49° 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
PLANTING AND MANURING IN CEYLON. 
Mr. A. Baur, who is well and favourably 
known in coinniercial circdes, has on his re- 
turn to the island, after a course of study at 
the Swiss Agricultural station ol Zurich, and 
consultation with the best known agricul- 
tural cliemists of France, and Mr. John 
Hughes, who has so extensive and intimate an 
experience of Ceylon soil, climate, and planting, 
devoted his business energies to the pixshing of 
the sale of manure. His attention was naturally 
directed to the subject on account of his being a 
proprietary planter himself, and after perusing the 
correspondence, which had appeared in our columns, 
last year, on the manuring of tea estates he put 
himself in communication with a friend, who 
was a doctor of agricultural chemistry and 
who had originally gone out to Sumatra, 
under engagement to assist and advise planters 
of that colony. That expert advised him 
as to tlie qualities and defects of tlie manures 
in common use here, and this advice he followed 
up as we have already stated when he went 
home recently by securing the opinions of those 
who had given special care to the subject on 
the continent and in England, Mr. Hughes, in 
whose judgement must be placed the greatest 
value, expressing the opinion that no blood, 
raw bones and fish should be used as strong 
smelling substances taint the llavour often, and 
that unless first treated with acid, these 
materials were dangerous, tliere being a risk 
that they might introduce some fungus disease 
which should certainly be a warning to ])lanters 
considering the havoc done by the coflee leaf 
disease. 
Mr. Hughes was very particular as to the in- 
gredients to be used and that their composition 
should be such as to sxiit the nature of the soil, 
cro|j and climatic conditions of lo\v-country and 
up-country estates. There will however be this 
further advantage that his mixture can be made 
up in any proportion which planters with prac- 
tical experience on the subject, may deem best 
suited to the requirements of their soil. IMr. 
Baur, who has made a special study of manures 
and of the principles of manuring will be very 
glad to give every possible information to 
planters and at nominal expense to secure 
analysis of their soils and obtain the best pro- 
fessional advice so that they may be induced 
to give the new method a trial which he 
feels confident will result in the adoption of 
more scientific manuring. Mr. Baur further assured 
us that his mixtures were made up on the most 
up-to-date scientific principles and that he was 
ready to guarantee the quality of the materials 
as being only first-class. He also pointed out 
the defects of the present system 'of manuring by 
which very often a good deal of the most expensive 
of ihe manurial constituents gets lost without taking 
any ett'ect on the plants and claims that his mix- 
tures will effectually overcome this draw'back and 
that they will therefore prove to be a more eco- 
nomical manure. 
With regard to his Works at Vauxhall Street, 
Mr. Baur mentioned that he was importing special 
machinery for grinding and mixing, as it was very 
important that the ingredients should be carefully 
mixed, so as to ensure each plant getting the pro- 
per percentage. As to the motor power he was 
going to have a 25 horse-power oil engine which 
is considered the most perfect type of its kind, 
one advantage being that the engine is guaran- 
[Jan. I, 1898 . 
teed to require cleaning of its inner parts 
only once every six-eight months. All the 
machinery is expected to be here by Februar.y, 
and we are sure from Mr. Baivr’s business enter- 
prise that he will achieve a very fair measure of 
success indeed. 
COLOMBO TEA SALES. 
The results arrived at by Messrs. Forbes & 
loifc ^ compared with 
189b, (litter a good deal from those given by Messrs. 
Somerville & Co. as may be seen from the follow- 
ing:— 
(From Forbes d.- Walker's Circular.) 
Offered. Sold. 
TO packages, lb. packages. lb. 
426,298=33,886,803 | 33.5,866=26,512,099 
189b* 402,219=32,083,163 | 320,225=25,412,624 
Increase 24,079= 1,803,640 15,641= 1,099,475 
(From Somerville ct- Co.’s Circular.) 
Offered. Sold. 
packages. lb. packages. lb 
1897- 425,682 = 33,788,217 | 322,755 = 25,630,499 
1896* 403,295 = 32,005.564 | 318.770 = 25,403,345 
Increase 1,782,653 227 154 
80 lb. is said to be about the average of "a package 
of Ceylon tea can tlie test be safely applied ? 
The China Tea Ti!Ade.-“ The Chamber of 
Commerce Journal ” to hand by last mail contains 
a full report of a paper read by Mr. Geo. Jamieson, 
C.JI.G. (H.B.M. s Consul at Shanghai) on “The 
Effects (if the Japanese War and Prospects of 
British Irade,- from which we quote the fol- 
lowing : — 
TEA TRADE 
furnishes another and an even worse instance of 
how a great national industry is being ruined bv 
the folly and indifference of the governing classes. 
It 13 only yesterday, as you are aware, since China' 
supplied nine-tenths of the tea consumed in this 
country, and now I do not suppose she supplies a tenth. 
It IS asserted, aud I do not doubt it, that if foreigners 
were allowed to introduce machinery into the tea- 
growing districts and superintend the preparation of 
the leaf, China tea could even yet hold its own against 
the best that India and Ceylon can produce. But no 
such prospect, I am afraid, can be held out. The 
treaty gives us the right to buy from the Chinese 
such tea as they prepare, but not to grow and prepare 
It ourselves. I was consulted, just before leaving 
bhanghai, by a small syndicate who were very desirous 
of getting machinery introduced into one of the large 
tea-growing districts as aa experiment. The proposal 
was to co-operate with a native company, who would 
be the owners of the plan, and employ as superin- 
tendents the necessary foreign staff. The plan seemed 
feasible enough, but it came to nothing. The native 
^a-men had not the courage to risk their money. 
They did not know what the officials would gay or 
probably enough they got a hint that the officials 
would not have it, and so the whole thing fell through. 
1 am, glaci, however, to observe that somethinef of the 
kiuff is being (3one at Foochow, where a supplv of 
leaf can be procured near the port. A foreign com- 
pany has got some ter, finng machinery into operati(fn 
with. It IS said the approval of the official and 1 
trust this may be the beginning of a new departure. 
Ic IS not particularly in the interests of China tea aa 
apinst Indian that I say this, but in the interests 
of China trade m general. For unless the exports 
increased neither can her imports. 
What she exports does not matter, neither does it 
concern us what country it goes to. 
* Total to 22nd Dec, 
