April z, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



837 



dustries of the future, nntl they have already made a 

 considerable itart. With reference to the coffee, I do 

 not suppose Englishmen ever know that Madagasoiir 

 cofFei- is in the English market, and the reason is, that 

 il is of such a superior quality that I should not be 

 surprized if it is being sold under a famous name. 

 There is every reason to believe th;it the Mada!;ascar 

 coffee will compare in quality with the best coffees 

 of the world. Many planters have made great mis- 

 tiikes in planting coffee on these a shore, but it the laiuls 

 50 or GO miles from the east coast were chosen, which 

 l;inds ;>re about 1,000 feet above sea level, theu I can 

 say our i)lanters will have the finest coffee that can be 

 produced. 



In regard to sugar — this is an industry which must 

 be carried on by very large capitalists. I am able 

 to give any reliable details for the information of 

 information of those who might think of such invest- 

 ments. I can say, however, that two or three sugar 

 mills are now at work at Madagascar, and moreover, 

 that the soil of the island is all that can be desired for 

 the cultivation of the sugar cane. 



The rearing of the silkworm is an occupntion part- 

 icularly suitable to the women and children of Madagas- 

 car. That already much is done in this is evident from 

 the beautiful silk lamhaa, the native costume of the 

 Malagasy, which are all spun by hand from Madagascar 

 silk; but thus far no one has commenced buying up silk 

 cocoons fore.xpoit — a branch of commerce which would 

 immediately increase ten fold the amuunt produced. 



I will r fcr lastly to au article of commerce largely 

 shipped from Madagnscar, viz., Rofia fibre, or the iuner 

 skin of the leaf of the Rofia palm. This fibre is stripped 

 off from the under side of the leaf of the palm in the 

 same manner as one can strip off the inner fibre of a 

 pea-pod ; iu fact, it is very similar in appearance, only 

 that of course it is two or three feet iu length. It is 

 dried in the aun, and woven by the natives luto what 

 is kcowu in England as grass-cloth ; it also servea the 

 natives for all purposes for which twine or etring are 

 required. 



Sceiug .so many bales of this fibre shipped to England 

 I made a poiut of inquiring whether it might not be 

 used for working up into some fabric, but I fiud that 

 its sole use for florists to tie up flowers. A London 

 merchant informed me last week that the market is at 

 present overstocked with this commodity. 



To say a word on the Flora of Mtidagascar, I may 

 remurk that some of the principal florists in Loudon 

 are annually e.xpoiting from Madagascar the choicest 

 specimens of Orc/iiiJ-H wliich grace English conservatories. 



I might mention that Madagascar produces maize 

 corn, that even wheat is grown by the natives in tiie 

 interior, that toitoiseshell is largely collected on the 

 coast, that, in fact there are scores of industries for 

 the enterprizing foreigner. 



A. Tacchi. 



Ambasadaoranny Mpanjakany Madagascar, London, 

 December 21at, 1882. 



PLANTING ON THE HILLS OF CEYLON. 



DETERIOHATION OF INDIAN TEA POHOUS LEAD INSECT EOE- 



EHS OF TEA CHESTS — WOOD FOB TEA CHESTS — ACTION OF 

 ' THE CEYLON CLIMATE ON TEA — THICKEE LE.AD N-EEDED FOE 

 PACKING AUTOMATIC FEtnT EVAPOEATOE. 



LiNDULA : March Ifi. 

 Mr. Cameron (an Assam tea planter) arrived juet in 

 time to be consulted about a a very important article in 

 the Indigo Planters' Gazette on the admitted deterioia- 

 tion in recent years of Indian tea in " staying " or keep- 

 ing power. Afterdiscussiug under-firing as a possible 

 cause, and while admitting the necessity of economy, 

 the writer .illuded to expresses his fears tnat in regard 



lua 



to the lead used for lining boxes a desire to save 

 expenditure may have been carried too far. To 



qnote : " Our attention has more than once been 



called to the condition of tea samples carefully leaded 

 up for future reference, aud we must say that had 

 it ocjurred on one or two occasions only, we should 

 not have paid so much attention to it ; but we 

 have seen out of 20 or 30 samples carefully leaded 

 up for comparison, the following season not more 

 than fi or 8 turned out in anything approaching 

 good condition. To what could the deterioration be 

 due, was naturally asked, to improper leadiug ? to 

 improper firing ? or to what ? And after carefully 

 weighing the matter aud looking at the samples, 

 we were forced to come to the conclusion that the 

 lead used was too thin or to a certain extent porous. 

 This conclusion that the lead, used was too thin, 

 was forced upon us by the fact that the same samples 

 put up in double lead were in good condition, and 

 we trust that this is a matter to which agents will 

 look. It would be interesting if our Calcutta firms 

 would take this matter up, aud if possible, ascertain 

 the difference in the quality of the lead now supplied 

 and that used years ago. We imagine that firms 

 such as Betts & Co., and other well-known firms still 

 supply brands somethiug of the same quality as iu 

 former years, but we think it more than likely that 

 many other brands that can be bought cheaper, have 

 the lead simply rolled out tbinuer, and that the 

 weight of the lead supplied to do the same amount 

 of work at a less cost, is considerably less than that 

 of the first brands in the market. We do not by any 

 means sav that this is the case, but it is a point 

 which can be easily solved by those interested in 

 tea matters ; and we venture to think it is a point 

 whioh ought not to be lost sight of. The tea lead 

 used in a China chest is, so far as our knowledge 

 goes, cousiderably heavier than that used for the same 

 sized Indian package. Although to appearance less 

 in size, and yet containing the same amount of te», 

 we venture to think the differenee principally lies 

 in the rough heavy wooden box used for Indian tea " 

 Mr. Cameron tells me that in the early days of Indian 

 tea planting the weight of the lead used was 7 ounces, 

 or a little under i lb., per square foot. The lead now 

 used has been reduced iu weight to 5 ounces per foot, 

 and of this lead 6 1b. will generally be required for 

 a chest running from 80 lb. to I'-iO lb. of tea, with 

 3^ lb. for half-cheats. There is a certain economy, 

 therefore, in packing in full chests, which answer for 

 the London market, half-chests being in request in 

 Australia and America. Of course the thinner the tea 

 lead is. the more danger there is of its tearing or 

 getting pierced ; but, with reference to the suggestion 

 of porosity, we asked if there was any suspicion of 

 the possible adulteration of the lead with any other 

 substance. The answer was in the negative, but 

 practical proof was adduced that au insect which 

 could bore the timber of which a tea chest was made 

 was able also to bore through the lead. So that insect- 

 haunted wood, or timber likely or known to be liable 

 to insect attacks, should be avoided as carefully as 

 those possessing chemical qualities calculated to corrode 

 the lead. Mr. Cameron seemed impressed by the ques- 

 tion of the iosutEcient thickness of the tea lend now, 

 used, aud stated that in his own experience in Ceyloa 

 he had been much disappointed at the end of six 

 months to find specimens of tea which he had 

 wrapped up in a fold of lead and then covered with 

 ler, and which had been kept =" - "'■-"'' -i 



jiai 



closed al- 



rah, out of condition. Of course our hot damp 



