THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. | Juke I, 1895. 
somewhat to excess, and as the Mango " cooks'' 
readily, constant watclifu'ness is needed to prevent 
burning. 
To show something of wh it is possible ill the way 
of results with this fruit, I may say that in our 
experiments 13 good sized Mangoes gave one pint of 
jelly and five quarts of marmalade. This certainly 
must be counted a very favourable, not to jay 
remarkable, result. — Xaial Botanic 6 'ardent Report, 
ADJUNCTS TO TEA. 
{From a correspondent.) 
Though the pure Lucca oil is difficult now to 
procure, its place in the cuisine being chiefly taken 
by that expressed from cotton seed, and, in these 
days when few know or care what they eat and 
drink the substitution is no great matter. The most 
important plant of the olives, which belong to the 
same order as the Ash, is the Olea Europwa and 
though chiefly grown in Southern Europe, is admir- 
ably fitted for our mountains, where the rainfall is 
not excessive enough to render the fruit over pulpy, 
when ripening. Whether the pure ril would compete 
successfully with its cheaper rival has yet to be 
determined; the public of the present day inclining 
to cheap imitations rather than genuine articles; 
but the bottled, or tinned fruit would undoubtedly 
be appreciated either for ordinary dessert or other 
purposes. Though the plant ha* been raised from 
even the 9tones out of the familiar retail bottles, 
grafting would be necossary, henoe, it would be 
preferable to import plants in Wardian cases as a 
nucleus. Shade, for the first three years, would be 
necessary and care would have to be taken that 
this should fall obliquely and by no means direct 
from above, as the drip would prove highly detri- 
mental to the well-being of the plant. The olive 
does not i eed an over rich or stimulating soil, and 
it is as well here to mention that those who may 
be inclined to make the most of their estates, should 
Btudy the recent roports from the once vaunted 
orchards at Mildura on the banks of the Murray 
River in Australia, where exotic cultivation has shown, 
that fruits brought up too tenderly, though luscious 
and of larger size than those raised naturally, 
cannot be exported as they become flaccid and 
insipid in the course of twenty-four hours; much the 
the same as has been experienced in the large forc- 
ing houses for early and unseasonable vegetables in 
Europe. High cultivation among plants is attended 
with much the same results as among animals, vace 
horses, especially, as also too delicately nurtured 
human beings, both being unnaturally forced to a 
bastard development, to the shortening of life and 
artificial existence during their brief span. [Here 
we beg to differ from our correspondent He evi- 
dently mistakes "high" for "too high 'cultivation. 
Ed ] Though the variety 6i Oleacoea just mentioned, 
is the chief fruit-producer, oth r kinds exude a 
sweetish juice in semi-tropical climates which hardens 
into manna of the chemist's shops. The common 
Ash Fraxinus Excelsior, would yield the substance 
under our brighi sun, while its tine timber would 
improve the value of all estates ; it is hardly necessary 
to mention chat the leaves ot the Ash act much the 
same as se-na, while the bark of all the larger 
Olcmis have decided febrifuge qualities (bnt we bave 
enough and to spare of this latter medicine). Olea 
framans, a smaller variety, is still used in China 
for scenting tea The sub, or rather we should say 
the affinitive order of jasmine is well known, though, 
except in some parts of the South Maharatta 
country, the plant is merely grown for wreaths and 
general decorative purposes; though the scent is 
easily and inexpensively extracted either by dis- 
tillation or maceration with animal fat and the 
common cheap potatoe spirit, rectified. There is 
not the slightest difficulty in procuring jasmine 
seed or p'au.s. Another pant allied to the above 
is supposed to be the mustard tree of the new 
Testament— Sahadorie parcica, of which there are 
one! or two kinds. The fruit of the one alluded to 
tastes like garden cress, and is presumed to have 
a similar influence in purifying the blood; the 
bark having much the same properties of IjIi.i imp 
fluid. The leases of fjulradorte In Jit a are purgative ; 
hence the plants d*clt upon have much to recom- 
mend them to all wishing to stock their holding* 
with economic plants of no mean commercial value. 
