August i, 1893.J THE tROlPICAL 
GKAPK-GHOWING IN CALIFORNIA. 
Now that public interest is excited by the recol- 
lection of the great anatomist, Sir Richard Owen, 
the following record of the adventures of one of 
hin grandsons in California may be read with in- 
terest : — 
Misled by the representations of interested persons, 
Mr. Owen leased a 30-acre vineyard lying 1 mile 
outside of Santa Barbara, expecting to realise several 
thousand dollars from the year's crop. He under- 
took to cultivate it himself, but, after smashing 
three ploughs in his endeavour to train a spirited 
horse to rustic acoomplishments, he called in help. 
Before the summer was over, the pay-roll of his 
vineyard had mounted to a very pretty sum, but 
he still looked confidently at the handsome bunches 
hanging in the shelter ot the green foliage, and 
counted his harvest. At about this time he bethought 
himself that it would be a good idea to negociate 
his crop with some fruit dealer. To his surprise, 
he found that not a single fruit dealer or grocer of 
Santa Barbara would agree to take it at any price. 
A few Italians sometimes bought Grapes for wine, 
but their offers were so low that to accept them 
seemed a craven retreat from his high expectations. 
San Francisco was too far away and freights too 
high to send his Grapes there. 
"The Grapes are there," said he, "and they are 
exceedingly nice Grapes — except where the mildew 
struck them. There is just one thing left to do. 
I shall not stand by and see them spoil on the 
Vines. I will peddle them from house to house," 
he said. 
Some one mildly suggested to him that he might 
suffer disagreeable experiences, but he was not to be 
baulked by fate or the storekeepers. He bought au 
old waggon from a peddler and as soon as his Grapes 
had taken on a deep colour he began his new career. 
Being very anxious to be the first in market, and 
to sell his fruit while prices were high, he started 
out before Dame Nature had served the Grapes 
with their full portion of saccharine matter. That 
evening he presented himself at a neighbour's house 
in a state of riotous indignation. He presented his 
hostess with a basket of Grapes, 
" I have had the most extraordinary experience 
to-day," he announced. "Everybody is accusing me 
of selling sour Grapes. Now, these Grapes seem 
Bweet and delicious to my English palate. Will 
you be kind enough to try them, and give me the 
benefit of your opinion ? " 
The lady did not make a wry face. " They are 
Tery nice," she said. 
The keen sense of the young Englishman detected 
the reserve in her speech, 
"I shall have to give up, ' he said, with a merry 
langb. "And I'll own to you, that tl^e•e are some 
of my choicest specimens. All that I took out did 
not come up to these. And you Americans have 
such an awfully sweet tooth. Still, I would have 
got along very well if I could only have persuaded 
my customers to try my samples." 
" I picked out my nicest and ripest specimens and 
put them in a basket, along with a few other bunches 
that were not so ripe, ' he continued. " The first 
house that I visited was that picturesque Swiss 
Cottage on the hill. It is inhabited by an old maid. 
How do I know? A feather duster hangs beside 
the door, as a suggestion to people to brush the 
dust off their feet before entering. Wherever a 
feather duster is hung out in Santa Barbara there 
is an old maid within. It is an infallible sign. 
This lady was very nice, however, and when I asked 
her if she wanted to buy some Grapes, she responded 
with a cordiality that made me rejoice in my calling. 
'But it is very early for Grapes. Are they sweet? ' 
she asked, ' Try one,' I rejoined, with confidence. 
1 pointed to a luscious bunch. She reached beyond 
it for another, and my heart quaked. She made a, 
y> ty face. 'Try this one,' I insisted, pointing to 
one of my samples. 'I prefer to try this,' she re- 
plied, and to my horror she reached for another 
that was a little off colour. Then she beat a hasty 
JoUflftt, saying politely, ' Thank but I believe 
AGRICULTtJklSt. I2j 
I do not care about any Grapes to-day.' I have 
repeated this experience all day, in different keys. 
Fortunately, I started out with but little fruit. Now 
I shall lay off for a week or two, till the Grapes 
are riper. " 
A couple of weeks later Mr. Owen took up his 
new profession in good earnest. He was snubbed and 
patronised, haggled with over prices, impatiently 
turned away, or kindly invited to rest, and his wares 
were praised as cordially by one customer as they 
were depreciated by the next. He enjoyed some 
experiences that he would not have been likely to 
encounter if he had canvassed the United Kingdom 
for a life-time in a similar capacity. Kind-hearted 
old ladies noticing his refined manners and hii 
English accent, were perpetually inviting him to 
take a cup of tea, attentions which he appreciated, 
but, it it needless to say, courteously declined, for 
he was disinclined to mix social and business matter*. 
Occasionally he had an amusing encounter. He 
aimed to avoid the houses of his few acquaintances, 
but now and then he stumbled upon one, and ex- 
planations ensued, or an embarrassing scene occured, 
according to the real gentility of the people. 
Alan Owen's career as a peddler was of short 
duration, but he did not forsake it because he was 
at all daunted by its results. He had been for some 
time conducting negotiations for an important stock 
range over the mountains. The bargain was con- 
summated. He sold the remainder of his Grape 
crop to the Italians, a younger brother and two 
other young English gentlemen came out from 
England to join him, and he is now herding his 
cattle over 75,000 acres of land. He has taken out 
his first naturalisation papers, and expects in a few 
more years to become an American citizen.— fi^or- 
denert' Chronicle. 
THE CUJLTIVATION OF CINCHONA IN 
JAVA, 
At the general meeting cf shareholders in the 
Western Java Cinchona Company, which was held 
in Amsterdam on May 26th, it was stated that the 
next receipts by the company from the tale of 
cinchona during the year were 151,01011., the year'i 
trading showing a cet profit of 58,622fl. The comi 
pany owns four plantatiODS, and derives practically 
the whole of its revenue from cinchona. Two of 
the plantations are being uprooted, and at the meeting 
aforesaid it was decided to uproot the third plantatioQ 
also, and to sell the cleared gronod at the firat 
opportunity. The fourth plantation, Panjairan which 
is considered an exceedingly valuable one, and 
promises well for the future, although thus far no 
bark has been harvested from it will be continaed.— 
Chemist and Druggist. 
The Tea Tbade at Home.— I do not think thera 
is any trade in London in which the competition is 
so iifroe as in the tea trade. It is a simple fact to 
state that every grocer and provision man in LondoQ 
has yisits each week from at least 40 travellers. 
Hut this is not all. The trade is simply choked up 
and Bub-divided to an enormous extent by the meo 
who, in the old drinking days, naed to " go into the 
wine trade " and now in these temperance days '• go 
into the tea trade," A private business is doubtlesa 
very nice, if there were enough of it procurable to 
make it pay expenses. But everybody has a relation 
or friend in the tea trade who can get their tea for 
them '•wholesale", every hotel-keeper, osnteen, 
hydropathic establishment, and other kindred places, 
is already secured by some oce interested in tha 
supply to make a profit out of it. There is 
but one chance of doing a turnover which will pay 
and that is through travellers or heavy and oon- 
tinuous advertising. Neither of these chaiineli for 
securing a tea trade can be gone into by ioex* 
pecienced individuals. The resalt is oertiin loss,'^ 
C'o('.| local "Xiin«8," 
