8x6 
is— i 
THP TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[June 2, 1890. 
particulars of the sams ? At first the supplies 
brought to this country did not exceed perhaps 1 
owt. per annum, but now it is imported in quantities 
varyiug from 1 to 5 tons per month for use as a 
substitute for tea and coffee, especially for those 
who suffer from indigestion. Should any of your 
readers feel interested in this nut, and have at their 
oommand low-lying damp land in the Colonies, suoh 
as would exist on the shores of Oeylon, I would 
strongly advise them to cultivate the kola, as it is 
one ot the most promising products of the future." — 
Daily News, 11th April. 
THE FOOCHOW TEA GUILD, 
TO THE EDITOB OF THE "DAILY PRESS." 
Sir, — On reading the weekly issue of the Foochow 
Daily Echo of the 29th ultimo, I notice the> Eaitor 
Bays ttiat the Tea Guild is shaky, that many of its 
members are proposing to dissolve the Association, and 
that the rules issued with the approval of the Foochow 
General Chamber of Commerce, which were unwisely 
recoguized by Foreign tea buyers, have caused harm 
to tno trade. Tne Editor also wishes to kuow why 
the interests of tea growers and buyers should be 
entirely placed at the mercy of this Association, and 
says its dissolution will undoubtedly do a great dea 
of good to the trade. 
In or Jer to explaia more fully the organization of the 
Association I beg to say (1) that the Guild is not a 
traJmg concern, and its assets consist only of a few 
thousand dollars lodged in a bank of good standing, 
upon which interest is paid. Wnatever expenses are 
incurred have to be met Dy the payments made under 
the by-laws. (2)1 can confidently say, as to the pro- 
posal of dissolving the Association, which has worked 
very well, that the statement of the Editor of 
the Echo is nothing more han a guess. (3) 
As o Che rules, I can state that previous to the 
formation of this Association many of those interested 
in the tea trade were well aware of the ways and doings 
of unscrupulous buyers, who purchased large quantities 
of tea, payment for which was dependent on the chances 
of good markets at home, as you play the game of 
heads I win and tails you lose. Some of them were 
also in the habit of taking advantage of the weakness of 
the tea hongs and only paid for the tea purchased after 
long delay ; say, the tea bought in 1885 was not paid 
for till the year 1886, and in one instance a very small, 
almott nil, dividend was paid out of the estate of the 
defaulter. I refrain from giving many more instances 
till I am contradicted. As the tea hongs had to con 
tend against rash speculators, they were compelled to 
consult some of the high principled tea buyers as to the 
best way of conducting the tea trade, so that the reck 
less trading of the unscrupulous speculators might be 
curtailed, and after mucn discussion they agreed to 
make rules for the guidance of the trade. Oouse 
quently the organization of the Association, with the 
approval of the Foochow General Chamber of Com- 
merce, was established in 1885. 
I may here add, for the information of Vie reader, 
thai the Association places no restriction whatever 
upon the tea growers and Chinese buyers in the tea 
districts, the only relations it has being with the tea 
hongs, so, there is no foundation for the statement that 
the t ;a growers, &c, were entirely placed at the mercy 
of this Association. 
As to the prophecy regarding the dissolution of the 
Associatiou, 1 hear nothing of that kind has been 
proposed at the Association siuce the return of the 
principal members frum Canton some days ago. 
It may be well to remark that though the rules were 
in force, yet the tea hongs were in no better condition 
than before. The reason why 1 say so is that if an 
unscrupulous specuator buys and ships of large quan 
tities of tea, and uses the money obtained upon the 
hypothecation of such tea in some other way, paying 
nothing to the tea bongs at the agreed time, as men- 
tioned in the Rules for the conduct of the tea trade 
in Foochow, wnat guarantee have the sellers for the 
atety of their money 't To which can only answer 
one. They have orjJy the remedy of reoourset o law 
to stop the tea in transitu, and how is this to be 
effected ? for the bills of lading are in the hands of 
the Bank which advances the money upon the tea. 
