THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Oct. i, 1894. 
tog the source and extent of the ciif e supply of 
the Unite:) Stages for the fiscal and trade year ending 
June 30th 1894:— 
FREE OF DUTY. 
Countries from which imported. 
Quantity. 
l'ou' da. 
jJOii'iri*. 
r ranee ... ... ..i 
11,41)0,0/4 
Germany ... ... 
1 ?W 1 Of*. 1 
Netherlands 
5,022.779 
1.001,802 
England 
8,826,659 
1 587,062 
Costa Bira 
13 237,553 
2,122,110 
Guatemala 
... 13 93:>,926 
1 928 939 
Nioragua 
2 513,814 
385,477 
Mexico 
... 38,265,712 
6,984,785 
British West loidies. . 
8.235 083 
1,343.716 
Brazil 
... 377.825 972 
60,377.765 
British Eatt Indies . 
1,448,985 
251,649 
Dutch East Indies ... 
... 15,737,707 
3.175.812 
British Possessions (al 
others) 4,248,978 
846,878 
All other countries ... 
... 21,781,240 
3,772,181 
Totals 
.. 531,677,906 
87,167,993 
DUTIABLE. 
Countries from which impc ried. 
Quautity. Value. 
Pour. ds. Dol»rs. 
Colombia 2,657,0/0 413,538 
Venezue'a 16 515,888 2.689,479 
All other countries ... _ 56,307 8,551 
Totuls 19,229,265 3,111,568 
While Braz 1 furuisbe 1 the world with 64£ p r 
cent, of its 6opplj . it a-n's fc) the Uniied S:ates 
68J per ceut. of its impi rts. A f w yea's since nenr'.y 
75 per ce't. was contributed by brazil, but the.ee 
figures indicate the ii cieaiiug importance of the sur-p'y 
drawn fr^rn Mexico, Central America, Venezue'a and 
other couutrioe. — American Givcer, Aug. 1st. 
THE US. GOVERNMENT TEA FARM. 
A Washington coriefpono'ent of the New Yo:k 
Evening Post, reviews the history of the at'empts at 
tea culture made at Surmnervill-3, S.C. durinij the 
administrati.jn of Agriculeurri Oommiaioner Loring 
and concludes that " its gl:osi is not likely to be re- 
surrected." He says.— 
It must not be assumed from this however, that 
tea cannot be raised successfully enough lor private 
consumption in this ooontsy. It is only as a com- 
mercial pivdoct that.it is necessarily a failure here. 
The tea pl«ct or tree grows very well iu th? op?n air 
where climates muoh more rigorous than tbao about 
Summeivile. But whit we l«ok in this country is 
the combination of soil and clin, ate which will enable 
us to tike from thepbnt twe'.ve or fourteen pickings 
in the course of a season; and wiihont this v.e 
cannot hope to compete with the imported teas. A 
deep rich loom such as is foui d iu our best gard< n 
soil i' a p ime necessity and the rainfall should be 
eo distributed as to encourage constant succession 
of fresh young; lewes. In esse the natural rainfall 
will not supply tbis cetd it mutt be supplied by 
artificial irrigation, which is somewhat expensive. 
The beat should also be continuous during spring 
enS summer. . 
Ev«-u in our South, whrra cegro labor is not ex- 
pensive as measured by ordinary standards, it costs 
more to harvest a crop of tea than it does in China 
or in Inlia, a-jd unle s we can have all the des'red 
qualities of sn and olimate to produce a rapid suc- 
cession of crops, and the oheapest of labor, as well 
as the moats skillful, for harvesting these crops, there 
is no money for the American farmer in tea-raising. 
It is thought by some experts tbat there are parts 
of Florida wbers tea culture might be more success- 
fully carried oi than iu either Gergia or South 
Ca-olina, and t'.e Department of Agriculture is still 
distributing the seed < r plants necessary for modest 
private experiments; but the Government tea tarm 
as a separate institution is a thing of the past, and 
its ghost ia not likely to be rcsnrreeted. 
