586 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. LMauch i, t888. 
of by retailing only would not be felt upon your 
increasing crops. So that, even if you start syndi- 
cates and shops, you will still find it neoessary to 
push your teas on the market as it stands, and be 
content to take what you can get for a time. 
What you want to oreate is a taste or liking for 
your teas, and get your profits out of the steady 
market of the future where they will not care to 
do without them. 
I am glad you have gone in for the Melbourne Ex- 
hibition, but you must follow it up and have supplies 
always before the public. I had a little to do with jour 
Exhibition Committee at starting, as it was thought 
I was the H. M. proposed by the Association : 
as, however, thsre are no less than 3 H.M.'s in town, 
all late of Ceylon ; it was easy to make a mistake. 
After a time we found I was not the man wanted, 
so I handed over to the other. You should do 
well with the three Ceylon men you have on your 
Committee, but why, oh why, go to the opposition 
house for the fourth? I think it right that you 
should know his ostensible interest is the sale of 
Indian teas and curios I He wants to sell Indian 
teas in the packet and you want to sell your Cey- 
Ions in the same way I There are one or two old 
Ceylon men in town who would, I think, be very 
workable members, notably Messrs. James Hardie, 
W. A. Eobertson and Mr. De Bavay ; they are all 
busy men, but might be induced to give a little 
attention to Ceylon affairs for the sake of old times. 
The Exhibition Commissioners are not to allow the 
sale of your teas in packets nor in the cup, but 
you will get all this information from your Com- 
mittee, and how they mean to get past the difficulty 
I doubt not. Ceylons are rather wanted just now, 
and the market is to be tried with a few lots next 
week. 
I had a run to Tasmania during the holidays. 
That is the country for ex-planters with farming 
proclivities, their grain is protected and is all re- 
quired for home consumption. It is a pretty country, 
but as all the sons and daughters make for the 
main land, a man had better take a flock with 
him or a few Eamasamis, so as to be independent 
of the independent few who take service there. — 
Yours truly, H. G. MACKENZIE. 
THE VALUE OF TEA. ESTATES IN 
CEYLON. 
London, 13th Jan. 1888; 
Dear Sir, — We think it right to inform those 
in Ceylon wishing to sell their estates, that 4 or 
5 year old tea is worth 10 years purchase pro- 
viding the estates are situated in a favourable 
locality with good soil &c, having all buildings 
and machinery up. This is the opinion of tea 
brokers in the Lane who have been resident pro- 
prietors in India. THOMAS GEAY & Co; 
WATER-WHEELS AND TURBINES. 
22nd Jan. 1888. 
Dear Sirs, — Will some of your planting corre- 
spondents kindly inform me first, the relative cost 
of turbines versus a 10-foot wheel and both equal 
to four horse-power, and what is the least fall of 
water a turbine of four horse-power would re- 
quire, and also for one of six horse or more to 
power? I am building a small tea factory, but 
have not much water, but can get a fall. What I 
want to know is fall required for a four or six 
horse-power turbine and approximate cost of same 
put up : also price of a turbine by itself. I have 
applied to a local firm, but they want just the 
information that I require myself, as it depends 
on how I carry the water to get the necessary 
fall ; therefore I want to know least fall required, as 
on that depends a wheel or turbine,— Yours, R. B. 
[Our correspondent propounds questions specially 
requiring professional answers ; but possibly some 
of his brother-planters may answer. Still if 
"R. B." has got a " Planters' Note-book," he ought 
first, by the rules given there, to measure and de- 
scribe his available stream or supply of water. We 
are told of certain new turbines which with a fall of 
5 feet can develop 3-horse-power, and of 10 feet, 
6-horse-power. The turbine would probably not 
cost more than the 16 feet wheel. We have lately 
heard a professional engineer condemn water-wheels 
tandem fashion, a rather favourite idea of recent 
times, as not at all likely to answer their pur- 
pose. — Ed.] 
FUEL SUPPLIES FOR TEA. 
27th Jan. 1888. 
Sir, — I observe that your correspondent " Pep- 
percorn " is continually harping upon the subject 
of our fuel supply, and in one of his last letters he 
terms it the " interesting problem of the future." 
Now if he takes no steps in the matter, I venture 
to think that this will prove a very uninteresting 
problem for him at any rate. Why does he not 
plant gum trees, the wonderfully rapid growth of 
these would form an endless theme for his facile 
pen to describe ? As regards their value, I myself 
have used nothing else for the manufacture of 70,000 
lb. of tea, and for this quantity about 350 trees 
between 4 and 5 years old have been utilized. 
Gums from their rapid growth and facility to trans- 
port to the factory by coolies render them in every 
way a most useful tree to plant, and there are 
always jplaces on estates where fuel trees can be 
planted with advantage. Gums again present 
another advantage as fuel, namely, that if care- 
fully coppiced they grow up again. 
J.L. A. 
Our Tea Industry, — Mr. J. L. Shand's paper 
read before the Royal Colonial Institute is 
republished verbatim with all Appendices 
on page 593 et seq., and also a full report of the 
discussion thereon, to be taken from Colonies and 
India. We may notice here one mistake made by 
the Chairman in speaking of the minimum rain- 
fall in Ceylon as 70 inches. The annual average 
fall in at least two large districts of the island 
— Hambantota and Mannar — is less than half this 
figure ; but Sir John Coode would be right in 
saying that the minimum for any of our tea dis- 
tricts was not under 70 inches. As for Mr. Pye's 
prophecy that the Chinese were going to improve 
manufacture and adopt honest commercial prac- 
tices, all we can say is that when China does this 
" the skies will fall !" 
Mr. John Hughes on the Constituents of Tea. 
In a recent communication, Mr. Hughes wrote : — 
1 think it only reasonable that high grown Ceylon 
teas should command a higher value on account of 
their fine flavour, and if the manufacture be properly 
attended, I doubt not certain estate brands will attract 
special attention in the home markets. I have read 
Mr. C.'s analyses and notice that he has not deter- 
mined the tannin which I bslieve indicates the re- 
lative strength of the tea more than anything else. 
Of course the analysis of young fresh leaves 
will certainly show more potash and phosphoric 
acid than that of older leaves in which the 
proportion of lime and fibre is proportionally larger. 
This is a fact very well known among agricultural 
chemists, but I believe the tannin depends on the 
character of the soil and the elevation. I have no 
doubt that analyses made at different elevations and 
on different qualities of tea grown in Ceylon will be 
found to show more variation in this respect, say 
from 6 to 16 per cent, which is far more than the 
variation in the theine* 
