November i, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 
V,/ 
NOTES ON PRODUCE. 
A few years since, a reference to Indian tea in a home 
newspaper was an unheard of and an unseen fhiup. 
Times have changed. Tea is now a subject of very 
frequent comment, and writers usually extol Indian 
and Ceylon teas at the expense of China, in ft manner 
which cannot fail to impress readers generally who 
are consumers of tea with correct ideas on the sub- 
ject. The Echo, in an articlo published on Wednesday, 
hays :— "Until the last few years the world had to 
rely en China for its tea supply, but India and Cey- 
lon are already formidable rivals. It will surprise 
many to learn that in Way last the imports ol t' ;i 
from India and Ceylon exoeoded those from China in 
the proportion of 51 to 49. That has never happened 
before, nor has it happened since, but there can be 
no doubt that before long we shall receive the major 
portion of our tea from India and Ceylon. The pro- 
duction for export of China teas appears to have 
reached its climax in 1879, when the previous specul- 
ative rise in prices Hooded us with an enormous 
amount of re-dried rubbish, and this materially served 
to increase the popularity of the Indian growth. China 
being a producing and consuming country, can use 
re-dried leaves for export, while in India the home 
consumption is small, and not being in the producing 
districts there is no fear of the tea being doctored in 
this way. Of course, the deterioration of the Chinese 
teas sent to the English market is not altogether the 
fault of the Celestial, at any rate, he was encouraged 
to ship inferior teas by the demand for a cheap article. 
It was largely a questio l of price. In England people 
bought poorer teas because they wanted something 
that cost little, and the Chinese ministered to the 
wunt by sending qualities which a coolio in Canton 
or Yokohama would reject. The best qualitios they 
reserved for themselves and for the Russians, who are 
willing to pay a long price for a good article. The cul- 
tivation ot tea on Chinese methods was first attempted 
by the Indian Covernment in 1834. Chinese seed was 
introduced, but experience has shown that the most 
profitable plant is a hybrid between the indigenous 
and the Chinese varieties. In 1839 the Assam Com- 
pany, which remains the must important of the Indian 
tea companies, took over the Covernment garden in 
Assail), which is still the great home of the industry, 
though tea planting is also securely established at Dar- 
Jceling in Bengal, along the foot of the Himalayas 
as far west ns Simla, at Chittagong on the further 
side of the Bay of Bengal, and on the I\'ilgiris, and 
other hill rauges iu the south. The increase in the 
exports of tea may bo gathered from the following 
Covernment returns : — Average value. 
Year. Quantity. Value. per lb. 
1*73-4 lb. 19,324,235 £1,742,924 Is. 9 00d. 
1882-3 57,700,225 3,609,490 Is. 3 36d. 
In these ten years the quantity increased by 198 per 
cent., the valuo by 113 per cent., the average value 
per pound having fallen from Is 9d. to Is 3d. Oom- 
petition is certain to reduce the price much lower, and 
the manager of the tea gardens have been advised 
that if they nre to hold their own they will have to 
limit the eost of production to (id per lb." 
Referring to Ceylon toa the writer says: — ''In Cey- 
lon i he progress of tea cultivation has been even more 
marked thau in India. The development of the Cey- 
lOn tea trade, unlike that of India, has been rapid. 
India cjuimeuccd the cultivation of the shrub with 
unskilled planters, and inappreciativo markets. Cry- 
Ion benefited by the experience gained iu the Iidim 
gulden*, which enabled tier planters to avoid tie mis- 
tal.es made in the early days by the Indian managers, 
whn know little or nothing about ten-|, hinting. Cey- 
lon, too, wan fortunate in supplying a high-class article 
at i tint when China wus sending interior tea to the 
Kiuopvnii market. The result U that Ceylon teas 
have rapidly gained in public favour, until now there 
is hardly a grooor'l shop iu which 'Ceylon Tea' is 
not a OODtpiouOUJ article of gale. It is noteworthy 
that tho Anglo-Saxon is the principal tea-drinking 
race iu the world, and that none drink so much tea 
as tho Aiintralittns, who consume 7'<V4b. per head, 
nx compared with 490 iu Kngl.ni. I, and 130 iu the 
l ulled Mates."— U.' J I'.Jt/iii/, Sept. 3U(h. 
