March t, 1888. j 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
59* 
ture they delight in; while growing, both cotton and 
wheat might be grown between the young date-trees, 
ami when fully grown, oranges, lemons, and fig-treee, 
&c, might bo grown under their shade, as is done in 
Tunis, From what I saw of the Nizam's territory, I 
believe that in that fertile soil where water would be 
available, many of the Kuropeau fruit-trees might be 
successfully grown ; and with regard to date-trees, 
not oidy those grown in Egypt on the higher laud 
might succeed, but also those grown ou lower lauds, 
and would in time feed the people of the Dekkan f or 
several months in the year. 
21. In all my researches about the date-trees, I 
have endeavoured to combat and get rid of the 
exploded uotiou that, unlike many others, the date- 
tree is a fixed unchangeable organism, as fixed as 
tho notion books and people have got of it. Actual 
facts, however, show that within certain limits it 
has adapted itself in course of time to its surroundings 
in Egypt and other places. From a tree luxuriating 
in a desert climate, it has suited itself to soils subject 
to inundation for several months to the vicinity of 
the sea, to saline soils, he, in some localities produc- 
ing tho finest dates; in others, inferior ones; but 
everywhere feeding the people and their cattle. We 
need not go very far to search for a plant that has 
been far more yielding to circumstances than this. 
Tho rice-plant is admittedly a tropical plnnt largely 
growu in Burma, Oeylon, South India, and Bengal. 
Nevertheless, out of the hundred and more varieties 
of rice, some have adapted themselves to the climate 
of Northern India as far as Peshawar ; to that of the 
valleys of the interior of the Himalayan mountains ; 
to that of Afghanistan, Italy, America, and others; 
and no doubt, that among the hundred aud moro 
varieties of date-trees, some are suited to a dry, some 
to a moist climate ; others to a sandy, a clayey, or a 
saline soil, &c. 
22. The date arop in Egypt ripens iu September, 
and iu case the Government of India should think fit 
to import some Egyptian seeds of the best varieties, 
I beg to add the following information given also in 
Colonel Scott Moucriefl's letter; — "In order to have 
seeds sent out on really a large sea le to India, I 
should think it would ho best to act through Govern- 
ment. If Sir Evelyn Baring were asked officially, 
I should think htt would place the matter in tho hands 
of Mr. J. R. Gibson (formerly Bombay Reveuue Sur- 
vey), Commissioner of the State Domains, and Mr. 
Hamilton Lang, C.M.G., Controller of the Daira Sauieh. 
Kithuv of these officers is in a position to get any 
quantity of date-seeds. There would be some little 
expenditure of course, or it night be dono by the 
Ooverumeut of India through some good merchant- 
house, like that of Messrs. Carver It Go» of Alexandria, 
well-known aud highly-respected export merchants. " 
23. Besides the Oudh date-frees, fruiting palms are 
to be found iu India in various places by oues and 
twos, originally introduced from Mecca and other places 
iu Arabia. A few scattered trees here and there, how- 
over, are not sufficient to induce any ono to set about 
oultvating the date-tree iu a pro|»r methodical ni.uin r. 
A few Egyptiaaand Persian date cultivators might do 
much towards teaching the natives of India how to set 
about this culture so well understood iu those places. 
That it is possible to introduce this important tree iu 
India on a large scale, and that it will be of groat 
benefit to the pcoplo, I have no doubt. Moreover, 
Mr. Thisi lton Dyer, the Director of the Royal Hardens, 
Kow, in a letter dated 15th November 1880, says: — 
"lam sure this cuterpriso is a sound ono." In con- 
clusion, whatever may be tho value of the datn-produco 
in India iu ordinary times, there is, I think, no 
question that in famine times, a crop of dates would 
bo a certainty. 
GntOHOlU IN Uva.- Wo learn that cinchona 
shaved in the lladulln district a few months ago 
at five to seven years old gave 70U lb. bark por 
aero and the trues now look as well as ever, last 
lenwwing. 
TEA CULTIVATION. 
(Paper read by Mr. A. M. Oepp at Ike Jjikoya 
l'lanters' Assosiatiou, 2nd February, 1S86.) 
