320 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
[Nov. I, 1893. 
j^nscription to commemorate the prowe^g of the Nc- 
herla'nJers ia winnloff the battle of Waterloo." A 
reaiarb, perhaps not quite fftir of a Ofylon friend nu 
viewing the pillar and its Jong insorip*^ioD : " T le lioa 
at the top is not more coiiKpicaous than the lyin' at 
the bottom." And on p. 17 about the Cocoa Islands : 
" It is gratifying, however, to know that the islands 
are after »ll really British territory, for I raysoll 
carried dowQ a c ipy of the proclamation in the Oey- 
loo Gazette of Nov. 1878, by which the Cocog, Keel- 
iug islands, were annexed to the Government of (Jeyloo 
" to prevent any foreign power stepping iu and takini; 
posseasioQ of thorn for the purpose of fettleraent or 
lor a co.ilinf^-station,' as KuBsiau agents it was rn- 
muured hid been examining the locality with sinister 
views." 
NOTES ON PRODUCE AND FINANCE. 
The AdSxbalian Tea Mabket.— The Austra'im tea 
market, which the Caylou growers are so anxious to 
capture, is well worth the effort. The Aaetraliana 
are greit tea-drinkers, and import annually some 
80,00U,0O0 lb. of the leaf the bulk of which was 
bronghi from China. This year Ceyloa shipments are 
expected to reach 7,000,000 lb. 
A Ke'w Tea Company. — The Etah Tea Company, 
Limited, has been registered with a capital of £22,000 
in 600 preference and 1,700 ordinary shares of £10 
each, to acquire and take over from the rpspeoiive pro- 
pzielore the teagardeop, plantations.faotories, land^ and 
property titaatedin the district of Sylbet in British India 
known as the Eaten and Indessar Tea Estates ; und 
to carry on the business of tea planters, &o. Trie 
Bubsoribers, who take one share each, are:— 
Fox, 2, Catherine Place, Bath, (gentleman ; *J. D. 
BoBWell, 1, North Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, soli- 
oiior ; C> D. Boswell, Sundgate, Ayr, widow; J. i). 
Bosweil, Sandgate, Ayr, spioeter ; W. H. i)ui.lop, 
PoQufiide, Ayr, gfintleman ; C. A. Goodrioke, 110, 
Cannon Street, B.C. Indian tea estate agent; H. A, 
Aokin, 46 Queen Victoria Street, E.G., solicitor. The 
first directors are those gentlemen whose camts are 
marked by an asterisk ; qunliflca-ion, £500; remu- 
neration not yet fixed. B^'gistered office, 110, Cannon 
Street, B.C. 
Tea and Coffkh Dhinking. — The Customs returns 
are all in favour of the consumption of tea and the 
decline of coffee, but notwithstanding this there are 
those, with whom the wish is fatter to the thought, 
who profess to detect a rival of coffie drinking 
habits. A writer iu the Globe, for instance, says : — 
" Are we becoming a nation of coffee drinkers? In 
spite of the Customs returns it looks rather like it. 
Already the City is undermined by luxurious cellars 
with Oriectal names where coffee is almost the ex- 
clusive drink." In the desire to prejudice the cou- 
Bumsr against tea this writer continues : — " Coffee is 
a giant drink, and has played the tyrant ere now. 
Briilat-Savarin tells us that he saw in London — 'ear 
la place de Leicester'— a ce'lee drunkard who had nearly 
•wrocfeed his constitution, but had so far disciplined 
himself as to indulge in not more than five or six 
cups a day. It would be easy to pile np evidence 
of the ravages oa health of which this eminently 
• temperance' beverage is capable. Already the 
question is being asked in high medical quarters 
frhettier we are developing into a nation of tea 
dxunkaids. The cup that cheers is roundly declared 
to inebriate after all, in the strong Indian form 
in which it is now universally drunk, or at least 
to work mischief not a whit less eerious in the 
long run than is imputed to alobhol. This ia be- 
wildering, and yet a orusade against tea drinking, 
with its own pledge cards and banners, might be 
welcomed as a reductio ad absurdum. It would surely 
convince our mis-called ' temperance' friends that 
they are moving in a circle, and that the enemy is 
not the thing abused, but the tendency to abuse it. 
At least let us start fair with coffee. While as regards 
tea we are said to be now developing ' that indiffer- 
ence to quality which is the crowning mark of in- 
dulgence.' We are just beginning to appreciate 
lUlity iu coJfee. ^« ««e Jearning tp tak« it pure 
and Btroue." " Pure and strong coffee " is a vei-y 
good dnnk for those who can i&ke it, but the majo'ity 
Guil it far mii} po'e it f >r evil tti4u the of late 
much ualigned ladian and C<^ylon tea. 