THE PEARL EIS1IERIES OE AUSTRALIA. 
A little while ago wo were taken aback by a 
telegram reporting the disaster which caused so much 
loss of life in the pearl fisheries on tho west* en 
coast of Australia, and as we think tho subject may 
interest many of our readers, we reprint from the 
Bulletin of the U. S. Eish Commission an account 
of the way in which these fisheries are conducted :- - 
Tho pearl-shell fisheries of Torres Strait belong to 
the colony of Queensland, and are situated L,500 
miles from Brisbane and moro than 2,000 miles from 
Sydney. Torres Strait is about eighty miles in width 
and separates Queensland from the island of New 
Guinea. Tho navigation of the strait, although said 
to be safe and practicable, is in fact very difficult on 
account of the innumerable islands, reefs and shoals 
scattered about. The chief places at which tho 
fisheries are conducted are Wai Wcer, Albany Island, 
Jervis Island, Endeavour Strait, Eriday Island, 
Prince of Wales Is'ands and Possession Island. 
Wages ot' the Men. — A good diver can earn from 
sixty to one hundred and llt'ty dollars per month. He 
usually signs shipping articles for a period not ex- 
ceeding three years at a fixed sum per month, and has 
an interest in the catch or lay. Mr. Bayne, of Sydni y, 
the owner of an important station at Prince of Walos 
Islands, who for many years has been engaged in 
pearl-shell fishing, states that several divers in bis 
employ have earned as much as three hundred dollars 
per month. The divers and crews are composed of 
South Sea Islanders, Malays, and a few Chinese and 
Lascars. The diver is the captain of the boat, and 
the other men obey bis orders. The duties of the 
tender consist in waiting on the diver, helping him 
to dress and looking after him while in the water. 
The pay of the tender is from ten to twelve dollars 
per month, with a small interest in the catch, gener- 
ally from one-sixtieth to one-eightieth part of tho 
value of the shells. Each of the vessels generally has 
one diver and four tenders, who compose the crew. 
The tenders are engaged on regular shipping articles, 
and are paid off like any other merchant seamen. 
Mr. Henry M. Chester, tho resident magistrate at 
Thursday Island, says, in a recent report on the fisheries, 
that the natives are never overworked, and that they 
are always well fed and kindly treated. Ho further says 
that payment is usually made them iu blankets, cloth- 
ing, knives, hatchets and beads, and that whenever they 
are dissatisfied with what they receive they seek other 
employment; Mr. Chester is of opinion that the c im- 
petition for their services is of such a character as 
to secure for them fair treatment. All tho available 
adult population of the island aro employed as swim- 
ming divers under tho "Masters and Servants Act," 
and while their pay is small it is made iu the pre- 
sence of the local authorities, and all the old men, 
women and children receive food in seasons of 
scarcity. Mr. Chester admits, however, that tho 
occupation of a diver is dangerous, and not at all 
conducive to longevity, but adds that tho loss of life 
among the natives from such causes is more than 
counterbalanced by tho abundant rnpply of whole- 
some food given them, and by the deeieaso in ii • 
'anticidc and other savago practices to which they 
wcro formerly addicted. 
M i mi. ii ■ of FlSHWO.— The mothod pursued iu pearl 
fishing is for a number of vessels to start out together 
and fish ci tho samo ground. Each vessel carries 
snpplios to last a fortnight. When iu about eight 
fathoms of water, if tho tide is slack, the diver will 
jump ovorboard. His boots uro heavily weighted 
with load so as to hasten hia descent. Upon reach- 
ing tho bottom ho walks leisurely along until he 
comes to a patch of shells; then he signal - to tho 
boat to cast anchor. Ho carries with him a i I; 
or bag to hold the shells, and as soon as it is 
filled it is lifted up, emptied out and sent down 
to him again, he being able to remain under wati r 
sevoral hours at a time, Some divers roninin down 
from nine o'clock in tho morning until five m the 
afternoon. The pearl-oysters lie on tho ground with 
tho she'ls partly open" and great care is re pure I 
in handling them, for if touched in the wrong w.»v 
they will close npou tho band liko a vice. &OI i 
culs of this kiud nut unficquvnl')' happen, 1° u^s.- 
