May I, 1894.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
739 
beiof! wrapped in paokots containing the metal; Food, 
and Sanitation, London, ssye : — 
" In the light of recent diacoveriea at Sonthatnp- 
ton that tea is adulterated with lead, it seems desir- 
able that some attention should once more be given 
to this article, The Custom'a examination, it was 
believed, bad squelched ten ndnlteration, bat such 
finds as tboee at Southampton may well cauEe grave 
uneasiness, and leai^a the pablio to isk if tea 
adulteration be really a thing of the past. Our 
icquiries go to prove that tea sophistication is very 
largely practised, despite the vigilance of those con- 
cerned with suppressing it. At least, two great 
proprietary packet tea firms, to our own knowledge, 
hive no use in the patent tea restoring machine, 
which gives to damaged or " gone off" tea the 
appearance of first-class new tea. Whether the use 
of t'ais recent invention explains the discovery of 
lead in tea at Southampton, or the process of 
" faking " is harmless, is a matter that ought to be 
inquired into, innsmucli as lead is a very dangerous 
poison, and its presence in so many samples may 
well cause grave publio alarm. Popular as is " the 
cup that cheers, bui does no: inebriate," tea-drinking 
will quickly be sbruok from in horror if its devotees 
have to risk lead poisoning in their favorite be- 
verage. Enough sine are alleged against tea without 
this of lead contamination.'' — American Grocer. 
RUBBER IN THE CONUO FREE STATE. 
According to the Brussels Iitdependence Beige, the 
rubber industry of the Congo Free State .has |during 
the last few years grown to a marked extent. The 
development has been remarkable. The rubber is 
obtained in the ususl way, by making incisions in the 
L^ndolpbia flonda vines, which are found in every 
part of the country, but which flourish most in the 
districts of Ubanga, Onlle, Mangalla and Kassai. The 
following table will show the quantities of rubber 
wtiih the Co.igo Free S;a e has produced and ex- 
ported in the period between July Is* 1886, and July 
Ist 1893 :— 
Kilograms. Value. 
In 1886 (July-December),. 18,069 
In 1887 ... 30,500 
In 1888.. .. ... 74,294 
In 1889 ... 131,113 
In 1890 ... 123,666 
In 1891 ... 81,680 
In 1892 .. .. ... 156,339 
In 1893 (January-June) ... 116,301 
— BrodstreeVs, 
15,0U0 
20,600 
50,000 
90,000 
110,000 
65,000 
125,000 
90,000 
TEA CURING BY ELECTRIC LIGHT. 
Considering the extent to which the electric light 
has already replaced the old system of illumination by 
gas in manufactories and factories in England, on the 
Continent and in the great Western World generally, 
there can be little doubt that its adoption in India on 
a similarly large scale must only be a matter of time. 
It depends on the pushing energies of Electrical En- 
gineers in the West, and the intelligent recipiency of 
capitalists and speaulatorein the Eait, whether that 
time will be sjoner or later, and that it will be 
rather sooner than later there are already eviden- 
ces to show. In clubs, private mansions and some 
public places, in all of which it may be oon- 
eidered to a certam extent a luxury, the electric 
light has already found a very cordial welcome, 
notwithstanding that in snch cases the whole cost 
of the machinery used in its production falls npon 
light al"ne. This being so, it is a matter of some 
surprise that in large taotcriet, where some of the 
most expensive appliances required for an installation 
are all ready to hand without further cost, the 
electric light is not more largely used than it is at 
present. One of the first places where one would 
expect to see it in full possession would be the Tea 
Factory, yet here it is only iust beginning to make 
its manifold advantages over the dangeroaa kerosine 
known. In Southern India, at any rate, it may be 
s'kid to have all its bi'tary before it ; but not so in 
go-a-head little Ceylon. There Mr. flarcourt 
bkrine, of Osborne, Hatton, has fitted up his 
Factory with an installation of fifty lamps, on the 
advice of Mr. Robins, the electrical expert who 
is now putting up the plank for the Tramways in 
Madras, and news has just been received here of the 
complete success that has attended the innovation. 
The Factory is now illuminated with a steady and 
brilliant light such as was unknown when d pendence 
had to be placed on kerosine oil, white the danger 
attendant on the use of oil lamps during the spreading 
of leaf on the Withering Tats has been completely 
removed. At Hatton it has been found, too, that with 
an adequate water-supply handy, accumnlatora are 
quite unnecessary, the light being taken direct from 
the Motor. In a properly equipped Tea Factory, it 
is explained, all the " roUing " of tea, the only 
process likely to make the speed of the shafting 
uneven, ought to be finished in the afternoon, leaving 
the firing of the Tea, for which light is required, and 
sometimes the spreiading of the leaf on the Wither- 
ing Tats to be completed between say 5 to 9 a.m. 
But even when " rolling " is going there is no reason 
why the light should be materially affected, as the 
speed of the main shaft ooald only vary from csre- 
leasneas on the part of the coolies working the 
rollers. We have mentioned these detailfi, which are 
the practical results of the introdnolion of the 
system into a large and well-managed Tea Factory, 
in the hope that they may be of service to some of 
our readers similarly situated, who may bg contem- 
plating the admir,ible step in which Ceylon hat now 
sat the fashion. — if. Times. 
THE INDIAN ART OF ADULTERATON. 
Much attention has been drawn of late years to 
the question of the adulteration of raw produce 
exported from this country. The state of affairs 
was exemplified not long ago in the case of the 
so-called " silk cotton," the product of the tree 
known to botanists as Bonibax Malabaricus. A 
sudden demand for this article sprang up in Aus- 
tralia and Tasmania, and for a year the ex- 
ports from this country were very consider- 
able. The following season, however, the whole 
trade was diverted to tha Straits, Java and 
Sumatra, and thus what looked like a promising 
new industry for India came to an untimely and 
regettable end. The explanation offered at the 
time was that the second season's shipments were 
so heavily adulterated, that buyers would not look 
at them, In the Indian wheat trade the charge of 
adulteration has long been familiar. Dr. Voelcker 
has dealt with the question in regard to wheat 
at considerable length. One conclusion at which he 
arrives, on seemingly indisputable evidence, is that 
the primitive method of tnreshing which obtains 
in this country is not answerable for the heavy 
percentage of " dirt " in Indian wheat. On the 
other hand Dr. Voelcker lays the blame at the 
door of the European, or rather English buyers, 
who for various trade reasons insist on having 
" dirty " wheat. Dr. Voelcker asserts that by far 
the largest proportion of the " dirt " which is 
found mixed with Indian wheat is inten- 
tionally introduced by the various traders and 
middlemen between the cultivator and exporter. Ho 
quotes a case where he himself saw adulteration in 
process of being carried out. 
It is certain that there is much intentional 
adulteration of all grain and raw produce. Dr. 
Voelcker mentions the habit of mixing the finer 
exotic growths of cotton which are grown in some 
parts of Bombay, with the short and less valuable 
indigenous cotton. We have recently heard complaiuts 
of the heavy adulteration of Uodavery castor deed, 
before it reaches the hands of the exporter at 
Cooonada, adulteration which has almost killed 
the trade though it has alio rosoiCud iu (oa 
