The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-03-18
CEYLON TRAA SFORMED BY 4 BTG.


Statistics prepared by order Of the English
Government for the period from 1882 10 1896
inclusive, present an interesting account OF the
wondrous progress oi the tea. growing Industry
in Cevlon. In 1882, for instance, the island
exported 69s 26S pounds Of tea, valued at S2i6,
735 From that date On there was a steady in
crease unlil in 1895 the figures reached The grand
total Of ! O,005. 1913 pounds valued al ST. 5i3,
U5. But this cheerful state Of affairs ms Regards
tea was In a measure Offset by a decline IN tW"
shipments Of coffee In 1882 the eSp'r,annp
of cotTr, from Ccylun was 1920, 800 poun',>
valued at 81, 1853, 500. And proporuonnt"i! rs
tea climbed NE ascending scale, coffee went down
until in 1896 only $50 800 pounds Of II mere
exported
The rise and fail Of the e iee-growing industry
is one Of the most interesting chapters In the
history II Ccylon since the island passed into
possession of the English Coffee growing b..
Kan seriously in 1925, although MS far back as
1910 the Holland Dutch had made attempts to
raise the berry Just "a they raised it In Java,
Thcv tined it on the lowlands near the sea, how
ever, and coffee will not thrive In that sort uf a
Locality. TWAS only after the English had opened
good roads from The coast 10 The mountain
regions Of the interior ihat the industry began
To pick up, and under the administration Of Sir
Henry Ward the culture Of coffee was tevlon's
p|rinciral one M the mountainous country
became an immense coffee plantation In 1868,
1869 and 1870 the annual cxportauon was over
lUO.UOO OJO pounds, representing a value Of 500
OCO. Geo a year. At this time 10000 acreS nf
land was given up tots culture. This paid atthe
rate IL from 20to % percent on the capi,ai Invested.
But AT that time 'he dimiuutivc and very unob
t]nntatious Hemt.jl r~ds'0'r,T had not put in
al Up0caraarc pr rather had not yet begun 10
make his presence felt His first recorded ap
pcarnurr was in 1899 bu, nobody then paid any
particular attention 10 HIM and whatever harm
he dd was not noticeable either on the crop OF
that year " he year following
"tac ,HCcerGing year, however. II was another
matter The coffee planters iuui.d that The tiny
little mushroom like groNiE. which attached Itself
80 the under idr ul thr coffee plant leaves hid
10 be taken seriously The leaves faded
and died. aud as the pest Increased, entire plants
ana finally groups q p,nnls became mere barren
brilliant orange color seemed so insignificant
IN itself that It's mn!iSn %ininichce maI under
estimated II tie crop wrr" less ahu9dant the
fact Mas attributed t. UHd ~eaSpnS II IL true
Dr Ihwai,cs superintendent If TIE tcylon
Botanical GaIdens, gave a very bad account VI
TIE IiemDe.d %r9|idiuI aud pr9,pheSisd diSas'F.hs
Wa voted 10 be Il scientific theOrist and pedant.
Nm,ll value wa ct up.n his gloomy predic..
u! ~ .'aI what sill turthel contributed 10 lull
Wv tH''' ~ NV " N''H - - - -
. sudden NE ia the market pliCe 81 c"iiee b"h
III fur'pe 1Idi IN lmrrica irum 3oto 100 pei cent
by al. iUctcH'e in the value tie planners wpre
moe thHn compensated Tor tie falling 81 ia tle
Sil- # u.eit ,fpp( Instead ot coffee culture fall,
ing IL it i]r,ria<ed enormously The planters
extended la" field i their oporaions 10 the great
mountain ridge which stretches from Adams
peDA 10 Nuwara Elyia, a territory. Of about four
hundred 'quarr miles whicA had been regarded
as too humid end too elevated for cotie- culture.
Bu, all This time the little Hemleid raHdtrtI
was slowly but surely continuing his work 81
deyastlh1n N sort Of c2mpo.ts and Stpph
catiuuS were tried Ia check III, ratagcS They
falltd Tie men OF -icn,r among others, Dt.
Thwaite's whose predictions only a shor, time
before We're received with such scanr respect,
were spp 'ahed to, but they alSo were pJWcrIesS
The iHlcrincGnt little muNhroomS lINc Sp EEK
was firmly established IN tie country II hnd. in
vadeG SO s~tealt.ily aud was carrying all before
it, ly 1870 with u coffee culture acreage 20
NJ cent gTrepr than in 1870. the exporp,ion
had iaIlep TO three quarter OF Mha' IL 4od been
Bran 50 Inundated the market that the price
Dir pprd back 20 the old figure The utterly
diSleprteNel planters OF te,lon threw up ti"ir
had capitnl enough left a. start the cultivation
# cNincbona. Others vent into ten raising.
The latter p~ruSp"r,d marvel usly rs the abstract
Of colurial statistics above quoted SLOWS. until
from one " the greltaSt cuiiee-pr, ducng countries
in the world, Ceyion has come me # the greotest
TEA producers,
Stieninc authorities who have written about
the eylOn coffee plague agree ~t.attle devastating
parasite sprrad - rapidly simply because man
was OblsllR enough 10 PROVIDE ~ IN Eteh' guar
titles with iust the Kind 4 food 1, liLed best The
agricultural error was in limiting cultivation 10
a Iucle plant IN u vast loae which before had
been covered with a great variety Of vegetation.
Nature took her revenge in the coffee Plantations
Of teylon Just as she did in the vineyards of France
ana in tie potato field, Of Ireland The HeW
Jungle plant, multiplied Indefinitely from he day
il found a suitable food in the leaves Of millions
Of coffee, plants The remedy Tor ths, EVIL was
thus indicated New products should be sub
stituird Tor coffee, and this H. precisely What the
Ceyl0n planters did that is those whUmthe lie
mira ~tdSid,ri1 had not driven from The island