The Cuaiiiman thou introduced M. A. M. GrKBP to 
the meeting, who read the following paper ou Tea: — 
1 have divided my paper into three subjects, viz., Tea 
Tasting, Hints on Manufacture, and tho Future of Ted 
iu respect of Consumption aud Prices* 
Tka Tasting. — Tea tasting may be described as the 
art of being able to discriminate not only between good 
and bad tea, but after a time to find out which are tho 
kinds most suitable for tho Loudon market. I have uo 
doubt, of course, that several of you gentlemen inter- 
change samples, but say for instance that you havo got 
a set of standard samples that you wish tc copy, then 
comes the trouble when you have finished your day's 
make, how can you be sure that your teas are equal to 
tho standards? After the teas are graded, it will not bo 
difficult to have some idea as to whether your own teas 
are up to the samples as far as appearauce goes, hut 
unless you are able to taste tea, you will still bo very 
much in the dark. Say that your standards are strong 
full llavory teas, how can you kuow that your day's make 
is tho same ? A knowledge of tea-tastiug will enable 
you to test this. I honestly do not think that a tea 
taster can be self-taught, lie requires someoue to point 
out the different flavors most suitable for tho trade. 
Oue tea may ho malty, another pungeut, another thin, 
but of an extremely delicate liavor, another strong aud 
coarse. This latter characteristic does not 
certainly come under the headiug of tine teas, but from 
a buyer's point of view it may he by no means a tea that 
should be avoided altogether. Undesirable teas are those 
which are thin with no flavor, sour or much burnt. A tea- 
taster ought to be able to say without tasting, after 
looking at the infusions and tho liquors, whether the tea 
is good or not. A bright coppery colour and all tho 
leaves of an even colour, together with a bright red 
liquor aud yellowing towards the sides of the cup, is an 
almost certain iudicatiou of good tea, whereas a dull 
unattraotive liquor with black or brown infusion al- 
most invariably shows a common undesirable tea. 
Perhaps it may be interesting to describe the entire 
process of tea-tasting for the benefit of those of my 
hearers, who, though they may have tasted tea in a 
neighbour's factory, have not commeuced making tea 
themselves, and see uo necessity for starting a tea-tasting 
room. The embryo tea taster having duly furuished 
himself with perhaps a dozen tasting pots and cups, 
scales, sandglass and spittoon, places his pots and cups 
iu a row on his tastiug table aud proceeds to weigh up 
from his samples tho same quantity of tea into each 
pot. During this time the kettle has been put ou, soft 
not hard water should be used. In order to ensure a 
good tastiug, great care should be taken that the kettle 
boils aud not overboils. The sandglass should bo 
turned to run 5 to t> minutes before the teas are turned 
out into the cups. After letting them drain fur a littlo 
while, the tea-taster should go dowu his rows of pots and 
taking off the lids carefully uote the aroma in his own 
mind, or, better still, ou paper, of each tea. Doubtless 
he will not he able to describe it, but he may recoguizo 
the same smell on auother tea. Then lot him reverse 
the lids showing the infused leaves. He had better then 
examine each sample of dry leaf and write down on a 
piece of paper the description of the tea, whether 
broken orange pekoe, broken pekoe, pekoe, pekoe 
souchong, souchoug, congou, pekoo dust, or ordin- 
ary dust, with any peculiarity or characteristic he 
may detect, aud iu the same way with the liquors, care- 
fully putting dowu what strikes him, whether tho 
teas arc burnt, sour, thin, strong, llavory, or pungeut. 
So far as I have read at present this was the sub- 
stance with a few corrections of my paper before thu 
Dimhula Planters' Association, and looking carefully 
through it I do not think 1 can improve upon it, but 
there aro one or two points which 1 havo not touched 
upon in connection with this subject which may 
provo instructive, say, lor instanee, tho ditforont 
kinds of flavor, such as malty, pungeut, pekoo tlavor, 
aud burnt. Tho first liavor, " malty," may be de- 
scribed as a full rich tea, suou ae teas from a good 
mauy ol the districts olggo at baud possess ; "pun. 
