August i, i 888.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
HORTICULTURE IN CEYLON AND JAPAN. 
Messrs. Cocking & Co., of Yokohama, Japan, 
in writing for a copy of our Directory and send- 
ing their subscription for the Trapical Agriculturist, 
make some inquiries, which we oonsider are worth 
publishing on account of their interest to horti- 
culturists. Their letter says : — 
"The writer is much interested in horticultural 
matters, having a largo private garden, and if the 
editor of your Tropical Agriculturist is acquainted 
with anyone in Ceylon who makes it a business to 
collect and ship plants, we shall be very much 
obliged to be placed in communication with such 
person. 
" We are wanting some specimen plants of Cyca.s 
circmalis with stems from G to 10 feet or so 
long, and should like to know the probable cost of. 
same. There is also a very tall bamboo growing in 
Ceylon, which we should like to get; also names of 
tree ferns, orchids, etc., or in fact any interesting 
plants we should like to have particulars of." 
We submitted this letter to Dr. Trimen, who has 
kindly favoured us with a reply, in which he 
says : — 
" There are really very few Ceylon plants etheir 
wild or cultivated here that would grow in Japan, 
oxcept some of our hill kinds. I think, howover, 
that the Cycas circiiialis, a plant of quite excep- 
tional hardmoss and vitality, would do there. Tho 
giant bamboo would be very unlikely to succeed, 
nor would it be possible to transport a specimen. 
Moreover, they have as fine bamboos of their 
own there. 
" The reverse of tho above is equally true. It is 
rarely that any Japanese plants are found to suc- 
ceed here even in our hills. At Hakgala at all 
events we have been very unsuccessful in raising 
plants from Japanese seed. The conifers are best 
worth trying perhaps, especially the species of 
Qhtotnncypans called ' Sawara ' and ' Hinoki ' in 
Japan, and of Podocarpus called ' Koya-maki.' 
There is also a fine Magnolia (' Honoki ') which 
might do with us. 
" 1 could no doubt suggest a few more as possibly 
worth a trial here by looking through the Japanese 
llora systematically." 
TEA AND OPIUM AT FOOCHOW. 
Mr. Hannen'a roport from Foochow deals chiefly with 
the questions of opium and tea. The new system of 
collecting lektn on opium has not only led to a slightly 
larger importation of the drug, but has " given a 
Stimulus to the spread of appreciation and consump- 
tion oi opium generally such as is likely to afford more 
satisfaction to the trader than the philanthropist." It 
will l>u remembered that earl v in the year there were 
complaints of the high rates charged for the storage 
i f opium iu the Customs' bonded godown. Mr. Han- 
neu makrs no reference to these complaints; but he 
Writes enthusiastically of the convenience that this 
Institution has afforded to the Ohinese importer, 
who will soon be enabled by it to exclude tho foreign im- 
port er alt igether. " Formerly, owing to tho valuable 
Character of the article, none but those who had largo 
capital ami .suitable premises, iu regard to security 
against tin or robbery, were in a position to hold 
•looks; n )w anyone may do so iu large or small quan- 
tlties.witb the facilities and security provided by tho 
Customs boLdiog system ." As to the competition of 
Dative opium i the India import, Mr. Hanneu 
says that thore is uo thing much moro reliable 
Ulan rumour to the etfeet that the new Conven- 
tion has given a cousiderable impetus to its eulliv- 
UOD. Mr. Hamuli is hopeful that tho rocent roporta 
by the various foreign Chambers of Commerce, on tho 
nnpi necessary to ruuabilltuto the Uhina tea trade 
will not be neglected by tho L'liineso govern 
meut, and that " it will not bo long before a re- 
vival takes place such as to place China tea in its 
proper position in tho world's consumption and ap- 
preciation :" and he is comforted by the assurances 
of some of the most experienced merchants in 
Foochow that " China has little to fear from her 
Indian rival," — if her teas are only brought up to 
the standard of twonty years ago— for the Indian 
teas themselves " already begin to shew signs of 
deterioration similar to those which now at length 
are engaging the serious attention of the Chinese 
government." The critic might be disposed to ask, 
what is the "proper position" of China tea, and 
how is it to be determined ? How much has it really 
declined from the standard of twenty years ago ? — 
for we must remember that we are all of us 
laiulatoren tsmporis acti, and that we have to trust 
entirely to memory for a comparison — and, is Iudian 
tea shewing such signs of deterioration as Mr. Han- 
nen mentions? for if it is, they certainly do not 
arise from the causes mentioned by the Foochow 
Chamber of (Jommerce in the oase of China tea, — 
N.-Q. Herald, June 29th. 
COFFEE AND THE NEW LONDON CLEAR- 
ING HOUSE. 
(From I A. Rucker & Ben c raft's Weekly Price 
Current.) 
London, June, 28tii 1888. 
Coffee. — London Produce Clearing House. — Tho 
statutory meeting of the above Company was held last 
week at the Cannon Street Hotel, E. 0., under the 
presidency of Mr. F.J. Johnston. 
The Chairman said that, although they had only 
mbt iu obedience to the requirements of the Com. 
panics Act, and had neither report nor motion to 
submit to the shareholders, yet the Hoard were glad 
to have the opportunity of stating, somewhat more fully 
than could be done iu a prospectus, the grounds on 
which the Company had been formed. Some of them 
were old enough no l-emernber the time when, in the 
absence of ocean telegraphs, aud even of steamers, 
merchants had to guess for weeks and mouths ahead 
what was passing on the other side of the globe, and 
their representatives could only deal with their mer- 
chandise a few days before the goods actually arrived 
— the arrival of the merchandise and the advice of 
its purchase being alike dependent on the slow and 
uncertain speed of sailiug-3hips. Those were the dark 
ages of commerce, very favourable, no doubt, to the 
sagacity and foresight of individuals, but exposing us to 
those disastrous commercial crises — the result of overtrad- 
ing — which were witnessed iu 1857 and 1847, and preced- 
ing decades, wheu those who held commercial bills 
found themselves in so many cases the victims of very 
unsatisfactory paper contracts. Along with the d«- 
velopment of ocean telegraphy a complete change had 
come over commerce. The merchant abroad had lost 
his initiative, and the movements of trade were now 
entirely directed from the great consuming centres 
of Europe and the United States, where the chief tra- 
ding capitalists and fullest trading information were 
found. Tho foreign merchant had thus ceased to be 
an adventurer, and had become transformed into a 
mere agent, anxious by an increased volume of busi- 
ness and complete security of sale to obtain com- 
pensation for the reduced profits which resulted 
from the much keener competition induced by th« 
more universal knowledge of aud greater facilities for 
trado now existing iu all parts of the world. The 
manufacturer too could no longer continue the anti- 
quated system of buying, storing, and insuring the 
i .""Is necessary to cover his forward contracts, for 
if he did ho ho fouud himself placed at a great dis- 
advantage with those of his competitors who could 
command the samo security of delivery without in- 
curring warehousing ami insuring charges or loss of 
iuturest on capital. All that proved that here there 
was a want of methods and institutions which would 
give facility aud security to forward pun-bases 
and sales ; and when i* was remembered that 
sin ti methods and institutions existed abroad, 
