340 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Nov. i, 189J. 
A New Oexlon Tea Company : The Hohn»ey 
Estate, Coy., Ltd. — The mail jastiii brirgn ub news 
of tliQ Btai tiui^ of thia Company, which is formed to 
take over the Horusay, AbircairnGy, and Ulapatie 
estates in Dikoya, and the GaDd«naw» property near 
Nawalapitiya, in which Mefsra. W. and JJ. Saunderg, 
E.G. Bredin and B. G. Hardiug are severally inter- 
ested. The vendors will retain a lanje proportion of 
the Bhares in their own hands, and there is very litt'e 
likelihood of the Bcheme falling through. We Bhall 
doubtless have further paiticu'ats in a short time. 
Re-affohesting in the South of France 
is oettainly found to be profitabe to the State, 
and beneficial to publio wealth in a high degree 
We quote aa followe: — 
In the report for the Department of the Landes, 
published towards the close of '90, particulars were 
given of the reclamation work carried on for thirty 
years on the waste land between Jiordeaiix and 
Bayonne. The 7B0,000 acres, distributed over 1C2 
pa ishes, and worth only 4 fr. an acre, or under 
£120,000, had been replanted and drained, and are 
now worth £3,200,000. Private owners have also 
reclaimed and reafforested 875,000 acres. The vine 
has flourished on a sandy soil, where the phyl- 
loxera will not thrive, and the exports of pine timber 
and of turpentine have rapidly developed. The 
Department, from beinf< the most unhealthy in 
France, is now one of the most salubrious, and 
the last statistical report showed that the births 
exceeded the deaths by 1,'112. 
" Indian Fouesteb ;'' foi Oot. 1893, hfls for it3 con- 
tents : — I. — Original Arliole.s and TranBUtions. A tour 
in Jauusar, No. 4 ; Located Fellings, a first ►tep towards 
regular Working Pitm«. by " Vagranlr"; Wood paving 
from India ; The Priza day at Coopers Hill; Obilusry, 
J. Kelly. IL — Corrn'pondeuoe. " Tei boxes," a 
letter from "Viper"; (Irowth of liucalyptuB iu 
Hoshiarpur, letter from W. OoM stream, 0. S. III. 
— Official Papers and Intelligence. Allowance to 
WorkiuR Plan Officers; Budgeli Eitimates of the 
Forest Department for 1893-94. IV. — Reviews. Forest 
Plantiug in New York State; Annuil Forest Adminis- 
tration PkOports for 1S91-'J2 for the Central Provinces 
and Bombay. VI. — Extracts, Kote» and Queries, 
New Indiarubber llules in Assam ; Meeting of the 
Eoyal Scottish Agricnltural Society, Eucalyptus and 
Malaria in Italy ; Douglas lir for tea boxes. VH. — 
Timber and Produce Trade. The Teak Trade; Chur- 
chill and Sim's Circnhr, September 1893; Market 
Rates of Produce; Cawnpore Price Current. VIII. — 
Extracts from Official Gazettes. Appendix Series 
India Rubber from Ficus Elatsica. 
Opidu and Honey. — It would be iotereBting, says 
a writer in the St. James's, if the Coramiseioners 
now examining into the Opium Qaestion would 
inquire whether honey made from tha floweta of 
the poppy 13 in any way injurious to health. The 
cultivation of the plant in England for ornamental 
purposes has increased enormouBly of late years. 
Soaroely a villa or oottage but han its broad patches 
of the gaily coloured annual, while in gardens ot 
any extent it may almost be said to br> sown by 
the acre; From the tiny Iceland variety, through 
French, Norwegian, Danish, up to the beautiful and 
stately white " sleep-poppy," all the papavera are 
instensely beloved of bees ; and if, as is alleg-ed 
the honey so made is injurious, the increasing 
cultivation of the poppy is likely to become a 
serious question for bee-keepers. The anti-opiumists 
ought really to sea to this. There is little doubt 
that the properties of honey are much influenced 
by the flowers from which the bees gather it. 
