tfftg TtldPtCAL 
A6mCVL?Vm&T. [July i, 1867. 
ing the benefit of their attention. If the annual ex- 
prots of Dumbara tobacco can be raised to 100,000 lb. 
in the course of two or three years, that means no 
small addition to the prosperity of the districts near 
Kandy. 
" Tea. — It is quite cheering to see the way the fine old 
estates of Uduwella, Hantana, Hunasgeria, Peradeniya, 
Mount Pleasant, Hopewell, &c, are being turned into 
productive tea gardens. The rainfall is sufficient and the 
climate forcing. On Sundays the bazaars of Kandy are 
again well frequented by the coolies, spending their money 
freely. I firmly believe we shall seethe trade of Kandy in 
a year or two fairly prosperous, and, what is of so much 
importance, a geod deal of the money required in the 
cultivation of estates will be earued by Kandyans in- 
stead of Malabar coolies, who take the bulk of their 
savings out of the Island. 
" Kadugannawa, Galagedara, &c, all share in the 
revival of prosperity created by the cultivation of tea, 
and what must be gratifying to the Government ot 
Oeylon is the determination of planters not to have all 
their eggs in one basket, but also to cultivate other 
products that will bring grist to the mdl in seasons pre- 
judicial to the successful flushing of tea. 
" Cinchona. — These districts have not been much 
benefited by this cultivation. It has no doubt helped 
to pay for the transition of coffee into tea properties. 
" Liberian coffee, cardamoms, vanilla, and kapok, 
have all helped the planters in Kandy to tide over the 
years of scarcity. Ia Rangalla, I understand, card- 
amoms have done exceedingly well." 
+ 
Quinine in England. — A resident in Hartford- 
shire writes in reference to enquiries in the Ob- 
server : — " In enquiring at my druggist's I found 
that the retail price of quinine is now about -4s 6d 
an ounce. He is a considerable holder, and prob- 
ably bought some time ago anticipating a rise, which 
may result, if your planters — finding the market 
price will not pay them — cease to grow the bark 1" 
Coffee, — The Diario de Santos gives the receipts 
of coffee at Santos in March as 192,445 bags, 
making a total of 2,071,424 bags since the begin- 
ning of the crop-year against. 1,479,311 in 1885-86. 
The March clearances were 235,76* bags (including 
81 coastwise), making a total of 1,943,620 bags 
since 1st July, against 1,347,645 bags in the same 
period of the preceding year.— Bio News. [Coffee 
in Santos, therefore, shows not a decrease but a 
ccn-i'i arable increase. — Ed.] 
Tkees and Caste. — At a meeting of the Anthro- 
pologic! Society of Bombay recently, Dr. W. 
Dymock read a paper on the " Anthiopogonic trees 
of the Hindoo castes." He began by mentioning 
that it was a general custom among the Hindoos 
to bring into the house, the branch of a tree, as 
an object of worship in the marriage ceremony. 
Tne same tree is not used by all castes, the Udun- 
bara (Ficus alomerata) being used among the Brah- 
tnans, Asupala or Ashoka (Saraca Indiea), among 
the Vaishas, Dhataki or Agnijavala (Woodfordia 
Floribunda) among the Shenvis, and so on. The 
author also pointed out that some of the ancient 
customs in Eurepean countries were very like the 
Indian, and briefly summed up, that in every Aryan 
country at least owing to the analogy between trees 
and men, popular superstition supposes the first 
men to have sprung from trees, — Indian Agri- 
culturist. 
Tea,— The Produce Markets' 1 Review saysof lastweek's 
tea sales : — The market for Inlian tea continues active, 
and nearl* the whole of the heavy supplies brought for- 
ward at the public sales were sold. Prices remain very 
firm for all good descriptions, and in some cases a fur- 
ther advance of Jd t./ Id per lb. has been established. 
The most active enquiry has been for good souchongs 
and pekoe souchoags, and as the quantity of these 
grades is gradually becoming more restricted, values 
nave risen about jd per lb. as compared with the prioe- 
paid » week ago, For uedium whole and broke 
pekoes there has also been a brisk demaud, especially 
for broken pekoes with a good appearanceand infusion, 
which show an advance of from Jd to Id on previous 
rates ; the finest sorts have also been in steady request, 
at slightly improved values. Common broken teas and 
the less desirable whole leaf sorts show no important 
alteration in value, the poor quality of most of the 
parcels checking any upward movement. The general 
quality of Ceylon teas has not improved, but smaller 
supplies, coupled with the firmer prices paid for Indian 
teas, have lent them steadiness, and rather higher 
prices were realised at the sales. Java growths met 
with a moderately good enquiry, and are also rather 
firmer in value." 
Tea. — The Grocer, discussing the tea sales, says : — 
" There has been a quiet but steady business doing 
throughout the week at previous rates, with a shade 
firmer tendency here and there. The remaining sup- 
ply in importers' hands is small, but dealers are able to 
supply most of their moderate wants at auction. There 
is absolutely bo export demand for Russia (and has not 
been all this year), consequently our home market has 
had to take those extra millions that generally go to 
Russia. If Russia had only taken our extra supply of 
fine Mooing this spring, as she did last year, prices 
would now be on a very different basis. Two or three 
of our largt London firms have bought the bulk of the 
fine Moniugs that have been slaughtered of late, and we 
hear from them that it has proved a great success, as 
the value they have been able to offer to the retailers 
has been so remarkable, that they are now taken freely 
is the place of Indian Pekoes. A small proportion of 
good Indian or Oeylon tea, used as a blend to make up 
the deficiency in streugth and flavour of the China tea, 
is very necessary ; but it is generally used half-and- 
half, and often pure and simple. Do not let us have 
this refreshing beverage blown upon by the Faculty be- 
cause the public a«k for strength and colour ; but let us 
rather train them to understand and appreciate what a 
cup of pure and good tea really is." This exhortation 
*o 'he trade to educate the public taste in tea is a new 
departure. 
Life of Cultivated Tea. — It is rather strange 
how little this subject has been touched on by 
successive writers on tea. The majority ignore it, 
no doubt from want of the necessary data ; but, 
writers on Assam at least, ought with very little 
difficulty to have acquired useful information on 
the subject. In Balfour's " Cyclopaedia " we find 
the following reference which is rather inconclusive 
in its deduction : — 
The tea plant does not yield leaves fit for the manu- 
facture of tea until the third year; it increases yearly 
its produce until the eighth or tenth year, at which 
time it attains its maximum. It has been found in- 
digenous in Assam and Cachar, aged, it is averred, 
sixty and seventy years, and still producing leaves 
of an excellent quality. A tea plantation may be 
compared to an English orchard, — a propetty produc- 
ing au income during the life-timeof the planter and 
passing ti his descendants. 
Simmonds quoting some old writer on China 
tea has an equally unsatisfactory, not to say 
enigmatical, piece of information; — 
The plants live from twenty to thirty years, and 
when old, are frequently cut down, and a young shrub 
grafted into the old stock, Quicker returns are thus 
obtained, but the plant does not last so long. 
One would like to know how long the tree would 
last if not cut down and a young graft applied, 
and also how much the latter increases the crop 
aud for how many years. We are reminded by 
a critic that in pruning of tea, "stripping off the 
leaves is condemned by all good planters. The 
cinnamon bush is coppiced, tea pruned, result much 
the same and much of tea in colder climate, I 
have no doubt bushes 50 years old are in existence. 
Ours being many stemmed in Oeylon are likely to 
last longer. Even if original stems die, others 
succeed." 
