4c6 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Dec, i, 1897. 
Ceylon, as indeed does Mr. MacDonald himself. 
Can our correspondent tell us as a matter of cu- 
riosity what the gross weight of an average cin- 
namon crop — sticks and all — or of coconuts, is, pei 
acre? We sliewerl the maximum for moist tea 
leaf was about 2 tons ; while average coffee — in its 
cheri y foi m — may have given 3 to 4 tons per acre ? 
-Ed. TJ.] 
Dear Sib, — Let me premise at the outset that I 
am a believer in Ramie as a paying crop, provided, 
of course, that the necessary machinery for treating 
the fibre is set up in Ceylon, and that the filasse will 
fetch £42 per ton. But at the same time I am 
not a believer in IMr. MacDonald’s figures. Not 
that I mean for a moment to insinuate that they 
are ccoked i but that they are not quite consis- 
tent, and are therefore misleading in a manner 
that Mr. MacDonald himself may not suspect. 
While he was here he pretty well bewildered ordinary 
mortals, and at least one editor, with the great mass 
of figures he thrust upon them. The ‘‘Examiner” 
in its leader of the 25th instant says: ‘‘From trials 
made it has been ascertained that fifteeen of these 
stems will weigh four ounces.” The statement is no 
the face of it absurd, nor could Mr. MacDonald be 
credited with saying it. What he did say was that 
the mean of fifteen stems small and large weighed 
4 8 oz. 
Now that Mr. Macdonald has left i.s we 
can examine his dazzling figures at leisure. T he 
‘‘Examiner ” again in its editorial states, — ‘‘ If there- 
fore the cuttings were put at 18 in. apart they 
would give, he says, eight to the square yard, 
or 38,720 to the acre. ’ Did Mr. MacDonald really 
say BO, or was the ‘‘ Examiner ” misquoting again ? 
On turning to the Chservcr's interview ” of Oct. 19tb, 
it was found that Mr. MacDonald had actually put 
it so. Here is a sum in arithmetic; What, number 
of plants will there be (I) in a square yard, and 
(2), in an acre of land, if tlie plants were put 18 in. by 
8 in. ? Work it out for yourselves and do not trust to 
any one’s figures. And what do yon get ? Fourt 
plants per square yard, and 19,360' per acre, — just 
half Mr. MacDonald’s t'gures, wdiich^^ would represen 
the number when the plants ere put 6 iu. 
by 6 in. 
With 19,860 plants per acre, tbs weight of the 
crop of stems from an acre (at the rate of three 
stems per tree) will of course be 39 tons and not 78 tons, 
Now Mr. MacDonald when he put his crop of sticks 
per acre per annum at 78 Ions, said that 1| tons 
of filasse would be a safe estimate ; we EhaU now 
have to divide this by two, whereupon the weight 
of filasse is reduced to 3 ton. This at £42 per ton 
in England would realize T31 10s. 
Now what is the cost of producing a ton of filasse? 
Mr. BJaoDonald tells us that it can be grown, trea'ed, 
haled, imported into England, with freight and all 
charges paid, including brokerage, at l|d per lb. 
At this rate the cost of 'i ton would he £10 10s ; 
and the profit per acre would be represented by the 
difference between £31 lOs and £10 10s, or £21 
“ From these profits,” Mr. MacDonald candidly 
allows, “the patentee’s royalty of 2.5 percent will 
have to be deducted.” And this will -bring down the 
net profit per acre to £15 15s, — rather a come-down 
from £50 per acre ! 
But there are some who may point to the ela- 
boi'ate calculation in the Observer of the 12th Oct., 
(see page 332 of November issue) where Mr. Mac- 
Donald by giving all the working details makes 
out the profit of nearly £50 per acre, and may 
ask how such a calculation can be at fault. Well, 
it will be found that according to it, the cost 
ofproducing one lb. of filasse is as nearly as possible 
1 l-14d only. Now if the price obtainable for 1 lb. 
