376 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Dec. I, i8y3. 
VARIOUS AGRICULTURAL ^OTES. 
Tea Planting in India and Ceylon.— Says 
the H. and C Mail ; — 1( the tea industry of Cey.o^ 
should decline, a contingency fo remo'e ihat we will 
regard it as well-Digh iropoBsiblp, it will csftainly not 
be for lack of enthusiaBui on the part of thoao <n- 
gaged in upholding it. The rewsptpers publiibed in 
the island have made Ceylon tea their railymg cr/, 
and have vied with eaoh other in siogin^ hn praiaee. 
Tbey Dever tire of the operation, aud if their spirit? 
ever flag, or there is the s ightest tngge tion of mooo- 
tony in the chant in praise of tea, a now chord is 
touched, aud the pce«DN are renewed with fret^h vigoor. 
The Ceylon Observer, we notice is for the moment 
especially jabilaut over the idea that some An^lo- 
Indian firms are turning their Mttpntlon to Cty ou. 
Then follows our note about the Dooare and about 
Sir John Muirand Mr. Buobanaa coming to Ceylou. 
The Mail winds up : — 
"The Observer gives figures in support of the cla'tna 
it puts forward that Ceylon can bold its own as a tea- 
growing country, and it infers tb%t not ciily i>re the 
Anglo-Indiaa', who are opening their t^yes to the ad- 
TBDtage of CejloD, wise i'l their generation, but that 
in doing this "before it is too late" they are to b9 
■ougratulated. Here i< the materisl for snoiher boom 
in Ceylcn tee gan'ena and the prodnco thtreof. Iruly 
the zeal and push of the friends of Cejion t>ra resemble 
the soil and resources of tbe island, in that they are 
well-ninh inexhaoxtible." 
A Breakfast Weather Gauge. — From an article 
in Chambers' Journal on " Natural Barometers " 
we learn that the forecasting of the weather 
by tbe bubbles in a cup of coffee has been 
lately attracting attention in the columns of the 
daily papers. A writer says:— "With my breakfast 
I drink cofiee mixed with milk. When poured into 
the cup I gently drop in the lumps of loaf sugar, 
and shortly after the fixed air in the sugar rises to 
the top in small detached bubbles. Now watch these: 
I call them my little people, who will tell me if it 
is going to rain or not ; and although tho coffee is 
perfectly still, these little bubblts will be ou the 
move, almost like life. It will be noticed that if it 
is going to rain very bard, they will almost rush 
over to the side of the cup — ap much as to say, I 
shall get under shelter, as quickly as possible. If 
the rain is only to be a gentle downfall, then the 
bubbles all meet together, evidently to deliberate ou 
the matter, and then quietly move over to the side; 
but if it is not going lo rain, every bubble that 
comes up remains stationary io the middle of the 
cup." The writer adds " that during the past four 
or five years these little people have not deceived 
him a dbzeo times." The main condition seems to be 
that tbe obst-rvations be made in the m' rn ng, when 
Atmospbeiic icflueoces will have every ohauce of fair 
play, and if the wiodow beirg open bo much the better. 
Coffee. — Messrs. I. A, Rucker & Bencraft'a 
weekly report for Nov. 9tb, is as usual pitby and 
interesting :— 
A comparison'of the figures is interesting. Wi'rld's 
Visible Supply Ist Sept. 193.626 tons, last year 
163,417 tons. World's Visible Supply 1st Nov. 147,679 
tons, last year 162,065 tons. In two months a sur- 
plus of 30,000 tons has cbaogel into a deficiency of 
15,000 tone, a marvelloas transformation. Atlo-it to 
Eorope from Brazil and the E.ast 8,526 I3q8 against 
28,370 tons last year. Comment ii baidl; necessary, 
and it is not difficult to look for tbe real reason of 
present high prices. Bull speculation or maaipulatiou 
has played no part in this upward movement, and 
the Duly factor has been fcarcity. To prognosticate 
the immediate future would be dangerous, as price 
Is a great leveller, but the Trade must bear in mind 
that scarcity 6till faces us for some time to come. 
That trade continues slow ia perhaps explained by 
tbe fact that in some leading consuming countries, 
at present retail prices, th ra is n9 margin for 
profit to the dealer. Retail prices will, we are 
led to b lieve, be raised shortly, and this would eive 
tbe small dealer Bg»ia some lu^/gia aoi tba tSeot 
where prices for mild Coff> es are absurdly low in 
compa'ieou wi)h B azil. It may be retiouably argued 
th»t raising rela'l pi ices wiil affect c usuDDptioi ihis 
is prol a*)le and must be fo, m otly dccnassd ecu- 
sauii'tion can enta' lidh a proper t a'auce between 
»^uppiy and demai d. Messrs. No»» ck cable from 
SautOB : — "Bediicc preaent crop e-timate to two mil- 
lionf, fiext uucertaiu." Meters. GjcIz, H»y" hi Co., 
Santos : — " I'rofpects lees favourable, tour miiliot-s.'' 
