May I, 1894.] THE TROPICAL x\GRICULTURIST. 
749 
reason being a survival with an addition, of the old 
Mohomedan tradition, viz., that the use of the fruit 
would cause the ranaker to enroll biiURolf with tlie 
Ifgions of leJam whether he drsirtd or i)«>. The 
Spaniard finally attempted and succeeded in cultiv- 
alinff it in their Weet led an colonies, and from there 
it founu its way to Florido, Central America, Mexico, 
and California, always improving in size and flavour 
until it became ooe of the most perfect of fruit. 
The Australian Commercial OommiBfii 'cera, in an 
interview v/ilh II. E. the Governor of Madras, are 
reported to hr.vo meritiontd " tte Dotcess which 
tb( ir mieeiou hrd met with in Ceylon, and said that 
they had oome to Wa'iraa hoping to meet with the 
same success." Mr. Bowe is reported to have given 
the experience he had gained iu Colombo, as regards 
frozen meats thus:— "The meat supply for the army 
tbeie is admittedly very inferior, and the military 
authorities w< re prepared (o give Australian frozen 
meat a t. ial if it could be obtained at the same price 
which the same mtat realized in Englaud, namely, 
from 4d to 4^d per lb. These prices, however, at the 
prpseiit freiKl'ts would scarcely pay the Australian 
exporter. If tt.e Guvernment of Coylon were prepared 
to. advance a id on the lb. more, onp at Itast of the 
large exporters of frozen meat was prepared to 
undertake a contract, and to commence supplying 
iU£>it within two months of (he date of tinning the 
coDlrict." 
In Ma Iras, however, tUe Commiosioners do not seem 
to hive much success. With regard to the frozen 
meat busini'BS, Lord Weulock stated thdt he had 
gone fully icto this subject in conjunction wi'h his 
Military Secretary and had come to the conclusion 
that the supply of frozen meat in India on anything 
like a satisfactory scale, remunerative to the con- 
sums-r and exporter alike, was impraotioable. With 
regiird to oompre.-sed fcdd'»rs, the A sislaat Adjutant- 
Ociitral statml that the nniitaiy authorities were very 
well satisfied with their present toddcr supply. His 
Bicelleuoy tlie Governor remarked with regiid to the 
wines tbat he did not see nhat market there nowld be 
in a country wlioro the chief bever«ge was whisky and 
soda. He said that the gentr*l opinion was that there 
was much less nine drinking iu India among Europeans 
now than was formeily tbe ease. The only conaoli- 
tion the Commissioners seem to have received is the 
assurance that the Governor would be g'ad to reieive 
soniu samples of their pro !u' ts and test tlitm and 
give his priva'e opinion on thoir merits, but beyond 
tbat he could do nothing further as matters of this 
kind were beet left to private enterprise. 
Says the Rural Califoinian, referring to dried fruit : — 
Tlie trade in dried tigs, prunes and raisins is ne^irly 
altogether in the hands of France, Italy, Spaiu, an I 
tbe Orient, Tbe annual consumption of these is en- 
ormous ; as. staple articles they are found in tbe 
must humble village ttore, But with these and dried 
appl s the acquaintance ernJs. Peaches and apricots 
are almost unknown ; what has come in lias been 
mainly from the Rivor Murray Colonies in Australia. 
A recent sbipmint of these dried apricots sold iu 
the Ii3Ddou markets freely at 98 shilliuga per lOQ lb. 
that is, over 20 per cent )ier lb, wholesale. 
Mr. Chatdoun.t is oredi'cd with having invented 
a prooOBB of muuufaoturiug artificial silk from wuo'l- 
pulp. This pio e9^ is aa follows: The pu'p is drii d 
and is thoTi treatsd for transformation in the ordi- 
nary way into collodion. That done, tlie viscous fluid 
is plactd iu a vessel of p culiur coiisiruotion, fitted 
at tbe bottom with a filter. Cumpresjed air ia forced 
iuto it by means uf nn air-pump, which 
drives the collodion through tbe filter into a 
horizoiit'>l tube fitted with a very large number of 
C3oke. Knch of these cooks has a spout made of glubis, 
wbicti i. pierced with a minute hole, do larger tbau 
the l iimetor of a silkworm's thread. Through these 
holes tho flui I if forced in long fine fibres, six of 
nhioh are twidteJ together to make one thread (or 
weaving. Before it is wound off, tho thrrad is steeped 
in water and hard>;n^ (the w.'»tof tnking cut all thn 
ether and ale diol whroli were in the collodion), aftt r 
wliich it has all the strength and glossy biillimoe of 
the best natural s'lk. Mr. Chardoi net bus opmed 
a manufactory at Besauoon, to prepare silk and carry 
on the buainesi. 