(at the rate of £42 per ton) is 4Jd, this would leave 
a profit of 3 3-7d on a lb. or £32 on a ton. But 
Mr. MacDonald elsewhere tolls us that ramie costs 
lid per lb. delivered in England. If we take the 
Ifittei; figure, the profit on a lb. will be reduced to 
3 I per lb. or £28 per ton, which makes a consiuel- 
ahle difference on a thousand or so of tons! Now 
which should we take of the two figures given for the 
cos. of 1 lb. of filasse ? CTearly lid as this repre- 
sents the cost per Ih. laid down m England where 
the £42 per ton, or 4jd per lb. is to be got for it. 
bo that we must decide to accept a profit of £28 
on a ton of filasse. Now, what is the amount of 
produce as filasse per acre ? That is the point to he 
settled. If we say witn Mr. MacDonald 
Ji ton, then we must suppose that the crop of 
sticks from w-hich this must be got tvas 78 tons 
and that the land carried 38,720 plants per acre 
or eight per square yard. We saw that with eight 
plants to the square yard the plants must he put 
down 6 in. by 6 in., but if on the other hand the 
plants were to be put in 18 in. by 18 in., when there 
cannot be more than four plants per square 
yard or 19,360 per acre, and therefore, the weight 
of fillasse would by the same calculation he re- 
duced to i toil per acre. The profits on an acre 
would thus be three-fourths of the profits on a 
ton, and that is £21. Taking 25 per cent off, this 
for patentee’s royalty, we again get £15 15s profit 
per acre, and not £50 ! 
Let me, however, repeat here what I said at the outset 
ot tins letter than I am a believer iu and that 
what planters must now do is to have experimental 
plots of an acre or two and satisf. themselves 
as to the suitability of soil and locality and the 
probable crops to he expected per acre.— Yours 
truly, 
[But D. must remember the conditions 
laid down by Mi. iViacDonald for succe.ssful growth, 
in M liicli we quite agree, — naiiieJy, equable 
temperature, good soil, and well-distributed 
rauiiail ; and so we have pointed to the ISouth of 
Colombo, and especially tlie Galle district, as 
best for an experiment. The Udagania Com- 
pany should certainly try one. Particulars 
given of ail experiment by Messrs. Clarke, 
Young A; Co., to a contemporary are as follows:— 
‘‘ Two and three quarter acies ot land have been 
planted up with die new product (obtained from 
Oakutta), and they can supply lo.OOO cuttings 
at once, and more in a niomh or two Four 
crops a year, he said, may be safely counted on as 
far as his experience goes. Mr. Young took up the 
Idea some time ago on hearing of the offers made for 
ramie by Capt. A. Whilley, and he has ah-eadysold 
several lots at good prices. From what he tells us, 
it IS evident there is a good deal more rhea in Ceylon 
now than most people are aware of. Not only is 
It growing in Kuruuegala and Ratnapura : but the 
plant IS thriving in Colombo at no greater dis- 
tance than the Cinnamon Gardens ; while Mr Young 
informs us also that they are going in for it pretty 
extensively on tnePallagama Grant Association’s land.” 
Rutnupurci with its abundance of rain and 
heat ought to be a good district for ramie.— 
Kd, T,AA 
v-^GioniDO, JNov. X. 
Dear Sir,— Y our editorial comment on my letter (see 
above) is to the effect that it woula be Quite possible to 
grow ramie successfully in Ceylon, and in that opinion 
1 am at one with you. Inueed, I stated in the letter 
referred to above, that I was a believer in lamie 
as a paying crop. But the purport of my communi- 
cation was to sUow that the calculation, according 
to which eight trees planted 18" by 18" are made to 
occupy a square yard, was wrong ; ergo, the results 
based on such a calculation- viz., that 78 tons in 
sticks and 50 pounds in money would be got per acre 
-cannot be accepted. Like the estimable firni named 
m your quotation from a contemporary, I also grew 
ramie experimentally in the Cinnamon Gaidens 
from plants impor tea from Calcutta, and can also 
supply 10,000 cuttings. But then there are others 
also growing ramie in Colombo— and a great many 
doing so outside Colombo. 1 doubt, however, if any 
