February i, 1888.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
S'S 
I saw Russian tea advertised largely in the Liver- 
pool and Manohoster grocers' shops at $8 8d per 
lb! I thought this was just another instance of 
the gullibility of the British public, who will Lake 
anything extensively advertised. The Russian tea 
I took to be China tea, shipped to Odessa originally, 
or brought overland, and shipped from some Baltic 
port to London, but probably it may be the real 
article grown in Circassia, as I have seen it 
stated in the papers more than once that the 
Russians were trying to grow tea in their southern 
possessions, where doubtless it is hot enough in 
summer. Can you throw any light on this ?— Yours 
faithfully, A - L - c \ 
1 We believe our correspondent was right in 
supposing the so-called "Russian" tea to be the China 
article packed after the Russian fashion, and wo 
cannot think that tbe tea said to be shipped from 
'mi (the port last annexed by Russia) can be 
otherwise than of foreign growth— a quantity re- 
shipped 111 fact. Tea is said of late to be experi- 
mented in on the Caucasus, but even if the bushes 
had come into bearing, the product would scarcely 
be sent away from the country— Ed.] 
Rust.— All steel articles can be perfectly preserved 
from rust by putting a lump of freshly burnt lime 
in the drawer in which they are kept. If the things 
arc to be moved (as a guu in its case), put the lime 
in a muslin bag. This is valuable for specimens of 
iron when fractured, for in a moderately dry place 
the. lime will not want renewing for years, as it will 
absorb a large quantity of moisture. Articles in use 
should be placed in a hex nearly filled with thoroughly 
pulverized slacked lime. Before using them they 
should bo well rubbed with a woolen cloth. — Florida 
Dispatch, 
Tur. Divi-Dtvi Tiiek.— At the beginning of the 
yoar the Secretary of State, says a contemporary, 
brought to the notico of the Bombay Government 
an offer made by a firm of tanners in Glasgow, if 
steps were taken to extend the plantation of the 
Divi-Divi treo, to take over 8,000 tons of pods 
yearly at £7-10 to £fs per ton delivered at Glasgow. 
The subject ha-s since beon thoroughly gone into, 
and the India Ollice has just been informed that 
the terms ottered are not favourable enough to en- 
courage the free cultivation of tho plant. The Bom- 
bay Government, however, is willing to grant con- 
cessions in tho way of remission of assessment with 
the object of oncsuraging cultivation. —Pioneer. 
LiiiKuian- Coi l 1:1;. — A Northern Australian piper 
says: — Mr. Holtze who has returned from a trip to 
tin) Adelaide river bus kindly showed us a specimen 
of tins Llberiau ooffce plant taken from tho block of 
lnud i xpciimcnted on by Fisher nu I Lyons. To us 
it appeared a perfectly healthy plant, entirely free 
from s.iy truces of the ravages of insects and Mr. 
HolUe describes it as a fair average specimen of some 
10,000 plants {rowing on the plantation. He had 
taken from the plant no less thau 3"J0 berries, and 
as it is only about three years since tho plantation 
was started, mid daring the major portion of that 
time it hid been utterly udcared for, the bush gives 
nn excellent ide i i.f win' might lie don • lij carofui 
cultivation. The whole of tl»o plants a r o Raid to be 
in a fine healthy condition, with an average height of 
three feet, and in my are already bearing luxuriantly. 
It is the intention of Mr. Holtr.o to send the plant 
to Adelaide ns a practical proof of what tho territory 
can do in tho way of growing cotTne, a,,d if SU ch 
a result evi bo fnrnishe I by n plantation that is 
allowed to run wild, think it is only a fair as- 
sumption that the industry would well reply a little 
c.irn and attention. — Indian AgrieldtHri.it. 
