Nov. J, 1897.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
337 
‘‘HOW TO ECONOMISE THE AVAIL 
ABLE LABOUR SUPPLY ON OUR 
TEA PLANTATIONS." 
(Letters Continued.) 
No, XLIL— High Histkict. 
1. "Wire shojts of great advantage. The damage 
to leaf can be minimised. 
2. Aerial tramways. 
3 Average estates are too steep ; and curves awk- 
ward. 
4. Not. when well drained beforehand. 
5. Not on ruy own estates. 
6. Have not tried. The experiment would be 
useful. 
7. Have no experience of cuscus. Might not the 
roots prove a nuisance in the soil ? 
8 . 
9. Time and half for night work in factories. 
Keep the lines clean and ir good repair. They usually 
have gardens enough. Few care much for them. 
10. A rice store and one boutique are good. 
11. Liquor shops (having usually very bad liquor) 
are a curse to the coolies. D. K. 
No. XLIIL— UVA. 
1. I have worked wire shoots for transporting 
leaf, and consider them a great labour-saving ap- 
liauoes. If terminals are properly arranged, no 
amage will be done to leaf. 
2. On most estates labour might be economized by 
construction of light cart roads, and working single 
bullock carts to take leaf to end of shoots, fire- 
wood, &c. 
3. Tramways in my opinion can only be profitably 
utilized in very large concerns. On ordinary estates, 
traffic would not pay cost. 
4. £ certainly do not consider weeding has ever 
been overdone in Ceylon, and weeds when not re- 
gularly taken out, become both expensive and trouble- 
some. 
5. I certaiidy would not advise less frequent weed- 
ing, as a means of saving labour. In the coffee days 
it was tried with disastrous results. 
6. I have never tried the experiment and would 
prefer seeing some one else do so. 
7. I scarcely think cuscus grass or anything else 
would have much effect in the retention of the soil, 
when the rainfall registered in a couple of hours as 
7 inches, and this is no uncommon occurrence in 
many parts of Ih^i island. 
8 . 
9. Coolies are very fond of their gardens. All the 
same they are a doubtful advantage. The lazy coolies 
prefer staying in the lines to coming to work on the 
chance of being able to steal his neighour’s produce. 
The working cooly often remains at home to watch 
his garden produce ; and often as not gardens are 
only nurseries for weeds. 
10. No, decidedly not. It would only multiply the 
coolies’ borrowing powers, which are already extensive 
enough. 
11. Not with liquor shops licensed, but illegal sale 
of arrack is carried on to a great extent in the 
villages, where produce is taken in barter, both tea 
and coffee find their way to these dens, and small 
chance of catching the thieves or getting a conviction 
when they are caught. J. B. 
No. XLIV. -High District. 
1 No experience of their working, but I think 
they might with advantage be used on moat estates. 
They are said to damage tea leaf, but it v/ould get 
as much damage during Ijng transport in bags on 
coolies' heads. 
2. Small tramways in factories and withering 
houses save a great deal of labour, and, if more 
automatic working of machines could be thought out 
and applied by engineers, tea bouse labour would 
be saved and the work of the tea-house would be 
more satisfactory. 
3. Only on estates with a favourable lay of laud; 
not on the majority of upoountry estates. 
4. Not hand weeding, but carandi weeding is cer- 
tainly overdone, and it is very? difficult to prevent it. 
5. Less frequent weeding would result in a con- 
tinual increase of weeds, and more expense or labour; 
a three weekly weeding would in the end take less 
labour. Mosses, and small ferns, Ac. can be left with 
advantage. 
6. No. Digging on the average estate, with the 
ordinary system of drainage, would probably result 
in the loss of a great deal of soil. 
7. Not very satisfactory. I have seen good results 
in the way of retaining the soil from planting 
hedges of tea on the upper banks ot roads and 
drains. 
8. By giving tasks as much as possible, and paying 
extra for extra work clone over and above the ordi- 
nary task, especially in plucking. 
9. Coolies appreciate the privilege of having space 
given to them for vegetable gardens and of keeping 
cattle, where there is grazing land. Where land is 
reserved for gardens round each set of lines, coolies 
are more likely to be contented. 
10. It is always an advantage to have boutiques 
on or near an estate, and coolies will work more 
regularly in this case than if they have to go a long 
distance for uiipplies, as they are then more likely 
to want a day off work. 
11. Yes; and I find liquor shops and arrack can- 
teens most demoralising to coolies. The few’er 
liquor shops in a district, the better for all con- 
cerned, for there is nothing so damaging to the 
efficiency of a labour force as the close proximity 
of a liquor shop. J, 
REVIEW OF LETTERS XXXVI TO XLIV, 
The nine letters under notice, share many 
of the di.stinguisliing feature.s of tho.se which 
preceded them, especially in variety and vigour ; 
and they cover more space than the batch of 
letters we last reviewed. “A. F. C.,” from the 
low-country, has avoided the mistake of attempt* 
ing to find an answer to each question in a 
word or two ; and his deliverance on wire shoots 
is specially interesting, as his experience, based 
on the erection and working of several of them, 
is entirely in their favour. One in six is a 
reasonable all-round gradient and by no means 
too steep, though he has set up and worked 
shoots as flat as one in 15, but these require 
runners of large diameter to facilitate work. 
He has found that leaf is not damaged if carefully 
packed and tlie loads are not too heavy — say over 
56 lb. This is also the experience of “ Hantana ” 
from a medium district, who is convinced that 
they save a lot of labour, that in many cases 
they pay themselves, and MrH tliey might he 
much more largely used. “W. J.” from' a high 
district, has no experience of shoots, except for 
firewood ; but lie is contemplating an overhead 
wire tramway for the transport of leaf from several 
estates to the central factory, and believes this is 
just the direction in which time and labour might 
be saved, where both are of importance. “A.V.R.” 
also from a high district, like the two corres- 
pondents who follow him, has a blank against 
wire-tramways ; hut he is a believer in shoots 
and find.s they do not damage leaf when pro- 
perly worked at the receiving end. That, too, 
is tlie experience of “T.C.H.” of the Kandy 
district, who has used shoots for the last five 
years in sending down leaf to the factory, with 
a good buffer of grass at the lower end which 
prevents any appreciable damage to the leaf. 
“ S.” from a Southern district, on the other 
