136 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Aug. 2, 1886. 



be performed by a resilient analyst and must, of neces- 

 sity, be spread over many years. 



5. Lastly, His Excellency the Governor in Council 

 cannot admit tli<^ correctness of the argument, implied 

 rather than expressed, that the connection of the (lov- 

 ernmeut with cinchona planting has interfered with the 

 usual operation of the law of supply and deniand. It 

 might be suflicient to reply to this that the outturn 

 of the Government plantations is so trilling when com- 

 pared with the total quantity of cinchona bark placed 

 on the market, that prices would not be perceptibly 

 influenced even if the Guvernment bark was sold at u 

 loss. As a matter of fact, however, it was always been 

 sold by public auction, and the pricts realised have 

 been those ruling in ttie market at the time of sale. 



INDIAN AND CEYLON TEA. 



Intrinsic merit sooner or later brings anything to 

 the front, whether it is merchandise or brains. In- 

 dian tea up to date has achieved all its success through 

 its intrinsic merit ; it has been very little helped by 

 advertising or puffing. Had Indian tea not been in- 

 trinsically good, it would have disappeared from pub- 

 lic view. Annually there is a marked increase in 

 the quantity consumed by the public, principally in 

 Great Britain and Ireland. Had Indian tea been 

 pushed in the same way as Ceylou has been, instead of 

 an annual consumption of 60 millions pounds, we 

 should have had no stocks left at all now, and Indian 

 tea would have been in a better statistical position than 

 it now is. As it is with exchange so uncertain Banks 

 are unwilling to do business except at ruinous rates, 

 so that some means should be taken to avert calamity. 

 It is significant that in the vicinity of great centres 

 . of population in Britain, for instance all round 

 ijondon, almost no pure Indian tea is to be met with, 

 whilst Ceylon and occasionally Darjeeling teas (pure), 

 can readily be bought. Wherever one goes Ceylon 

 teas stare one in the face done up in neat little 

 packets of A lb. and 1 lb. At tirst the natural con- 

 clusion that one conies to is that the Ceylon planter 

 has sprung a mine upon his Indian brother, is sending 

 home the tea done up thus ; but upon enquiry it turns 

 out that the manipulation is effected in London, 

 by the agents prior to delivery to the country 

 dealer, showing how extremely careful the Ceylon 

 agency houses are to place their wares before 

 the public in a taking way. Nice little lead packages 

 neatly done up with a taking label are inliuiiely more 

 likely to attract attention than a great huge unwieldy 

 chest roughly made. China teas are also got up in neat 

 little packages, quite ornamental, ami the tea dealer is 

 proud to put theui in his window, but when one does 

 come across, or rather ask to see the original case of 

 any Indian tea, he finds it consigned to the back 

 ground altogether, simply on account of its appearance. 

 Of course put up in an attractive form tea tiuis must 

 cost a little more, but looking at the enhanced values 

 that Ceylous obtain, we doubt if it does not do far more 

 than pay. With many gardens it is not a ((uestion of 

 paying but of existence, and we consider that it is worth 

 the while of some estates to do up their teas in this 

 fashion so as to make thorn more attractive. Doing the 

 teas up even in, say, five-pound packages with tVie 

 " Linberry " patent cloth on paper would bi; a step 

 in the right direction. We understand that the co>t 

 is very much less than tea lead and the weight for 

 carriage is also much less. In atldition the facilities 

 for putting on a nice label are very much greater, 

 and the paper would show off a label to advmtaije. The 

 " heathen tUiiuee " takes care to cover his bjx with all 

 sorts ofhieroglyphics, which although pcrfecHy unintel- 

 ligible to the outside public, form an attractiiui. and no 

 doubt even now assist to carry ott the wares. Tin- Jliitish 

 public in this age of rapid progresson are not easily 

 satisfied, and compeiion is so great that Indian plant- 

 ers and agents must [lut Indian tea before the pulilic in 

 a more presentable form. A few years ago it was sup- 

 posed that the merit of the liquor of lu'iian tea had to 

 a great extent done away with th'? necessity for pay- 

 ing so much attention to the appearance of the leaf. 

