750 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
MAy r, 1894. 
the Ormfe Saennsch Handlmch. Tea is hardly indulged 
in this oouDtry to a sufficient extent to produce any 
marked efiFeota npon the nervous syetetn. nut it is 
undoubtedly a sedative, and acts powerfully upon the 
heart." 
Do you feel bad after that? Then lake the fol- 
lowing, prescribed by F. W. Pavy in ' Food and 
Dietetics ' ;— " Lemon Peel TeJ. Pare the rind thinly 
from a lemon, which has been previously rabbed with 
hair an ounce of lump sngar. Put the peelings and 
the eufrar into a juK, and pour over them a quart 
of boiling water. When cold, decant the liquid, and 
add one tableapooaful of lemon juice." [Then drink 
till finished ! A. M, F.] 
Alaa ! a Sootchman, and of tha name of Robert Fer- 
guseon, (the double s accounts for it), wrots gome 
poems : among them one on ' Tea ': and although he 
begins well he ends miserably — for he more than 
yamos with faint praise over ' Celottial Tea ' I leave 
yoa to judge for yourselves from the following quota- 
don'e : — 
Ye maidens modest I On whose lollen brows 
Hath weaning cbartity her wrinkles cuU'd. 
Who constant labour o'er consumptive oil, 
At midnight knell, to wash sleep's nightly balm 
From oloeing eyelids, with the grateful drops 
Of tea's bless'd juices: list the obsequioas lays, 
That come not, with Parnaasian honours crown'd, 
To dwell in murmurs o'er your sleepy sense : 
But, fresh from Orient blown, to chase far o£E 
Your lethargy. # # * 
For many a dame, in chamber sadly pent. 
Hath this reviving liquor call'd to life. 
* * » ♦ # 
But Venus, goddess of the eternal smile, 
Knowing that stormy brows but ill become 
Fair patterns of her beauty, hath ordain'd 
Celestial tea; a fountain that can cure 
The ills of passion, and can free from frowns, 
And sobs and sighs, the disappointed fair. 
To her ye fair ! in adoration bow. 
Whether at blushing morn, or dewy eve, 
Her smoking cordials greet your fragrant board, 
With Hyson, or Bohea, or Congo crown'd. 
« • # • • 
Mark well the fair ! Observe their modest eye. 
With all the innocence of beauty bless'd. 
Could slander o'er that tongue its power retain. 
Whose breath is music? — Ah, fallacious thought ! 
The surface is ambrosias' mingled sweets ; 
But all below is death. At tea-board met 
Attend their prattling tongues : they scoff, they rail 
Unbounded. • * » # 
O Gold ! thy luring lustre first prevail'd 
On man to tempt the fretful winds and waves. 
And hunt new fancies. Still thy glaring form 
Bids commerce thrive, and o'er the Indian waves, 
O'er stemming danger draw the laboring keel 
From China's coast to Britain's colder clime, 
Fraught with the fruits and herbage of her vales. 
In them whatever vegetable springs, 
How loathsome and corrupted, triumphs here. 
The bane of life, of health the sure decay: 
Yet, yet we swallow and extol the draught. 
Though nervous ails should spring, and vaporish 
Our senses and our appetites destroy. [qualms 
Look round, ye sipplers of the poison'd cup 
From foreign plant distill'd ! No more repine. 
That nature, sparing of her sacred sweets. 
Hath doom'd you in a wilderness to dwell ; 
Wbile round Britannia's streams she kindly rears 
Gteen sage and wild thyme. — These were, sure. 
As plants of Britain, to regale her sons [decreed. 
With native moisture, more refreshing sweet, 
And more profuee of health and vigor's balm, 
Than all the stems that India can boast." 
