3o6 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. TNov. r, 1894. 
China rising to 126,000,000 pounds and India to 
31,000,000. Tbea China began to lonee groun i, and in 
1890 she sentouly 57,000 000 pounds against 102,000,000 
from Iudia. In 1892 China sent 34,000,000 poun.ls, 
and from Juno to Decernb* r in 1893 only 25,000,000. 
But in then-iine yoar ludia sent 113,500,000 pounds. 
In 1885 Ceylon s-nt about 3,000,000 poands, and last 
year nearly 69,000,000. 
Stbainino Afteb Effect. — About twelve cen- 
turies ago lived Lo-Yu. He is dead now, by 
the way, but when he was alive he wrote: "Tei 
tempers the spirit and harmonis'-s the ruin I ; 
dispels lassitude, and relievos fatigue ; awakens thought, 
and prevents drowsiness; lightens and retr-shea 
the body, and clears the ptrcep'ivo faculties." A 
Liverpool firm of tea dealers who have an antipathy 
to Indian and Ceylon tea have s.-ized upon tl e 
words of the Chinese sage, and are using them as an 
advertisement for China U a. "Lo-Yu was right," 
say these household tea dealers, "but he did not 
refer to tbe rough, bitter, astringent teas so largely 
used in Liverpojl. These are full of tannin; they 
create dyspepsia and all sorts of gastric disorders. 
There were no Indian teas when the learned Lo-Yu 
wrote. His remarks apply only to rich, pure, mellow- 
flavonred teas whioh, those possessing the.e qualities, 
are non-injurious." This seoms a little rough on the 
memory of Lo-Ya,but it will not do much harm to the 
Indian and Ceylon tea industries. 
Tea Weighing by thb Customs. — With referenoe to 
the following complaint, which is published iu this 
week's Truth, we may mention that it is an old 
grievance, and one which the Indian Tea Districts' 
Association through their secretary tried to remedy 
some time since, oat without success. " An Indian 
tea-grower sends me a letter," says the Truth, 
" strongly oomplaining of the slovenly system of weigh- 
ing tea which is adopted by the English Customs. 
According to the writer's account, the Customs offi- 
cers do not condescend to consider ounces, except 
by knocking them off or putting them on weights to 
make np even pounds. Suppose, for instance, a chest 
of tea is shipped with gross weight 1271b. 6oz., tare 
271b. 6oz., net tea 1001b. The Customs weights will 
come out thus: Gross 1271b. Ooz. ; t»re 281b. Ooz ; 
net tea 991 b. This roe ms a loss of 111b. of tea to 
the seller, and of 4d. duty to the revenue. The bujer, 
on the other baud, is practically presented with 
lib. of tea, My Correspondent asserts that he 
himeelf last year lost the value of 3,109lb of tea. 
Taking the total quantity of tea shipped to Great Brit- 
Bin from Calcutta, Ceylou and Chini, and as^miog the 
average shrinkage per ohe;t to be tbe same as in his own 
experience, he estimates that there must be a yearly 
loss to the revenue of over £21,000, with a corres- 
ponding loss to the sellers and gain to the buyers. 
If this be so, tbe question is clearly worthy of at- 
tention in the interests of the national exohequer 
as well as iu those cf the sellers." 
The Year's Kevenue and Tea and Coffee.— The 
thirty-eight report of the Commission of Customs, 
juBt published, gives some particulars of the con- 
sumption of tea and coffee. The previous annual 
report showed for the first time for many yours a 
decrease in the consumption of tea. In 1893-94. 
however, there has been a substantial advance in 
the revenue from tea, the figures for the three years 
being:— 1891-92, £3,424,830; 1892-93, £3,406,225; 
1893-94, £3,499,909. The increased use of tea has 
been the subject of a good deal of discussion. The 
price was very low, especially in the autumn 
and winter of 1893-94, and it is probable 
th»t the enforced abstention from alcoholic 
drinks in the mining and manufacturing industiies, 
in consequence of the coal strike, has stimulated the 
consumption of tea. The consumption of coffee con- 
tinues to decrease, the diminished income being 
£8,035 or 4 - 5 per cent. Cocoa again shows a decreased 
consumption of the considerable amount o: over 
1,285,000 lb yielding £4,191 or 3 9 per cent less. 
