THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [February i, 1882. 
CuFFEh Enemies. — Kotmale, Dec. 15th. — I enclose in a 
m itchbox some caterpillars; also a branch of coffee shew- 
iug the damage they do. Th- coffee looks a sad sight 
when they have finished with it. This is surely a 
new pest? I put a cooly to exterminate the rest. 
[The caterpillars evidently belong to the family of 
moths named Bombycidae. During the day they r-- 
s <le in large numbers uuder a web constructed by 
them, and common to all, out of wh ; .ch they issue 
at night in search of food. They are, from their 
great numbers, very destructive.— Ed ] 
The Public Sale of Coffke in London.— An attempt 
has recently been made to alter the method of offerii g 
coffee, Similar to that which was tried w.th Indian tea 
sometime since. The cut torn has always been to have 
each parcel bulked on landing, but in two or three 
cases lately brokers have offered parcels as " not 
bulked." The trade widely, on Wednesday last, 
refused to have anything to do with such parcels, 
for although the sa.nples shown were supposed to 
have beeu drawn from several of the bags, there was 
of couise no wroof 'hat many of them did not vary 
very materially, and if so on such terms no claim 
would be entertained. The only advantage that could 
be derived would be a slight saving in the importers' 
landing charges, but it is highly improbable that had 
the parcel^ been sold dealers would have paid so 
much for tbem as if offered in the ordinary way. It 
is true that this system has so far only been attemp'ed 
with Braz 1 descriptions, such as are used solely by 
the export trade, but if once allowed to be adopted, 
C ylon aud other importers would probably try a 
similar plan. — Produce Marfats' Review. 
Good Outlook f e Indian Teas in Amrtrica, and 
Why Not Ceylon Teas also ? — The circular lately 
addressed to the local tea planting interest by the 
Committee of the Calcutta Syndicate reporting the 
results "f Mr. Sibthorp's efforts to create a market 
fur Indian teas in America, opens up a vista of un- 
precedented prosperity in the future, i hat the popula- 
tion of Americi, the bulk of which consists of the 
same races among whom Indian tea has grown in 
favour so rapidly in the United Kingdom, should per- 
sist in n jecting it after a fair trial was d priori highly 
improbable. It Was, therefore, reasonably to be pre- 
sumed that whatever difficulty might h< set the open- 
ing up of this new market, would consist chiefly in 
the obstacles to s- curing such atrial. Mr. Sibthorp's 
report not only bears out this view of the case, but 
justifies a coutident exp> ctation that the obstacles 
in question, so far as they have any real existence, 
will speedily disappear. In Chicago, so far from t aving 
had to encounter any of these strong trade pre- 
judices which were met with at first in Australia, 
Mr. Sibthorp found the leading importers, Messrs. J. 
Doane & Co., ready to render every assistance and 
confident of being able to dispose of five thousand 
half-chests the first season, without forcing the market. 
Similar success seems to have attended his efforts in 
New York, and a telegram has been received from 
him ordering a thousand half-chests for shipment 
to that port. The importance of this new market is 
immensely enhanced by the circumstance that the 
American consumption of tea is destined to increase, 
O'ingto mere growth of population, at a rate not to 
be looked for in any other country ; at such a 
rate, in fact, that, if India could only secure the 
annual a Idition to the demand from this cause, she would 
probably have to douhle her proriuciion in less than 
a generation, to enable her to meet it. So far from 
BCi iug any reason why she should not secure this 
amount of custom in the new world, we see none 
why the proportion of Indian to other teas consumed 
in America should not ultimately be as large as in 
Ei gl >nd, where there was once a strong prejudice against 
Indian tea. — Calcutta Englishman. 
Fungi. — Matale, Dec. 16 h. — Th" enclosed leaves were 
plucked from a jungle tree growing in the mi 'sc of 
some coffee, suffering very badly from H'mileia wist- 
atrix. Can you tell me what the blight sp >ts are, 
which you will observe pretty thickly spread ov r 
the surface of the leaves? Do they not look remark- 
ably like having caught the infection from the coll'ee 
trees? [The injury to the leaves has apparently been 
caused by the attack of some i sect, probably a scale 
bug, which has left its shield on the leal'. — Ed.] 
Brewing in India and Ceylon. — From an article 
in the South of India Observer it would seem that 
brewing on the Nilgiris is not the success it was 
hoped it would be. The Government are not giving the in- 
dustry any encouragement, but whether this is the cause 
or the consequence of the liquor being poor is not appa- 
rent. We learn that wheat, barley and Indian corn are 
used indiscriminately by the bre ers for mailing 
purposes, but the wheat and barley grown on the 
hills are not of a quality fit for brewing, an i the culti- 
vation by thena ives has been stationary for some years. 
Although the best seed has been sown it has rap dly 
deteriorated. The attempts to introduce hops also have 
been a total failure. Altogether the prospects of the 
Nilgiri breweries are anything but bright. We hope 
the Nuwara Eliya one will fare diff rentiy. We 
suppose barley could be procured from Australia for our 
local brewery? 
Cupbea Babk. — Apparently there is a species of this 
cinchona allied to the Carthagena hark, plants of which 
Mr. Cross has successfully established on the Nilgiris. 
We extract as follows from Colonel Beddome's report : — 
Carthagena Bark — (Cinchona Cordifolia). — The two 
plants brought lately by Mr. Cross from the Central 
Cordillera near Bogota (elevation 4 to 6,000 feet) are 
healthy and strong growing and are being propagated, 
and the prospects of estabUshing it on the Nilgiris are 
promising. It is supposed to be a strong growing large 
tree, which its present appearance does not belie; its 
yield in quinine is much the same as that of Succirubra, 
and it will probably succeed in the same localities as 
that species. Mr. Cross tells me that he believes the 
" China Cuprea," the seed of which is promised to this 
Government (vide G. 0., No. 630, of the 8th April 
1881) from Bogota is the same species." 
Brewing in the East. — It is a well-established fact 
that the colder the climate the better the grain ; 
heDce the superior ty of English and Scotch barley 
over the Indian gr-wn article, and we are not sur- 
prized to learn that experiments in malting Indian 
wheat and Indian corn have been unsuccessful (in 
the Nei gherries). The breweries in Upper and North- 
ern India have not been failures; for we have only 
recently heard of the renewal of their contract with 
the Indian Government for a further period of five 
years. The quality of their beer has always been 
considered good, a fact which may no doubt be 
explained by the climate; and this is what will be 
in favour of our Brewery Comp my in Nuwara Eliya, 
the managers of which intend using none, but 
British grown barley and hops. We shall probably 
hear more about our own local industry before 
very long. In spite of an unusually wet seae n, 
which has much interfered with building operations 
in Nuwara Eliya, the works at the brewery are 
now almost complete ; and hu;;e packages of malt 
and fermenting vats are now on their way up 
from Colombo. An unforeseen difficulty in the s ze 
of these packages has presented its If ; the ordinary 
carts bbing found too small to crry tbem, whilst 
impediments presented themselves on the road in 
the form of overhanging rocks. But all these diffi- 
culties will be overcome, and the visitors at the 
next Jymkhana will be able to quench their thirst 
in draugHts of home-made foaming ale. — "C. Time»." 