TUB Vwrcns Ov JIokav.— Tho washer women of 
Hoi and and Belgium, «i proverbully clean, and who 
6et up their linun »o beautifully white, use rcfiuod 
borax as washing powder instead of soda, in the pro- 
portion of one large handful of borax powder to about 
ten gallons of boiling water ; they save in soap le arly 
half. All of the largo washing establishments adopt 
the same mode. For laces, cambrics, etc., an evir.i 
quantity of the powder is used, and for crinolines 
(requiring t> be male stiff;, a strong solution is 
necessary. Borax being a neutral salt, does not hi 
the slightest degree injure the texture of the linen; 
the clleet is to s >ften the water, and therefore it 
should be kept on every toilet table. To the laste it 
is rather sweet, is used for cleaning the hair, is an 
excellent dcntrifice, and in hot countries is use I in 
combination with tartaric acid and bi-carbnna te of 
soda as a cooling beverage. Orjod tea cannot be undo 
with hard water; all water may b.: made soft by 
adding a teaspoonful of borax powder to an ordinary 
sized keltic of water, in which it shou'd boil. Thy 
saving in qmntity of tea will be at least one-fifth. 
— Etvcliaafffi. 
Cacao Adulteration. — Although we have heard a 
great deal at various times about the adulteration of 
coffee and the shameful tamperings with tea, very lit- 
tle has been said or written aboqt frauds with cocoa, 
the worst that has ever been reported of this article be- 
ing its admixture with s,ugar, arrowroot, &c.> but I 
notice that, in a trade circular from Amsterdam, com- 
plaints are made of the attempts by a London firm to 
induce the ocoa manufacturers of that city to give 
them orders for chemical adulterants to blend with 
their goods. Here is what in their letter trie firm in 
question say: — "We hand you herewith sample of a 
finely levigated brown which ws are supplying for the 
purpose of bringing up the colour of cocoa ; it is per- 
fectly harmless, and, being of lieht gravity and rich 
colour, is particularly well adapted for the purpose." 
The sample is a mineral brown, and upon analysis was 
found to consist simply of oxide of iron and a little 
alumina— certainly uot very desirable ingredients in 
cocoa or chocolate. The object in recommending a 
rich brown coloring matter is doubtless to enable 
the manufacturers to add more rice flour and other in- 
gredients without re hieing the color of the cocoa too 
much, and, though the additional quantities of adulter- 
ants may not be very objec'ionablo iu themselves 
beyond the fraud practised upon the consumers, tho 
blending of chemical colouring matter is certainly 
objectionable. Cheapness, which in these days of com- 
petition is the backbone of most trades is »-s iming 
many harmful featur s. — tbmoh Cor. Local "limps." 
"Coco" and "Cocoa." — Under Science Gossip 
in the Atheiueum of December 10th we read : — 
Iu tho new number of the Annal.i of liolmii/ Prof. 
Bayley Balfour writes on a curreut mistake to which 
the Atheriaum has more than ouce called atteutiou, 
namely, the erroneous spelling by which the cocornut 
is confused with o>eon, the product of tho cacao tree. 
Prof. Balfour shows that the early authorities never 
made this blunder, and that its beginning whs prob- 
ably in Johnson's ' Dictionary,' where, under the 
heading cocoa, Dr. Johnson erroneously confounds the 
two articles, one of his quotations from Miller apply- 
ing to tho coco-nut while the other from Hills refers 
to coooa. But botanists long after this stuck to the 
right form (as does Lord Tennyson in ' Enoch 
Arden ') ; and Prof. Bdfour cal's upon them to range 
themselves uuder the "careful writers " and those who 
know, and to spell " coco" correctly. A curio is circum- 
stance i< that Dr. Johnson appears subsequently to 
have learnt that the coco-nut was not the source of 
cocoa, since in his' Life of Drake,' 1770, bo correctly 
used the form of coco, pi, coeoe.i; but this was too late 
for correction of his nnfortsnte mistake in the ' Dic- 
tionary.' 
Tennent, in his book on Ceylon, adoptel tho correct 
spelling " I'lidi-iiiif " and wo have done the sam > 
in our various publications ; but in speaking it is 
impossible to distinguish between COCO anj 
and tho latter word has, unfortunately, obtained 
too groat currency in Mincing Lane and other 
homo msrkstfll to bo got rid of. The Dutch have 
adopted tho Malay iiamo of tho coconut, taianxi 
(spelt by thum kUipptr). 
