&36 
YHfr TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [June 4 1S90. 
teas, and as they will also be reduced in price, my 
argument is that the public will continue to purchase 
them in preference to buying a bad article simply 
because it is cheaper. The consumption of China teas 
has been gradually decreasing for the past ten years, 
and I believe it will go on until China tea is right out 
of the market. 
" The immediate result on the market this morning," 
said BIr. Wilson, "is that cheap teas have gone up in 
price, on account of the anticipated run upon them. * 
But again the question arises, will that increase continue. 
That cannot now be decided of course. Indeed there 
can be no decided opinion given." 
'* How will it affect the middleman ?" asked our re- 
presentative. 
" Well," said Mr. Davis, " there are few middle- 
men nowadays. Mr. Goschen has really struck a blow 
at the small grocer, while he has done a great deal of 
good to the large retail dealers like Cooper, Cooper and 
Company and others. The profits on tea are nothing like 
so great as they were some years ago. The telegraph 
and the rapid means of conveyance have rendered the 
passage of tea from the grower to consumer so much 
easier that the old-fashioned profits exist no longer, or 
only in small degree." 
"The question of whether the consumer will benefit 
by the reduction is one I cannot answer yet," said 
Mr. Wilson. "It is dependent upon the result on 
the market. Still I know of a tea dealer who has 
been preparing for the reduction, and no doubt the 
grocers will this very day be plastering their windows 
with placards, " All my tea reduced '2d in the pound. 
But then the question of blending comes in." 
"I know a very large dealer," said Mr. Davis, 
" who for a couple of months past has been pre- 
paring for the reduotion, aud who told me that 
directly it came he would be prepared to sell his teas 
to his customers at three-pence less in the pound, and 
that he would not u3e a particle of Chin i tea. But re- 
ally it will be twelve months before the actual results 
can be thoroughly realized.— P. M. Gazette, April lSth. 
♦ 
THE FUTUEE OF JAVA. 
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "MELBOURNE LEADER." 
Sir, — I noticed a few days ago in the " town talk " 
of a daily contemporary the following, thus : — "When- 
ever Java falls to that Power (Germany) through the 
declension or absorption of Holland," &c. Taking the 
above as my text, may I say a few words. Well, 
Sir, about four years ago I travelled through much 
of Java for about four months shooting (an account 
of the trip appeared with your kind permission in the 
columns of The Leader of the time), and met " all 
sorts and conditions of men." We (I had a chum) 
mixed a good deal with the Dutch. At that time the 
English and colonial papers speculated much on a pro- 
bable German advance on Holland, and we very fre- 
quently asked our Dutch acquaintances what they 
intended doing in such a case. The invariable and 
emphatic answer was — the moment we hear of any ad- 
vance on Holland we offer Java to Melbourne, Sydney, 
and Brisbane. This from officers of rank, from planters 
from high Government officials, one planter naively 
remarking, "I pray God every night to let the English 
rule in Java." Once, while sleeping in a native town, 
we were roused at midnight by the " chamah " (native 
chief) at imminent risk to this own life from our loaded 
revolvers (if he only knew it), to ask mysteriously 
and eagerly when were we Englanders returning to rule 
in Java. We have waited long, he said, for you and 
he seemed much disappointed we were unable to tell 
him. The Hollanders wanted to kuow in their turn 
what wo colonials would do when the offer was 
made. As a ijood Victorian I always answered, accept 
cf course, but will we accept ? I am as certain as a 
man can be of anything in the future, the offer will 
be made sooner or later ; in fact 'twas hinted the 
Governor-General had already his instructions how 
to act in sucli a contingency. We wore much sur- 
prised at the dislike (to use no harsher term) shown 
by the Dutch to their German cousins. What will we 
A ustralasianH do V will wo follow the recent and Glad- 
stonian policy of "scoot aud scuttle," vide Oandahar, 
the Soudan, New Guinea and Samoa, a policy so un- 
English and suicidal that we outsiders stand amazed 
and aghast at a great nation with such a glorious 
previous record tolerating it for a moment. May we 
(to paraphrase the Laureate) 
Pray God our greatness may not fail, 
Through craven fears of being great. 
Let our rulers look to it, may they "take occasion by 
the hand and make our bounds of empire greater yet," 
or assuredly they will be offered the opportunity. 
Enclosing card and apologising in advance for space 
occupied.— Yours, &c, Anglo- Austral, 
Drysdale, March 8th. 
PLANTING REPORT FROM THE HILLS 
OF CEYLON: 
A TRIP TO NUWARA ELIYA AND HAKGALA — THE BEAUTIE3 
OF THE GARDENS— FINE AND QUICKGROWING TIMIiER 
TREES— EUROPEAN FRUIT TREES. 
Nanuoya, May 3rd. 
Yesterday was a perfect day for a trip to Nuwara 
Eliya and Hakgala : rainless but not glaringly 
sunny. The temperature was genial and even as 
day was closing and a south-west breeze blowing as 
we returned from the Gardens to the Plain, the cold 
was only bracing. We admired the effect of the 
climate on a child who had been up only a few 
weeks, but whose cheeks were becoming pink in lieu 
of the white of Colombo. And how delicious some 
fine Colombo mangoes tasted, after a night in the 
cold temperature! Although there was not much 
vivid colouring in the forests below Nuwara Eliya, 
the various ^shades of green, from very dark to very 
light had a beautiful effect, and as we neared the 
Sanatarium and passed through and out of it, we 
saw abundance of brilliant colours in combination 
and contrast, in the large crimson clusters on the 
rhododendrons and the differing shades of yellow of the 
truly splendid furze (gorse) and the golden wattle : 
Ceylon, Europe and Australia floralJy represented. 
But what shall we say of the carpets of bright 
colours at Hakgalla, especially the pinks of such 
varied forms and hues, some equal to finest car- 
nations. Then there was the daisy tree, aad the 
begonias, the lilies and the irises, the fernery and 
the turfed banks and open spaces, the water lilies, 
the plantain of Abyssinia, the flame tree 
of Australia, the handsome pinus longifolia 
of the Himalayas, the auraearias, cypresses, 
junipers and frenelas. Mr. Nock told us much 
of interest which we need not repeat, as we hope 
soon to see it in full detail in Dr. Trimen's 
report. Those tubers of the nature of potatoes 
which were not at first favourably reported one 
are, under Mr. Nock's careful cultivation, 
increasing very considerably in size and improving 
much in quality. The natives have taken greatly 
to them. W6 were however specially interested 
in seeing, in a utilized shape, the timber of two 
trees which promise to be valuable additions to 
our forest resources in Ceylon ; Gupressus torulosa 
and Cryptomeria japonica "the Japan cedar." The 
timber of the former reminded me a good deal 
of that of the celebrated Huon pine of Tasmania, 
while the cryptomeria wood resembled that of 
the best quality of fir or spruce deals. Crypto- 
meria japonica is making growth only second to 
that of the red toons at Nuwara Eliya, the pro- 
gress of the latter being quite phenomenal, al- 
though the tops of a few exposed to the south- 
west monsoon had suffered. A cryptomeria occa- 
sionally puts on cones prematurely, but I do not 
suppose this \ is of much importance. I ought 
not to forget the European fruit trees, — apples, 
cherries, peaches, plums, — at Hakgalla. They have 
not flourished quite as could be wished, but suc- 
cessive introductions, at different periods of the 
year, may lead to large and permanent success. 
