m 



THE THOPICAL AGRICULTtJEISf. 



[August i, 188^, 



Ceylon samples carried off tlie palm, more especially 

 B lowcouutry broki-n pekoe Wlieri, however, we began 

 to taste the teas, it «'a3 evident that boh in strength 

 and in flavour, the best Darjiliug and Assam teas were 

 greatly superior. One set of the samples from the estate 

 in the Doars, distinguished by a hue maliy flivour, 

 was wonderfully Hne, beyond anything that has yet 

 bet u made in Ceylon. This particular est;ite, it appears, 

 is magiiitioent alluvial foil of the richest quality, and 

 consists entirely of indigenous Assam plants. iSeveral 

 othei' teas, distinguished liy this ma/ly flavour, 

 and which fetched prions up to Rl 11 annas, both 

 from the Darjiling and Assam districts, were all de- 

 scribed as being of indigenous Assam plants, or of 

 a hybrid jai veiy closely approacldng this. In fact, 

 the influence of jat on the quality of the manu- 

 factured tea was most remarkab e, and I do not 

 think that in Ceylon we are as yet sufficiently im- 

 pressed with this lact. The indigenous A«sam plant 

 ■will I'f course only succeed at low elevations, but the 

 importance of planting it, or a hybrid closely ap- 

 proaching it in character, is evidently a matter lor 

 consideration to those opening gardens in the low 

 country of Ceylon. 



The general opinion of the brokers was that we should 

 be able to compete successfully in regard to qualiti/ 

 ■with Cachar teas, Imt that we could not compete 

 with the best Assam and Darjiliug gardens. Wliat the 

 result will be of trying plaiuatinns of the very highest 

 class of l)lant possible, in the Ceylon lowcountry, 

 remains to be seen ; but the paramount importance 

 of paying every attention that the highest jat of plant 

 alone shall be propagated is evident, and economy in 

 the purchase of tea seed is to be deprecated. The 

 area of tea in India is now being very largely 

 extended : this fact, with the rapid extension of 

 the enterprise in Ceylon,_i3 a promise of keen com- 



petition 



the future. That loss has been incurred 



by many, in the case of cinchona, through carelessness 

 or ignorance in the selection of seed, is a fact patent 

 to all ; and it will be well to take warning by the 

 past and not admit the possibility of futuredis appoint- 

 ment in the case of tea. It is to be feared that in 

 Ceylon we are prone to be in too great a hurry, 

 to endeavour to make our acreages large at the es- 

 pense of the quality of our work : mth cinchona the 

 result was very serious, with tea it would perhaps 

 be lees so, but it would certainly means permanently 

 lessened yield from the plantation. 



Tliere are two routes from Calcutta to Assam: one via 

 Goaluudo, the other via Dhubir. Thesteatners leave 

 Calcutta every week or fo, but are somewhat irregular in 

 their timei- ot starting; they go down the Hooghly round 

 the .Sunderland, and up the Brahmaputra. Goaluudo, a 

 station on the river, is one night's run from Calcutta 

 by train Dhubir, a station at wiiich the steamer 

 calls a few days I'Her, is about 24 hours from Cal- 

 cutta by train. Being unable to catch thfi previous 

 steamer at Dhubir, I had caught this one at Goalundo 

 Steaming up stream is most tedion--. work : the vessel 

 scarcely moves at all sometimes when the current is 

 stron", and I should think three milea an hour must Ire 

 her average speed at the outside. This run from Goalundo 

 toTeipore iu A?sam, wliich will take us 14 or 15 da>s 

 gives an idea of the ditBculty nf tr'insport. The labour 

 difficulty, every cnoly c-sting ElOO to secure on the 

 estate has bevn a great drawb ick in Ass.im, but 

 Government are doiug all they can by constructing 

 roads uom the labour oistriots to encourage free 

 emigrat;ou. These steamers are very comfoi'table but 



expensive. 



