388 
THE TROPICm. /W3R!Ot5l.TOm8T. 
[December 1,1891. 
" I should like to take this opportunity of saying, 
what I supposed was well -known, that the G-ovornment 
Herbaricum and Library at Peradeniya are abaoliitelii 
public in the only sen»o in wlrch valuable soient do 
eolleotions can bo ; that is, they are freely open for 
consultation by a'l who wish to use them for purposes 
of etudy, and ask permission to do so. It has always 
been my effort and my desire to make them more and 
moro useful in this way, and I should indeed bo sorry 
to think that any imaginary obstacles were hindering 
my progress. 
I' You are rptite at liberty to publish any or all of 
this letter; indeed if you think it well to give it 
publioity to Mr. 's complaint, I hope you 
will, by giving also my answer, help to convince him 
that his “ real hardship" exists only in his own 
imagination,’’ 
We hope this statement will not only bo satia- 
faotory to our oorreepondent but encouraging to 
others who may wish to consult the books iu the 
Library and specimens in the Museum at Peradeniya « 
YIBLP PER ACKK OF TEA IN CEVLON 
AND COST OF PllODL'CTION. 
The following letter has reached us ; — 
Tunisgalla, Itangala, Got. 28tfa. 
" Dear Sir,— I have just read over in Observer 
of Sept. loth 1883, Mr. Armstrong’s lecture on tea. 
If you will compare bis forecast, and the present, 
actual output and results of working, an iuterostiug 
article might be edited. 
The yield of tea per acre is obtained, bat at a far 
lower cost, say 2(1 ct. per lb. f. o. b. — Yours faithfully 
H. W. UOBNBV. 
There can be no question that the yield of ten, 
in the hot, damp and forcing climate of Oeylou 
has exceeded the most sanguine expectations, some 
exceptional and specially rioh aliuvials in Boga- 
wantalawa and the Kelani Valley, shewing returns 
up to 1,700 per aero, while all the world knows 
the wonderful averages obtained from appreciable 
areas of manured land on Mariawatte, considerably 
in excess of 1,C00 lb. per acre. Indeed it is owing 
to a spurt of what wo suppoto we may call over- 
hearing in the larger portion of our tea regions in 
the latter portion ol last year, that prices for uome time 
back have been at so low a level. Our corrospon- 
dent, in noticing the lower cost at which tea is now 
placed 1. o. b., ought not to have forgotten the 
steady, and recently the very material fall in the 
prices of oar staple product since Mr. Armstrong 
delivered bis valuable and iutoresting lecture. 
That lecture was delivered in August 1883, and it 
was revised and supplemented in October 1884, 
seven years ago. Tbo advance since then in tbs 
eucoessive crops and in the snpercession of hand 
labour by mashinery; baa been rapid beyond the 
precedent in any tea growing country. Bofor 
coming to the figures for cost of production w 
cannot help quoting some of Mr. Armstrong’s shrewd 
and well-informed remarks on other subjeots: — 
1 consider our knowledge ol coffee cultivation goes 
very far to aid ns in that of tea, and, with our trained 
later, most apt at picking up anything new, to aid us, 
we can place our tea iu the market cheaper than any 
other tea producing country in the world. 
My remarks today have more especial reterenoo to 
the cultivation of tea in what may be termed our coffee 
xoue, iu fact, to the praoticahilily of tea taking the 
place, in some instances, of coffee, or of its being 
planted in forest land adjoining our colfeo estate, and 
which webavelhought too high for coffee. 
Thronghout this paper I refer to Assam-Uybrid tea 
^ At what elevations will tea grow at, in Oeylon, to 
pay ? Prom almost ses-Iovel to over 6,000 ft. provided 
soil and aspect ate suitable. 
Biol. — Should be fairly good— the richer the better 
deep and frjble, loam well mixed with sand j a shallow 
quartzy soil is good. Toa will not flush readily in 
this although it may grow toa fair sized bush, A sab- 
soil, well mixed with sand, or grit, without showing a very 
good surface soil, will, although giving a slower growth 
at first, tnrn oat a better paying soil than one with a 
rich snrfaco and clearly di fined clayey fubsoil withont 
an adinixtnre of .sand; the moro we pluck, the deeper 
the routs must go, aud we must have room for them. 
