Sept, r, 1893.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
CEYLON HIGH-GEOWN AND FINE 
TEAS: 
A CORREOTION AND INTEEBSTING 
INFORMATION FROM ME. ARTHUR 
THOMPSON. 
Wa direct special attention to the letter which 
Mr. Arthur Thompson (of the well-known Mincing 
Lane firm, Messre. W. J. & H. Thompson) 
on page 180. We regret vory much that Mr. 
Thompson should, through a misoonception, have 
been credited with a suggestion which he never 
made ; and the strange part is that the statement 
of this suggestion as a fact, originally published 
soon after Mr, Thompson's visit, was foimully 
repeated by being made the text for an editorial 
in our Tropical Agricultxmst of Deo. 1887, and lias 
never, uotil now, been contradicted or corrected. 
However, we can readilj s^e how the mipeonoeption 
arose in the first instance and, as Mr. Thompson 
explfiiiis, thera is no virtue in a mark now, unless 
backed by undoubted quality. The testimony 
afforded in the letter before us to the better pay- 
ing results, in the long-run, from going in for quality 
rather than quantity, ehou'.d receive attention espe- 
cially in view of the possibility of the difference in 
value betNseen ordinary and fine teas being accen- 
trated more in the future ihiin it has been 
of late. 
COFFEE IN MEXICO. 
A syndicate of Amerioao capitalists has purobased 
the Snn Marcial coffee plantAtioo, (situated near 
Cordobii, io the State of Vera Cruz, (Mexico) the 
prices paid being $160,000. There are 550,000 coffee 
trees iu produotion on the plantation aud 100,000 
Duruery pUnts of varioas kinds. It is stated that 
although Olaus SpreckeU' name does not appear in 
the syndicate he is heavily interested in the enter- 
prise. — Merchants' Review. 
— Au American who hcs recently made an ei- 
tendel tour through the coffee districts of Vera Oruz, 
Mexico, has the followicg opinion of its capacities : 
" The great bulk of these lands could be put in coffae, 
and wheo in coffee plantations their value is almost 
inestimable. To illustrate the value of these coffee 
plantations, I will take 100 acres which can be par- 
chased for 500 pesos, or about $375 in American 
money. Bach acre c^n be planted in 1,000 trees. 
After the third year each treo will produce a pound 
and a half of coffee on au average of 1,500 pounds 
to the acre, or for the 100 acros, 150,000 pounds, 
worth $37,500 on the spot. After five years the 
pUntatiou will produce 3,000 pounds to the acre 
worth S75,000 in Mexico. In the interim the spaces 
between the coffee rows can be planted in bananas, 
corn or beaus bringing from this source a revenue 
early sufficient to maintain the pr jperty ."-^Eio News. 
IS VANILLA A PARASITE ? 
Soiue time ago Mr. Geo. N. Beringer, of Philadel- 
phia, at'serted at the college there that vanilla is not 
a parasite, and he expressed bis a*>toniehment that 
such au authority as iho Encyclopedia Briiannica 
Blioiild have pi rpelrated that mistake. This touches 
Mr. E. M. Holinee, no doubt, for be was the writer 
of most of the drug-articles ii the Encycloptfclia; it 
also touches Mr. C. E. Hn-fs, of Philadtlphia, in 
retpeot to the fsci that Mr. Jieri"ger started his 
remarks from a circular issued by Mr. Hires'a firm. 
Mr. Hires did not succumb at once, but wrote to two 
Mexican firms— Mosfrs. Montessoro & Scaguo, of 
Gutittrres Zatnora, and Mr. L. 8. Silvers, of Papantli 
— who reply (we quote from the P/iarmaceuticat 
Era) that they have often cut the vanilla. plant 5 or (! 
eet above the root, and that it Uvea from the eip of tue 
?2 
tree af ter fhe root is cut for two or three years, but by 
that time its rootlets grow down to the ground egiin, 
the plant bfaring flowers and frait during the whole 
time. On the other hand, when the tree upon which 
the plant attaches iteelf die», the plant fails to propa- 
gate and will soon show decay. While admitting that 
his knowle'^ga of the vanilla from the islands of the 
Indian Ocean is not as full and as ripe as that of this 
Mexican, Mr. Hires adds that all information received 
on the subject warrants him in stfttiog that the culti- 
vated and wild plants bearing fruit in these countries 
take their sustenance and life from the eap of forest- 
trees. 
• ^ . 
COFFEE LEAF-TEA. 
Mr. A. J. Slaney, of the National Wholesale Te» 
Supply Association, writes under date .June 30th, and 
accompanying his letter is a specimen of the leaf :-- 
" We purchased in Thursday's Ceylon tea pales two 
small lots, we believe the first .substitute for tea made 
from coffee-leaf imported into England. It doen not yield 
a very agreeable drink when prepared after" the 
fashion of ordinary tea, but on making experiment 
we find by another procaes it yields a highly character- 
istic, yet, withal, exceedingly pleasant beverage. We 
have decided to offer it to the trade in paroals w«lae 
5s each, containing packets made up in attractive 
form, giving thereon instructions we recommend for 
rse." — S. and C. Mail. 
BANANAS IN FIJI. 
Appended is an estimate of the result of the 
cultivation of 40 acres of bananas in four years. 
After that tima, if the disease appear, not at all a 
certainty, the retorns decreasi", but a good profit in 
cultivation can be looked for another two years. [No 
explanation is given of the disease. — Eu.T.A.] 
Estimate of cost of planting and cultivation Of 
40 acres of bananas and returns for second, third 
and fourth years. 
EXPENDIT0EE. 
£ 
Ist Year- 
-Plants 12,000 at 40s 
24 
Houses 
20 
Tools, &0. 
20 
Five Labourers at £10 
SO 
Food 
50 
Overseer 
100 
£264 
'2aA Year 
— :o Labourers at £10 
100 
Food 
100 
Overseer 
100 
£300 
3rd Year- 
300 
4th Year- 
300 
Total for 4 years 
£1,164 
Freight no.COO at 20s per 100 800 
£1,764 
Profit .. £1,236 
Betdrns. £ 
2nd year 20,000 at Is .. l.too 
3rd year „ „ .. 1,000 
4 th year „ „ -. 1.000 
N B. — The only actual outlay is for the first twelve 
months. The sfcond 3 ear's produce shows nearly lOO 
per cent on cost for the two years. 
The foregoing is a very fair and moderate estimate. 
A sufficiency of labor is provided for, also of plants 
ciloulattd at iiOO to the acre as it is not desirable 
to pl»nt too close. The returns are calculated at a 
low average, some plantations on the Rewa aiid 
Navar having cut 600 bunches per acre per annum 
The present estimate is at 500 only. The price is that 
ruling in Levnka at present, hut large coutraots wit • 
made ia Snya for Is 3d and Is 6d |ier bunch delivered 
f.o.b,—rolynesiaTi Gazette, June 17. 
