326 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Nov. I, 1897. 
“You shouklj however, waken up Ceylon Plant- 
ers to the necessity of paying greater attention to 
manufacture for comparing them with tliat of India 
they are not in it as to superior fermenta- 
tion, rolling and grading of their teas. The 
broken pekoes of Ceylon, which at one time 
would have been taken readily by the trade, 
are now neglected by the larger wholesale 
houses in consequence of their dusty and broken 
condition and theiefore cannot tnix with their 
higher class of blends and their forces the price 
down to the inferior grades. I send you four 
samples, two of desirables and two of undesir- 
able broken pekoes with this relative values. 
These you can show to any enquirer. I also send 
four samples of Indian teas for comparison. It is 
not a matter Ceylon men should shut their eyes to, 
for the compeoition with Indians will become 
keener, because the liquor from Indians is superior 
to anything from Ceylon, and it is only by care- 
ful manufacture on the part of the Ceylon plan- 
ter that he will maintain his ground and raise 
his teas to a higher value. At last sale some 
Ceylon teas were sold at 2jd and how any one 
could think of a profitable result from such tea is 
a mystery, for it would have been better to have 
put it into the furnace. 
“ Mr. Jofin Hamilton’s advice about packing 
teas and weighing of packages was deserving of 
more attention than it apparently received in 
Ceylon. So long as they remain blind to what 
materially affects their own interests, no improve- 
ment can be looked for. In the early days of 
Ceylon tea cultivation they showed the way to 
India, but now they are losing ground and should 
waken up. 
“ The value of tea properties, of course, has 
likewise been affected by the position of exchange 
and value of teas — to the extent, I should think of 
30 to 40 per cent and the high prices lately paid need 
not be looked for, for a considerable time as 
Company promoters will not take up anything 
less than 10 per cent on present results. Several 
Companies lately floated will have a hard struggle 
to make ends meet if the present position of affairs 
remain long as it is.” 
♦ 
CLOVE CULTIVATION AT ZANZIBAR. 
From “ The Shamba ” or “ Journal of Agricul- 
ture for Zanzibar ” for Sept. 1897 we quote as 
follows : — 
Our Pemba correspondent writes as follows I 
believe the clove crop as a whole is a very poor 
one, but I have noticed that when there is a clove 
tree close to a hut where the ground is kept more 
clear of undergrowth, and the refuse from the hut 
is thrown near clove tree, the crop of cloves is 4 
or 5 times as great as on ordinary trees. In fact the 
tree is full of buds. This seems td show that care- 
ful cultivation and manuring will greatly increase the 
yield of cloves. Some of the trees that are being picked 
are very much damaged already, which will proba- 
bly injure next year’s crop. The buds are still being 
dried in the old rough and ready way. Nevertheless 
I have found some very nice clean and dry samples 
of cloves which if they could reach the market in 
their present condition would sell well. 
I have been making some experiments in drying 
cloves in a small way with interesting results, though 
of course further experiments might show my present 
conclusions to be worth very little. So far, I incline 
to think that the buds should be gathered pinlc, not 
red, or else they will burst open in drying. They 
should be dried in plenty of air and wind with some 
sunshine. My best sample No. 4 is about equal to 
Penang but small. The samples were gathered in a 
very poor plantation and the buds were small to 
begin with. 
Expeeimems in Dkying Cloves in Pemba, 
August 1897. 
No. Condition. Method of Result \vhen 
Deving. Deied. 
1 Red and fully Under cover About 20% opened 
grown buds from rain acd into flower 10% of 
but not dew, but exposed the flowers came 
opened. to air and wind right out. 75% were 
and about 5 striped and spotted 
hours sunshine with light brown 
per day. lines on lower part. 
Sample poor. 
Pink. In broad day- None damaged. 
light with all Heads brown other 
obtainable air parts chocolate 
and wind but no colour sample good 
sunshine. but small. 
3 Almost Green. Same as No. 2. None damaged, 
heads brown other 
parts darker than 
No. 2 and rather 
smaller, otherwise 
good. 
Pink. Same as No. 1. None damaged, 
heads light brown 
other parts redish 
brown — also rather 
small — Best sample 
— except for size 
about equal to 
‘‘ Penangs.” 
Large and In dull light with About 6% opened 
Red. free air but no into flower 30% dis- 
wind or sun- coloured with light 
shine. brown lines and 
spots — the rest 
almost black. Sam- 
ple large but poor. 
Nos. 2. 3. 4. Were gathered from a poor planta- 
tion and were small buds. 
COFFEE IN WESTERN AFRICA 
has begun to suffer much from “ borer.” The 
following is from “ Kew Bulletin ”: — 
Extract from a letter, dated, Aburi, 6th tlanuary, 
1896, from the Chief Justice to the Governor. I 
came up here on Saturday, and on Sunday morning 
I locked round the coffee. It is in a deplorable state. 
The Arabian coffee apparently likes the soil and cli- 
mate, but is literally ruined by (I think) a boring 
grub, which enters near the bottom and makes a 
hole roolwards, thereby doing fatal injury to the 
trees. Practically all the Arabian coffee looks 
wretched. I never saw anything looking better than 
the Liberian coffee. It looks superb. On closer in- 
vestigation I found about two trees out of five at- 
tacked by a boring grub, different, I think, from the 
grub which attacked the Arabian coffee. This grub 
has only lately begun to attack the Liberian coffee, 
and you can see trees laden and breaking down with 
fruit getting yellow from the t Sects of the grub ; 
some are dying, some dead, all due to the boring 
grub. The natives see or will soon see it, and will 
abstain from planting coffee. Considering that this 
is an agricultural country, and that soil and cli- 
mate appear to suit the Liberian coffee to perfection, 
something should be done to try and defeat the grub. 
On specimens and information sent him, Mr. 
Walter F. H. Blandford furnishes a long report 
to the Colonial Office : much of what he writes 
is familiar to us in the East, but there can be 
no harm in repeating hints that are of use ia 