TEA AND SCANDAL. 
In 1746, John Andree in a book entitled " Cases of 
Epilepsy, &c." describes one of palsy and convulsions 
^ from eating of tea. He tells how " a girl of about 
1 twelve years of age was taken last year with loss of 
appetite, grew pa'e and languid, and soon after the 
left side of her face became paralytic, and her speech 
! began to falter, her arms and legs not at all affected. 
She had no colic pains, which I first inquired after, 
thinking it might be owing to the effluvia, from lead 
(which exert their pernicious effects chiefly at first in 
, that manner), she being a Glacier's daughter; bat 
found that she had made free with her mother's 
cannisters, and privately eat tea, for about 6 or 7 
weeks last past. As she was pale and languid, I 
ordered no bleeding, but a blister to her reck, &c. 
As this case partakes of the nature of the 
Chorea Sancii I'iti it belongs properly enough to this 
collection, though my chief view of inserting it, is to 
show the pernicious effects of the intemperate use of 
tea. Schroder, who ia very sanguine in his commen- 
dation of this vegetable, praises its virtues for all 
manner of rbeurns, catharrhs^ indigestion, weakness 
of the reins, joints and gout. And sums up all with 
saying that it is an augmenter of human strength, 
and preserves from all infections of the air, to which 
purpose divers Ambassadors residing in China used 
it in his time in the morning. 
" As a dilute and detergent it may properly enough 
be used in some cases he mentions, but we know from 
longer experience that as it rarifi -s and dissipates the 
finer juices which should serve to actuate the nerves, 
it brings on Tremors, Vertigos, Watchiugs and ali 
manner of hypochondriac, hysteric, and paralytic 
disorders, and therefore is by no means to be looked 
upon as a preserver of human strength. And I am 
persuaded that the frequent use of this plant is the 
chief cause, next to private dram drinking, which I 
am afraid is too much practised, of the various 
nervous complaints, tbat are so common among the 
fair sex. 
" Before this child took to eating the tea, she was 
healthy, brisk and active : her paralytic disorder can 
therefore be attributed to no other cause. And as 
the smaller branches of nerves were already aff ected, 
it is reasonable to suppose that by tbe cjutinutd 
excess in tea, the Origin, which on account of its 
stronger texture remained hitherto unmolested, 
would in process of time have also suffered, tlie 
consequence of which must have been a total relax- 
ation, and destruction of the animal frame. On the 
contrary it appears that when this abuse was laid 
aside, and proper medicines applied, she was soon 
restored to her former state of health. " 
Do you know what A»ihli/o/)ia means ? It comes 
from the Greek amblus, dim, and opu, eye : so means 
"dim sight." The Lancet of 1887 describes a oise 
of ' Tea Ambljopia' thus :— " We read iu a contem- 
porary that M. Molchanolf , 'i Kussiau. who is reported 
to be tbe wealthiest tea merchant in the world has 
arrived ut Piris from Hankoy, with the intention 
ot piai iug himself auder the treatment of Doctor 
Charcot and an dxperieuoed French ophthalmic Bur- 
geon. Tbe great tea magnate is auflcring from 
amhli/opia, which it ia aaid ia the result of ihe pro- 
longed practise of tea-taatiog. It ia not unlikely ihat 
tea taken iu oxco^a might produce ambiyopia Kimi- 
lar in character to those toxic amauroaea which reault 
from the abuse of alcohol, tobacco, opium and quiuiuo. 
But we are not aware that this form of n/iiWi'()^i<r has 
been pariiou'urly described. Jfecker duei uolnieation it 
in the last volume of his large work just rompU>ted, and 
it ia not mentioned iu the Jim/ r.nciiclopttiie, or in 
