479 
THF TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. January i, 1889. 
and Dawson, tea merchants, invite visitors in the most 
cordial manner to visit tbeir tea sampling and recep- 
tion rooms in one of the minor courts, where excellent 
tea is served in the afternoon and evening. The stand 
erected by the Tea Planters' Association of Ceylon is 
unique in its character and the place is thronged all 
the afternoon with persous anxious to avail themselves 
of the open invitation given. It is novel to many of 
the visitors to be waited upon by two natives, one a 
Sinhalese, the other a Tamil from the southern 
portion of Hindustan. But the great novelty is 
in the tea itself. The clear amber fluid dispensed 
is so different to the highly favoured, mixed and 
manufactured teas of commerce, that the majority of 
people at their first visit vote it peculiar rather than 
attractive in flavour. But there is some fascination 
about it, for a second trial he gets a desire for a third 
and many visitors eventually order cases, protesting 
that they cannot drink the ordinary tea again. The 
Oeyloa tea resembles a little the Japanese variety which 
is drunk throughout the United States, but more in 
colour and freedom from adulteration than in actual 
aroma. To a young country like Australia it is highly- 
encouraging to see in how few years comparatively 
an immense trade can grow up by means of a staple 
production. In 1877 the exports of tea from Ceylon 
were 1775 lb. The estimated crop for 1889 is 
32,000,0001b. Ceylon contains a little over 15,000,000 
acres of land altogether. At present only 3,000,000 
acres out of, say, 12,000,000 available are under cul- 
tivation. Wh6n we compare the size of Victoria, 
with its 87,884 square miles of territory, and the 
Australian Continent, which gives a total of 2.944,828 
square miles, we can fairly gauge the possibilities 
of the various industries that are being established 
throughout the land. Irrigation, combined with scien- 
tific methods of cultivation and the genial Austra- 
lian climate, should give results which at present can 
scarcely enter into the dreams of the most sanguine. 
Sylhet Oranges.-— We had the pleasure of receiving 
today a very acceptable parcel of Sylhet Oranges 
from Dr. Stork, grown on his property at Heneratgoda, 
Comillah estate. They are very like mandarins, but 
larger and with a distinct flavour, and should prove a 
welcome addition to Ceylon grown fruit, — Local 
"Examiner," Dec. 6th. 
Tropical Fruits. — The Divison of Pomology of 
the United States Department of Agriculture has 
published a report of the tropical and semi-tropical 
fruits grown in the Southern States. The report has 
been prepared by Mr. H. S. van Deman, chief of 
the Pomological Department. The several fruits are 
enumerated, and details given as to their culture, 
and the insects and diseases to which they are sub- 
jected. —Gardeners' Chronicle. 
Thf Vine. — A French vigneron, M. Chatin, has 
just communicated to the Academy of Sciences 
the result of some very remarkable experiences 
with the phylloxera. He has a well-known vineyard 
at Meyzieux Isere, which has been preserved all 
through these loDg phylloxera-visited years of sunny 
France— like an oaBis in a desert— not only from 
phylloxera, but mildew, black-rot, et hoc genus ornne 
altogether. He ascribes his protection to his 
particular treatment of the manures for the soils 
of his vineyard. He has all along treated them 
to the following manures :— First, he has a sys- 
tematic process of nipping ; then he applies a strong 
manure, which includes granulated phosphorus 
and products, with a base of potash, nitrogen, lime, 
cVc. The rial facts of the case are that vines 
are highly-civilized plants. They live freely and 
yield freely. You can no more hope to get good 
and perj etually good crops of grapes without feed- 
ing the plant well, than you could get good speechos 
from your own Parliament unless the speakers 
bad well dir "l and— liquored.— Dr. Taylor in the 
" AuitraUtiiaii.'' 
Cinchona Bare from Jamaica. — A somewhat un- 
usual feature at Tuesday's cinchona auctions was the 
sale of 87 bags of cinchona from the Jamaica planta- 
tions. The bags were rather light (the whole parcel 
weighed only 5,936 lbs-), and they were the proceeds 
of the importations from what island during the last 
three months. As during the whole of 1887 the ship- 
ments of cinchona from Jamaica reached 17,009 lb., 
we need not anticipate any alarming competition 
from that, quarter just yet. In appearance the 
Jamaica bark sold yesterday was decidedly inferior, 
the twigs which seemed to belong to the Crown variety, 
being weak, broken, and apparently the produce of 
young or sickly trees. The alkaloidal value of the 
our parcels is given as follows: — 
Quinine sulphate Total alkaloid 
per cent. 
39 bags, selling at 5Jd. per lb. = 2 83 t 54 
12 „ „ 5d. „ =247 3-58 
25 „ „ 4§d. „ =3-58 1-97 
11 „ 2£d. to 3d. „ _ 1-37 2 12 
— Chemist and Druggist, Nov. 24th. 
The Retail Price of Tea in Germany. — The 
Deutsche Handels-Archiv, the official commercial 
publication of Germany, in its last issue discusses 
the reasons for the small consumption of tea in 
that country, and comes to the conclusion that 
the enormous retail price is the main cause. II 
thinks that the spread of tea-drinking in the 
country is greatly to be desired, but this is im- 
possible as long as the retail dealers persevere in 
charging the present excessive prices. It instances 
the establishments in the West-end of London 
where the average price for tea of medium quality 
is Is. 6d. per pound, including the heavy English 
duty of 6d. per pound, and the finer sorts may be 
obtained at 2s. ; while in Germany the retail prices 
begin at 3s. a pound for the poorest qualities, 
and go up to 9s. For German retail dealers it 
would seem that the large and universal fait in 
the prices of tea in the last twenty years has 
never existed ; yet in England the tea that was 
2s. 6d. a pound in 1866 was 2s. ljd. in 187C, 
and is now Is. 6d. a pound. — L. fy. C. Express. 
The Bioe Trade of India as affected by the 
export duty is thus dealt with by Lord 
Cross in a despatch to the Indian Government : — 
RICE, 
Quantity 
Value of 
Duty 
Exported. 
Exports. 
Received. 
Cwt. 
Ex. 
Rx. 
1881-82 
28,888,421 
8,308,167 
762,268 
1882-83 
31,258,288 
8,476,327 
832,312 
1883-84 
27,040,330 
8,363,280 
719,068 
1881-85 
22,051,532 
7.192,197 
588,394 
1885-86 
28,222,595 
9,247,126 
743,849 
1886-87 
26,879,272 
8,836,827 
708,422 
" Nor can it be assumed that it will be possible to 
maintain all the existing sources of revenue. The 
question of the duty now levied on the export of rice 
will continue to be a subject for discussion. The 
economical objections to it have always been evident ; 
but it was held that the duty was rendered less 
injurious by the fact that India and Burma pos- 
sessed an almost complete monopoly of the supply 
of rice to Europe. Mr. O'Conor refers, in the 97th 
paragraph of his Review of the Trade of India in 
1886 87, to the stagnation of the rice trade ; and, in 
the 30th paragraph, he remarks that it has ' much 
to contend with since the fall in price of all the other 
material used for distillation and starch, such as 
potatoes, rye, barley, maize ; even wheat has been 
used for the manufacture of starch, so low has the 
prioe fallen.' There has been no increase in the 
exports of rioe since 18S1-S2, and in those from 
Bengal especially there seems to have been j. marked 
reduction; and the iimount collected as duty thereon 
shews a tendency to diminish. This id a subjeot 
which will no doubt receive the attention of, jom 
Government," 