Xenophon's account of the eSect of the Tribizoned 
honey on the soldiers who ate of it will ba re- 
membered. It is said that the drunkeuess to whijh 
he alludes was caused owing to the bees extracting 
the honey from the Azalea pontica, which abounds 
in that region. Again, the excellence and harm- 
lessness of that made from wild thyme, such as 
the Hybla honey from Sicily, or that Hymettus, 
in Attica, also drawn from fragrant herbs ; lha 
Narbonne, the Swiss mountain honey, and the 
heather honey of our own moorlande, e&oh baviag 
its own separate Boent and tlivour — all %o to prove 
how muoh depends upon the sources from which it 
is derived.— Pio/i€</-. 
Udai'Desellawa, Oct. 22ad. — This favourite dis- 
trict is coming to the fore with a vccgeaooe and 
promises to hold its own against the islaad, not 
only as regards tea but that glorious old staple 
ocflce. The recent prices realized for the "3t. 
Leonard's" tea epeak, for themEelvee, and as regards 
coSeo one has only to visit the diiitrict jubt cow 
during the blossom, to be struck by the magni- 
ficeat and unuEual show. " Delmar " in particular 
is a perfect picture, Eome fields of which near the 
road look like a sheet of snow so white and even 
with bloEEom and reminds me forcibly of the 
gcoi old days when crops were too heavy to be 
all pick'd. If the favourable weather tbey are now 
having continues, eight cwt. per acre should be 
an eaty yield for that estate ; this probably eounde 
" tall " in these tIa}B of t'^a. but no dcubtj the old 
Indian system of sliadeand rvnovaiiun pitting, which 
that estate has recently adopted accounts (or a lot ! 
Those who were fortunate iu getting their tea 
pruning done early are now deriving the benefit ; 
the old tea, though not probably flusbiag as 
"heavy as one could wish" is in splendid heart 
and promises well for the future clearings, of 
which there is a large acreage being energetically 
pushed forward and some places are only waiting 
for the monsoon to burst to commense planting. 
The Association met the other day and discussed 
that bitter subject of coast advances ; nothing de- 
flailc seems to have been arrived at further than 
that the heavy advance system little or in no 
way afloots this district. 
Islands of Chiloe. — At the meeting of the 
British Association, Mrs. Lilly Grove, f.b g.e., 
gave an interesting description of lur visit to tha 
islands of Chiloe as follows : — 
These islands lie between 41 deg. and 4.3 deg. S. 
Lat., and arc only 2.5 miles distant from the|iuain- 
land at its nearest point. The principal island. 
Chiloe, can be reached by steamer or by one of the 
uati9e siMling vessels, which are well managed by the 
hardy and dexterous Chilotes. These vessels form 
the chief means of communication, as the postal 
service is irregular. The island is peaceful and 
prosperous, and crime is rare among its gentle and 
hospitable inhabitants. Education is improving, and 
agriculture and wood-cntting are the chief employ- 
ments both of the men and women, and the owner- 
ship of land is very widely diffused. They have 
few wants, fish and the potato forming the staple 
articles of their food. Wages are generally paid in 
kind, often, unfortunately, in alcohol. It is interest- 
ing to know that the potato (called ^a(a(a ot pamj 
is of Chilian origin, and grows in the wildest dis- 
tricts, even at the top of the highest mountains. 
A whole region is called after it, and it is sometimes 
the sole food of the people. Other interesting native 
plants are thelatun (similar to belladonna), an infnsion 
of which produces temporary madness ; the pangne, 
valuable as an astringent ; the pinon, rising to a 
majestic height, with a white rosin, also useful 
medicinally ; the canelo, whose branches are recog- 
nized as a flag of truce ; and the alerce, large forests 
of which are found near Castro and Ancnnd, and 
whose wood is most valuable for building purposes ; 
but better means of transport are needed in order 
to work these forests economically. Fishing is a 
very important industry, both in Chiloe and the 
Guaitecas. Telegraphic communication between the 
last-named islands and the mainland would be of 
great service, and the Government of Chili should 
make fishing and shooting regulations to prevent 
the extermination of the seals, whose skina are 
prepared near Dalcahue. The chief ports are Ancud 
and Oastro, the latter of which is very picturesque. 
