March i, 1892.1 
THE TROPICAL AORIOOLTUmST 
61S 
WyiiRfid, T b%ve been able to trace the pedigree of the 
eced bearing tree*, »ud as these have always been en- 
tirely segregated, the seed ia almost unique, as apnro 
Affirm indigonous lea tbcronghlv noclimaiiaed iu South* 
India. I find that ti e original eeed was imported from 
Assam by tho th»nCoUectcr of Salem, Mr. Cockburn, 
about the year 1820, when the exiatence of the local 
iudigeii us tea p’ant was first known. The trees from 
this seed were planted o’l the Gringo Estate at Y<*r- 
caud and are still thriviup^somo 20 to 30 feci Irgb ; (lie 
stem of oi.e is nearly th ee foetiu ciroumferenco ai,d a 
leaf from one cf the rew shoots mraaured 10 + 3j 
inches.* Ool. Scot*’, cf tbcV» riday RIu'IaB'itatc, who 
tas biteu oorn‘-cted with tho planting inuustiy of 
these hilJs for very imny yrar.i, was trM of th se 
Asfam tea plants ly the then Collector of 
Oo mba’ore, Mr. Pat Grant, in the year 1862, He was 
at ihat time about to plaut tea in Wynaad, so vitited 
the bhevaroys. The mnnsger of ti c estate did not 
know what the grove cf h'^h trees was. and was as- 
tonished al learning from Ool. Scott that they were 
Assam t. a trees. A uuraery was fornn d on the Surrey 
E.itale from ti e ssed obtnirel at Ytreaud, but as the 
land which Ool Scott intended to plant was refused 
him by Government, who pave him hud on the Nh- 
giris at Thai MuOa inf U a I, be removed most of the 
pUntH Inuu the Surrey niirpery to Thai Mulls, where 
bo ph.ntcd a large field of th’S variety f tea, but telle 
mo tliat he pulled them up, ae they difft-red so much 
from General Mort;au’8 plintti which he ik’norantly 
thought were the only right kind. A few of ih^ plants 
escaped and were kqitnpon tlisTliai Mulla Esta'e. 
Meanwhile romo of the tea plants were loft in fl.c 
Surrey E tato nursery, and tnese plants h^ve leeu 
growing there >-ince, ent indy separate d from all other 
tea, a ,d row, like the original Shevaroy tree’s, rcfom- 
ble small poplars. Seed from these trera had been 
planted on the Richmond and Cheria Sbola Estates in 
1876, ond the#o trees are low aetd bearers, at d afod 
from thorn has been pi intod on the Glenroclc. Wcut- 
worih, Richmond, Cheria Shola and other estates 
during the last few years. As I think this account is 
of interest, I have font itt^ you at length, nud as it is 
now being generally r< oognifed that not only the qurn. 
tity, but also the quality oftlie tea doponda on the pre- 
ponderance of Assam ]at in (lie plants cultivated; 
Wynaad may be congratulated on having a fairly larga 
supply of such good tea for scc^i.^^Madrcis TimeSf Jan. 
4tli. 
ADVANCES TO CULTIVATORS. 
(From the Adminhtration Ueport of the Bombay 
Frexidency.) 
The total amount advanced to cultivators during 
the year for the purchase of seed and cattle was 
R57,5G6, and for the purpose of eff ecting porman- 
*‘ht improvements 111,27.750 were lent by Govern- 
liient. The oorrepponding amounts for the year 
1889-pO were E36 499 and 74,233, and it is therefore 
clear that moderate teiroacn which loans are now 
granted, by Government are gradually attracting 
the cultivator. In the Northern Division but little 
advantage was taken of the new takavi ruleP, but 
elsewhere, and especially in Sind and the Southern 
Division, large sums were advanced. From one or 
two districts it was reported that tbs rayats held 
aloof, fearing to take advantage of the chance of 
borrowing money on easy terms, leet the &avk .r 
should retaliate by declining to advance them 
money in a bad year when they urgently required 
: elsewJierc, however, as in Bolganm, the freedom 
With which ouUivatore borrowtd from Goverrlmeiit 
bad the effect of reducing the rates of interest 
charged by local money-lenders. 
There arc tea trees on Abbotsford estate, Ceylon, 
^f which are more than 17 years old, some of 
Which are over 32 feet in height and 42 inches 
Circumference of Btoin.— En. T. J. 
BARK AND DRUG REPORT. 
(From the Chemixt and Druggist.) 
London, Jan. 2. 
Cinchona.— Tho exports of cinchona from Coylou in 
October rcarlioil the enormous total of l,079,r»a7 Ams- 
terdam lb. The equivalent of sulphate of quinine In this 
quuiJllty may bo estimaterl roiiglfiy at 780,000 oz. 
