Novemekr r, X888.J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
299 
Mosquitoes. — Bather late in the day, although 
the white- barred mosquitoes now devouring us 
are the most blood thirsty and venomous of all, 
the Scientific American of lilh July shows how the 
tormenting insects can be banished from our rooms. 
The paper says: — To expel mosquitoes take of gum 
cumphor a piece about one-third the size of a 
hen's egg, and evaporate it by placing it in a tin 
vessel, and, holding it over a lamp, taking care it 
does not ignite. The smoke will soon fill the room 
and expel the mosquitoes, and even though the 
windows should be left open all night, they will 
not enter the room as long as the odour remains. 
Tea : New Constituent. — At a recent meetn g of 
the Berlin Physiological Society, Professor Kiissel 
announced the discovery of a new constituent in 
tea, Lu which he has given the name of theojthyllin- 
The physiological action 01 this is still under 
investigation, and if it proves to bo a stimulant, 
as supposed, and does not exist in coffee, the 
casos of people who can drink strong coffee with 
little nervous disturbance, but arc excited by tea, 
are explained. They have become tolerant of the 
theine which exists in both tea and coffee (as 
opium-eaters becometolurant of morphia in moderate 
quantities, arsenio-eaUrs of arsenic, smokers of 
niootine, etc.), but not of the theophyllin, which 
operates upon them with a fresh energy compara- 
ble to the nicotine of the schoolboy's first cigar. — 
Times of India. 
Tea in 1781. — The following is an old grocer's 
bill oi 1781 (the year of Dr. Johnson's death), which 
shows tho prico of tea at that period : — 
Mr. Pritt. London, 1784. 
Hot. of Ceo. Roberts. 
Kino ( ongou tea 1 lb. ... («> 6/8 ... £,,68 
Kmc Spk. Lf. Siuglo ... 1 ... @ 8/ ... „ 8 0 
Loaf Sugar 14 ... (a 8d ... „ 9 4 
hupr Fine Hyson ... { ... @ 16/ ... „ 4 0 
Fine Souchoug« \ ... @ 10, ... „ 2 6. 
Ml. Sugar 4 ... @ 5d ... ,, 1 8 
£1 12 2 
K> ceiled the same time, U. Roberts. - 
lf Johnson, as Mucaulay says, was in the habit 
of nulling to his " thirty-seventh cup of lea " when 
he was asked out, lie must have been rather an 
expensive acquaintance. — -Overland Mail, 
LmiiT ok Road Baii.ways.— -The .Sr. James's 
has the following note, and the subject deserves 
further inquiryun iho interests of Ceylon: — "Mr. 
Mellon lias been reading down at liath a paper in 
favour of ' Light or It ml Railways,' and fortifying 
his arguments with facts drawn from tho experience 
of the Wolvuton and Stony Straiford Company. - 
This line has 1 nly been working, it appears, some 
eighteen months; but it already carries the entire 
population 01 the district once a week besides deal- 
ing with tho whole of the goods, parcel, and mail 
traffic to and from the main London and North- 
Western line. Though this is not the only line of 
Hi ' land in the country — as there is Lord Wantage's 
lino at tho station of the santo name, and another, 
we behove, in Iho neighbourhood of Wisbech — there 
can be no doubt that tho systom is capablo of vory 
great extension. Un the Continent they are well 
aware that many districts can support a light rail- 
way, whose traffic would not justify the coi siruction 
of heavy engineering works. In the country parts 
of Holland more especially there is hardly a market 
town which has not -its lino ol steam tramway 
running up into the slatieu-yar.l. Mr. Sellon does 
well to nil on 0110 point : that tho line shall be 
of standard gauge, so that trucks may pass from 
railway to tramway and ric. n ICM without the delay 
and injury whiuh must always bo caused by the 
pro-coda kuowu uj 1 breaking bull..' " 
The Botanic Gakdens, Trinidad.— When Mr. Hart" 
scarcely more than a year ago, assumed the auperin 
tendence of the gardens, he found tbem in rather a 
backward and dilapidate I condition. An interregnum 
of twelve months had intervened between his appoint- 
ment and the. retirement of his predecessor, and during 
that lime the gardens bad been under the superin- 
tendence of a clerk from the island Audit Office. The 
wm k was done as well as could have been expected ; 
still many things were out of order, and many improve- 
ments had instantly to be made. Mr. Hart set vigor- 
ously to work, and with the efficient co-operation of 
his Excellency Sir William Robinson, K. c. M. G , he- 
has been able to do wonders. We admire his courage 
and his ability, and wo sincerely wish him all success 
in bis important labours. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 
The BbobN'X "Rig" in Coffee has caused large 
fortunes to change hands in Hamburg, and it is te- 
lieved that "bonr" operators in London, who have 
been speculating through the Hamburg and Havre 
Clearing Houses, have incurred loss. The estimated 
liabilities to deliver Santos coffee in Hamburg at 
the end of September are about 1UO,000 bags. Of this 
amount about 30,000 bags are on passage, so that 
a residue of 70,000 bags must be delivered either from 
existing stocks, or carried over until the next monih. 
The moving spirit of the rise is stated to be a 
Hamburg firm, which lias dealt hitherto very 
fairly with the bear operators, but the matter 
has now entered on a new stage, the Hamburg 
Liquidation-Kasse having given out that it will 
book no further engagements for September, unless 
the sellers, bring a guarantee of their ability to deliver. 
The unprecedented advance has been from 86 
pfennig per lb. on the 4th inst. to 250 pfennig on the 
7th. At the last figures the " bulls " nelt accord- 
ing to report some £2,000,000 sterling. At Antwerp 
the same wild gambling is going on. Measures 
are demanded to put a stop to this abuse. — 
L. & V. Express, Sept. 14th. 
" The Tea We Drink " is the subject of a 
long discussion in the London Standard files, 
chii By through correspondence, but also 
editorially, and good cannot fail to result to the 
producers of the pure article. Several old colonists 
at homo send us copies of tho issues, and Mr. 
John Hughes writes a letter on the subject which 
will be dealt with later on. Tho ball was opened 
by a teaplanter signing "B. M.," who wrote "to 
protest against the vile rubbish now being sold in 
London and all over the country as tea." A shoal 
of replies followed from "Mincing Lane," "A 
Merchant," "Export," "Manager of a Tea Company," 
"Indian Tea," " C. S.," "Meroury," " W. E. W.," 
and so on. Some of the letters are amusing 
reading. Wo make one extract now concerning our- 
selves more particularly : — 
" With reference to the romarks of 'Mincing Lane' 
about Ceylon C. S. writes: — Let me assnro yon that 
the soil of Ceylon is not at all likely to ' give out.' 
Tho tea plant is a deep feeder, with a long tap 
root, which touches a soil which may be called 
virgin, and of which there is a great depth all 
through tho tea districts of the island ; and as to 
quality, that will improve as tho bushes mature. 
Tho finest tea comes from tho oldest gardens. Thoro 
is, I believe, a markod similarity between Ceylon 
Tea and tho tino qualities of China which used to 
reach this country ; and it is owing to this that 
Ceylon is in such demand. But 'Mincing Laue ' id 
wrong in stating that there has been a decided 
reaction lately in favour of tho two teas — it may be 
so in the case of China — hut Ceylon has beon in 
favour all along. Auothor correspondent says: — The 
writer who sq.us himself ' Muiciug Lane,' today 
must havo a peculiarly constructed palalo when ho 
can drink and enjoy lid Congou. Such a palate 
would loudly discriminate between carbolic »cid and 
Irish whisky." 
