July 2, 1894.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
23 
The above is very rnuoh what I would have said 
to Mr. Bainbtr if 1 bad had the opportunity of 
discussing his book with hinu. The great thing to 
discover 19, what has Mr. Bamber taught us which 
will be of value. Yeirs ago Mr. Wocd-Mason studie i 
our i tem) the As -am bug (or uicsguito b'ight). This 
enemy is ttdl in possession and very much to the 
front. A planter once jokingly siid, "Tha reim dy is to 
catch the animal hi tween ihe thumb and firs' finger and 
squeeze his thorax until he succumbs." And th's is 
still the only remedy. Many a true word is s id in 
jest. Let ine joke end say that some day we shall 
study tea from the coneumer's point of view, Then 
wesba'l want another Chemical Expert. — The Planter, 
NATAL TEA KEPOUT. 
Mr. G. W. Drummond, of Kearsney, sends us 
the following: — I shall have only one more report 
to send you before the present tea season closes, 
about mid-June. Considering everything, April was 
a good month, and, as compared with last year 
very good. We hope to have an equally satisfactory 
May, and I am glad to say that there is every 
prospect of this, as the plants on all the estates 
of this district are looking healthy and not too 
full of wood. The recent cold nights do not seem 
to have checked the sap so much as I anticipated, 
many of the shoots having full solid stems, and 
the leaves are still quite soft, especially from the 
well sheltered parts of the estates. A gentleman 
of 30 years' Mincing Lane experience has recently 
been visiting us, and he t-ays that in his opinion 
Natal teas more closely resemble those of Ceylon 
than any other. This was my own opinion when 
I first came here, coupled with the teas of South 
Assam i.e., of Cachar and Sylhet. Our whole es- 
timate is now within eisy reach, and it is possible 
that we may make a substantial increase. 
The report which we publish above from Mr. G. 
W, Drummond, of Kearsney, is not only of an in- 
teresting but highly encouraging character. The 
season which is now drawing to a close has been 
eminently successful, and there is every prospect 
of the year's output exceeding that of any previous 
year. The tea industry, no less than the sugar, has 
long since got beyond the sample stage, and this 
continual breaking of records speaks of a progress 
which cannot but be flattering to our colonial pride. 
The testimony of the visitor from Miucing Lane as 
to the quality of Natal tea is no less gratifying, 
aad it is to be hoped the day iB not far distant 
when Natal teas will secure as world-wide a reputa- 
tion as those of Ceylon, which they are said to so 
closely resemble. — Natal Mercury, May 4. 
TEA AND SCANDAL. 
Most if your readers, I suppose, k^ow the stinii-g 
tune aud words of " Old Simo 1, the Cellarer," and 
therefore 01 that accouut as well a9 from interest 
in our r ational product, I hope the following amusing 
paro.ty will he ttcceptable. It is oallod 
OLD TIM, THE TEETOTALER. 
1 
Old Tim, the teetotaler, keeps a rare store. 
Of black aud strong green tea, 
Of Souchong— and who can toll how many more, 
For a thirsty old tout is he— e ! 
A thirsty old soul is he, 
Of Petoe and Twauhay he never do:h fail, 
Which all the day Iouk he drinks out of a nail. 
For he never ale-th, he quaint y duth say, 
While he sticks 10 his fifty-two cups in a day 
For ho ! ho ! ho ! 
O.d Tim can't know 
H(.w mnch of birch-broom there is in Pekoe ! 
2 
His L indla ly sits iu her own 6iill-r<jom, 
Alone with the c.ttita the; 
Exopt when Rhe asts in the maid or the giocm, 
To 3 .iu her in taking Tea — el 
To join her In taking Tta. 
Now Tim has a Tea-chest, but isn't aware, 
That his Landlady helps herself freely from there, 
Tho' the maid and the groom of the Landlady told, 
Yet Tim held his tongue-it . was no use to scold. 
For ho ! ho ! ho ! 
He now doth know 
Where all his Bohea and souchong doth go. 
3 
Old Tim he reclines in his high-backed chair. 
And plays a few tunes on a fife: 
He blows it for joy he doesn'i care. 
Since he puzzled her out of her life, 
Yet hij Landlady out of her life. 
For he's eot a lock on his Tea-chest so sti'ong, 
And the Landlady tried it for ever so long 
With hammer and tongs till she fainted away, 
And wss then handed over to Policeman ! A. 
And ho ! ho ! ho ! 
Old Tim will show 
His Landlady up in the Court of Bow ! 
Chorus of Teetotalers in their Cups : — 
For ho ! ho ! ho ! 
Old Tim will show 
His Landlady up in the Court of Bow ! 
—Punch, Feb. 4th, 1871. 
Pricks op Tea. 
(From Read's Weekly Journal or British Gazetteer, 
Saturday, April 27tb, 1734.) 
peril'. per lb. 
. 9s to 12s Pekoe . . 14s to 16s 
. 10s to 12s Imperial., 9 s (o 12s 
. 10s to 12s Hyson . . 20s to 258 
—[Notes and Queries p. 36, Vol. vii. 1853 ] 
Tea Marks — Accident threw in my way lately a 
cata'ogue of a large sale of teas in Mincing Lane, 
and my attention was drawn to certain marks against 
the i-everal lots, which appeared to indicate parti- 
cular qualities, bilt to me as uninitiated, perfectly 
incomprehensible. In this dilemma I asked one of 
our principal broktrs tho meauing of all thig and 
I was informed that teis ore sampled and tasted by 
the brobere, aud divided in the main into seven 
classes distingm'sued as follows : — 
No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 
T r- 11- a 11. La 1. I. 
Grren Tea 
Congou 
Bohi a 
•a n 
o • - 
be 
a 
© 
no 
a 
-3 
-a 
Can any of your corrcsp indents tell us when this 
claf s : fkation was first introduced, or the origin of 
tha first two characters ? Can they be Chinese, and 
the names given from some fancied resemblance to 
the Gallows, or the letter T turned sideways? My 
iriuid, the broker, though a very intelligent man 
could give me no information whatever on these 
points. W. T. 
—[Notes and Queries p. 197, "Vol, viii. 1853 J 
It is sometime since I gave you a fanciful name 
of Tei. Here's the latest (suppressing name of 
grocer):—'" You Jo not know what pleasure is possi- 
ble in drinking Tea uutil you have tasted ' Liquid 
Joy ' Tea (Registered). It is tho Luxury of the Day. 
None HLn.ltd like it. 
Sunflower Oil. — Now lhat the price of ootton 
seed oil has risen, sunflower oil is nearly half as 
cheap aa that oil, Ptid it is now taking the place 
of it for many industrial purposes. Cotton-seed 
oil can, however, be easily distinguished by the 
nitric acid test, and its iodine va'uo. With nkrio 
acid oi sp. gr. 1*37, sunflower oil gives no bruwn 
oolouration. Messrs. Jolles &■ Wild report that 
sunflower oil is taking the place of cotton seed oil 
aa an adulteration of margarine. —Indian l-.mjinctr. 
