May i, 1889.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 79r 
Community on the shareholders' list by that date 
to select from, to add to their Board of Directors. 
— Youra truly, PLANTEE. 
THE LObSES ON TEA AT THE LONDON 
WAEEHOUSES. 
Dear Sir, — Since writing to you concerning the 
taring of tea packages, I have read what your 
London correspondent says on the subject. He 
quotes a gentleman as having assured him of 
" every endeavour being made. .. .to prevent waste 
and to secure accuracy of weighing ;" whilst in the 
same breath the same informant acknowledges that 
1 lb. is allowed on every 50 lb. package of tea for 
the draft of scaling, equal to 2 per cent ; and that 
the mode of taring resulted in another loss of 2 
per cent. This then is the boasted accuracy of 
weighing ! and is 4 per cent loss a mere trifle ? 
Let me pat it in another way. Supposing an 
estate shipped 60,000 lb. of tea and netted 10c! per 
lb. ; this would be equal to £2,500 sterling. Now 
deduct this 4 per cent loss ; the total is reduced 
to 57,600 lb. of tea, which at lOd per lb. means 
only £2,400 sterling, or in other words a loss of 
£100, and at exchange of about Is 4|d, Bl, 432-83. 
Put in this way the loss is seen to be by no 
means insignificant. 
I venture to say that your correspondent's infor- 
mant would feel very aggrieved and would not 
speak so nonchalantly about it, if his money being 
invested, say in a concern yielding 5 per cent 
interest, the dividends were suddenly reduced to 
1 per cent. 
Again, is it legal on the part of the Custom 
House to allow the 1 lb. on every 50 lb. package 
of tea for the draft of scaling, or to ignore the 
fractions of alb.? I doubt it. Custom is not 
legality, &s planters have learnt to their cost in 
respect to monthly labourers I would advocate a 
test case being instituted by the Ceylon Associa- 
tion in London. Let a few half-chests of tea be 
bought in Colombo and shipped by the Tea Fund 
Committee, and when the certain deduction is 
made, a case instituted in a court of law. The 
Committee would be using the funds to very good 
purpose, if thereby it succeeded in getting this 
impost done away with. 
Your correspondent says, referring to the 4 per 
cent loss : " Of which, of course, the buyer obtains 
the advantage." Does not the buyer gain euough 
profit on his purchase, without this illegal one 
obtained at the cost of the producers' pockets? 
Why should he then have the advantage of it? I 
believe that planters as a body would be quite 
satisfied if quarters of a pound only were taken 
into consideration, and that they would not wish to 
push matters further ; but the iniquitous allowance 
of 1 lb. pt-r 50 lb. packet should be entirely done 
away with. — I am, sir, yours faithfully, D. G. 
CEYLON TEA IN WESTERN AMERICA. 
Dear Sir, — In reference to the correspondence 
between Mr. J. M. Murray, and the establishment 
of an agency for our Ceylon teas at Denver, 
Colorado, I am gHd to hear of Mr. Murray's 
efforts to push our teas. Mr. Murray was my 
next door neighbour on Epplewatte, in Dolosbage. 
I was on Malgolla at the time, and used to lend 
him my spare labour, and go down ard work 
the coolies at Mr. Murray's request. 
I also know his agent, Mr. H. N.Tod, whom he 
has appointed in Denver, And I should say a bettpr 
and more likely person could not be found than Mr. 
Tod, and one who, I feel sure, will do his best 
for us. Mr. Tod and I were planters to- 
gether in North Travancore, Peermaad. He was 
in charge of an estate and a store at 
the time, of my arrival in' the district 
from Ceylon ; this was in 1880. The store Mr. 
Tod was in charge of belonged to Mr. Probyn, 
who at the time had gone home on leave. And 
it was a general store, where you could get almost 
anything — coolies' coats, biscuits, liquor, &o.\ so 
that Mr. Tod will be quite the business man wanted 
to handle and push our teas. 
Mr. Tod says he is no doubt acquainted with 
' some of your Ceylon friends', and so I write this, 
and trust he will make more friends soon, and 
shall always be glad to hear of his good fortune 
and success, which in his hands cannot fail.— Yours 
truly, JAMES GRAY. 
TEA : WHO MAKES THE PROFITS ? 
Dear Sir, — In a letter received from home only 
by the last mail from a mater-familias, she writes : — 
•' Tea has gone up in price since Christmas. I 
always make a point of asking for Ceylon tea, 
and now pay Id to ljd more than at the stores." ! — 
Who makes the money now lost by the planters 
at present wholesale prices? T. GROWER. 
[Echo answers, 117/0 * — Ed.] 
COCONUT CULTURE : " OLD PLANTER " 
AND THE AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL. 
The Jungle, 16th April, 1889. 
Dear Sir, — I think that instead of owing an 
apology to the teachers of the Agricultural School, 
I have laid them under an obligation in affording 
them an opportunity of officially contradicting a 
report injurious to their scientific reputation. I 
regret, however, that it did not occur to me to 
call on the head of the . institution to plead to 
the indictment. 
The thing happened exactly as stated, and the 
gentleman who appealed to the teaching of the A. S., 
assured me that he had it direct from a student 
of the institution. " C. D." can hardly be aware of 
the number of planters of no mean standing, who 
accept the smoke bath theory, and who have seen 
marvellous results from its use. It might not be 
so very far amiss to tackle the human voice theory 
in the event of a number of otherwise in- 
telligent and well-informed gentlemen accepting and 
trusting to it. 
The custom of burning rubbish and the suggested 
plan of paring and burning, are outside the smoke 
bath controversy, and stand or fall by their own 
merits. 
Though I used the word " carbon " improperly, it 
was not in ignorance of the fact that plants take 
their carbon in the form of gas only ; but my 
scientific education was neglected in my youth, 
and in picking up bits and scraps afterwards, I 
attended more to facts than forms. Self-teaching 
is not favourable to precision. 
I sincerely hope that the Agricultural School 
may flourish, and grow in reputation and useful- 
ness till the crack of doom. O. P. 
[This letter has been delayed in transmission. 
We considered "C. D V letter quite sufficient in 
defence of the Aj. ricultural School, and we can 
find no room for the lttters of "W. A. D. S." and 
"H. D. L.' on much the same lines. — Ed ] 
COOONUT CULTIVATION. 
April 24th, 1S89- 
Dear Sir, — I had almost forgotten "A. B. O." 's letter 
attempting to controvert my theory tbat the inability 
of coconut trees in the inland districts to support their 
fruit bunches without artificial aid may be due to a 