The New Foddeh Plant— referred to by 
our London oorrespoudet.t— (see pige 400) le 
ia reality an old fiarden plant (I'olyyonuiH 
eachatinense) remarkable for its size, beauty rapid 
growth and, uooording to several gentlemen who 
have experimented with it, for forage and even 
1 uman food '. From notes published by Mr. J. 
Wood of Kiikijtall. we quote as follows: — 
it IS a I uvive of tbe Isle ci Sakbalieo, in tLt Boa 
of Okholek, between J»pau sod Siberia. It was dis- 
covered by a Kufbisn explonr, a<d introiuced iu'o 
Kiiglish ^aliens about 26 jclits ago. Auotfcr uniue 
than Polyf^onam rasl.alii cn-e by which it i'< kuowu 
is Persicaria siclialiueoee. Its butaiiioal relationship 
m»y be I'csorihcd as neir to our common ditk. Of 
course it has a very different a^pec'. and few would 
BU<peot its relatiunch'p lo 0'>e of our commoD«st 
wetd-". The plmt grows to a i-t iture of ten feet. 
This is a 1 the moro wcndarful when it is coueidored 
thst it is merely an herbucious plant — that is, that 
it dies d >wii every }ear aid mak s this length of 
$tem a fresh anuually. Tbe main stems havu an 
o diquft and semi-arciiing habit. They have la'eral 
Li'aiichts or twigs, all furuifhed with bild heait- 
I'baped leaves, 8 in. to 10 ia. acrosr. and from tbe 
ba>e of each 1< af there rtpringN a iuft or compound 
cluster of spike e's tf white lioweri-. Ii may there- 
f >re be imagined bow noble and betutifiil tbe pUnt 
18 sri'bin^, fuU-foLaged, and touched off njtb tuoh 
blossom. Its r.te of growth has b'en measured in 
late spring or early somacr to be 3^ inches per 
Fhoot per day, aud as one friend said, " Vou may 
almoet titand and watcti it grow." The Tig< ur and 
d SuBB h>bit < f ihe root is as remsrVable as it^ rap d 
development. It goes without siying that such a 
pUtt has been takfU adva iiage ol by ^Midcners, and 
especially by gentlemen who seek for tro)ocal eiT'::ct8 
in their grounds. In tbe vic nity of wa'er it grows 
with even increa-ed luxuriance, aud ia a truly stately 
plant. It has of late, liowev(<r, been brought into 
D:cre pro'niiient notice in tbe National Society of 
Agriculture of Frnnoo by < xperimenters. Tuty spe- 
cially cjmraend it a forage plant, and alihtugb 
it kves tbe vicinity of wiler, ii proves to be a good 
grower in a drooghty season lite the pr-sent. This 
is a most cjmmeuuable property. Expirimi^n's are 
s»id to have given rtsu.ts highly Bfitisfaclt ry. The 
green yield is tavd to h»ve be n 441b. to bJlb. pir 
cqaare yard, or 95 tous to 190 tons per acre. Bees 
are foDd of tbe flowers, and cattle extremely fund 
of its foliage. Doubtless more will be hirard of this 
plant ere long. It does not yield so'-d, and therelorc- 
b»s to be planted by piects of root, every slort piece of 
which will make a pla'it, aud grow sir njjly the fir»t 
year. The new shocts cr sprouts in spring ara st.uter 
than the thickest aspsregus, and much retemble that 
vegetable. Indeed, tbe snoots have been used in a 
similar way ti aspai igus. It is timiiar to Polygonum 
cu-pidatum in all its part^, but much le- Oufpi- 
daium, I knjsv to be cultiTated in many of the 
thickly populited parts of Leede, aui'', indeed, is one 
of tho'e tbings that may be said to bd capable of 
growing anywhere. This is a nseini leaturo in away; 
but in well-kept gardem it sbould ba planted judi- 
ciously, or owi.ers may havj to f-peak bitterly of it, 
as Mr. .Toshu* Buckton does, who aptly deBCT.bes it 
as "original fir.'' Notwiihstaadin^ the ttoj.ic.l 
appearance of the p'un', it is capable <.f endnriog 
our wjrst and coldest winter^ and once it jets pi s- 
eession of good light soil, it grows amazingly, aud, 
indeed, in the woret soil in wbich vegstaiion can 
live at all, it tbiives iu a degree beyond comparison 
wiib most vegetatioo, 
^SjS ADf thing beea doae Iq Qs^Ion wittt (bn plant ? 