Beginning to feel somewhat discouraged myself 
by the above dismal effects of tea, I took up "The 
Golden Butterfly," by Besant and Rice, to restore 
cheerfulness : but at the very outset I am again 
crHshed. Phyllis, the heroine, takes an unearthly 
early walk in London, and wanders by mistake into 
a tavern. The pot boy asks her to give " it" a 
name, and she says " Thank you very maeh. I 
shotdd like to have a cup of tea, if I could take it 
outside." He shook bis bead, a gesture of dis- 
appointment. " It can't be had here. Tea!' as if 
be had thought better things of so much beauty — 
" Tea! Swipes ! After all, miss, it's your way, and 
no doubt you don't know no better. There's a early 
cauffy-'ouee a little way up the street. You must 
find it for yourself, because the dawg he dou't know 
it: knows nothiuk about tea, that dwag. You go 
out, miss, and Osesar he'll go too." 
And it's time I went too, or I shall hear some- 
thing from the Editor about "Ant Cieaar. aat Nihil. " 
A. M. FtBGlSON. 
■ ♦ 
COFBEJi IN SOUTH INDIA. 
Tke I'unmad (Joffct Spilct was just saved bj the 
heavy showers of the last week. A few more days 
of drought, which bad bren very severe indeed, and 
the fi.ne spike would have been rained. 
Tlie Shcvnroi/ blossom is rejoicing the hearts of ooSee 
planters. The eomiug crop, as your Yerotut corie 
epoudtJit remarks eluewbere, will be a very ^uod t>L>i 
on most estates, especially out at Nagaloro wLerc 
proprietors are goin;{ ahead iu hopes of a bumper en p 
The Spike in Coorg is coming on gradually froiu 
latest advices, evidently it is to te a bumper cr.<p all 
round. Yet the rain — in some places tbiy have ha t 
over B iuohcs — i4 just a leeile too plentiful for un- 
mixed joy. Forward estat>fs are a bit funky as to the 
next move, in fact here and there the "black spot" 
shows up ominously.— ^'o!'//< India Obser'-er. 
VARIOUS AGRICULTURAL NOTES 
The cacao crop of Ecuador for 1893 is said to h-i 
the best on record, ag^rei^atirg 401,651 quintals 
as against 334,625 quintals in 1892. Tbe heHviogt 
previous crop was in 1886, which was 17,000 quiotils 
less than last year's yield. The qualify in 1893 lias 
also been good. — American Grocer. 
Coffee in S. Indu. — From all sides we hear 
Co£fee pUnters are in high spiritp, and tbe promise 
of 1891 being a bumper season seema general. 
Not only coffee, but tbe whole agricultural in- 
terest throagbout India seems to bav3 the prospect 
of a good year which should naturally relieve the 
burden of a diminishing rupee. — Nilgiri Newf. 
Royal Oakdess, Kew, Bdlletis of Miscella.neous 
Infohmation for Mnrch has the following content!*: — 
Sugar-cane Disease in Old World. Seminal Variation 
in the Sugar-Cane. Impr>>vement of S'lgnr-Oano by 
Ohemioal Selection of Seed Oane-. Guzerat Raps. 
Agrionlture in Brit'sh Honduras. Decides KoWensei, 
VXII. Arlificisl Production of Gilr'c Acid. Miscel- 
laneous Notes. 
AUBTKALIAN COMPEBBEED FjRAGE IN CeylON. — 
OompresBed forage is a line wbioh is psrfnotly 
new to Ceylon and the East, writes our epeoial 
correspondent with the Victorian Trada Commis- 
sioners at Colombo, and has attracted as much 
attention as all the other products together. The 
line has "caught on" firmly as the order for- 
warded this week oan testify. But these first 
orders are only trial ones, as prejudice is difSoult 
to overcome in the horse world as wel' as amongst 
mankind- There is no Customs duty upon this 
oompressed forage ; therefore, if the Australiaa 
patentees include their royalty in a moderate charge 
for pressing, if none but the best material is used 
in the manufacture, and if shipping and other 
charges are reduced so as to allow the commodity 
to obtain a firm foothold in foreign markets, there 
is an absolute certainty of an excellent trade being 
done not only in lia Island, but throughout tbe 
BbbI. — Australasian. 
