536 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[February i, 1884. 



Hybkid Mociia is a variety of coffee growinjj at Triniilad. 

 It is suitable for low elevations, like the Liberiaii coffee, 

 but produces a very small beau, much smaller than the 

 Coffee Arabica, but in greater profusion. The plant is 

 vigorous, and would be nmch improved if crosseil with 

 the Liberian. Sueli a crossing might possibly get over 

 the objectionable flavour of the latter description of 

 coffee. — J/adras Tim es. 



Our correspondent, !•'. G. .S., is mistaken in assuming, 

 witn reference to our article on tne suhject, that the 

 Nilgiri wattle " is not that of commerce.'' Last year the 

 local Forest authorities sent a quantity of bark. at»taiued 

 ^rom tli(^ trci-s of Ibis ].laci-, to some Madras firms tor 

 despatch lionu;, ulu're. we learn, it was ^•ery highly spoken 

 of. We may also indicate, that the well known 

 Perfupu^rs, Messrs Tiesse and liubin, jnan»d'actufe their 

 " I'Jssenee of Australian VV'attte " solely from the Howers 

 ni the Jcniciii /)t'lhf,iilM. w]iuh. under Mienauu-of N'ellow 

 l^lossoin. is so well known on the Nilgiris. — /hf/, 



\Vk learn from a Home paper that two companies have 

 been formed on the continent to work the new variety of 

 cinchona bark found in Columbia and named Ci'prea. One 

 thousand seven hundred people are daily employeit in collect- 

 ing the bark, which, at the rate of eight and a half 

 I'ounds of dry bark per hand, ought to amount to four 

 hundred thousand pounds in thirty days. The business 

 is therefore large aud ought to prove remunerative. Cujirca 

 bark yields two per cent of quinine sulphate. It was 

 a large importation of Cupica bark into the London market 

 lately that effected the price of quinine. — IhUI. 



Tea Cultiv.\tion in the Andamans appears to be a 

 success. In February 1878, tea was planted at Port Blair 

 and in January 1882, or just four year after, manufact- 

 ure was commenced. In that period some of the bushes 

 are reported to have grown eleven feet high, aud pruning 

 was then adopted. From three acres under plants, twentv. 

 one thousand aud fifteen pounds of tea were made, 

 averaging seven hundred and five pounds an acre, which 

 is an excellent yield. The climate of Port Blair is said 

 to be admirably suited for tea, having an annual rainfall of 

 one hundred aud twenty-six inches. "With such results, tea 

 planting ought to increase in the Ajidamans. — J bid. 



Pickled Tka forms a common article of consumption 

 in Burmah, but the method of preparation will perhaps be 

 new to many. The leaf, after picking, is first steamed 

 and then spread out on mats to dry. When dry it is de- 

 posited in a pit lined with bamboos and pressed down 

 layer after larger until the pit is filled up, when it is covered 

 over with branches and leaves of trees, aud earth heaped 

 over it. The tea is left thus for a mouth or six weeks, 

 when it becomes- fit for use. It is then tightly com- 

 pressed into bamboo ba.skets, which are submerged four 

 days or a week before being finally taken up. The great 

 secret is to keep the tea wet. The leaf is eaten in its 

 moist state and undergoes no process of cooking. The 

 Burmese Havonr it with a sprinkling of salt ami coconut 

 scrapings, and then prize it above all other pickles — Jhid 



Tup: China Mail predicts the partial extinction of the 

 China tea trade in five years, and its total extinguishment 

 within ten j'ears' time, owing to the competition of Indian 

 teas. A reduction in the export duties on the leaf is 

 suggested as the only means of saving the trade. This 

 should bo good new.s to Indian tea planters, whose pro- 

 spects are far from cheering. The very best plantations 

 on the Nilgiris nn: not paying, it is said, at present, and 

 investors will not look at a tea estate or bri.^ak land to 

 plant the shrub. The two hundred millions of the popul- 

 ation of this coimtry consume three millions of pounds 

 of China tea, and if, say, two miUious of Indian produce 

 are likewise locally absorlied, we have the comparatively 

 insignificant consumption of five millions of poumls in 

 India, or an average of a fortieth of a pound per head 

 per annum, llecently a taste for Nilgiri tea iias sprung 

 up among the ilahoTumedan population. I*etty dealers 

 are purchasers of the article, aud, from enquiries made, 

 we think that for inferior sorts an increasing demand may 

 aunually be expected. Tea idantcrs here would do well 

 to encourage this demand and propagate a taste for tea 

 among tlio natives by oven a sacrifice in ijrice, as native 

 consumption is certamly a. healthy sign for thu future.— 

 IbUl. 



