February i, 189©.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 56S 
view to the selection of a suitable spot for experiments 
in sericulture, has been that he has chosen a plot of 
land about one acre in extent for the purpose. The 
site at Meyur, in the Chiugleput District, selected by 
Mr. Rego, was considered inconveniently distant from 
Madras, and therefore abandoned. About K2.000 has 
been estimated by Mr. Rego as the cost of the ex- 
periments, nearly one-half of which will have to be 
spent in wire netting, with which the selected land 
is to be enclosed. Casuarinas and plants of quick 
growth, upon which the tassa worm usually feeds, 
are to be at once planted, and these plantations are 
to be protected on the top by netting of Bengal twine 
to prevent inroads from the natural enemies of the 
worm. The trees will be sufficiently grown to afford 
food for the young worms by July next, which is the 
month for the bursting of the cocoons, the pairing 
of moths, and the laying of eggs. The nursery will 
be guarded by three men, while Mr, Rego will occa- 
sionally visit the spot, and afford all the information 
he can to those who require the same in regard to 
the rearing of the tassa worm and sericulture in 
general. Should the trees not ba sufficiently grown 
by July, food for the worms will be procured from 
bisew here,— Madras Mail, Jan. 22nd. 
A FREE BREAKFAST TABLE. 
TO THE EDITOR OF THE " TIMES." 
Sir, — Will you allow me, as one who has always 
advocated a reduction or abolition of the import duty 
on the wholesome and palatable teas of India and 
Ceylon, to direct public attention to the disastrous 
results that would inevitably ensue from any ill-advised 
attempt to bolster up the trade in tne doctored and 
deleterious products of the heathen Chiuee by any 
general abolition of the tea duties ? It will be ad- 
mitted by everyone who is acquainted with the tea 
trade that any suoh indiscriminate abolition will act 
simply as a heavy bounty, paid by the British tax- 
payers, to the Chinese producers of those low-priced 
teas which, even under present conditions, do so much 
to injure the good name of tea as a wholesome article 
of food. For the abolition all round of a duty of 6(1 
a pound means a reduction of something like 33 per cent 
on the average cost of production of Indian and Oeylou 
teas; but it is a reduction of at least 100 per cent on 
that of the low-class China teas. 
The oourse of trade of late years has shown incon- 
testably that the British consumer, if left to himself, 
prefers the pure and wholesome growths of his own 
fellow-countrymen in India and Ueylon to those of 
China, Moreover, for ever} pound of tea that we pur- 
chase from India and Ceylon, we are able to sell to 
those countries a proportionate amount of our cotton 
and other manufactured goods, far greater relatively 
than our sales to Ouina on the same inducement. An 
immense amount of British capital is now invested in 
the tea-gardens of Assam, Darjeeling, and Ceylon, and 
is now, solely od the merits of the tea produced, be- 
ginning to yield a fair return, which return, if the trade 
be not checked by fiscal changes, is daily becomiug 
larger. But this trade, I think, would be greatly in- 
jured, and am sure that the cause of temperance would 
be greatly discredited, if the cry of " a free breakfast 
table," seductive as it sounds, were to induce us to 
give protection to the cheap and nasty growths of China. 
Of course, it will be obvious that tue better and more 
wholesome teas of China — of which, equally, of course, 
there are many — will suffer equally with the teas of 
India aud Ceylon from any such ill-judged measure. — 
Yours faithfully, Roper Lethbridge. 
Carlton Club," Jan. 8th. 
— London Times, Jan. 11th. 
[Sir Koper Lfthbri Igo goes a little too far — a v . any 
rate 2d to 3d off the duty would benefit the ditribu 
tion of Ceylon teas in the packet business very con- 
siderably. — Kd.] 
+ 
SIR LEPEL GRIFFIN AND THE RUBY 
MINKS OF BURMA. 
VVe (The Tim s) are informed that Sir Lepel Griffin, 
at the urgent leqaost of the board and principal 
shareholders of the Burma Ruby Mines Company, 
has consented to visit and inspect the property 
of the company in Upper Burma, and that with 
this object he will, aeoompanied by Lady Griffin, 
leave England by this week's Indian mail. 
The work that Sir Lepel Griffin will have to 
perform may be thus described : — He will have to 
inspect the property, to supervise the organisation 
of the staff who are already engaged and at work, 
to arrange any matters which may be under dis- 
cussion with the Government, to look to the work- 
ing of the rules to put down smuggling under the 
special regulations, and generally to see what has 
to be done to make the concern a profitable one 
as speedily as possible. It must not be sup- 
posed from this statement of what has to be 
done that nothing has yet been accomplished 
towards realising the expectations formed of the ruby 
mines district, or that the affair remains still in 
embryo. The most important piece of work done is 
the completion of the road from the Irrawaddy 
to Mogok, a distance of 60 miles. This road is now 
in perfect working order, as may be inferred from 
the fact that a lady contemplates travelling by it to 
visit a remote part of our Burmese territory. 
Moreover, heavy machinery has been conveyed along 
it to the mines. It is also important to note that 
a great quantity of machinery — cranes, steam pumps, 
and other implements whose use has been proved 
by mining experience in America, Australia, and 
Africa — has already reachel the spot, is on its way 
to the mines, or has been ordered in England. 
A considerable staff under the direotion of Mr. 
Lockhart as chief superintending engineer, and Mr. 
Atlay as company's agent, has been organised, 
with its headquarters at Kyatpyen, while Major 
Adamson, the Deputy Commissioner at Mogok, 
has, on behalf of the Government, actively co-oper- 
ated in all the efforts to improve communi- 
cations, and to put an end to the dacoities 
whioh still occur fitfully and on a small 
scale. The co-operation of the Burma administration 
has been assured, and is essential for the successful 
arrangement of all matters with the native miners 
who hold licences. Rules for the grant of licences 
were drawn up on Nov. 1st last, and these provide, 
among other things, that licences shall only be given 
to bona fide miners who have worked since the 
British occupation, that a fes of eight rupees a 
month for each workman shall be paid, that a licence 
shall be for only six months and not transferable, 
and that all fees on stones found go to the company, 
which, moreover, possesses the first claim on all 
stones dug up, and of these a careful register is to 
bd kept, at the miner's risk of forfeiting his licence 
for not doing so. 
These rules, excellent and comprehensive as they 
seem to be, may be found on further trial to require 
some modification, as it will be not the least import- 
ant part of Sir Lepel Griffin's task to closely super- 
vise them, so that while regard is paid to tho inter- 
ests of the native miners every means will be em- 
ployed to insure for the company its legitimate 
advantages, and for the Government the increased 
rent to which the company's success will entitle it. 
*■ 
THE CORK PRODUCE OF SPAIN. 
This industry flourishes in spite of the obstacles 
interposed in foreign markets. Thanks to the recent 
iotroouction of mnchinery for making cork, Gerona 
cau compete successfully even with the cork industry 
of the United States, in spite of the ad valorem 
duty of twenty-five per cent. During the last few 
years, hundreds of machines for making corks have 
been introduced into the province, aud have given 
woik to numerous families in the rural districts, 
aud ; he movement is likely to increase. The authorities 
and the proprietors of the cork groves seem to be 