The following ure the exports of cinchona from Java 
during the periods between July 1st and October .3l8t 
four luunths): 
1891 UOO 1880 1888 1887 
Ametcr- Amstcr- Amstcr- Amster- Amster- 
dam lb. dam lb. dam lb. dam lb. dam lb. 
Government 
plauTatiouB 288,761 26i,S08 231,410 226.2.35 238,246 
Private plan- 
tious 3,4^8,071 2.035,890 1,600.888 1,204.733 1.308,133 
Total 3.777,7:’.5 2,3O0,098 1,832,293 l,r>30.967 1,546,379 
QriMNK.— T here is a p rceptible improvement in the 
market since la^t week, and sales of 40,000 o». of Ger- 
man, in second-hand, at D^d per oz for March-April, and 
lu.ouO o/. of ditto for April delivery ara rei>orled. Ou the 
spot a parcel if 10,010 oz in 8ecoud-h>»n(l is reported 
to have been sold at 9b3 per oz. but this transaotion has 
not been coufirmed. No particular reasons are ansigned 
for this rise of 3d per oz f-ince last week. The influ- 
enza, porhaiiR, has somolhiug to do with it. and it is 
also rumoured that some of the makers are again trying 
to cUoct a combination. 
AGRICULTURAL VALUE OF SHODDY 
The v«lno of shod Jy, or woollen «astP, as a manure 
f^r hop. tins long hern reooKiiised in this ouuntry ;and 
iii It 1} in tlie crude form of Old raga, it is at present 
la'pe'y applied »s an coouon ioal dressing for olive 
trei s, I eiiig Iroi che J in some 3ft. to 4(t. from the stein 
of Ihe tree. Qa’te recently, in Uej lot>. shoddy (mai u- 
luct'irod ii't) a fine powder by treatment with snl- 
phurio acid) Imb been tried as a manure for the tea 
plantations ; and for these, bearing iu mind its richness 
in organic nitrogen— it promises to prove an excellent 
fendiST, if only it be property applied and of good 
quality. 
Of Iste yi nra, however, tho use of shoddy in Kent 
basf illin off, probably to a great extent, iu conso- 
qnencoofthe great variation iu tho quality of the 
dclivirics, Son-.o lota will contain ea much as 30 to 35 
per cent, of water, and others show an excess of it 
and miiiral matters, amounting, in some samples, of 
ujiwards of U) per cent. 
It may be usefu', therefore, in the first place, to give, 
in tho followii g table, romo analyses of the different 
qnniit'e. cf shoddy, tho results being selected from a 
groat number of samples examined during the past 
twenty years : 
No. 
Analyxks 
Water. 
OF 8lIOI>l>Y 
Organic 
matter. 
AND CoMPABATrVB VALUE. 
Mineral Ammo- Valueper 
matter. nia. ton. 
1 
iO'85 
62-00 
17 12 
8-88 
£ a d 
3 B i 
2 
57 
(50 33 
10-10 
8-81 
3 6 1 
3 
2‘-U 
60-48 
18-38 
8-43 
3 3 3 
4 
ir)-4i 
58-76 
15 80 
8 22 
3 17 
6 
Ufi3 
62-80 
1807 
8-00 
3 0 0 
6 
H-13 
05 10 
20 77 
7-C3 
3 17 2 
7 
17 UI 
65-20 
17 79 
7-49 
2 IG 3 
R 
21-04 
63 67 
25-39 
6-50 
2 9 5 
tl 
5 8-01 
64-71 
17-28 
6-46 
2 8 6 
10 
25 ••10 
67-35 
17-iy 
6-33 
2 7 5 
n 
3 -81 
25 91 
42 27) 
316 
18 8 
12 
3J 74 
76-21 
41-05 
3-1.3 
1 3 6 
It 
will bo feou from 
the above re 
mlts that there 
is great variation in the composition of shoddy, and 
tlinl tlie agrieultural vaiuo varies with the quality. 
It will bo noticed th.it tho water v ries from .32'74 
to 1413, and \ he raiceral matters from 12 25 to lO'IO ; 
while the i ctrogo; ous orgauic matter — upon which 
the agricnltnral value a.s a manure chiefly depends — 
varies from 62 to 28 per cent. 
The qnah'y of ihe organic matter further varies — 
acC' rdiug to itsrichneas in iiilrogou — whiidi ultimately 
becomes converted into ammonia. Consequently, the 
value of sboddy as a fertiliser may be said to depend 
upon tho riebness in aminonia, and the comparative 
va'ue of ff*® above samples has been accordingly 
caloulaled from the proportion of amouia allow, 
iug 7s. 6. per unit. Of course, it will bs understood 
