820 
THte TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[June I, 1898. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
The able address of Mr. MacLure. of Moclia 
estate, on the equity and wisdom of charging 
interest on a certain proportion of the advances 
made to Kanganies, constitutes the chief feature 
In the Maskeliya P.A. proceedings given page 
809. And altliough nothing came of his 
speech or motion at the meeting, they will be by no 
means thrown away, .as ventilating, for the first 
time, a question that is likely to come more 
and more to the front as months roll on. The old 
patriarchal mode of dealinir with Kamasamy 
is falling gradually into abeyance, very much 
at the instance of Kamasamy himself, and there 
is no doubt that both coolies and kanganies 
have got too much into the way of regarding 
their masters as bankers to be drawn on to 
the fullest possible extent for imney without a cent 
of interest. The readiness they show in changing 
masters, will no doubt by-and-bye, lead to a united 
determination to show kanganies that money is 
not to be got save on business lines. But 
one thing at a time, and certainly the great 
matter is to give Labour Federation a fair and 
adequate trial for the present. — We cannot believe 
for a moment that there is any official inten- 
tion to sell a single acre of Crown forestland 
above the 5,000 feet limit. In fact, the Ceylon 
Government dare not do so : an information 
could be laid against him for something like 
High Treason if the Colonial Secretary attempted 
such a sale until the Order of the Secretary 
of State is rescinded ! So the gentlemen in 
Maskeliya who are anxious about the matter 
may make themselves quite happy — and take 
our word for it that the 5,000 feet limit is 
inviolable ! 
The Ceylon Forest Depart.ment and 
Forests. — The Saw Mill operations, either at Uda- 
gama, or at Batticaloa, have not — says our evening 
contemporary — been very successful, and though it 
would be premature to declare them both finan- 
cial failures, it is the general experience of people 
in Ceylon that Savv Mills do not pay. In the 
case of the Forest Department Saw Mill, we 
have no doubt the experience has been the same, 
but it is in no way peculiar. The season is 
simply because Ceyion Forests are not packed 
with vast masses of trees of the same kind or 
quality. We do not posses the official returns 
and verifications of the wood that ig said to have 
“rotted on the sea shore "in “ hundred of logs,” 
but it is not novel in our experience to read of 
“hundreds” that turned out to less than “tens.” 
In this particular we are reminded of an in- 
stance in which, “ one who knew,” reported to 
Government an instance in which he undertook 
to point out “upwards of ten thousand trees” 
that had been felled in a Crown Forest, and 
when a strict verification was made, the nett 
result was one tree, and twenty-six “ warrachies ” ! 
So much for round numbers. We notice that 
firewood is said to yield 600 yards per acre in 
medium forests. We learn from those who have 
had some years experience of firewood supply, 
that 120 yards per acre is a high yield, and 
frequently only 70 is obtained. We might also 
remind our readers that a considerable area of 
land was lately been sold in planting districts 
lor K50 to K80 per acre, upset price, only be- 
cause of the value of the firewood, and that 
there was a demand for it. It is also within our 
knowledge that land has been reserved from 
sale by Government till the firewood has been 
ytoikw out. 
DEVELOPING THE TEA INDUSTRY. 
AMERICAN MARKET FUND. 
The following Report has been issued from the 
Indian Tea Association, Royal Exchange Build- 
ing, Calcutta, 15th April, 1S98. 
To all Proprietors and Agents of Tea Gardens. 
Dear Sirs, — In accordance with their aTinn.al cus- 
tom, the general Committee have recently had 
the pleasure of circulating to all members of 
the Association, and its branches in A.s.«am, 
Cachar, and Sylhet, as well as to the various 
Planters’ Associations with whom they corres- 
pond, copies of tlie last Interim Report of the 
American and Foreign Tea Conimittee of the 
London branch of the Association, under the 
control of which Mr. Blechynden carries on his 
operations in America for the extension of the 
trade there in Indian tea. This Report, which 
is dated the 15lh of February, 1898, and which 
was accompanied by an extract trom Mr. Bleehyn- 
den’s report for the year 1897, summarises 
the results of the joint work of Mr. Blechyn- 
den and Mr. Mackenzie, the Ceylon repre- 
sentative, during the past year, and also gives 
details of the manner in which the funds sub- 
sciibed in India have been expended. It will 
no doubt have been noticed that Mr. Blechyn- 
den’s plan of campaign has been somewhat 
altered, and that it has been thought advisable 
to spend in advertising a larger amount of 
the funds available than has been the case in 
former years. Mr. Blechynden appears to have 
exercised great care and judgment in distribu- 
ting his advertisements with the view of reach- 
ing the largest possible number of the tea drink- 
ing population. He has not, however, confined 
his efforts entirely to advertising, as consider- 
able subsidies have been paid to firms under- 
taking to push British grown tea on definite 
lines, and it is intended to work moie exten- 
sively on this latter system during the present 
year. He has also personally visited most of 
the large centres where the tea is being sold, 
satisfying himself that the spirit, as well as the 
letter of the arrangements made by him, were 
being carried out. Mr. Blechynden has continued to 
co-operate, under the direction and supervision 
of the London Committee, with Mr. Mackenzie, 
in the work of making known the existence 
and merits of British grown tea in the main 
centres of population in the United States. The 
arrangements under which the representatives of 
the two countries agreed to work conjointly, 
instead of in competition have, there is no doubt, 
been the means of arriving at distinctly better 
results than would otherwise have been the case 
The General Committee have much pleasure in 
placing before members the following figures 
which show in a concise form, the progress made 
in the use of Indian and Ceylon tea in North 
America. It will be seen that not only has the 
annual quanity taken nearly quadrupled since the 
year 1892, but that every year has shown a 
steady increase ; — 
INDIAN AND CEYLON TEA TAKEN BY NORTH 
AMERICA DURING EACH OF THE LAST SIX YEARS. 
Indian.— 1897, 5,663,000; 1896, 5,259,000 ; 1895, 
4,072,000; 1894, 2,428,000; 1893, 2,111,000 ; 1892, 
1.586.000 lb. 
Ceylon. -1897, 5,699,000 ; 1896,4,365,000; 1895, 
3.745.000 ; 1894, 2,295,000 ; 1893, 1,871,000 ; 1892, 
1,490,0001b. 
Total lb.— 1897, 11,362,000; 1896, 9,624,000; 
1895, 7,817,000; 1894, 4,723,000: 1893,3,982,000; 
1892, 3,076,000 lb. 