FoaMOBAN Tea. — In a rtc^nt iesue we referred to the 
conhular re port on this S'jbi--ct, ond gave s mn parti- 
culms (^f the cuiiivatioo. Mr. Ho4ie iu bis report re- 
ferriiiK :o the manufacture, t-ays - — " Tue itta maua- 
fsotured in Formosa is g-nerally, but errooeoutly 
cla<<8ed as a green tea; It is in reality a black tea, 
prepared wit'iout tho usual fermentation, but it poeses- 
ses ade'.'ided flavour ot the gieeu variety. The leaf ii 
' fiied' wben gre-u, and this taken «ilb the tlafotir, 
moy account for the popular t<eliif. Bat batwt^n the 
exposure in the open air and the tiring the edges of 
the leavex are rendered quite fcufi by Leiug tlirotrn 
against baiubuos in a rev living machine — a prooeat 
tinknowu elsewhere in China. It is aaid that il the 
leaves, kfter being picked and txpo>el (or a short 
time, were placed in the firing pant they would spiit 
up— the tea leaf is thick anl brill':' an! loee all 
remblance to the whole leif which is so much deeired." 
Mr. Hoeie describes 1 be import&ut pnoesi of " hriog" 
a'4 follows : — " Un entering a firiu^rv>om, one seea roira 
of circular hulus two feet in diame er, two tett deep, 
and a foot apart, faced with brick, r>ii>ed about 1^ 
inches abo7e (he brick floor. These are the firepUoes 
wherein the live charcoal, which has been brought to 
a red heat outride, is placed. Beiure any firing ran 
begin it is etf-ential that all the combustible aia ter 
iu the charcoal has )i'-en ooutum^-d and that no su^oke 
remains. To attain this end men are ooiistautiy 
engageii in breaking up the live charcoal in the holei 
with long iron instruments. When it is nuiformly red 
and smokeless a layer of ttie ashes of paddy busks ia 
rpread over the charcoal to temper the great beat 
wuich it emila, and the firei are ready to receive the 
tea. The tirin? basket is shaped like a dice-box 
with the bottom knocked out. It is woven of split 
bambjo, about 3 ft. bixh, a litt eover 2 ft. io diameter 
and narrowing from b >tb ends loirards the oeotra. 
Into one end a moveable bauboo sieve, which fita 
the centre, is p^^bed, and the other end is placed 
over the firing-hole. The leaves are poured in at 
the top and the tiring begins, the firers constantly 
going the round 01 the baskets aud »hakiug up the 
contents, BO as to ensure uniformity in firing. Wbea 
this firing is completed, the tea is spread out in flat 
bamboo baskets, und all p eoes of twige and leaf 
stalks removed by hand. This pari of the work ia 
performed by women and girls, The tea is again 
poured into the firing-baskets, and, after being bred 
until every particle of moisture has eviiporated, it is 
removed and packed hot in lead lined basketB for 
eipoits."— fi", and C. Jfail, Sept. 29. 
COFFEE NOTES. 
The Mexican Coffee Company has been incorpo- 
rated at Alouqueque, New Mexico, with a capital of 
§3,000,000. 
A cuuceEsion has been granted by the Mexican 
Qoverument to Dr A. K. Caney and E- J. Monera ot 
San Fraucisco, for the purpuse uf oolonizing Americaoa 
in the states of Vera Cruz and Hilderga on nch coffee 
and agricultural lauds. Mr D. C. Weymutb has i>een 
appointed coloniz-itioa agent for ibu company. — ^' Y- 
Journal 0/ Commerce. 
Our American exchanges publish the following 
telegram from the city of Mexico, dated July 22: — 
" In view of the export tax on coffee, imposed July 
1st, planters in the states of Tt-ra Cruz, 0.<jaca, 
and other districts of Mexico made great efforts to 
ship all their surplus in June. During ti e latter 
half of that month piioes ruled at $25 to $26 per 
quintal of secoud quality. One steamer, " tA Gran 
Antilia," fisilel ('anug the last week in June with 
10,470 sacks for New Orleans. Since June aOihcom- 
plete calm bas reigued in the Vera Cruz market, mere 
tieiug DO stuck on hatd. However, wi.en the iiew 
crop comes iu, if the hi^b price iu ezchai ge continues 
the difference, will more than cover the export tasuotf 
leried ajpoB eoSee,— i?t« ^tys^y 
