THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[July i, i88r. 
Thus the faculty of sight hears an important part 
in the process of tea-tasting when valuing for the 
market. 
Our correspondent perhaps thinks that by the sense 
of sight being used, the mind exercises a certain 
amount of prejudice, either in favour of, or against 
the tea — according to its make and appearance, be- 
fore the sense of taste comes inlo play : in other 
words, before it is tasted. But this is an erroneous 
notion, as is well known by any planter of experience. 
Teas which would be condemned were they to be 
judged of and valued by their appearance, often fetch 
the best prices. If the liquor and infusion of a tea 
are good, its appearance and m"ke will in very few 
instances tell against it, or lower it in value ; if, 
however, in addition to the above good qualities it 
possesses a good appearance and make, the fact may 
increase its intrinsic value considerably. Thus the 
faculty of sight, though in itself important when 
placed in comparison with that of taste, holds a sub- 
ordinate position. 
To judge, therefore, of the real merits of a tea, and 
to enable one to arrive at its intrinsic value, it is 
essential that the three senses should be used con- 
jointly But, in addition, the senses of touch and 
hearing are also brought into play. A tea-taster as 
a rule whenever the sample permits, takes up a por- 
tion of the tea he is- tasting, to feel whether it is 
crisp ; and moreover generally puts his hand to his 
ear, to hear whether it crackles when pressure is 
exerted. By so doing he is enabled to report whether 
the tea has been efficiently fired or not. A tea-taster, 
therefore, in order to be an adept at his work, re- 
quires the full and unimpaired uses of all his five 
senses. None of the senses can be rightly used by 
themselves without the aid of the others ; each re- 
quires the help of the other in action, to enable 
one to form a true and correct judgment of the 
merits and value of a tea. — Indian Tea Gazette. 
USEFUL GAKDEN AND PLANTATION 
RECEIPTS. 
(From the Gardener's Year-Book.) 
Asphalt Walks. — 1. Take two parts of very dry 
lime rubbish and one part coal ashes, also very dry, 
and both sifted fine. In a dry place on a dry day 
mix them, and leave a hole in the middle of the 
heap, as bricklayers do when making mortar. Into 
this pour boiling hot coal tar ; mix, and when as 
stiff as mortar, put it down 3 in thich to form the 
walk. The ground should be dry and beaten smooth. 
-Sprinkle over it coarse fand ; when cold, pass a light 
roller over it, and in a few days the walk will be 
solid and waterproof. 2. An old gravel path will 
only require to Le swept clean ; a new-made one to 
be well beaten and rolled. Choose a warm day (tha 
warmer the better) ; let the tar be boiling hot ; use 
the common, long-handled, iron-bound tir-brush and 
ron kettle, holding about a gallon, for the purpose 
of taking' only so much tar from the boiler at one 
time as can be used in about a quarter of an hour, 
and paint over with a good coat. Let a lad follow 
with dry sifted sand, throwing over enough to prevent 
the tar sticking to his feet, and then go over with 
the roller. Two met) tarring will employ a lad to 
follow with the sand, and another to attend the fire 
and supply the tar as fast as used. This repeated 
every three years the surface will become quite hard, 
and the paths will always be perfectly dry and pleasant 
to walk upon even in the worst of weather. 
To Prevent Iron Gardhn Tools from Rusting. — 
If iron garden tools are laid for a few minutes in a 
solution of soda they will bo pr otected from rusting 
fv,r a long time, even if exposed continuously to a 
moist atmosphere. 
To Dissolve Bones.— Take a large watertight 
hogshead, and cover the bottom wiih about 6in. 
deep of dry soil ; on this put a layer of bones 
of the same depth, and cover them entirely with 
wood ashes ; on these another layer of bones, then 
ashes, and so on till the hogshead is full. Leave 
it exposed to the rains all summer and winter 
till spring. Then on removing the contents of the 
hogshead, the bones will crumble to powder under 
a slight pressure, and form one of the most valu- 
able manures ready for immediate use. 
To Bemove Coarse Weeds from Lawns. —Coarse 
weeds such as plantain, docks, thistles, and dan- 
delion, may be removed from lawns by the appli- 
cation of oil of vitriol. Take an old blacking-bottle 
with a wire round it to carry it by, and a stick 
to dip with. The stick should not be pointed, 
but notched round for an inch or two at the 
end, the better to hold the liquid. Just one drop 
quite in the heart of the weed is sufficient to cause 
death, and the notched stick will contain at one 
dip enough to destroy three or four plants. If 
the acid is good (it varies in strength), the work 
of death can be both seen and heard, for the 
vitriol hisses, and it burns up the weeds in a 
moment. 
Grafting Wax. — Grafting wax is very much used 
on the Continent for protecting newly. made g'afte 
instead of the clay and horsedroppings formed into 
a plaster, such as is used in this country. It is 
also of great service in covering fre h wounds in 
trees, made either by accident or design, and is a 
much more cleanly substance, as well as a more 
neat application, than the ordinary grafting clay. 
I have here furnished various formulae for making 
the grafting wax or mastic, and as I have used 
them all at various times they may be relied upon 
to answer the purpose for which they are intended. 
The first five require to be melted in an earthen 
pot over a fire, and to be applied warm, but not 
so hot as to injure the tissue of the bark with which 
it may come to contact. 1. Rosin, 1 part; yellow 
wax 1 part. 2. Black pitch, 5 parts ; rosin, 1 part ; 
yellow wax, 2 parts. 3. Burgundy pitch, 1 lb.; 
black pitch, 4oz.; yellow wax, 2oz.; rosin, 2oz.; 
mutton suet, 2 drachms. 4. Yellow wax, 2 parts ; 
suet, 1 part. 5. Black pitch, 1 part ; yellow wax, 1 
part ; suet, I part ; pounded brick, 3 parts. The 
following has not the inconvenience of requiring to 
be applied warm, and may be prepared and used 
without being heated. 6. Yellow wax, lib.; turpen- 
tine, lib.; Burgundy pitch, 8oz.; mutton suet, 4 oz. 
Melt all logether and mix thoroughly, and leave 
them to cool. Form the mass into small balls, as it 
will not stick to the fingers, and use them when op- 
portunity offers. 
Liquid Grafting Wax. — This is a very useful ap- 
plication and is, perhaps, the most convenient for 
the purpose of all the mastics used for covering wounds 
and grafting. It is of the consistency of varnish, 
and is applied very thinly with a brush- Care must 
be taken not to lay it on thickly, for the surface 
hardens so rapidly that the alcohol is prevented from 
evaporating. Rosin, lib ; beef tallow, loz. spirits of 
turpentine, 1 tablespoonful ; alcohol (95 per cent ) 6oz. 
Melt the rosin over a slow fire ; when melted take 
it off and add the Leef tallow, stirring it constantly ; 
let it cool clown somewhat, mix the spirits of tur- 
pentine little by little with it, and at last the 
alcohol in the same way. Should the alcohol 
be added while the mass is too hot, much will be 
lost by rapid evaporation ; if, on the contrary it is 
too cool, it will form a viscid lump, and must be 
slightly heated again. Stirring briskly is indispen- 
sable to mix the ingredients thoroughly. In well- 
corked bottles it keeps for years. If in course of time 
it becomes too thick, the addition of some alcohol 