None of these adjuncts need elaborate treatment, 
nor would interfere with cither tea or coffee 
cultivation: while, though their fruits might be 
available to present proprietors, they wou'd add 
considerably to the market value of an estate or 
benefit posterity in the shape of the owner's children. 
The Italians have a saying that "h' wou'd become 
rich should p'ant an o'ive," and fo say we — O.W. 
— Sonili of India Observer, 
TEA CULTIVATION IN THE CAUCASUS. 
Experiments with tea plants in the Ku-iuiau pro- 
vince of Transcaucasia have been carried ouforsmie 
tim . In the Russian Xourclles quoted by the Board 
of Trade Journil (1891, n. 174 J, it was stated that 
"the tea plant flourished o:i the western lit tor il of 
Transcauc isia, notably at Soukhoum. The tea shrubs 
planted in those districts re ich normal dimensi u- 
and arrive at full maturity, producing excellent seed*. 
The climate of Western Oaucvia compare* f ivourably 
with that of the south east of China. This analogy 
con-lsta not only in the equali'y of mean annual 
temperature of the two region', but alio in the 
quantity of rain which falls there and in the period 
(spring, when tho rai s are most abundant a co- dl- 
tion essential to the growth of the tea plant." It ia 
added that a so-called Caucasian tea had be*n exhibited 
to the Nijni-Noworod fair. "This was nothing else 
but Vaccmium Arotottaphulos, a kind o ( tea from 
Kopirie, which only serveid to discredit the future 
plantations in Caucasia." 
Latterly the tea plantations in the Caucasus ha»e 
been extended, and " the quality of the tea produce! 
is said to be good." 
The Department of Crown Estates baa appointed 
a Commission which will includ • the In*pector of 
the Imperial Domains in the Caucasus, to proceed 
to India, Southern Obina, and Ceylon, with the 
cbject of thoroughly examining the methods of tea 
culture and curing in those countries. The commer- 
cial Agent for the Appanage Department of the 
Russian Imperial Court has recently visited Kew 
to study the subject. 
Some remarkable statistics as to the tea production 
of the world are given in a pap>r read by Mr. 
A. G. Stanton at the Society of Arts (Jouni., vol. 
13. pp. 189—201). In 1883 the total consumption of tea 
in the United Kingdom was 170,780,000 lb., or 4 82 
lb. per head of popu'ation. In 1894 these figures 
had risen to 214 341,014 lb., or 553 lb. per head. 
The remarkab'e feature is the statistics in the 
way in which India and Ceylon have displaced 
China as a source of snpply. Taking Mr. Stanton's 
par-centages, the proportions of the total snpply 
stand as follows : — 
Chiua. India, Ceylon. 
1883 ... 66 33 1 
1894 ... 12 55 33 
In 12 years Ceylon has pushed to the position 
at first occupied bv India, and this almost entirelv 
at the expense of China 
Mr. Stanton states : —"The annual consumption 
of tea in the civilised world, exclusive of the United 
Kingdom, is about 250,000,OJO lb-. Of this quantity 
o ly about 30,000.000 lb are In 'ian and Ceylon." 
It is evident, then, that if Russian tea can be 
successfully p'aced upon the market, it will have, 
in the first instance at any rate, to compete with 
Chiua tea. Th° new competitor is not likely seriously 
to effect British production. 
As the experiment to grow tea in the Rnssian 
Empire po-sesses an interest in connexion with the 
large tea industries of India and Ceylon the 
following particulars are reproducsd from the repjrt 
for the year 1894 on the agricultural condition of 
the Batoum Consular district, lately forwarded to 
the Earl of Kimberley by Mr. Consul Stevens. 
[Foreign Office, Annual Series, 1894, No. 1481] :— 
