to bring it out on hardening branches. The 
answer of “R” from Uva seems rather contradictory 
as he holds weeding overdone, w'hile declaring 
that “in Ceylon we must have practically no 
weeds” and that “our pre.sent system is good 
enough, it scraping is fought against ”; but “T” 
believes unequivocally in keeping an estate 
“ thoroughly clean,” though mosses do not injure 
tea on well-drained land. “T” from a northern dis- 
trict, on the other hand, would not leave any 
mosse.s, as they would lorm seed beds for other 
weeds, and in damp climates themselves choke 
up the trees and produce unhealthy barks. 
Against this body of opinion, we have a very 
decided dictum from “G” in a mid district, who 
does not content himself with merely affirming 
that “ weeding has been and is being overdone;” 
but offers reasons in support of his view which we 
commend to the earnest attention of our readers, 
and which we should like to see discussed and 
answered by the advocates of clean weeding 
at any expense. “G” points to the bare 
red soil on our hillsides, destitute of all 
humus and affording no lodgement for fresh 
accumulations of leaf-mould, as evidence of in- 
judicious weeding which has not only cost vast 
sums of money which might have been saved, 
but has positively w'orked to the detriment of 
the land. Coffee found itself unable to survive 
such treatment, but tea as a deeper feeder is 
less dependent on surface soil. Yet, it must 
benefit by the conseivation of humus ; and what 
“G.” suggests seems very simple. He admits the 
impracticability of hoeing in the weeds, once in 
tw’o or three months, as in India, on steep land, 
but would have a system of water-holes betw’een 
evei-y four trees, into which the weeds at every 
bi-monthly hand weeding — by which, we su[)pose, 
is meant the weeding once in two months and 
not twice a month — should be thrown. This would 
do more than give back to the soil the con- 
stituents which they had taken from it, by enrich- 
ing it with the added nitrogen they have drawn 
from the atmosphere. At the same time, it is 
pointed out that there are mosses and other 
small plants which assist in the formation and 
retention of humus, and also serve to minimise 
wash; and if such mosses and plants are selected 
with discretion, even the necessity for artificial 
manuring might be obviated. These mosses would 
be auxiliaries to the leguminous plants which have 
the special quality of absorbing nitrogen, if in- 
deed they do not take their place to some ex- 
tent, and they might also find a place in the 
water-hole, where the steepness of the land 
forbids their being hoed in. The supplementary 
information which our correspondent siqiplies 
on the weed which he thinks it would be 
well to encourage, to prevent wash and loss of 
soil— Pffcrt mwrophylla — is specially interesting, 
as is indeed the vvhole letter with its happy 
combination of the practical and the scientific. 
Our own inclination, as indeed our question in 
a manner suggests, is to the view 1 hat weed- 
ing is rather overdone : and although numbers 
have, so far, been against us, we are content with 
the measure of supi'iort which “ G.” alfords with 
his well-reasoned advocacy of selective weeding. 