In the American tjrocer, of April 5th 1893, there 
appeared two Mutilations showing a three-year old 
tea garden in PiueburBt, South Carolina, and an 
■ClOUt of the experiment being conducted there by 
Prof. Charles U. Snepard. He estimated tbat it 
would coH 20 c nts ptr pound to g'ow and manu- 
facture tea at Pioehuret, if machinery waa used 
io cutting and leaviug out of the calcula'ion proper 
fixed cba'ges. He state 1 the truth io faring: 
"Taeioia an indeterminable 'if abo'jt the whole 
cilculation." In the present condition ol the tea 
i'du-try th* re it unt the fainte-t aba low ol encour- 
agement that the United States can produce tea in 
cjoopetiiioQ with China, Japao, Iodia or Ceylon. 
COFFEE PLANTING IN PERAK 
On Wedcesday, 22nd Aog. Mr. CaalfieM, State 
Engii eer, with the AsMStaut Engineer, Mr. 
(Inspector of Miner), and Mr. K. A. Stepteo left 
Ta'ping for Matang Road Station by f.i.t train. 
Tliey stopped at limping and went out two or three 
miles on the New Knan Road, end then relumed to 
Simpang. From here the? walked along the Railway 
line to the boundary of Mr. Stephens' newly acquired 
land for coffee planting. From there they walked 
along to the 1'oblio W< rks Department new Irri t a- 
ti >n Works. Ou walking along ibe embauSD.eul, 
(about a miie or a mi e and a half), the visi ora 
weie surprised to see, win n ab> ut bait a uiile 
from the e-nd of the embmkment, u*ar to Mataug 
Road, on j of the fiues -grown plantation? of 
about five acres of Liberisn Coffee that 
any of them had «'»er seen. Ti e land was owned 
i.u I worked by a Manila n an From what this man 
his bi ea able to <io on his sma'l plantation, gool 
prophecic* may be ma ie with regard to Mr. S epbeoe' 
large plantation closely a 'joining. This will no doubt 
leal to a rush for land in ths tame neighbourhood. 
1'r.m obterration, the new cm a . now being opened 
owing to Mr. Stephens ha7ing taken up so much land, 
will not only prove " a boon and a blessing " to his 
laud, hut to a large area around it, and will encour- 
age others to take up land there. It is the firm nal 
attempt at irrigation proper tbat has beeu made in 
tbis State, and lor the honour of the Slat : and the 
glory of its promoters we hope it may be a decided 
sucgcss, and, if it b - so, that the good example thus 
afforded may be followed in otber parts, and te-nd 
to the funher i r a cr dev. lopomen' of onr great 
Native State of Perak.— Singapore Adttrtiter. 
ARROWROOT CULTIVATION 
ST. VINCENT. 
IN 
I left the gardens about 10 o'clock en', aft<r 
brenk'ajt, hired a horce and rode over to Belair. Mr. 
Brown, tho owner, received me very kindly, and 
showed me over bis estate an I woras and gave me 
al the iuformaticn in his power. The arrowroot of 
St. Vincent it well known and ferns one of the 
priucipil sources of supply of this well-kuown artie'e 
of food. It ie the predict of Maranta arundxnacea, 
a low-gro.riug tuberous rooted plant. T' e arro*root it 
obtained from the tubers cf the plant. The usual mode 
of oul'ivation and manufacture carriel ou iu St. 
Vioceut is the follow ing : — When the »roujd has been 
du3 and caiefaily prepared portions of the root or 
tuber about t-ix inche« long (generally th? tipper eLd, 
which conta : n* very little etarch) are planted at in- 
tervals of cix inches. Two or three weeks after 
p a.itii g the leaves begin to ajpjar above the ground, 
and the fields are then wee- ed either by hand or 
with small hoe*. It is very important in the culti- 
vation of arrowroot that the land .■•houid be kept clean, 
and therefore this operation has to be performed 
Beveral times until the plan's have become of suffi- 
cient rize to cover the ground and pi event the rapid 
growth of weeds. The crop is usually ripe and ready 