 It is questionable if this js so now. A large quantity 



of Indiana is now bought from appearance, owing no 

 doubt to the extraonlinarily large amount of sampling, 

 which falls to be done from the very large increase in 

 imports. The generality of ludians are too leafy and 

 Inrge, and the dealers complain that the teas are too 

 large in leaf to sell by themselves and that it neces- 

 sitates a blend with China in order to make them a 

 good marketable commodity. Another thing that 

 strikes one with regard to Indian tea is the general 

 complaint that it is not to be bought. What is called 

 Indian is only a blond. In the ca.se of Ceylon tea each 

 little § lb. package is labelled and guaranteed. — 

 Nili/tri /■'.rpri'.is. 



Tea Eollers. — Three new patent Tea Rollers are 

 likely erelong to be dividing attention with those 

 now in use : they are Gilruth's (to be manufactured 

 in Calcutta); Michie's, and Hutsen'F. The last is 

 described as being very compact, handy and 

 likely to be successful machine. 



The CiiociDOLiTE. — If our readers have before 

 heard of this semi-precious stone they have the 

 advantage of us. It is thus noticed in the Exhi- 

 bition Supplement to the Colon iex and India: — 

 The crocidolite, of which there is a great abund- 

 ance found in Griqualand West, is a stone con- 

 taining a large amount of asbestos in different 

 stages of formation or disintegration. It takes a 

 beautiful polish, and many fancy articles are now 

 made from it. The crocidolite working and polish- 

 ing is another industry lately added to the several 

 specialities peculiar to the Cape. We have been 

 told by a dealer in precious stones that about live 

 years ago tney purchased crocidolite in England 

 by the carat, giving 2r)s per carat for it. 



" CEOt'iDOLiTE." — In the " Manual of Mineralogy" 

 by Professor Dana (Triibner, London), I find ipage 

 •2IG, chap, xiv " Iron ores — Crocidolite has a fibrous 

 structure much resembling asbestos and has been 

 called hhtc (t.sbextos ; color lavender-blue orleekgreen. 

 Hardnessr.-!. Gravity:^;V2 to H-B. From South 

 Africa. — Cor. 



TiiK Indian Cokfee Planteks' Comjiittee 

 (says Colonies and India) have issued a little pam- 

 phlet which, besides affording some interesting par- 

 ticulars of the samples of Indian coffee now ex- 

 hibiting at South Kensington, also gives some use- 

 ful hints about the properties of coffee and the 

 best way ;of preparing the "fragrant berry" for 

 the table. Good coffee is not always to be had, 

 and when it is forthcoming it is too often spoiled 

 in the " making." A study of the samples of 

 Indian coffee displayed at the Exhibition, combined 

 with practice of the rules set forth in the leaflet 

 referred to, should enable everybody to avoid the 

 adulterated article, and to drink the real product 

 in perfection. The samples, '2;W in number, which 

 have been arranged by the Indian Coffee Planters' 

 Committee, under the sanction of the Koyal Com- 

 missioners, rei)iescnt (1) the " cherry " (that is, the 

 coffee fruit as plucked from the tree) ; (2) the 

 " parchment " bean (that is, the berry when pulped 

 hut enveloped in an outer skin or husk, resem- 

 bling parchment) ; and (H) the berries stripped of 

 this covering, and sized and sorted as they come 

 into the English market, before roasting. The coffee 

 thus exhibited is from the crop of IHSo-HC), pro- 

 duced by Britisli planters in the following districts: 

 —Mysore, Coorg, the Wynaad, the Neilgherries, and 

 Travancore. Tiie finest coft'ee which comes into the 

 English market, fetching higher prices irt many 

 cases than even Mocha itself, is grown in_ these 

 districts, and upon coffee estates there the invest- 

 mmit of British capital is annually increasing. 