Tbc higlier our elevation the richer should our soil be, 
to make up for climate. 
Climatf. — 'I’hat which is best for coffee will I 
believe, for a permanenc;/, bo found to ba tbo best for 
toa. The beau ideal of a toa climate is Awisawella; 
Yatiyautota and lower portions of Morawakorale, ala() 
portions ot Ambagumuwa ; but they have not ouc 
coffee zone snbsoil, as a whole ; aud our zone will I 
think, make up, iu its deeper soil, for the want of 
extreme beat with moisturo, which prevails in ibeao 
disiriots, where, however, tea will rapidly make a 
fortune for its lucky proprietors. 
The higher the elevation, the less rainfall is required, 
and vice versa, light showers alternating with sun, if 
wo could order them so would give us l,U001b. per acre 
at 6,{X)0 fl. elevation. At tbo higher eleavation, ooa- 
tinned rain at the height o f the uiuusoou has tbo same 
effect iu cheukiag the flush, for the lime boing, as a 
longe continuance of sun has in tbo lowcountry. I’er- 
haps a good thing; for, with us the bush has no 
wintering, aud tbe only rest that of a 10 lb. plucking, 
instead of a 241b. 
After quoting very enoouraging yields of toa at 
different elevations, Mr. Armstrong thus summed 
up on the question of yield : — 
Young as we are, and iu the face of those yields at 
8 years of age and upwards I feel perfectly safe in es- 
timating nil average yield of 400 ib. per acre from too 
in tbe coffee zone aud above it, say from 2,600 to 6,700 
ft. iu sbelCeruJ situations, aud in saying 6,700 ft. I do 
not wish it to bo undorstoyd I draw tbo limit even here, 
but the figures I have bad given me above (his oleviition 
viz. at 0,31)0 ft. are ouly from a very small area under 
tea. whica however gave at 6 ycors old 100 lb. per acre 
at 4 X 4. Per low country tens, that is teas at from 
2.50O down to sea level, at 6 years old and upwards, I 
shall bo very much surprised iudead if they do not 
show an average yield of COO lb. per acre. These es- 
timates goutlomen, may seem excessive, looking at the 
average yields from Assam ond India generally, but 
ooraparo out yield in this our very iufamiy wioli tliat iu 
India and you will find wo cm eveu now show an 
average, from eatotci at 3^ years old up to 6 wliicli will 
more than double theirs. [^11* October 1884, — N. B. 
'Ihe yields of this season have proved this estimate 
to be under the mark, as wo have to chronicle 
yields of trora OUO up to 000 lb. per acre all round 
at high low, and meelium elevations, aud in tho 
face of a bad sosson, from insutticiont rain, through 
out tho island.] Inclemency of weather does not 
altbct us in llie same way in which it does our Indian 
faihers, as we have 11 months in which we pluck. 
If one month is too wot wo benefit all tho more when 
the sun shines again as wo have lots of time ; if wo 
bave a spell of dry weather, on tho other hand, this 
again is sure to bo followed by rain, when wo at once 
uiske up any lots. 
Ha then came to tho question of 
Cost I'Eu lu. f. o. b. — I have to Ihsiik many friends 
for furnishing mo with cost F, O. B. at Co ombo and 
ohoose the following which are representative of all 
and may be relied on. In all cases, tho too was mana. 
factured without tho aid of marhiiiery of any kind. 
460 lb. per aero cost 30c. F. o. ji. y , , , , 
700 do do bob. do f cost of 
Vupkeep of young tea 
I not in bearing. 
400 do do lOo. do 
430 do do 21)o. do 
It wo take the average of tbe above 4 estates we have, 
say 495 Ib. per acre hanJ-madc, costing 31 cents f. o. b. 
at Colomto ; Loudon charges including freight are 
nndfir 2J(I ; but for all practical purposes lot US say 
2id, tbo above teaa at au average price of Is 2^d, and 
this is not a bigb average, leaves us Is nett, or at Is 8.1 
per rupee, 80 cents ; a profit of 20 cents per ib. at 4^5 
ib. per acre, say lil28*70 profit per aero. 