I dare say the tea hongs have no cause of action in 
this matter, though they have a case against the un- 
scrupulous speculator, but if the man has not a penny 
to pay, will not the loss fall upon the tea hongs? 
There was a case of this kind some two years ago in 
Foochow. 
i must now conclude, for I think what I have stated 
above will suffice for the present, and at the same 
time beg to anoiogize for trie length of this letter. — 
Yours respectfully, NO ADVOCATE. 
Foochow, 3rd April, 1890. — Hong Kong Daily Press. 
COFFEE IN BRAZIL. 
Rio, 22iid February, 1890. 
To the Editor : — Dear Sir, — It may be of interest to 
your numerous readers to have a report on the present 
position and future prospects of Brazilian coffee. In 
any case the subject should be fairly ventilated in tne 
interests of all concerned. I therefore beg to submit 
to you the following simple figures and shall be glad, if 
in doing so, I can call for reply, for or against my 
figures. From good information received, 1 calculate 
that from the 1st M*rch we nay estimate the stock 
of coffee in the interior at 1,500,000 bags. I estimate 
receipts in Rio at 7,500 bags per day from 1st March to 
30th June. This would leave us with aoout 600,000 
bags to carry over to next crop. I estimate the 1890- 
1891 crop : Rio 3,000,000, Santos 3,500,000. The 1890- 
1891 crop may be expected early to market and both 
Rio an 1 Santos coffees promise to be of good quality. — 
1 am, dear sir, yours tru y, Nemo. 
— Rio News. 
Dbink Antidote. — A Russian physician announces 
his great success with subcutaneous injeotions of strych- 
nia in the treatment of drunkenness. He says it 
is as rapid as it is infallible, producing a positive 
loathing tor alcohol, the result neing brought about 
immediately ; the patient is completely and perma. 
neatly cured of the habit in eight or ten days. Dis- 
solve 1 grain of strychnia in 200 drops of water, and 
inject 5 drops every twenty-four hours. — Bv.rgoyne, 
Burbidges. 
Hyoscine, which is taking the place to some ex- 
tent oi hyoscyamine, when injeoted at the dose of one 
milligramme (l/65th graiu English) subcutaneously, 
says Dr. Maguau (SociUa de Biologw), produces calm 
and induces sleep in mauiaos and sufferers irom 
alcoholic delirium. By means of oue-haif milligramme 
ot hyosciue (l/13th grain English) he arrested an 
attack of tio in a child, and quieted profuse sweating 
in a nysterical patient. Dr, Laboide says that l/10th 
of a milligramme of pure hyosoine (l/650th gram 
English) is sufficient to produce these effects. — Ibid. 
Dynamos and Wind Poweb. — i'he use of wind 
power for producing the electric light possesses the 
recommendation tnat it is cheap, and engineers are 
beginning to introduce moters driven by the wind 
where practicable. Suoh a motor has been in insuccess- 
ful operation for some time at the northernmost 
lighthouse at Cape de la Hogue, where a windmill 
drives two dynamos, supplying eleotrical energy, 
which is stored up in accumulators. The mill reBtg 
upon a timber framing, and transmits motion by 
means ot a vertical shaft and two pairs of conical 
cogwheels to a horizontal shaft. Pu/leys are fixed 
to the latter, whion drive the dynamos by means of 
belting. The wiudmill works automatically both 
during light winds and gales. This point is looked 
upon by engineers as the most difficult problem of 
the whole arrangement, but success has been ob- 
tained by employing a spherical regulator. This 
regulator acts by friction upon a shaft closing and 
openiug the apertures in wind wheel in such a manner 
tnat the surface exposed to the wind, according to 
its force, is enlarged or reduced, a principle employed 
in turbines. The two dynamos work alternately in 
accordance with the amount of energy stored in the 
accumulators. The dynamos are thrown in and out 
of gear automatically .~Gourt Jourimi. 
