and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society, 



381 



over the whole surface of stem and branches. 

 The young growths will soon start through this 

 coating and as they show they should be thinned 

 out to make a uniform head not too closely 

 crowded with branches. In this way pests may 

 be got rid of which can be disposed of by no 

 other method. 



The practice is merely a variation cf the old 

 English method of winter dressing of orchard 

 and hot house fruit trees, which has been prac- 

 tised with better effect than many of the newer 

 formulas when fighting insect and Fungal attack. 



An orange tree cultivated in the Gardens has, 

 after treatment of this kind, given larger and 

 finer fruit than it has done for many years in 

 the same year in which the operation was per- 

 formed. Visitors are invited to inspect it.— 

 Trinidad Bulletin, for Jan. 



MR. J. H. RENTON AND THE CON- 

 TINENTAL CAMPAIGN. 



"Mr. J. H. Renton was in the city to-day 

 (February 14th), calling on Ceylon friends," 

 writes a correspondent. "He is, 1 hear, busy 

 with his report on 1907— on the work done in the 

 Ceylon Continental Tea Campaign. The French 

 import returns, he says, will not be ready till 

 November next ; but the work in France has 

 been comparatively disappointing. The propa- 

 ganda carried on with Ceylon money has been 

 turned to account by the purveyors of Annamese 

 tea. 273, 000 kilos of the latter were cleared for 

 consumption in 1906 against 100,000 kilos in 

 1905 — showing 170 per cent, advance ! But on 

 the other hand much Annamese tea — the poorer 

 stuff, that is — has been sold as "Ceylon"; so 

 that when Mr. Renton approaches firms to take 

 up Ceylon, they have said ' Look at this. Cannot 

 drink it. We don't want your Ceylons.' And 

 when they are told it is Annamese they say 

 simply: 'Well, we bought it as Cevlon. And 

 we don't want any more Ceylon. ' Ceylon has 

 thus been made to suffer in France for the poor 

 tea of a French Colony. 



"In Germany, however, the returns of which 

 for 1907 are already out, your readers will be 

 glad to know Mr. Renton finds the only produc- 

 ing countries whioh show an increased consump- 

 tion are India and Ceylon. 



"The next project in hand whereby to make 

 Ceylon tea known is the Bavarian Exhibition at 

 Munich, for which town Mr. Renton leaves 

 next week. Bad luck has attended Ceylon here, 

 for the Mr. Volcker who had the concession for 

 a tea room— a gentleman related to tho Surgeon 



of the Regent of Bavaria and otherwise well- 

 connected— has just died by the bursting of a 

 blood-vessel (surviving ten hours only). As 

 some difficulty had been experienced in oppo- 

 sition to the big firm which holds monopoly for 

 the coffee, &c, sold at the Great Eastern 

 Munich station, in making secure the concession 

 obtained by this enterprising merchant, Mr. 

 Renton is to be commisserated with on tho 

 increased work which will fall upon him to see 

 that the interests of Ceylon tea do not suffer. 



"Rubber manufacturers on the Continent, 

 Mr. Renton says, have had a great set-back 

 lately owing to decreased orders and requests 

 to hold back orders already given. In England 

 it is owing to heavy stocks at Liverpool chiefly 

 that the price is so near 3s. for wild Para just 

 now. But with easier money, oi'ders for motor 

 tyres should increase shortly and manufacturers 

 become busy again." 



TEA, RUBBER, AND LABOUR. 



OPINIONS OF MR. G. A. TALBOT, V. A. 



FALL IN RUBBER A GOOD OMEN ! 



No Apprehensions on Aocodnt of 

 " China Teas." 



The opinion of Mr. G. A. Talbot, the well-known 

 V. A. and Director of the Ceylon Tea Planta- 

 tions Coy., Ltd., on Ceylon planting subjects 

 is always worthy of attention, for Mr. Talbot is 

 one of the best known and busiest of men in 

 Eastern planting circles in London, being 

 Director of no less than thirteen planting Com- 

 panies operating in this Colony, F. M. S., Java, 

 South India, &c. This morning an Observer 

 representative buttonholed him in the "G.O.H." 



"Tea?" said he. "Well, it is today better 

 cultivated, and shows the effects of better culti- 

 vation, than ever I knew it. The statisti- 

 cal situation is good and we have no reason to 

 expect a fall in prices. 



" The China trade in England need cause no 

 apprehension. When sudden 'rises 1 take place 

 no doubt inferior teas, such as China sends out, 

 are used in blending, but not permanently. 

 Interested people and Doctors periodically lay 

 a snare for us by strongly recommending 

 'Chinas' in England, and, of course, importers 

 make as much capital out of this as possible, 

 and confirm the need of an organisation to 

 combat it and make known amongst the public 

 what are the merits of 'Ceylons,' and the 

 demerits of 'Chinas.' Beyond this, however 

 planters need have no fears, I think, 1 