The advertised fare, which seems mod- 



crate having been paid in Calcutt.i, you discover 

 when youenibaik.that itdoes notiuclude board, and that 

 for IhiS you have to pay the captain so much a day : 

 this does not tend to lessen one's aunoyance at the 

 how rate of travelling. Such necessanes as soap aud 



towels are also not provided, and iu my case it was not 

 till after embarkation that I discovered this interest- 

 ing fact. These steamers, driven by paddles not 

 screws, only take a small amount of cargo them- 

 selves : the bulk of it 13 carried by 'flats," large 

 barges, which are lashed to the sides of the steamer 

 and not towed ; one flat on each side is the usual 

 complement, but this steamer, being an old vessel 

 and not very powerful, only has one. The country 

 along the banks of the river above Goalundo is a 

 very rich one, the soil is very fine, and even with 

 the primitive method of cultivation in vogue amongst 

 the natives large crops are raised, principally of 

 jute. The country is too dry for tea here, and is 

 liablo to being flooded. T. C. OWEN. 



ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



At the last meeting of the Linnrean Society (21st 

 June) jMr. W. T. Thiselton Dyer exhibited several 

 interesting vegetable economic products, and made 

 remarks thereon. Of a species of wax extracted by 

 Mr. D. Morris of Jamaica from Myrlca microcarpu, 

 it was stated that while the berries are used for 

 obtaining wax iu South Africa, the West Indian fruits 

 had not hitherto been used for this purpose. Of ugrey 

 camphor like substance the product of ^/-^pj/iisa jtozffl, 

 he menlioud such to be a rare example among the 

 compositce ; and there was a probability that this 

 oamphoi- was that used in the production of Indian ink 

 by the Chinese, aud which gave the peculiar aromatic 

 odour to the true China ink. A rosary made of fruits 

 of Trapa verbaneiisis de Not, (locdly called Frutti 

 di Lago) from the Lago di Varese, Italy, had been 

 purchased lor one franc. These fruits were supposed 

 to be a variety of the above species. Specimen of 

 wax and candles made from Bhiis vernicifera of Japan ; 

 the latter preparation is quite a local iudusty, which 

 unfortunately is now ceasing on account of the 

 rivalry of the cheap American oils. — Planters' Gazette, 

 Julv '2nd. 



GROWING OYSTERS ON TREES IN AMEIUCA_ 



Poquonoc River is a broad arm of Long Island 

 Sound, penetrating the Connecticut coast a few miles 

 east of New London, dividing the great level sea 

 meadows for three or four miles inland. Around the 

 head of the river, where a trout-stream tumbles over a 

 mill-wheel into the sluggish waters of the eftuary, are 

 the scattered farm-houses of Pi rjiuonoo hamlet. The 

 tide rises the whole length of the river. For ye'irs the 

 waters of Poquonoc River have been noted has pro- 

 ducing the most delicious oysters known in the 

 ■world. They oul-rauked the famous " Blue Points," 

 selling readily in New York restaurants at 10 dollars 

 a ban el when the latter might be bought for 5 dol- 

 lars. The demand was far iu excess of the supply. 

 On .account of the thick black mud that pl.astered 

 the bed of the river, aud which is fatal to oyster- 

 culture, only a small margin of the bottom, a rocky 

 strip far in shore, could be utilized by the oyster- 

 growers. Annually the oysters that had attached 

 themselves to the rooks and other obstiuctions over 

 this district were knoi;ked off and sold at tempting 

 prices, but there were not enough of them. It was 

 not until three or four years ago (says the Neto Tori: 

 TinieK) that a speculative and inventive Yankee 

 devised a plan for extending the oyster cultivntion 

 upon the mud bottoms. Ha cut down a foiest of 

 tough, wiry white birches, dragged them to the bank, 

 b re them iu his boat upon the river, and dumped 

 them over board, taking care that they should bo left 

 at proper intervals on the bottom. He ha'l an idea 

 that he oyster spawn would come sailing along in the 

 season, catch hold of the fcircM boughs, and gr(w into 



