Tea

                    in 1824 a tea plant (Camellia Sinesis) was brought from China by the British and planted in the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya, Ceylon.In 1867 A Scot named James Taylor planted the first 19 acres of tea in Loolecondra Estate near Kandy, Ceylon, marking the birth of Sri Lanka’s tea industry

“Unusual excitement prevailed on Tuesday in Mincing Lane  on the offering by Messrs. Gow Wilson and Stanton, tea-brokers, in public auction, of a small lot of Ceylon tea from the Gartmore estate in Maskeliya (Mr. T.C. Anderson). This tea possesses extraordinary quality in liquor, and is composed almost entirely of small “golden tips,” which are the extreme ends of the small succulent shoots of the plant, and the preparation of such tea is, of course, most costly. Competition was of a very keen description.

           The bidding, which was pretty general to start with, commenced with an offer of 1 pound, 1 shilling per pound of tea; as the price advanced to 8 pounds per pound of tea many buyers dropped out, and at this price about five wholesale dealers were willing to purchase. Offers where then made up to about 9 pounds, 9 shillings per pound of tea by three of the leading houses, the tea being ultimately knocked down to the “Mazawattee Ceylon Tea Company” at the most extraordinary and unprecedented price of 10 pounds 12 shillings 6 pence per pound of tea.”

                                                       

                    Rubber

                                     During the period of transition from coffee to tea, experiments in a new product, rubber, were being carried out. These experiments proved that various types of rubber yielding trees would flourish in Sri Lanka. However, the industry can be said to have had its birth in 1876 when 1,919 plants of Hevea Braziliensis – the native rubber tree of the Amazon Valley – were received in good condition at the Heneratgoda Botanical Gardens from Kew. It is from these mother trees that the gigantic rubber plantation industry in the Eastern hemisphere sprang.Of the trees planted at the Heneratgoda Botanical Gardens in 1876, the first one flowered in 1881, on which the first experiments in tapping were commenced.The rubber plantation was thinned out in 1882 and from the 260 seedlings raised the following year and distributed in Sri Lanka, the first spread of commercial rubber planting began. The trees at Heneratgoda were thinned out periodically and by 1887 there were 457 good trees standing which provided the seed for further plantings. In 1890 the Forest Department opened a plantation at Edangoda and by 1893 some 90,000 seeds were distributed for planting and similar numbers were sold in succeeding years.

                                    Following the first commercial planting in 1883, further areas were planted at a moderate pace until, by 1904, 25,000 acres were under cultivation. Thirty four tons of rubber were exported that year. Thereafter, rubber planting increased very rapidly. By 1906, 100,000 acres had been planted and by 1928 had been increased to 534,000 acres.

              Cocunut

The coconut palm is botanically referred to as the 'Cocos nucifera'. It is a member of the Arecaceae or palm family. In fact, the coconut palm is the only member of the genus Cocos. The palm thrives in the tropical regions and is a major trade component due to its various decorative, culinary and other non-culinary uses. Interestingly, every part of the coconut palm is put to some use or the other. Native to the tropics, the palm has now found its way across the continents, with the help of the dedicated efforts of seafarers. The palm bears fruit that is light and buoyant and hence, does not rule out the possibility of finding its own course across the globe with the help of marine currents.

The coconut palm can be found as far as Norway in the north, where the people have for centuries ensured that the seed germinates under the right, 'created' conditions. It is believed that the fruit and palm made their way into Hawaii on account of the deliberate efforts made by Polynesian voyagers. The name 'coconut', it is believed, was awarded to the palm and fruit by Spanish and Portuguese explorers. The name was derived from the Iberian 'El Coco', which referred to a mythical hairy monster. The kernel and hair around the fruit probably generated the connection. The suffix 'nut' was added to refer to the seed-bearing palm, as most other tree seeds are referred to in the English language. The name stuck, and today the whole world benefits from the presence of the palm and fruit.

History of Coconuts

The coconut fruit and palm are believed to have their roots on South Asian soil. Research reveals that the palm is native to the Ganges Delta, in Asia. There are a number of studies that also claim that the fruit has its origin in the northwestern region of South America. There are a number of fossil records that are being researched upon. Some of the fossils found in New Zealand are indicative of the fact that the palm thrived along the New Zealand coast as far back as 15 million years ago. In Asia, research reveals that the fossils unearthed in Kerala, the 'Land of Coconut Palm', are much older. However, the fossils found in Khulna, Bangladesh, are recognized as the oldest. The fruit has a special mention in the Mahavamsa texts of Sri Lanka too, dating back to the 1st century BC.

The coconut palm basically thrives in the world's tropical regions. The coconut palm requires warm climatic conditions for successful growth. The natural conditions that best suit the growth of the coconut palm are:

 Sandy soil, with a high salinity tolerance.

Abundant sunlight, with a mean annual temperature of 27°C.

 Regular rainfall of approximately 150 - 200 cm, annually.

 High humidity.

 Absence of an overhead 'canopy' growth.