688 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [February i, 1882. 
occupied by the Hon'ble Judge Stewart, I was asked 
to name some old foreigu trees growing in the grounds, 
and amongst them were trees of the Eugenia acris 
and Pimenta. About a fortnight ago, I went to see 
these trees, in reference to the correspondence in your 
columns on the subject of introducing Pimento to 
Ceylon, and found several trees of E. acris, and one 
of E. Pimenta, but no fruits or flowers on them ; 
and Mr. Auwardt, who now occupies the house, says 
he has not seen them in flower lately." There is no 
lack of information in books on the subject of 
pimento, but to everyone who wants full informa- 
tion on this or any other useful plant, I beg strongly 
to refer them to Bentley and Trimen's magnificent 
work, consisting of 4 quarto volumes of coloured 
plates from the living plants or authentic specimens, 
with every information, scientific, as well as familiar, 
and references to every author of any consequence 
who preceded them, and who had written on the 
plants figured and described in this work, the title 
of which briefly is Bentley and Trimen's Medicinal 
Plants. I notice that the Planters' Association intend 
getting up a library of useful books of reference, 
and this work should be one of the first selected. 
—Yours truly, W. FERGUSON. 
[Our readers must, of course, understand that we 
do not confine the term "New Products" to new 
introductions into Ceylon : in that case, strictly speak- 
ing, very few of what are popularly known as new 
products could be so designated : tea having been pro- 
duced and manufactured here by the Brothers Worms 
forty years ago, and old trees of cocoa growing in 
Ceylon for a generation back. We called Pimento a new 
product in the sense of European planters in Ceylon, 
beginning for the first time now to pay attention to it 
for its commercial va.lne. — Ed] 
Report or the Experimental Gardens at Bur- 
mah. — Mr. J. Petley has submitted to the Chief 
Commissioner of British Burmah a report on the cultiva- 
tion of tea, coffee, cinchona and potatoes in the Karen 
hills, North-east of Toungoo. Towards the end of 1880, 
large numbers of mole crickets made their appearance, 
and caused much destruction amongst the young tea 
and coffee plants by nipping off the tops. Of the growth 
of tea, we are told that th' re are now 1,000 trees, three 
years old, uninjured ; 2,000 of two years' old ; 8,000 
one year old ; 7,500 used in filling up vacancies, and 
5,000 new trees planted out this year ; so that the 
plantation should shew 32,500 healthy and flourishing 
plants. Of 25,636 young plants of coffee sown out last 
season, 20,000 were destroyed by the ravages of the 
mole cricket, and the unusual heat of March and April 
1880. The ground has, however, been all filled up again, 
and the garden return shows 1,447 trees from four 
to five years old; 3,620 two yeais old, o? which 
number 2,000 are bearing ; 5,636 one year old, 
and 24,000 sown out last Julv. The plantations 
have thus 34,703 heal" by and flourishing coffee plants. 
There are also 4,878 cinchona trees, amongst which 
the loss has been very slight, and of which the report 
speaks hopefully. Before extending the cinchona 
gardens, the superintendent is awaiting an analy- 
sis of some trial shipments of bark sent to London. 
The attempt to grow potatoes on the Karen hills, 
as a dry-peaaon crop, has proved a fadure. The 
plants tuffer from the ravages of deer, grubs, and 
insects to an extent which makes the crop a dead 
loss. Of the main crop, the importation of seed 
was 21,2901b., of which 9,700 lb. rotted off before 
sowing ; one-fourth of the balance rotted away in 
the ground after sowing : so that only 8,690 lb, ol seed 
fchrmmatcd and yielded a crop. This quantity of 
geed produced a crop of 4S,776 Lb. It is hoped that 
this quantity will k'x-p well, and that, although she 
dry Season crop fails, the main crop of potatoes may 
be established in the Karen hills.— Indian Daily New*. 
"Date Coffee, " which under the promotership of 
a celebrated, but not too popular, financier, was 
a nine days' wpnder, especially to those who were bold 
enough to drink it, is making a fine harvest for the law- 
yers. Not only is its patent being disputed in the 
courts, but the right of journalists to say that they do 
not like its taste, and that it does not suit their pal- 
ates, is about to be questioned. Anybody who has 
hinted that date coffee will not drive every other 
beverage out of the field, and become the universal 
breakfast table drink of the whole world on the day 
after tomorrow, making the fortunes of everybody who 
has bought a single share, has received notice of an acti- 
on for libel. Two society papers are already in for 
it. More are expected to follow. Meanwhile, an action 
in Chancery has yet to decide whether date coffee has 
aDy locus standi at all anywhere.— Home paper. 
Mica. — A German manufacturer of mica wares, Herr 
Raphael, of Breslau, now makes mica masks for the 
face, which are quite transparent, very light, and 
affected neither by heat nor by acids. They afford good 
protection to all workmen who are liable to be in- 
jured by heat, dust, or noxious vapours, all workers 
with fire, metal and &lass melters, stone masons, &c. 
In all kinds of grinding and polishing work, the 
flying fragments rebound from the arched mic i plates 
of the mask without injuring them. These plates are 
fixed in a metallic frame, which is well isolated by 
means of asbestos, so as not to be attacked by he*t 
or acid. These masks allow the turning of the eyes 
in any direction, and, as against mica spectacles, they 
afford the advantage of protection to the whole face. 
In certain cases, the neck and shoulders may al so be 
guarded by a sheet of c'oth impregnated with fire- 
proof material, or by asbestos sheet, attached to the 
mask. The interval between the mica and the eyes 
allows of workmen who have poor eyesight wearing 
spectacles, and of workers with fire or in melting 
operations wearing coloured gla-s spectacles under the 
mask, with fear of breakage of the glass, mica being 
such a bad conductor of heat. — Ibid. 
The Cost of Tea to the Consumer. — A planting 
correspondent sends us this extract from a home paper, 
which is well-worth reproducing. Such exposures will 
not tend to increase the popularity of China tea in 
England : — 
' ' Sound common congou is quoted by late telegrams 
as selling in Shanghai for ten taels per picul ; steamer 
freights 45s., and exchange 5s 2£d. This lays it 
down in London at a fraction over 6d per lb., its pre- 
sent value in the market. This ten taels is divided in 
China as follows : — 
Taels 5'88, paid to the teaman ; 
,, 4 - 12, paid to the Chinese Custom-houses (e.g. taels 2'75 at 
the shipping ports, and 1-37 " Lekin," or upcountry 
squeezes.) 
Out of this 6d per lb., laid-down price, there has 
to be paid London dock charges, say Jd per lb. ; 
freight, on the average, Id per lb. ; enests, leads and 
packing in China, fd. The calculation will, therefore, 
stand thus : — 
Paid to the teaman in China, out of which he has 
to pay inland carriage ... ... ... ljd. per lb. 
Duty in China ... ... ... ... lj-d. „ 
Chests, leads, and packages ... ... ... OJd. 
Freight ... " ... ... ... ... Id. 
London dock charges and extras ... ... Ofd. „ 
Total... ... 6d. „ 
Upon leaving the bonded warehouses there is another 
6d to be paid for duty, and it is sold in the poorer 
districts in this country at 2s and upwards per lb. 
Here we have a commodity sold first hand in China 
at lfd— and even this carries part of the cost of transit 
— selling in this country at about ^s per lb. This may 
possibly account for the poverty of the quality, and 
explain the dissatisfaction expressed in this important 
branch of commerce. " 
