THE tropical ■ agriculturist. 
[June t, 1B98, 
5SSB 
not profitably be diaouaseci at the present time. The 
matter has not advanced beyond the stage of experi- 
ment even in European Agriculture. The possibili- 
ties of it are proved in experimental plots and over 
small areas. On no large scale has the use of soil 
infected with nitrogen-fixing organisms b-ren used in 
lieu of nitrogenous manures. Experiments have 
proved that tliese organisms exi -t in the nodules to 
be found on the roots of a certain class of plants 
or in the soil in the immediate vicinity of their roots. 
It yet requires demonstration that if a field be 
planted with these organism-yielding plants and be 
thoroughly infected, subsequent crops could be raised 
without the application of nitrogenous manures. If 
this can be, satisfactorily demonstrated, then local 
planters can grow these crops and draw their supplies 
of nitrogen from the exhaustlsss atmosphere instead 
of from the manure merchant. 
Mr. Baur, following the teaching of all Agricultural 
Chemists, preaches the use of readily soluble manures. 
I hold quite heterodoxioal opinions on this subject. 
I do not believe in blindly following the teachings 
of Hoicnoc. Wo must adopt thorn with discrimina- 
tion and suit them to varying circumstances. The 
circumstances of Europeaar and local Agriculture are 
not identical. The books on Agricultural Chemistry 
treat almost entirely of the cultivation of cereals 
and annuals. The life of these is of a very short 
duration, and it stands to reason that if manures 
applied to them are to have effect, they sliould be 
in so highly soluble a condition as to be immediately 
available, otherwise they will lie dormant in the 
soil or be washed out of it. Not so in the culti- 
vation of perennials, the roots of which are in con- 
stant occupation of the soil. No application goes to 
waste, as the processes of absorption and assimilation 
are continuous. When annual applications of manure 
are not posible, I think it an advantage rather than 
otherwise, to use slow-acting manures. Otherwise trees 
are stimulated into yielding heavy crops and unless 
they are kept up with annual doses of manure fall off 
considerably. This was whv guano w.as discredited 
in 'he cmtivatioi) of coffee. If i . h' I hee.i; apD'iad well 
mixed ■ itli a slow acU.m m ' m>« like osatle nia- lire 
or in compost lifc.'p.i, v. -. -.s u ■ .i; i ''-ave b .eu 
avoided. I have observed a. similar result follow the 
use of too readily available manures in Coconut Culti- 
vation, B. 
HEAVIEST DAILY RAINFALL. 
Dear Sir, — As you observe, the rainfall of 3T72 
inches which fell, (or is said to have fallen) in 24 
hours at Nedu'.keni in the Northern Province on 
December 15th and Itith, 1897, is worthy of a special 
report. The heaviest rainfall at any place on the 
globe is, as is well-known, on the Khasia Hills, where 
it is (j'lo inches a year, of which 500 inches fall in seven 
months. In this neighbourhood it is recorded, no 
doubt as a noteworthy occurrence, that Dr. Hooker 
measured 90 inches in three days. We are un- 
fortunately not givi-u the heaviest daily rainfall, but 
at all events Nedunkoni would seem r,o be a formid- 
able rival to Khasia.* Mr. E. Heslis in his paper 
on the climate of Dimbula mentions that “in 1872 
the rains began on.Iune 2!id and never ceased for a 
quarter of an hour together during the day time 
nor, I believe, during the night till the 17th .Inly.’ 
The highest rainfall last year was at Padupola with 
213’07, and the lowest at Ka,yts with 33'39 inches. 
Garret gives the following averages for other places 
on the globe, and it would be interesting to com- 
pare these with our iwn records : London, 23'5 ; 
Bordeuix, 25 8; Madeira, 27'7 ; Havannah, 91'2;and 
St. Domingo, 107'0 ; these figures being given to prove 
that rainfall decieiso.s from t he equator to the p )les. 
Karaohehi in Sind does not, I believe, get more than 
five inches per annum Cca'i anyone verify this fact?;; 
while Poona gets only about seven inches I think. 
Has anyone heard oi read of a daily r.unfaU heavier 
than 31'72 iiicbos ? — Yours truly, D. 
