8oo 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[June i, 1895. 
Having secured all the awards that were possible, 
1 then asked the Committee to come ana drink 
to the welfare of our sunny Island in the Nor- 
thern Hemisphere which had that day been so 
successful. For this purpose we adjourned to the 
Cafe ]>'ran/;ai.i which occupies the large dome 
over the central hall (on my previous visit I ar- 
ranged with Madame Jerome that the "Bee Brand" 
were the only teas to be served in this Oafi.) 
The Committee and a few friends who now joined 
us, admired the large collection of different grade 
Ceylon Teas I had arranged on a table 10 ft. by 5 
ft. (It was one of those from Angrowella Garden 
that walked away with the gold medal referred to 
by my friend). Some of my show cards (views of 
Ceylon Tea undergoing the various stages in prepa- 
ration, mounted in Ceylon woods) were also very 
much admired. 
One of the Committee proposed that we should 
drink the toast in the " Bee Brand;" but I thought 
"Pommery" would be more acceptable notwithstand- 
ing the "Bee Brand" had been awarded the only 
two gold medals given for Tea. 
Tomorrow I start for Melbourne and after a short 
stay will proceed to Sydney where I will book for 
San Franciscj in the "Arawa" on the 13th May. — 
Yours truly, R. V. WEBSTER, 
CEYLON EXHIBITS. 
Soon after the opening of the Tasmanian Interna- 
tional Exhibition a gentleman connected with the 
tea industry of Ceylon paid a visit to Hobart. He 
was struck with the magnitude of our Exhibition, 
and expressed his regret that there should be no 
Ceylon Court. Hearing, however, that the Show would 
last six months, he arranged with the manager to 
have one or two bays reserved for that country, pro- 
mising that on his arrival at Colombo he would urge 
upon the planters and merchants there to at once 
Send to Hobart such produce as could be got hur- 
riedly together to show the Tasmanians what the 
resources of the island were. 
A few weeks ago a small shipment of teas was 
received from Mr. Webster, managing partner of 
the Ceylon Co-operative Tea Gardens Co., Ceylon, 
and the jury awarded the "Bee" brand a special 
prize. Last week Messrs. J. Baily & Co. received 
another shipment of Ceylon produce, which is now 
beiDg exhibited in the bay adjoining Messrs. White- 
side's furniture display at the end of the Foreign 
Court; 
Amongst other exhibits we notice some splendid 
Coffee berries in glass jars exhibited by Messrs. 
Baiter A Hall of Colombo. Some other samples 
from the plantations are also very fine, but the 
very choicest by far is a "Mocha berry," which is 
beyond all we have seen in Tasmania. 
Samples of golden and silver " tips " show the 
high-class tea grown in Ceylon. A small booklet, 
written by Mr. Webster, for free distribution in this 
court, explains in a terse style the various grada- 
tions of tea-making, or, rather, of tea selection. It 
explains how the leaves from the same plant get 
classified. So that the first budding leaf, carefully 
plucked and dried, forms what is termed gold and 
silver " tips," and that they range up to M30 a pound ! 
on the London market, while leaves from the very 
same branch of the tea plant do not exceed Is. per 
lb. A perusal of Mr. Weoster's very interesting pam- 
phlet may prove instructive to the Tasmanian visitors 
to whom "tea" has been a daily article of consump- 
tion, and still many ignore the process of growing, 
fathering, drying, and grading, so lucidly explained 
y Mr. Webster. 
Messrs. W. H. Davies & Co., of Colombo, exhibit 
dessicated coconut in almost every stage of prepar- 
ation, from the "flake" to the "pulverised state" 
as fine as arrowroot. This coconut core is now ex- 
tensively used all over Europe, and it is well-known 
that in Ceylon a coconut tree plantation is a source 
of income almost as highly prized as tea, coffee, 
cinchona or cocoa (chocolate) ; of this latter Messrs. 
J{, U> Davies & Co, make an excellent show. 
A great variety of coconut fibret> in everv stage, 
from the rough fibre and the yarn to the finished 
matting, is displayed. The court is ornamented with 
photographs showingthe tea industry in all its various 
brandies. Indeed, though Mr. Webster was late in 
coming, the Exhibition is indebted to his exertions 
for a most instructive display. 
JURORS' AWARDS. 
Gitoui' IX.— Class c#. 
GoFFKE. 
Messrs. Baker A Hall, Colombo, Ceylon (John Baily 
A Co., agents), Ceylon plantation coffee. Special 
first-class certificate. 
Messrs. Lee, Hedges &• Co., Colombo, coffee. First- 
class certificate. 
The Maravilla Ceylon Tea Co., Colombo, Ceylon 
(John Baily A Co., agents), teas. Becond-class cer- 
tificate. 
The Ceylon Co-operative Tea Gardens, Colombo, 
Ceylon I.John Baily A Co., agents), collection of 
fancy teas. Special first-class certificate. 
Messrs. YV. H. Davies A Co., Colombo, Ceylon i.John 
Baily A - Co., agents), cocoa nibs. First-elaf-s certificate. 
Messrs. Lee, Hedges A Co., Colombo, Ceylon, des- 
sicated coconut. Special first-class certificate. 
Messrs. W. H. Davies A Co., Colombo, Ceylon i.John 
Bail} A Co., agents), dessicatf d coconut. First-class 
certificate. 
Note. — First-class certificates stamped with gold : 
second-class with silver medals. 
INSECT PESTS :— GREEN BUG AND ITS 
PARASITE. 
Mr. E. E. Green of Punduloya, writes to us on 
a subject of special interest to all coffee planters 
as follows : — 
" In my paper on Orthczia I mentioned that the 
native country of the insect was unknown. 
" From information since received it seems pos- 
sible that the nest may have been introduced into 
the Kew Gardens from S. America, specimens of 
this species having been taken from plants far in 
the interior off British Guiana. 
" I am daily expecting a consignment of the little 
beetles from California. I received notice of their 
despatch three mails ago ; but the parcels have 
not yet come to hand. 1 hope this delay in the 
post will not he the death of them. They were sent 
off in the larval stage, with an ample supply of 
food, and were expected to undergo their trans- 
formation during transit and to arrive here as 
adult beetles. I have some large glass jars ready 
for their reception, and hope to start them feed- 
ing upon our local scale-insects before I leave the 
island. I am expecting two different species, viz. : 
Novius kcebelii and Vcdalia cardinalis. I hope the 
former will prove effective in exterminating — or 
at least keeping in check — the green coffee bug 
(Lecanium viride) — while both species are expected 
to attack the orthezia. 
" It will be important to keep up the stock by 
breeding them in captivity. Specimens should be 
distributed to affected districts from time to time 
and turned out on the buggy coffee, until the bee- 
tles have become-well-established. I hope to find 
some one to undertake this work during my ab- 
sence in England. The Haputale Planters' As- 
sociation lias kindly promised to assist. All that 
will be required is a few large wide-mouthed glass 
jars (such as are sold by the Apothecaries' Co. as 
" Drying bottles"). A piece of cotton cloth tied 
over the mouth will afford sufficient ventilation. 
" I will write again when the parcel has arriv ed, 
antl let you know the condition of the contents," 
