726 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [May i, 1895. 
of meeting ; he has been in the city for a short 
time ; unless he calls upon me after he returns from 
the west we are not likely to meet. With kind 
greetings and trusting you are in good health. — I am, 
yours very sincerely, S. Elwood May. 
We wish Mr. El wood May every possible 
success in the resuscitation of the "Ceylon 
Planters' Tea Company " more particularly as lie is 
again to he associated, we understand with Mr. 
Earr, who, with Mr. May, has already done so much 
tomake Ceylon tea known in America as to lay 
our producers under a deep debt of gratitude, 
in our opinion, It is, of course, ijuite open to 
individual planters or merchants to take an in- 
terest in the new Company ; but Mr. May must 
understand that the great effort for which the 
planters are taxing themselves at present to pro- 
mote the consumption of our tea in America, 
must be kept free of any interference with whole- 
sale or retail trade. The Planters' Association 
of Ceylon, in fact, is forbidden to hold any interest 
in a commercial undertaking and through over- 
looking this, misconceptions and misunderstanding 
arose after the starting of the Commissioner's 
Tea Store in Chicago. May it not be possible 
though, for Sir John Grinlinton now to unite 
forces with Mr. Parr and Mr. Elwood .May, and 
to hand over the Chicago Store — which Sir John 
is understood to be anxious to get rid of — to the 
resuscitated Tea Company ? 
FRUIT CULTURE IN THE HIMALAYAS. 
Is there a future for fruit culture in the 
Himalayas '! Mr. Caley Smith, of the Yalumba 
Vineyards, Angoston, South Australia, is of 
opinion, from observations at Darjeeling and 
Mussoorie, that very much more might be done 
in this direction than has yet been attempted. 
He further suggests that the Government of India 
should expend £1,500 or so a year for the purpose 
of keeping up an experimental orchard, where 
experiments in hybridisation of various fruits 
might be made, .and their results made known 
to horticulturists by publication in a Govern- 
ment journal of agriculture. This plan has, he 
says, been adopted with success in Australia. 
Canada and the United States. — M, Mail, March 22. 
TEA IN FIJI. 
We have been shown some samples of tea grown 
and manufactured at the Wainnnu Tea Estate, 
Vanua Levu, and after tasting the same can pronounce 
the quality and flavour as exceptionally line. We 
refer more particularly to the Broken Pekoe which 
is in our judgment quite equal to the Ceylon article, 
being most delicate and at the same time giving a 
strong liquor. The Pekoe Souchong is a good, sound, 
well-flavoured tea, and quite good enough for family use. 
It is gratifying to know that these teas are grown and 
manufactured by the local Fijians of the district under 
a'.i efficient staff of whites, thereby giving remuner- 
ative employment to the Fijians, young and old, and 
thus keeping money in the colony. The samples of 
tea referred to are intended for the Imperial Insti- 
tute, London, where they will be placed among the 
Fiji exhibits and come under the notice of tea 
tasters and experts. We wish the Wainunu Tea 
Estate all success. — Fiji limes. 
AN INTERESTING TEA SHIPPING SUIT. 
The Assam Frontier Tea Company, Limited, vs. 
The India General Steam Navigation Company, 
Limited. 
A suit of great importance, both from the value of 
the stake at issue and from the point of law involved, 
has just been decided in the Calcutta High Court. 
The plaintiff's Company, together with several 
other tea Companies, namely, the Tiugri Tea Com- 
pany, the Khobong Tea Company, the Chubwa 
Tea Company, the Lonay Tea Company, the 
Tyroon Tea Company, the Amluckie Tea. " Com- 
pany, the Dhunserie Tea Company, and M«.osm. 
Waiter Butler and Company, on BOtb August 181)3, 
instituted suits to recover the value of certain 
chests of tea which were shipped on 9th August 
1H91 on board one of the defendant Company \ rUi.>, 
the " Nazim," for conveyance to Calcutta. 
The various companies wished to be guided, more 
or less, by the decision of the High Couit iu the first 
suit, which was brought by the A sum Fronticj Te.i 
Company, and to accept that as a tebt chm. Thiu 
suit was accordingly tried before Mr. Justice .S i( .le 
on 12tfa March last. 
The North China Insurance C uupany also Joined 
in bringing the suit : as they were interested In Mm 
result to the extent of about three lakhs of rupees, 
the whole of the tea and jute on board being heavily 
insured with them. The fiist suit was brought by 
the Assam Frontier Tea Company, Limited, to recover 
the sum of K69.265-13-2, the value of Tl'.li cherts of 
tea which they said had been shipped on board 
the "Nizam," one of the Company's Hats, at Dib- 
rugarh. for carriage to Calcutta, there to be deli- 
vered to Messrs. Shaw, Wallace and Company, on 
9th August 1*92, which, owing to a disaster, never 
reached its destination, and they contended that the 
Company were liable for its value. It would appear 
that the flat "Nizam." on 30th August mill, w is 
being towed by one of the Company's steamers, the 
"Mirzapore," through the Sunderbunds, on their 
way to Calcutta, and while going through a narrow 
river, called the Boj J3oja, ran upon some obstacle, 
which was afterwards discovered to be a snag. The 
steamer was travelling in the usual manner adopted 
by the Company, towing her two flats, lashed one 
on each side, the flat "Nizam" being on the port 
side and another flat, the " Pundit," on the star- 
board side. 
His Lordship, in the course of a very lengthy and 
exhaustive judgment, stated that the only real issue 
raised was whether or not the tea which the defen- 
dants had contracted to carry was lost through the 
negligence of the defendants or their servants, or 
whether such loss was due to accident or the perils 
of navigation within the exceptions contained in the 
speci;>.l contract signed by the Assam Frontier Tea 
Company, when they handed over the goods for 
transit to Calcutta. 
The flat "Nizam'' was undoubtedly staunch and 
strong, built of steel and possessing bulkheads running 
both athwartships and down the centre of the vessel, 
and constructed in the way experience had shown to be 
the best; the flotilla was also commanded by offi- 
cers of competence and experience, and possessed a 
crew sufficient for the purpose of the voyage. 
The flotilla left Dibrugarh on the 9th August 1891, 
with the steamer "Mirzapore " in the centre, the 
fiat "Nazim" on the starboard side, and the flat 
" Pundit" on the port, the whole width of the flotilla 
being about 735 feet. On the night of 29th August 
1891 they anchored in safety iu the Sibswa River, 
and leaving again in the morning at 5 a.m., arrived 
in the Boj Boja before 6 a.m. The river here is 
tidal. After passing a creek called the Cocuria. the 
tide was found to be against them, and while in a 
bend called the Fiddler's Elbow an alarm was 
given that the flat "Nazim" had struck on some- 
thing and was making water very rapidly. Efforts 
were made to find out the cause of the disaster, 
and after some time the vessel was beached at the 
first convenient spot, namely, a shelving bank in 
the Shaikbaria Biver, below the Fiddler's Elbow, 
and at a distance of forty minutes' steaming from 
the spot where the accident first occurred. The flat 
was secured by two wire hawsers and two six-inch 
coir ropes to the trees on the shore, and drawn as 
high up on the shelving bank as the state of the tide 
permitted. After she had been so seemed the 
steamer "Dacca" arrived on the scene of the 
accident with two empty flats in tow, and assistance 
was rendered by her crew in removing the cargo 
and pumping out the water. The leak was partially 
stopped with jute and rope patting bv the en- 
