Feb. r, 1895.] 
THK TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
550 
(when Mr. W. had no factory) rest calmly and 
peacefully in their long sleeved chairs and chuckle 
over the effusions appearing in the planters' daily 
j mrnal. This seems hardly fair. Nevertheless, sir, 
the murder is out and the only question arising be- 
fore us planters is, how can we best prevent and 
protect ourselves from being robbed of our tea leaf ? 
The remedy only lies in doing away with the daily 
purchasers of green leaf or so called middlemen 
who purchase for cash from Tom Dick, and Harry. 
How is this to be done ! One feasible suggestion 
which crops up to my mind is that of united co- 
operation ; all connected with factories purchasing 
tea leaf should promptly convene a meeting and 
agree to pass rules and to abide by then). Rule 1st 
to read " No Factory to purchase green tea leaf 
from any person unless the purchaser has quite 
satisfied himself that the seller is a producer and is 
well able to dispose of the quantity of leaf he 
proposes to sell." This, sir, will in a great 
measure check the Middleman and throw Mr. 
L/ebbe on his beam end. If such an union can 
be brought about we can also thus regulate the 
prices to be paid for green tea leaf monthly or 
quarterly by calling a meeting to fix on such 
prices arrived at concurrent with the tone of the 
London market. Union in all things means strength, 
I therefore throw forward this suggestion. I must 
again apologise for troubling ; you may rest assured 
this will be my last on this subject until co- 
operation and unity are an established fact, when 
I shall keep you informed how the institution pro- 
gresses.— Yours truly, J. H. STEPHENS. 
VARIOUS PLANTING NOTES. 
Jamaica Walnut.— Concerning thi^ "Walnut Dr. I. 
Urban, wh > has made a special study of the Flora 
of the West Indies, writes to the eff ct that there 
are valid differences between the fruits of Juglans 
jamaicensis, C.D.C , and J. insularis, Griseb. He 
further expresses his con iction that in this insta - c, 
at least, DescouMilz's fig re is an origin 1 hi d genuit e 
one. We have not seen fruits of either the Portorico 
or cuban Walnut : therefore, we are not in a position 
to verify Dr. Urban*s conclusions; but, as we stat< d 
before, judging from the leaves, we can find 10 
character to sepai ate them Perhaps this notic- may 
be the means of our obtaining more compete 
material. Mr. Fuwcett, th Dhector of the Public 
Gardens of Jamaica, who is now in England, intends 
making a special search for the reputed Jamaica 
Walnut, which Dr. Urban thinks may still exist, as 
several other trees have r cently been re-discovered, 
though they had not previously been co lected since 
th- time of Br wne or S<var z. — (' Kew Bu letiu." — 
Journal of Horticulture. 
( ULTIVATION OF VfOETAISLES AND Fl.OWEIiS IN BER- 
MUDA. — The small col ny 0 the Beiim.ias or 13jiiieri 
Islands in the North Atlantic (about GOO miles from 
■he coast f the United States) furnishes also an 
ins ai ce how much may be done with small indus- 
tries. Accordit g to the " Kcw Bulletin.'' Burmuda 
fnrnisht s New York with a large portion of the 
'■Spiing Onions' and yonng Potatoes consumed in 
that city. It also gru^s Lily bulbs (Lilium Harrisij 
for both the U iied State-i and Europe, and the 
value vi these expjrted last >e r -as ov r £21,000. 
The best quality of airowroot is obtained oh I from 
Bermuda. Altogether its small industries in 1898 
furnished exports to the value of nearly £i20,000. 
These- and other particulars are more fully set forth 
in the annual report published by the Colonial Office 
(Colonial Ki ports, No. 105), lately presented to 
Parliament. The following extract gives tho exports : 
—The principal export to the United Kingdom in 
1893 was arrowioot, vain' d at £989. The piincipal 
export to Canada were Lily bnlbs valued at £1,209, 
and Ollii ns, £95l> ; an to the United Mates Lily 
bulbs valued at £21 ,050 , < > .dons at £59,870, Potatoes 
£26,622, specie £6,000, and cut flowers £1,867. The 
prices (btaiued for the crops in the season of 1893 
were abonl the same as in the preceding year.— Ibid. 