Coffee and Indigestion. — Medical men have so long 
and so treely abased tea aa a cause ol iuOigesdon that it 
is qui^e time coffee had a turn ag am, Dr. Yon Blatcom 
cne of the most diatingui>hed physicians in lkrlin, 
expresses the opinion, afitr careful investigation, that 
coffee long boiled produces more ii digestion tbau any 
other substance taken into tbe iu^i. stomach ; 
hut he adds, by way of arothiurf tbe feelinxe of 
coffee diiukera that a simple infusion facil late* 
digestion. 
Thb Quabtkrly Sales of Cisnamon.— The Imb II ».s 
of cinnamon during the. thirty-f .ur weeks ■ nded 
August 26tb were tully 1,000 hales lies ttan in 1893; 
an 1, us the deliveries were 580 bal- s above what they 
were in that year up to the s»me date, tbe stock remain- 
ing i n hand on Saturd .y last was reduced so as to 
show a relative deficit of 1,635 bales. The pos t'<on 
is thus a strong one, and as the supply received 
for the periodical sales on Monday haft was cut down 
to only 520 bales Ceyloo, the quantity offered was 
eagerly taken by the trade ai d export- rs at an ad- 
vance of -/.d to l}d per lb. ou the May rates, 
the finer qualities exhibiting tbe greatest improve- 
ments in value, viz,— First at 7£d to Is l<t, tuitfr or 
plantation at Is bd to is id: seconds at Tdtolljd; 
finent at Is Id ; thirds at 6Jd to lid ai d Is ; 
fourths at 6d to 8d; un worked at 6Jd to 741 ; and 
broken (5 boxes) at ojd to 6'Jd per lb.— H.and C. Mail, 
Sept. 7tu. 
MALARIAL FEVER AND HOW TO WARD 
IT OFF IN CEYLON. 
SUGGESTIONS BY DR. THOKNHILL. 
Writing of malarial fever in bis Report for 1893 
Dr. Thornbill, tbe Government Medical Offioer of 
Uva, saye : — 
It is especially prevalent in the low-lying portions 
in Bintenna, Welassa, and Kongalla-Bintenna, where 
it may be said to be a veritable scourge, the de- 
struction of life and labour cauted by it being immense. 
The condition of the majority of the inhabitants 
of these division indicates the necessity for measures 
calculated to improve the condition of the people 
as regards food and water supply, irrigation and roads, 
and also as regards sanitation and the provision of more 
hospitals, so that they could be more easily availed of. 
I would urge, too, that quinine in 5-grain packets 
should be far more largely and widely distributed ; 
in fact that it should be made available free of cost 
in every village and house in these malarious divisions, 
and that it should be sold with printed labels at 
every post office, police station, headman's and re- 
gistrar's house, and at every dispensary, at 2-cents 
for each 5-grain packet and at 5 cents for 3 packets 
of 4 grains each. I recently issued the following 
infractions to all the Medical Officers in the Province : — 
1,1 You should, both in the hospital and dispensary, and 
when travelling, advise the inhabitants of malarious 
places— (a) To construct their houses or huts with one 
or more rooms raised on posts or pillars some 6 ft. to 
10 ft, above the ground, and to sleep in these, and 
never, if possible, to sleep on the ground. Inform 
them tbat the poison of malaria does not float higher 
than 6 feet above the ground, (b) Never to drink any 
water that has not been first thoroughly boiled, (c) 
Before and during the malarious season to apply to 
you for quinine, and to take it and give it to their 
children and relatives daily according to the printed 
directions. Inform them that it will always be issued 
free of cost. (d) To plant as many red or blue gum 
trees (Eucalyptus) as they can round about their houses. 
(2) Issue a copy of these instructions written in 
(Sinhalese and Tamil to each headman in your district, 
and ou all possible occasions explain the reasons for 
these precautions to headmen, and urge on them to do 
all they can to get the people to adopt tbem as far as 
possible. 1 forwarded a copy of these to the Government 
Agent, and suggested that be might have them printed 
in Sinhalese and Tamil aad circulated in numbers to all 
headmen for distribution to all persons able to read, 
with instructions to use their best endeavours to 
persuade the inhabitants of these malarious plaoes to 
adopt and systematically attend to these precautions, 
at least to (b), viz.. to driak only water that bad beet) 
