360 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [October i, 1881. 
not get it would have rejoiced had I given up. Of 
course they would decry the thing they won't sell 
and set themselves still more stoutly against it. The 
error lies entirely in adopting special agency. By 
very extensively advertizing and free distribution of 
samples, a trade to support one agency in a town 
could be made, but the expense of advertizing would 
be capital thrown away, as to draw the trade out 
of the hands of grocers would cost what, would 
be far out of proportion to ordinary advertizing re- 
sults. Besides, if you do establish agencies whenever 
the tea comes to be taken up by grocers the agencies 
will collapse. In a former letter I gave my idea as 
to how Ceylon tea growers might do. I suggested 
blending of teas, putting up in small packets and 
placing it in the hands of those who will take it up, 
who have already a connection with consumers and 
who would not be dependent on the sale of the 
tea for a living. Care would have to be taken 
that the qualities at different prices be kept uni- 
form, Not only is there difference in Ceylon teas 
from excellent all the way down to what will 
not drink alone, but single estates' tea varies a little. 
The defects of badly manufactured tea must be con- 
cealed by judicious blending with good tea. Now that 
so many estates are going in for tea there will be 
lots of 'prentice work — seeking purchasers. You cannot 
expect to come up to Loolecondera or Windsor Forest 
at once, and if 3rd and 4th class teas be retailed as 
Ceylon tea, they will damage the trade. At present 
grocers prefer to sell their own blends. Before you 
can get them to take it up and give a price for it, 
you must create a demand. The cheapest way of 
doing so is by getting bakers and confectioners to add 
it to their trade ; their progress would be slow for a 
time, but they would not be hopelessly sinking 
money as agencies would. This would be a begin- 
ning throughout the country, and in time grocers 
would be glad to take to it. One other quotation 
from Mr. Mackenzie's letter. He says: — " Of course, 
the whole secret would be in advertizing, and this 
should be done not only at home but in the local 
papers here, with, at the foot of each advertizement, 
a note: — ' Please cut this out and enclose it in your 
next home letter.' Say 100 only responded to this 
and each house used 2 lb. of tea a week, there are 
10,000 lb. per annum disposed of at once." I am 
sure I am under the mark when I say not a family 
in a hundred uses 2 lb. of tea per week. The great 
majority require only J lb. per week. Retail sales 
of over 1 lb. are so few as to be of no consideration 
in determining the size of packets. The quantities 
consumers will buy may be guessed from an order 
for bags I have in the printer's hands. They are or-, 
dered by weight, but multiplied by the number in 1 
lb. The numbers are as follows :— 120 bags 1 lb. size, 
560 in \ lb. size, and 2,160 in \ lb. size. Packet 
teas are not usually put up in less than 4 oz., but I 
sell 2 oz. nearly as often as 4 oz. 
The main argument in favour of a Syndicate adopt- 
ing packets, is that by doing so they get a better 
price, as packets are sold at a much smaller profit 
than loose tea. Should, however, a Syndicate dis- 
card that idea and seek agents — not special agen- 
cies—to sell from bulk, the possibility of unprin- 
cipled dealers offering other teas as the Syndicate's 
tea or as Ceylon tea may be prevented by each 
agent being furnished with a large show card, 
having a notice, : — "Our teas can be had only from 
those furnished with this card." 
Having sunk my money in the cause of Ceylon 
tea in Aberdeen, I shall expect the sole agency for 
the Syndicate's tea in this town. There is no doubt 
of ultimate popularity for Ceylon tea. Grocers will 
continue to believe in their blends and push such as 
they have the most profit on till a demand be created; 
and this must be brought about by those who have 
a connection with consumers. Special agencies are 
out of the way and are certain to disappoint their 
promoters, so very slow is the progress made. I will 
be happy to give proof in figures to any Ceyloa 
gentleman who has interest iu tea that nearly 10 
months of a special agency has not been sufficient te 
reach a paying point. But for my Observer connection 
and the kindness of Mr. Ferguson,— that brought 
customers from England, led to calls and purchases 
by planters on leave, and brought me these few constant 
patrons already mentioned,—! certainly would have 
had to uive up. My sales continue to increase slowly, 
and with them my hopes of ultimate success. 
Champion Young Gum Trees.— It will be of in- 
terest to compare the growth of gum tree3 in Cey- 
lon with that of Australia and New Zealand, as 
shewn in the following letter to the Australasian : — 
" D. J." writing from " Khull's B,ange," deems it 
worthy of public record that he grew a blue gum tree in 
four years from seed, which is now 18ft. high, and 13£in. 
in girth. Now as I happen to have several thousand 
of the same age (four years next September from 
seed), I went out and measured the largest, and found 
as follows :— Height, 35ft. ; girth at butt, 3lin. There 
is one 34in. in girth, but two years ago the top was 
broken off, and since then its strength has developed 
in the shape of corpulence. I have seven' score of 
trees nearly approaching to the above in size, and all 
(about six thousand) look healthy. They were all 
transplanted from the seed bed, but this season I 
had intended, and am fortified by your remarks, to 
plant out seed where I mean the trees to grow. I 
planted out same year red gum, stringybark, iroubark, 
peppermint, and swamp gum ; but although these 
all thrive, they do not grow anything like the Eu- 
calyptus globulus or blue gum ; but incline more to- 
be ornamental than useful. Without venturing ttt 
claim for my tree a championship amongst four years 
old, I, just for the sake of inviting comparison "with, 
other growers, throw down the gage for championship 
of the aforesaid tree. E. O. S. 
Whakatane, Bay of Plenty, N. Z. 
A New Enemy of the Cinchona Tree. — A Dim- 
bula planter has brought us a specimen of a pooehie 
found in the heart of a cinchona tree, where he bad 
eaten a long passage for himself, the entrance being 
concealed by a mass of web and sawdust. This grab 
is evidently the larva of a moth belonging to the 
family Hepialidae. The following description of the 
habits of the larva of Hepialus lignivorus, taken 
from the "Naturalist's Library," vol. 37, page 107. 
agrees very much with the doings of the larva under 
notice : — "The larva forms a lodgement or chamber 
in the centre of a stem of a species of casuarina 
or the she-oak of the colony [Sierra Leone], and 
feeding upon the bark and sappy wood directly 
above the entrance, eating round the stem and care- 
fully hiding its dilapidations by weaving fragments 
of wood and bark, which it gnaws off, in a strong 
web ; forming at once a fortification and disguise of 
considerable bulk and thickness round the stem, under 
which in a winding cylindric passage, the larva con- 
stantly keeps its body while at work, alternately 
gnawing and weaving; but retires to the chamber 
111 the stem to repose. Across the mouth of the 
chamber it spins a close web, and changes to a pupa 
iu January, soon after which the concealing fabric, 
to form which the larva took so much pains, falls 
away. It remains in the pupa state about twenty-five 
days." We trust that these grubs will not show 
a general partiality for cinchonas in preference to- 
casuarinas. 