The Botanic Stand.— Under this heading Mr. Twining 

 publishes an account of a stage which he has constructed 

 with a view to cultivate in pots representatives of the 

 various natural orders of plants. A " botauic garden" may 

 thus be formed and tended by ladies aud others to whom 

 stooping and other tliscomforts attendant upon gardening 

 are serious objections. The stage is set up in some con- 

 venient spot in the garden, supported on an iron fence 

 or otherwise. Most of the plants are grown in 32-pots, 

 and provided with labels. On a stand UO feet long Mr. 

 Twining manages to cultivate about 120 — 130 representatives 

 of some eighty natural orders of British plants. Au amateur 

 with a turn for botany might clearly sc<-uro to himself 

 nuicli plf^Hsurable oceupalion by this method, and e^'en be 

 enabl(-d to throw light u[>vu the constancy or otherwise of 

 certain "(Mitical"' forms. I.n the Florence Botanic (larden 

 a similar plan was adopted on a large scale on the tci-raees 

 "f t,he garden. — Curileneiy Clirouide. 



St. Hki.kna. — The authorities of the Colonial i >ftii-e a,r>' 

 to be congratulated upon a plan they have lately adopted, 

 of sending specialists to various colonies with a view to 

 affording the residents information in cultural matters. Mr. 

 i\Iorris, offer doing good service in Ceylon, was drafted off 

 to Jamaica, where he still holds the post of Director of 

 Public Gardens and l"*lantations, and latterly he has been 

 despatched to St. Helena to report on the agricultural 

 capabilities of the island. JNIr. Morris, among other things, 

 recommends the cultm-e in that island of F'oureroya gigantea 

 for the sake of the fibre produced by its leaves, which 

 is worth, when prepared, about £37 per ton. The plant 

 grows luxuriantly in wild rocky parts of the island ; its 

 cultivation, therefore, need not encroach upon the more 

 valuable parts. Aloe vulgaris, which also grows plentifully 

 in waste ground in the island, might be utilised for the 

 supply of bitter Aloes. The soil and chmate of the island 

 are adapted for the culture of Coffee, Tobacco, Oranges, 

 Korghums, Carob tree (Oeratonia 8iliqua). The introduction 

 of the Guango fIngaSaman) was recommended, for the sake 

 of the nutritious fruit, .said to be the basis of "Thorley's 

 Food for Cattle." The Cushaw (Prosopis juliflora) is so 

 valuable in times of drought that Mr. Morris recommeuded 

 its introduction into 8t. Helena, The visit of Mr. Morris 

 is the direct result of those efforts to pi-omote the practical 

 application of botany in the colonies which were made 

 by the late Sir 'William Hooker, and which have been con- 

 tinued with such signal success by his son and successor, 

 Sir Joseph Hooker. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 



Nilgiri Tea, like every other manufactured article, is 

 of many and different qualities. "We have tasted the 

 Coni/on of estataes enjoying a high reputation for the 

 excellence of their tea, and found it poor, not to say 

 vile, stuff. Planters are in the habit of disposing of 

 tea damaged in the manufacturing process, to local trades- 

 men and petty dealers. This is frequently palmed off on 

 consumers as the genuine article, aud the former there- 

 upon form a bad opinion of all hill tea. Even the very 

 best tea becomes mouldy in a climate like Ootacamuml 

 if not carefully kept, and then yields a most objection- 

 ably flavoured fluid. It is a common practice to see tea, 

 that has become mouldy in packets, dried in the sun and 

 re-packed, to the great detriment of the leaf. Teas, how- 

 ever, of reputed brands, obtained from respectable dealers, 

 are simply perfect in flavour, strength and wholesomeness. 

 The China tea is not nearly so good in any respect as 

 the Nilgiri teas; it has. however, the sinple recommend- 

 ation of imparting a milder flavour to the strongly-tasting 

 varieties of the latter, aud is therefore frequently mixed 

 with local teas. For this reason planters cultivate small 

 patches of the China variety on their estates, and, after 

 manufacturing it separately, nnx it in the proportion of 

 one to ten with the leaf of high class hybrid. The 

 separate manufacture seems necessary, as China leaf is 

 hard and does not roll or ferment as rapidly as the leaf 

 of Assam hybrids. The pro.spects of tea planters are not 

 \'ery bright at present. Tea estates appear a drug in the 

 market, but an improving future is before them, and a 

 re-action will inevitably set in, "With expanding consianp- 

 tion, increasing markets, and depression in the China 

 trade, all the coneitions exist for the future prosperity of 

 the tea industry of the Nilgiris. — Madras Times, 



