204 
In tbe table portion* of the cftee will be noticed some 
tastefully arranged mats, made from ferns and dried 
flowers. Tbeite, though Dot exactly an economic pro- 
dust, show tbe flora of tbe colony and tbe bandicrtft 
of the natives in tbe arrangement of them in a de- 
corative manner. 
The whole of the specimens in this section baa been 
obtained and arranf^ed by Ool. Washington Eves, and 
comprising, as it does, some two thousand diS<'rent 
specimens olasiified and arranged, it will be understood 
that the task has be«n anything bat an easy one. 
LEBWABD IBLAima. 
On qaitting Jamaica tbe visitor enters that part of 
tbe gallery devoted to the Leeward Ii^lam's. 
Dominica.— Among tbe chief exhibits of ihis island 
are the following : — Ooooa, coffee, m>ar, arrowroot, 
Rtarches, spices, lime juice, alum, gum, barks, fibres 
and rums. There are also specimens of timber, 
Montserrat. — The most oonspicoous exhibits sre seeds, 
guras, barks, roots, woods, ropps and fibres ; but there 
are also some specimens of bay and other waterx, 
aed essential oils, as well as o> gypsum, and sulphate 
of aluminia. 
Antigua. — A few woods and seeds at present repre- 
sent the products of this islund. 
St. Kittg and Mevis exhibit a small collection of 
ar;owroot, casfava meal, and casti r oi', in additiuo 
to a few other misoellaneoas articles. 
WINDWABD I8LA^DS. 
These islands follow the Leeward Itlardu in the 
West India Qalltry. 
St. Lucia displays rpcoiroens of wood and of rams, 
fibres and petrefkctions. 
St. Vincent is conspicuoos for its di^pl»y of fish 
oils, and essential vegetable oils. It also nhiblaFOine 
arrowroot, barks, fibres, a^d woods. 
Tobago. — Specimens of fibres, some rums, and a box 
of mineral specimens are tho chief ol>jects. 
BRITISH OUIANA 
comes nest, with a comprehensive display of its 
products. 
TBINIDAD. 
The collection is small at present, the meat notice- 
able articles beinR teeds, fibres, materials f < r paper, 
barks, and silk cotton. There a'e »lso rxhihited some 
blocks of pitch from the celebrated pitch lake. A 
complete collection is being prepired in the island. 
BBITISH HONDURAS 
is the last of the sections in the West India part of 
the gallery. Its chief displ iy is t mber, which is 
exhibited in a most practical and, at the same time, 
attractive manner by means of an f laborate screen, 
which not only illustrates the use but aUo the 
deocrative qutlities of tbe weeds. lU other exhibit s 
comprise shells, seeds, be^n*, Indisn corn, coffee, 
sngar, flonrs, pickles and rnms. There are a so some 
interesting photographs, illuatratiDjr life and foenerj 
in the colony.— "Ceylon Advertiser." 
QUALITY OF NEW " CEOP " INDIANS. 
To the Editor of the Home and Colonial Mail. 
SiE,— In a quotation from tbe Produce Markets 
Review (a usually well-informed journil), which you 
give in your last week's issue, the following 
■enteiice occurs: — "It seems almo't certain that 
the supply of the higher grades of tea (from India) 
will be much smaller than la'=t eeeson, as there tppears 
every indioati( n of a desire to products teas for i-rice." 
From the evidence at my dispo-a', I oaLnot see 
that there is any certainty whntever of th'a, and I 
would be obliged if jou would give publicity to this 
letter; with a view to perhaps removing certain mis. 
apprehensions from the minds of jour reade s. It 
should not be overlooked that one remarkable feature 
regarding the Indian tea orop— applicable also, no 
doubt, to Oeylon— is that from month to month, owing 
to conditions of weather and other causes, there 
always is, and probably always will be, more or ltx>s, a 
great divergence in the quality of tbe tea produred 
in each separate district. Happily, tbe effect of this 
in one direction or aiiOther is largely neutralised by 
the varied conditions prevailing in the different dis- 
triots. But the fact remains that this is the case. 
Another point whwh affects the matter of quality 
is that, forianatcly for all concerned, there always 
are, and probably always will oonlinne tu br, ot-rtnin 
districts wlioee/or<t is the production of a comparatively 
low class of tea at a low eott, and others the ounditiuL* 
of which favour the production of a bigb-cla»b tea at 
a higher output cost, while the relative proportions 
given from these districts will always vary considerably. 
A third factor, affecting, in a general way, tue 
quality of the orop, is that a certain proportion of 
producers are, at all times, making a greater or lesser 
tffort to produce qaantity as oppcsed to quality, while 
another section are, in all probability, endeavouring 
to produce a smaller quantity of tea of enhanced qotlity. 
At present, looking at tbe districts generally, we 
Lave no clear evidence to lead to the coLclusion 
that tbe majority of planters are "going fur" common 
teas. If anything, the evidence at my disposal leads 
to tbe belief that the majority will be rather going 
on the opposite tack; but we mast advance much 
further in the aeason before anything positive can be 
said on the subject. 
Recurring again to tbe question of quality as re- 
sulliog from uncontrollable weather conditions, it it 
nndoul>tedly the case that all tbe dittricts tmore or 
less) the first months of this seacoo were adverse 
to the mauofac<ure of good quality generally. But 
this is tbe very reason why tbe probabilities are all 
in favour of the ensuing few months (which are tbe 
largest producing mooths), being the reverse in this 
respect, and consequently that teas due to arrive 
here, say, from September l»'t onwards, if not (arlier, 
will show improvement, while I may say that (here 
appear signs already in Mincing Lane of forerunners 
of this better range of quality. 
I would merely conclude by pointing out that the 
■hove remarks have some bearing on certain points 
raised recently, I think in your columns or tlee- 
where, in a leiter addressed to the Press by so well- 
known an authority as Mr. Francis Peek. 
If m] views sre incorrect, I should be only too 
pleased to bear of anything which may be advanced 
by others of your coirespendents on tbe poiul at 
i«sue. — Yours truly, Minciko Lane. 
August 3rd 1893. 
— Home and Colonial Mail. 
S1L.K-C0TT0N TREE. 
In an article entitled " Un nouveau sertice for eslitr 
sotis les tropiques," contributed to the Revue det Eaux 
et Forets, 10th December 1892, M. A. Chaveg^n writes 
from Reunion as follows : — 
"I plant out in some moist localities the wool- 
giving tree, Bomhax malabaricum. The timber of this 
species is valueless, but the fruit capsules, which the 
tree produces from the age of five years onwards, 
contain a valuable down, for which as much as five 
francs per kilo is given. In certain years, when there 
have been no violent gusta of wind, the tree at ten 
years of age can yield as much as ten kilogs of wooly 
stuff, but this figure is a maximum which is very rarely 
reached." 
In the British Trade Journal, Ist January 1893, it 
is stated that " the export in kapok (Bou.hax or 
Eriodendron ? ") in Ceylon is of very recent origin, and 
that, since an export trade has begun, the demand has 
increased so much that not only is kapok carefully 
collected from the trees growing wild, but great care 
is taken to preserve it, and plant new trees wherever 
the opportunity occurs. There is a large demand for 
the article in Australia, where it is used in the 
manufacture of pillows and cushions ; and it is also 
exported to Holland and Fiji, where it is said to be 
used for the manufacture of cloth." — Indian Forester. 
