October i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



305 



The notice of Indian and Ceylon teas we quote in full :^ 



Indian eas. as anticipated by us. show a lai-ge in- 

 crease in sale and consumption over the previous season. 

 The following are the unports from Lidia, including 

 Cevlon, into Jlelboui-ue for : — 



lb. 

 1880-1881 ... ... 671,000 



1881-1882 ... ... 970,520 



The total sales by auction are for seasons. 



lb. 

 1880-1881 ... ... 561,000 



1881-1882 ... ... 766,039 



Pri\ately, about 200,000 lb. weight has been placed. 

 No stocks" reuiaiu in the Iiands of importers, and very 

 little in tlie liands of the trade. By public auction 

 some 684,679 lb. weight sold at Is O^d to •2s 5id per 

 lb. in bond, and 81,360 lb. sold below that. 



■Some eight public auctions have been held in Mel- 

 bourne of the Calcutta Tea Syndicate's teas, and on 

 the whole eacli sale has sliown a slight advance over 

 its predecessors and responding to the like advance 

 in prices taking place in Calciitta. 



In spite of the lieavy advance established on the 

 lower gi-ades, the teas continued in strong demand 

 all through the season, and probably double the quan- 

 tity could have been placed on the market without 

 seriously aft'ecting prices. The Darjeelings turned out 

 exceedingly well, and, as last season, continue favor- 

 ites witli buyers ; prices ranging up to 2s 5id per 

 lb. in bond. 



Assam and Cachars came forward in larger quanti- 

 ties than last year, and some very choice pekoes 

 merited a better price than obtained viz., 2s id per 

 lb. in bond. Taken on the whole, these teas were 

 well liked, and the bulk of them are used for bring- 

 ing up China teas. Darjeeling Terai. Chittagong. 

 Doars, Kangi'a's. &c. , in smaller quantities, all had 

 attention and brisk sales. Dehra Doons are liked for 

 their appearance, but the liquor does not come up to 

 expectations. Broken teas and broken pekoes, which 

 at first were neglected by the trade , are now in strong 

 demand at high prices owing to then- value being ap- 

 preciated for blending purposes. The following 

 statistics show the increase in the grovi'th of tea in 

 India : — 



The crops of Indian tea during the past ten years 

 have been as follow : — 



Ceylon teas show only a trifling incre^e over last 

 season, say : — 



lb. 

 1881-1882 ... ... 63,630 



1880-1S81 ... ... 54,000 



These quantities are included in the sales of Indian 

 teas. 



The teas gave satisfaction, and ai-e Ln strong demand, 

 but much larger quantities should be sent if the Sinha- 

 lese hope for a pennanent niarliet in ilelboui-ne. We 

 notice the I'lylon Ohncrvcr advi es large areas of land 

 being now devoted to tea cultivation, so we may hope 

 to see this British colony soon figure more largely 

 in her expoi-t returns of tea. Let us hope that there 

 is a brighter future in store for Ceylon, and that the 

 gi'owtli of tea will prove more profitable than the 

 growth of coffee has lately done, and that the resist- 

 less energy of our race will again bring Ceylon into 

 the foremost position of British colonies. 

 The .Japan teas were said to be deteriorated by too 

 high firijig. while of Java it is said : — 



.fava eas to a trifling extent have again appeared 

 on the market, and some of the teas show improve 

 ment in liquor. About 23,0001b. weight sold at auc- 

 tion at 8id to Is oid. 

 39 



THE NORTHERN TERRITORY 

 of South Austh.^lia has been largely discussed and 

 in very opposite senses as to its capabilities. Pro- 

 fessor Tate, of the Science Department of Adelaide 

 University, who ought to be an authority, has reported 

 pretty favomubly of its metalliferous resources ; less 

 favourably of its pastoral cabilities, while we give 

 just as it stands his qualified opinion of its fitness 

 for the culture of tropical products : — 

 .40RICULTURAL RESODRCES. 



So very little has been done to test the agricultural 

 capabilities of the country that the question, '■ Ai-e 

 the climate and soil of the Northern Territory suit- 

 able for the growth of tropical plants of economic 

 value ?" is still open for discussion. The soils of the 

 valleys and of the hill slopes are, in my opinion, ill- 

 suited for agriculture ; and with a few exceptions the 

 land seen under cultivation was only that reclaimed 

 from the jungle. Tlie chief of the exceptions to which 

 I allude is the soil formed by the decomposition of ' 

 the diorite rock, massed between Port Darwin Camp 

 and Yam Creek Telegraph Station ; it shows gi-eat 

 capabilities, if I may judge from the healthy gro\vth 

 of the great variety of culinary and fodder plants 

 under cultivation by the Chinese. Conoljorative evid- 

 ence of its richness is afforded by the reappearance 

 of the graceful palm, Kentia acuminata, and, if it 

 really be that species, in a more luxuriant state than 

 it assumes in its northeiTj stations. It abounds about 

 Fannie Bay, near Palmerston, and occurs at intervals 

 as far south as the Stapleton ; thence its place is 

 taken by the fan palm, Livistona humilis, which is 

 less choice in its habitat. My opinion of the unfit- 

 ness of the country generally for agriculture is based 

 on observations. 1. On the nature of the soil ; 2. On 

 the general character of the indigenous vegetation ; 

 and 3. On certain meteorological phenomena. The 

 " desert sandstone " tableland 1 leave out of consider- 

 ation, as it is conceded by all who have traversed 

 it that, with the exception of isolated tracts of the 

 basaltic fonnation, agricultural operation is impractic- 

 able. The prevailing uniformity of rock structure 

 makes it easy to generalize upon the capibilities of 

 the soil. Thus, we have a dry. gravelly, iron 

 and quartz drtriliis on the slopes of the metamoqjliic 

 sandstone ; stiff' clays with humid surfaces on the 

 metamorphic slates ; barren sands upon the granitic 

 surfaces — all of these are comparatively worthless for 

 agriculture. Whilst the soil upon the coast cliffs is 

 generally condemned. Captain King, in his narrative 

 of a survey of the coasts of Australia (1818-22), writing 

 concerning Raffles Bay, says, " The soil in some parts' 

 might be called even i-ich ; there were, however, very 

 few places that could bear so favourable a character," 

 vol. I., p. 85. And again. "The land about Port 

 Patterson appeared to be barren and arid," vol. I., 

 p. 271. Captain Stokes, in his discoveries in Australia, 

 expresses tlie same opinion regarding the Port Essing- 

 ton District. At p. 386, vol. I. . he wiites : ' • Gener- 

 ally speaking, however, there is a gi'eat deficiency of 

 land fit for cultivation " ; and again. " The capabili- 

 ties of the soil, though it has by some been pro- 

 nounced totally unfit for agi-icultural purposes, are 

 still supposed by others to be great, and it is be- 

 lieved tliat rice, cotton indigo &c. might be raised, " 

 loc cit-, p. 389 Alluding to the same area. Jukes, ' 

 in the voyage of the Fly vol. I . p 351, says " The^ 

 soil generally seemed of the poorest and most sterile . 

 description." There are patches of good, if not rich 

 soil most undoubtedly ; but in the aggregate they . 

 form a veiy small fraction of tlie region of the" 

 northern rivers. The opinions touching the capabili- 

 ties of the soil about the tidal portions of the rivers 

 are very conflicting. King describes the soil abutting 



