Attgust I, 1893.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 
tit 
CHINA TEA AND PROSPECTS. 
Consul E. W. Mansfield, in his latest report, on 
the trade of Fooohow. to the Earl of Rosebery, 
states : — 
The days of empty eteamors coming to lie here to 
•wait high freigh's on the opening of the tea market 
hkve gone never to return. The Foochowtea business 
in London is now eo small that shippers absolutely 
decline to ship in empty bottomB, which means flood- 
ing the market with more tea than is wanted at one 
time nod an unnatural deprefsion of prices. When 
tha market opens in June the ordinary liners c»ll in 
on their way home from Shanghai and take what- 
ever cargo may be offering. 
After referring to last year's tea trade experiences, 
it is stated : — 
A good deal baa been said of late aboat a reaction 
of taste in the United Kingdom in favour of Ohina 
tea, but it is slow in becomirg apparent to those 
eueaged in the trade of the Far Eist. 
It is idle to talk of the remission of the lekiii tax, 
or partial reduction of the export daty, as the Ohineae 
Goveromen* will not listen to it ; but assisted in this 
way, were it possible, China tea would be placed on 
fair competing terms with India and Oeylon, and a 
re8n<!citation of the trade come about. Each session 
for 12 years past the suoplies of tea have grown 
smaller and smaller, and this SPaaon proves po ex- 
ception. The falling off is about 20,000 obosti of 
Oongou, or 6 p«r ceat the figures being 327,000 chests 
•gainst 347,000. 
Unless something be done towards lowering the 
heavy charges by the Chinese Government on teas 
before they le^ve the country, it is hopele'ss to expect 
the Fooohow article to compete with the untaxfd product 
of India and Ceylon, and the trade must inevitsbly 
dwind'e away. The charges I allude to are, roughly 
■peaking, per picul — Lekin tax and other charges from 
the prodncinK districts to Fooohow, TIs. 2'70; export 
duty, TIs 2 50; total TIs. 5-20. This ii an enormous 
percentage, especially on th« cheap Congous which 
form the bulk of the Fooohow export. By their short 
Bighted policy the Chinese authorities are thus gradually 
but surely killing a once prosperous industry which 
gave employment to thou u da of their people. A 
removal or even a considerable reduction iu these im- 
posts wonld doubtless go far to revive the traie even 
now in almost its moribund state, for the cost of 
pzoduotion must always be less th»n in India and 
Oeylon, and the question of price is, I tike, after all 
the crucial point. If fair China tea is to be bought 
in England oon«derably cheaper than other kinds, 
the poorer classes will inevitibly use it. I merely 
record the above opinion, but have little expectation 
that the Chinese aathoritiea will ever be induced to 
take thii praotioal view of the qaestion. 
NETHERLANDS INDIA: 
OoFi'EB — Tobacco Growing. 
The Surabaya Couraat states that, in East Java, 
tbeooffet crop has turned out disappointingly short. 
Planters complain, too, of unseasonably wet weather 
which seriously interferes with clearing operations. 
Papers laid before the Netherlands States General 
•how th»t tobacoo growiug in Palemb ing does not 
answer expeotatious, a", out of 15 e.itates leased out 
in 1891, ouly two are now under cultivation. Ou 
one of these remaining estate', the yield is fonnd 
too email to prove remnoerative. On the other estate, 
the outturn was larger, but the quality fell short 
In Indragiri, a Eoropean ha^i started tobacco growing 
with encoaraging roiults at the outset, but further 
trials show that the caltivatiou of the leaf does not 
turn out profitable there, la Sambas, three tobacco 
plantations, passing; by the names of ISeruba, Sik^m■ 
pong, »nd Lirong have raisad large crops. — StrniU 
Timrs, Jnly 4th. 
IG 
A TEA GARDEN AND FACTORY AT THE 
CRYSTAL PALACE. 
{From a CorrcaTpondent.) 
London, .Tune 28. 
On page 739 of the Tropical AiiricultHrut you refer 
to the tea garden at the Crystal Palace. You may 
not know that it was Mr. Gaselee who was induced 
to embark in this speculation. The loss he sus- 
tained so preyed on his mind that he committed 
suicide by shooting himself. It was a wild specu- 
lation and Was unknown to his friends until it 
was too late to extricate him from his liability. 
I enclose you the only card I have: — 
Macghegoe & Gaselee, Tea Pla^nters, late of 
Assam. Eoyal Indian Tea Factory, Near North Tower, 
Crystal Palace, S,E. 
Mr. Gaselee had been for years in Ceylon and India, 
an unole of his was a judge iu India for years. 
"THE MAGAZINE OF THE SCHOOL OF 
AGRICULTURE.- 
In the July number, with which begins the fifth 
volume, the (liicussiou on the subject of siipplement- 
ing our fodder supply by prsssing the leaves and 
twigs of trees into u^e, ii taken up, and the latest 
researches and opinion? on the subject noticet^. The 
articles on red spider and the orange rust mite deal 
with the nature of the work, and methods of meeting 
tbe attack, of these common pests. .\ description of 
a new apparatus for conveoiently and rapidly testing 
mi!k (koowQ as the Lister Babcook tester,) zoological 
notes lor agricultural ftudents, and an account of a 
vi'ifc to tha Pooua Dairy Farm, together with tha 
occasional and general notes make up the rest of the 
number. It is to be hoped, as the editor remarks, 
that those for whom the Magazine is intended, will 
give the publication oil the encouragement it deserves, 
now that it has served their interests nnintermittingly 
for four years. 
NOTES ON PRODUCE AND FINANCE. 
Kola. — Planters in search of something new should 
turn Iheir attention to kola. Some usaful informa- 
tion with reference to this valuable plant is contained 
in a report on the botany of Sierra Leone presented 
to the Colonial OfBce anl published as an oiBcial 
paper by Mr. O. F. Scott Elliot. The tree, Kola 
acuminata, Mr. Elliot says, grows freely everywhere, 
and is found from the sea level to fully .3,000 ft. 
at Sumbaaaye, in the Talla highlands. It appears 
to thrive wherever planted, and is well able to hold 
its own in tlie original native bush. Mr. Elliot could 
not find any »peoial conditions of soil sa necessary, 
but it crtainly grows on disintegrated gneiss, red 
grit, or latsrite, dolerite, and occasionally on dry 
allnvinm. He does not think he ever saw it on 
marshy ground or soil liable to be overflowed, and 
in planting the tree such places ought to be avoided. 
It begins to bear in seven years, and is in full bear- 
ing after eight to ten years, Eich tree is said to 
yield £3 to f4r per annum, and hence a plantation 
ought certainly to include a large number of these 
trees. The yield given by Mr. Fawcett is 125 lb., or 
4,000 seedi per tree — that is, £8 to £10 per tree, or 
£800 an acre. At present the nuts are chiefly used 
by the natives ; but so much has been done of late 
years to bring their valoable properties before the 
public that it may ba safely laid that the demand 
in Europe is sure to increase. The following are 
some of its properties. A nut, or even half • nut, 
will en ible a man to go without food and support great 
fatigue f. r twenty-four hours or more. It is an ex« 
oellent nerve tonic, and is speoially good for keeping 
the brain clear aud active at night. It, however, pre- 
vents sleep almost too thoroughly, and should not 
be taken luas than four hours bsfore bod. A property 
not understood is that of rapidly clearing foul water 
and improving beer. It is also said to remove imms- 
diately and thoroughly the nneteadiuess and atupidit/ 
due to diunkenutJBa,—!/. and 0'. Mail, Jone 28. 
