March i, 1895. J 
The tropical agriculturist. 
595 
presenting' the garden which strdck us as em- 
bracing an unusual variety : — 
Guavas (of several kinds). Puiueloe, Olive, Mango, 
Oran;e (Sivi le, Chin-., Mandarin), Passion Fruit, 
Fig, Lime, Sou sop, Leeche?, Papavv Bozelle ; Br ad- 
frnit, Rambutan, Avocado Pear, Vaniha, Mulberry, 
Strawberry, etc.. etc. 
But we must close this desukry brief sketch, the 
result of an all-too-brief peep into the old dis- 
tiict, so familiar to us in name and through 
hosts of friend for a long series of years. In 
1856 Dolosbaga had 3,270 acres under coffee ; 
in 1883 it had 9,238 aces under cultivation ; half 
in tea, the rest in coffee, cinchona, cocao, car- 
damoms, &c. Now, in 1895, it has no less 
than 15,500 acres cultivated — nearly all tea — 
scarcely a coffee bush on its plantations — save 
.some Liberian in the region where worthy John 
Drummond grows his cacao and other products 
as well as the staple tea. How James Stone, 
J. A. Bell, M. MacDonnell, John Laing, James 
Kennedy, Alex. Harper, W. Rose, W. Peek, J. 
Barker, A. Cuthbert and other old residents 
would rub their eyes, were they — 
to revisit the glimpses o' the moon 
and enter one of the larger typical tea factories — 
.such as that of Barnagalla itself — with its tur- 
bine, two steam-engines, rollers, driers (down- 
draft .sirocco), sifters, &c, etc., as compared with 
the modest Pulping House and Coffee Store of 
their qiiiet old days. But no more — suffice it 
so say that never before in all the century has 
the old Sentry-box ' looked down and across to 
Xarangalla, on a more prosperous industry than 
tjiat which occupies Dolosbage in this year 1895. 
CEYLON TEA IN NEW ZEALAND. 
Government Loans to Farmers : 
The Laws and Administration oe New 
Zealand-; 
the climate and best place of residence. 
An ex-Ceylon resident — a recent arrival in 
Dunedin— wlio has hail the opportunity for dis- 
tributing gifts of Ceylon tea, writes a chatty 
letter under date 12th Jan. as to his experience :-- 
In a few days I had educated the taste of the 
Manse family to appreciate the merits of pure Ceylon 
high grown tea. Although Ceylon tea is advertised 
everywhere throughout New Zealand it is a rare ex- 
perience to meet with any Colonial or Colonist whose 
taste has been educated to the Ceylon standard of 
tea drinking. Hygienic tea-pots are almost unknown, 
and the barbarous practice of adding water to the 
pot to draw a second infusion — the leaves being left 
in the pot — is nearly universal. What sort of taste 
can you expect in these circumstances '.' And perhaps 
it is not to be wondered at that the suppliers of 
Ceylon tea aro content to handle only the commonest 
qualities. Liptou is selling through a retail agent 
in this city a blend of Ceylon and Indian teas in 
3 qualities at 1/9, 2/3, and 3 per lb. The best is 
a common tea in strength and flavour compared with 
Ceylon high grown, and I calculate that at :! per 
tl>.,' allowing tor 6d per tb. duty, a handsome profit 
is made on it by either the shipper or the retailer, 
or both. The 1/9 tea competes with numerous 
brands retailed throughout New Zealand at 2< per lb., 
and in my opinion it compares favourably with them, 
and is far better value than the 3/ tea. But it is a 
very common grade of tea, and a taste for fine 
high grown Ceylons will never be created by 
it. I sent some of my lot of tea to my 
brother in Invorcargill, and be and his Family ore 
delighted with it; while the excellence of itfa'fianonr 
baa been r«peatedl) commented on by visitors here. 
She Ceylon teas sold by tne Indian and Ceylon Tea 
Do. 'hat Mr. Watson was the means of starting after 
the exhibition in Dunedin a few years ago, arc of 6 
grades at prices from 2s to 3s 6d per lb., and 
although the highest priced is a fairly good tea it 
is not as good as I think it might be at the price. 
The addition of some fine high-grown flavoury broken 
pekoe is needed, and the price charged. I think, should 
justify the improvement of this grade very consider- 
ably. 
I have been in Dunedin since the middle of July 
last, and am now engaged in the office of the 
Public Trustee, tne Dunedin Agency. I am occupied 
principally with the administration of the " Govern- 
ment Advances to Settlers Act," an Act that was 
passed in the end of last session of Parliament for 
the purpose of enabling settlers, but especially small 
farmers, to borrow money from the Government at 5 
per cent interest. Applications are coming in daily, 
at the rate for all New Zealand, it is said, of about 
50 a day, and it is expected that the 1§ million 
pounds which the Government may borrow and 
lend in one year will be all applied for very soon. 
Finance and Agency Houses, of course, do not like this 
departure of the Government, and there has been 
considerable outcry against Ministers and their sup- 
porters in Parliament for this piece of legislation. 
The laws of New Zealand are an interesting study 
to one who has grown accustomed to the system of 
Government in a tropical Crown colony, and has been 
out of touch for many years with what has been 
going on in the old country. It strikes a stranger 
at first sight that the people of New Zealand are 
over-governed, but as their circumstances become 
better known it is impossible to withhold admiration 
for the results. Nowhere else that I have seen is 
there such a high standard of comfort, and although 
employment is scarcer than it has been known 
to be for over twenty years yet there is none 
of that destitution that is so painfully prominent 
in all cities at Home. A large proportion of ths 
artizans of Dunedin own their houses, and pretty 
and comfortable residences they are for the most part. 
Could I choose my residence I would select Napier 
on the east coast of the North Island, where the win- 
ter is milder than in Dunedin. We had snow in thi 
streets of Dunedin in September ! And in October 
there was some lovely spring weather ! Since the begin- 
ning of December there have been summer days that 
were simply perfect. On the whole the climate here 
is very enjoyable, and it is certainly healthy. The 
Dunedin young people are as fine specimens of human- 
ity as you will meet anywhere. 
PLANTING AND PRODUCE. 
Tea-tasting. — The following playful remarks on 
tea-tasting, written by someone profoundly learned 
on the subject, appeared in the Pall Mall Gazelle 
last week. " Parents with a surplusage of boys should 
make tea-tasters of them. Recent revelations con- 
cerning this calling disclose the fact that it is a veri- 
table gold mine, where men can pick up fabulous 
incomes by sipping Bohea for a few hours daily. One 
taster, with a champion palate presumably, is known 
to have made £10,000 a year; but it is frankly 
admitted that many hard-working and deserving 
tasters are compelled to content themselves 
with a beggarly pittance of £2.000 per annum. 
As things go that is not so bad; for, after all, the 
work is not as hard as stone-breaking or journalism. 
Still, it has its drawbacks, like everything else in 
this puzzling world. For instance, the taster who 
desires to have a plethoric balance at his banker's 
must deny himself such luxuries as Scotch whisky, 
und he must also learn to do without strong peppers 
and spices, all of which deaden that sensitiveness 
of palate necessary to success in his peculiar calling. 
Ea?ing disciplined himself to this extent, there ts 
no reason — so a trade journal assures us — why the 
tea-taster should not grow rich beyond the dreams 
of avarice." • Mr. Arthur Lampard. who takes the 
writer's remarks with more seriousnoss than they 
deserve, writes in reply: — "Will you kindly allow mo 
to answer a paragraph appearing in your issue of 
today's dnte. under the heading of " Occasional Notes," 