1 Ban na Cultivation in Jamaica. — The Banana 
" cultivation in Jamaica, says the '"Kew Bulletin," 
m y be cited as a most striking and remarkable 
1 instance of how a compaiatively "minor iLdustry " 
may, under suitable encouragement, attain to the 
I rank of a staple product. Twenty-five years ago 
the va'ue of the Bananas exported f om Jamaica 
was practically nothing. People g ew them for their 
own use but never thought of shii pin? them. In 
the year 1892-3 the value of Bai anas exported from 
Jamaica reached over £400 000. It exceeded that of 
either sugar. ru:r, coffee, or dye woods. In this case 
1 tt>inor industry of a comparatively unpromising 
character has been called into exis'enc, and so 
advanced in va'ue as to overtop old industries carried 
on for moie than a hundie I years 1 anana culti- 
vation in Jamaica has been of I enefit also to othi r 
in dusti it s. Underi eath the shade of the Banana 
trees nurcerous p'ants have been grown likely to 
inert a e in the future the exports if Coffee, Cocoa, 
Ora- 1 es, and spices, Not only so, but, " ready money " 
to the ixtent of nearly £2' '0,000 annua ly has b. en 
circulated amongst sma'l cultivators, who are the 
chirf Banma growers, and their material prosperity 
and consequently th ir purchasing power have been 
increased. Further, and iverywheie has enhanced 
in va se, and a larger demand has taken place for 
cattle, mules, and horses, w.th are raised on "pens" 
in the interior. Practically, therefore, all classes of 
th j community huve been benefited and the general 
resources of the Government ior public works and 
other undertakii gs improvtd. The foundations of 
this piosperity in Jamaica were laid mainly by the 
enl ghtened efforts of two able Governors (Sir John 
Pet r Grant and Sir Anthony Mosgrave), ho h of 
who'ii lahomed most consistently for this -end for 
many years. — Ibid- 
Imperial Institute. — On Thursday afternoon, Dec. 
13, Dr. Somerville. of th^ Durh m College of Science, 
read a paper dea ing with " Seme Aspects of British 
Fore-try " Pr fessor Schlich, Ph.D, of Coc per's 
Hill, occupied the cha r. T 1 e extension of sylvi- 
culture in this country was discussed chiefly as an 
agency for bringing pr tit to th - landlord and ben. fit 
to the S-ate The absence of satisfactory returns 
from many of our existing woods was traced to 
excessive initial expenses, uusciei tific management, 
game, and the inferior quality and consequent y low 
price of much of < ur home growu timber. The po^T 
quality of the timber was shown to be largely due 
to the way in which our plantations are ui<naged, 
and espeeia ly to 'heir being usually ovtr-thinntd, 
and too iimited in ixtent. Reference to the Boa-id 
of Trade statistics did not justify a common pr< - 
dicti' 11 that timber will become both scarce and dear 
11 the n ar uture. If, however, timber-i xpjrting 
cou tries are cutting into the r capital stock 01 trees, 
and are shipping more timber tha 1 is annually pro- 
due d, a period of scarcity may arise with a 
sudd nness of whic'i the Bjard of Trade Returns 
need not be expec ed to give any iLdiea'iou. The 
desiiability of the Swte purchasing laud suitable for 
forestry hs a mea- s of providing employment in 
rural districts was strongly insisted upon. SyWicul- 
lu al op rations, and the transport of timber to the 
nearest sawmill or railway station, nec s;itate the 
employment of ap roximatey one foiester ir other 
workman to 50 acres of wood; wbi e the conversion 
and utilisation of the timber employ an ev-n larger 
amount of labour. I; wa- p inted out that, at a 
low . stimate, hill past ral fa ms are attended to t>y 
one shepherd per thousand acres, so that forest- y 
can find remunerative employment r at least twenty 
i'"es as many lab urers as pastoral fanning. — Gar- 
deners' Chronicle. 1 
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