December i, i 



884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



455 



was ordered to be deposited ; but the negroes wanted to 

 be buried in the sand, and indignantly protested against 

 these receptacles. . . 



" The India Rubber, Gutla Pereha and Electrical 

 Trades Journal " is the latest of the technical month- 

 lies sent to us ill exchange for the T. A. It con- 

 tains some valuable information, more especially_ a 

 series of papers on " the collection and preparation 

 of India-rubber" from which we shall quote freely 

 into our own monthly periodical for the benefit of 

 rubber planters. " The Indian Mercury, " which is 

 published in London in the interests of Java readers 

 more especially, meutious that 



" The decline in the use of coffee in England was 

 the subject of a lecture delivered before the Glasgow 

 Philosophical Society recently by Dr. Wallace. The 

 lecturer directed attention to the anomalous position 

 coffee occupied as compared with alcoholic liquors, 

 tea, and cocoa. While the consumption of spirits, 

 wine, tobacco, tea and cocoa had increased, that of coffee 

 he said, had decreased to a very considerable extent. 

 In his opinion, the people of this country were losing 

 their taste for coffee because they could not get it 111 

 a pure state. When the consumption of coffee was at 

 its maximum, chicory was mixed with it. The abuse 

 of coffee was now so universal that very few people 

 really knew the taste of pure coffee. When visiting 

 France or Belgium the Briton enjoyed his office, be- 

 cause he got it in a pure state. Besides chicory, coffee 

 was often mixed with burned sugar, dried figs, date 

 stones, decayed ehip's biscuits, beans, peas, and dried 

 roots of various kinds, including turnip and beet. If 

 the Government would absolutely forbid the sale of 

 coffee mixed with any other ingredient, he felt sure 

 that the beverage would soon regain the high reput- 

 ation it had previously enjoyed. A discussion followed 

 in which the speaker unanimously agreed with the 

 views enunciated by Dr. Wallace. 



Of more immediate interest to coffee planters is a 

 telegram in the London Times, dated Brussels Oct. 

 5th :— 



The Mouvement Qeographique states that near the 

 Btation of Loukolela, on the Congo, a tract of about 

 a hectare has been found covered with wild coffee 

 trees. Dr. Chavanne has also pointed out certain 

 territories on the Congo which appear to be especially 

 fitted for coffee plantations. 



"♦" 



Tea in Southern India. — Says the South of India 

 paper:— "We see that the Ceylon Observer wishes to 

 know if red spider is ever seen on our tea bushes ; we 

 cau truly say it has been, though not very destruct- 

 ive in our cold climate. The same may be said of 

 the scale on some China trees, we have seen it very bad 

 indeed, but it is one of those pests that come and go. 

 As for porcupines not touching the China plant, our 

 experience teaches that neither China nor In brid is 

 sate, from their ravages." — Indian Agrieultb 



How Tea Succeeds in Ceylon : Dimbula, 20th Oct. 

 — Bravo! I say for that article of Friday laet 

 on "Tea Culture and its Profit, in Ceylon.' Who, 

 after realing that article with its positive f.icts to 

 bear it out, could fur one moment d pubt the suc- 

 cessful culture of tea being an established fact. All the 

 products hitherto tried in Ceylon hare more or less 

 proved themselves eccentric iu their ta3tes of soil 

 elevation, temperature, rainfall and a hundred different 

 eccentricities, and iu addition to them to have some- 

 thing very disagreeable in their nature judg ug from 

 their numerous enemies. How different is the tea bush : 

 high and low, hot and cold, dry and wet, all con. 

 ditions seem congenial to it ; and, as regards enemies, 

 so far as we have yet seen, it only laughs at them. Itre- 

 minds us rather of the sturdy weed or the hardy jungle 

 stuffs which, as soon as we have abandoned the delic- 

 ate coffee or cinchona in despair, take their place and 



grow with a vigor (quite unaided) which is maddening to 

 behold after treating the coffee, cinchona, cacao, &c, 

 with all the care aud kindness which science tells 

 us they require and spending our rupees in providing 

 them therewith. As an instance of the hardiness of 

 tea, I know of a block of land at about the same 

 elevation as Abbotsford, which was planted with coffee 

 and cinchona, but soon the unfortunate proprietor saw 

 it was too cold for the former and something in the 

 soil unsuited to the fastidious taste of the latter, so 

 he decided to abandon, but before doing so planted 

 fifty acres with tea seed at stake. This was two 

 years ago. So, having to find work for his coolies on 

 an adjoining estate the other day, he put them on 

 to clear up the fifty acres. What was his surprize, 

 to find the tea bushes holding their own among the 

 weeds aud jungle stuff ! and though, perhaps, not so 

 high as they would have been in open ground were 

 ■per, contra more "bushy." The height was from two 

 to six feet. On the face of the data given by you 

 and this one in addition, what encouragment 

 there is for capitalists to come, but come soon 

 they must, for as you hint, it won't be long till 

 if they wish to invest in land for tea they will have 

 to pay ten times the present price for it. 



Our Tea Industry. — The growing interest which 

 is taken in commercial circles at home in the 

 Ceylon Tea enterprise may be illustrated by the ar- 

 rival on a visit to the island of a member of the well- 

 known Mincing Lane House of Messrs. Wm. J. & Hy. 

 Thompson, so prominently connected with the great 

 tea import trade of the Metropolis. Mr. Arthur 

 Thompson has but a short time to spare from the 

 pressure of business ; but Ceylon is so happily situated 

 in its mail-steamer connection and its good internal 

 lines of communication that a very fair idea of our 

 tea districts can be obtained in a few weeks. A 

 busy "city" merchant escaping some of the worst 

 of the winter weather (including the " November 

 fogs") in Loudon, cau make the voyage out, see what 

 is going on here in all the principal groups of dis- 

 tricts in the planting, manufacturing and shipping of 

 tea, and return home all within a holiday trip of 

 three months. This cannot be done in respect either 

 of the China or Indian tea districts, nor, even if time 

 were no object, can the same comfort and enjoyment be 

 got out of the trip to Assam or China, we think. For 

 with the scenery of Ceylon, no English visitor is ever dis- 

 appointed. It is unfortunate for Mr. Thompson perhaps 

 that our north-east monsoon should now be on, the 

 best time to arrive here being from 1st December 

 onwards ; but we trust such breaks in the weather 

 may be experienced as may enable the country 

 to be seen to advantage. During four or five 

 weeks Mr. Thompson will probably be able to 

 run round the principal districts, and we feel sure 

 that no pains will be spared to enal.le so compet- 

 ent a, visitor to form a sound judgment of the pre- 

 sent position and future prospects of tea planting in 

 Ceylon. The difficulty will not be to find opport- 

 unities, hut for Mr. Thompson to find the time to 

 vis t all the places where his presence will be bespoken 

 aud heartily welcomed. It is encouraging to know 

 that Mr. Thompson, who knows so much about Assam 

 and Chiua teas, comes favourably impressed with the 

 future for Ceylon tea", and we trust this prepossession 

 may be fully confirmed after a month's local observ- 

 ation. — Not simply tea, however, but coffee aud cin- 

 namon especially, and other produc s to a less degree, 

 will receive the atteution of the gentleman whose 

 presence amougst us we have thus ventured to 

 allude to. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson start for the Cen- 

 tral Province tomorrow, and that their visit may be 

 a thoroughly enjoyable one will, we feel sure, be the 

 wish of all interested in the future of our planting 

 industries. 