* Only "as regards daily maximum; its annual 
average (for 3 years) is only CINO iiuhes ; but 189;t 
gave 121 85 inches, — En, 
[Port S.aid only gets 2 inches a year; Alex- 
andria 8 inche.s. — AVe are assured the return for 
Nedunkeni is correct ; but surely tliere must have 
been sometliing of tlie nature of a waterspout, 
seeing the annual fall is so moderate ?— Ed. T.A.I 
RiJSSIAN TEA BUYERS IN COLOMBO. 
Silt, — I see by the Tropical ^ipriculturi.st of April 
1st, pig 695, that two representatives of the fi.m of 
Popoff “ were met by Mr. A. H. Thompson, the tea 
miker with whom they have beeu engaged the greater 
part of the day testing tea for Wednesday’s sale." 
This would have been a glorious opp:u unity to test 
my plan of paying subscriptions to the foreign market 
funds in tea and not in money. I would have taken 
Messrs. Isgaresoff and Dauiloff to the tea rooms, 
having in my possession a list of subscribers, thus. 
No. 1 Subscribers EIOO'OO 
., 2 ., R500'00 
„ 3 „ R450 00 
Others R3,950'00 
R5, 000-00 
and I would say to them, “ Gentlemen you Ccin have 
the tea of any of these subscribers at l-16th less 
than the sale price. Here is a lot of No, 3 subs- 
criber, a pekoe valued at (so many) cents, there are 
45 chests, you can have 20 of them at l-16th less 
than the price the rest sells for, I pay you the difier- 
ence to induce you to sell it in Russia. We will let 
you have 20,0001b. from this sale, another 20,000 
3 months hence, and again another 20,000 the next 
quarter. Next year again we will let you have the 
same quantities from the same gardens at the same 
quarter of the year, in the same terms, that is to say, 
at l-16th less than the price the tea actually sells for 
to other and less favoured buyers.” I certainly would 
expect the above represen’atives ti jump at the 
offer, and tiien the suh.scribei's would have paid their 
■sub.icript'oas in the best possible form, f.c., in tea 
and no* ’s .adi. 
M- ' - -. I ' m, O- ,■ p,,e 
- ■ . .f 
300 chests or so, lour limes a ye-i, he w. u.d b > 
certain that he could get the same sort of chop 
next year, and he would get into the habit of 
buying big lots, even when the discount is stopped 
and when he has to buy at the ordinary market 
rate. Let us see how much tei can be introduced 
on these terms. R1,000 is equal to 16,000 annas of 
Indian money. (I don’t understand your Ceylon 
currency) consequently R50,000 is equal to 800,000 
annas and at 1 anna per pound you could send out 
800,090 lb. of tea. There is little doubt ihat this 
aiioiuit of tea hitroducod into Russia woull do 
more good than 50,0 0 riri'eas spent in cash, on 
advertising Ac. &c. Ac. But of your 100 million 
piounds of tea you could easily afford to sell half 
million at l-16th less than its market price, and 
sell it to meichants who will do all the advertising 
and drumming. The way I look on the problem is, 
that unless you favour some merchants by giving 
them large lots of tea, at a sustantial discount, the 
present buyers will take this discount out of you 
by paying lower prises. It there is more tea than 
the regular b.iyers want, they will pay you smiller 
pcice.s, but if you withdraw the surplus and give it 
t) outsiders at a discount, the regular buyers will 
not redu ce their offers. 
Snpp osing that you have established a market for 
the sale of 100 millions at an average of 6 pence. 
Next year you offer 101 millions, the price will go 
down to say 5 1.5-16 psiice and every one suffers. 
But should -son withdraw the one million extra and 
give it to Msisrs. Pop. iff at 1-1 6lh disoiunt, the 
p will not fall, and the extra m ilion will be 
sejurely placid in a good mukst. It is very pro- 
b.ib'e th.it the tci so plioel will have been very 
profitable to the fivoured raerchaut.s. The next year 
tliey will taki the same amount at a discount, but 
it is very probable that they will take t'wice the 
amount at the ordinary market rates, 1874, 
