22 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST 
[JULY  I,  1892. 
be  those  only  whioh  are  able  to  carry  a keen  edgp; 
and  pruners  should  always  be  supplied  with  the 
means  of  sharpening  them  without  leaving  the  field. 
Mr.  Hart  is  sceptical  as  to  the  popular  notion  of 
the  influence  of  the  moon  on  vegetation,  pruning 
is,  of  course,  best  carried  out  at  the  close  of 
orop  time ; and  Mr.  Hart  advises  the  removal  of 
pruniDgs,  lest  they  should  breed  beetles.  The 
obapter  on  pruning  closes  thus  : — 
Good  maxims  for  the  cultivator  are,  “ prune  little, 
but  prune  often  ; prune  carefully,  but  prune  with 
decision.  Prune  for  leaves  and  a crop  must  come.” 
For  Ceylon  planters  we  need  not  quote  what 
is  said  about  roading  and  draining  ; but  the 
following  principle  is  worth  noticing,  viz.  that  ‘‘the 
richer  the  soil,  the  nearer  the  roads  should  be  to- 
gether.” The  temperature  at  whioh  eaoaocan  best  be 
grown  is  indicated  by  that  of  the|Trinidad  Royal  Bo- 
tanio  Gardens  : mean  of  4 lyears  ending  1890,  78-6  ; 
mean  minimum  69-4  ; mean  maximum  86-8  ; mean 
annual  humidity  (a|most  important  quality  of  climate, 
79.  The  four  years’  mean  rainfall  was  71-65,  for 
35  years  it  was  65-49  inches  only.  Mr.  Hart 
states : — 
In  my  experience,  humidity  is  a much  more  im- 
portant feature  in  plant  growth  than  temperature 
alone,  and  no  plant  suffers  more  than  Cacao  at  periods 
when  the  air  is  deficient  in  moisture.  Even  in  the 
driest  weather  in  Trinidad  the  Hygrometer  shows 
that  during  the  later  portion  of  the  night  and  early 
morning  the  moisture  in  the  air  closely  approaches 
to  saturation  and  it  is  only  the  readings  of  the  periods 
between  10  a.m.  and  4 p.m.  which  reduoed  the  record 
to  the  average  of  78. 
Cacao  can  stand  a oertain  amount  of  severe  drought 
for  short  intervals,  but  districts  which  are  subject  to 
continued  dronght,  are  certainly  not  suitable  j or  the 
cultivation  of  the  Cacao  tree , as  under  such  circumstancee 
the  Cacao  tree  MUST  certainly  die- 
Under  rainfall  Mr.  Hart  states : — 
Countries  in  which  the  mean  annual  rainfall  is 
greater  than  in  Trinidad  may  not  possess  the  same 
humidity,  and  therefore  are  not  es  suitable  for  the 
cultivation  of  our  plant,  and  countries  on  the  other 
hand  which  exhibit  a smaller  annual  rainfall  may  be 
more  suitable  for  Cacao  cultivation  owing  to  the 
presence  of  the  requisite  amount  of  humidity ; for 
in  no  country  is  the  humidity  fully  determined  by 
or  coincident  with  the  rainfall,  as  it  is  often  influ- 
enced by  many  other  outside  conditions.  On  the 
sonth  side  of  the  Island  of  Jamaica  for  instance, 
although  a similar  temperature  prevails  as  in  Trini- 
dad, the  humidity  shows  a remarkable  divergence 
from  our  record,  and  in  that  fact  shows  plainly  that 
this  district  is  utterly  unsuited  for  the  growth  of 
Cacao.  Though  there  are  other  situations  in  that 
Island  where  the  requisite  humidity  can  be  obtained 
and  where  the  tiee  thrives  exceedingly  well  and  pro- 
duces large  orops  and  fruit. 
The  planter  must  not  take  it  for  granted  therefore, 
that  because  he  is  in  the  AVest  Indies,  Central  or 
South  America,  eto.,  etc.,  in  a climate  exhibiting  a 
temperature  similar  to  Trinidad,  that  he  can  rely  upon 
such  a situation  or  climate  as  being  suitable  for 
Caoao,  for  he  cannot  do  so,  as  he  will  find  probably 
to  his  cost  if  he  attempts  the  venture.  Having 
thus  learnt  what  the  Cacao  tree  requires  in  the 
matter  of  moisture  or  humidity  the  planter  must 
examine  for  himself  and  depend  on  his  own  judgment 
in  selecting  a spot  for  a Oacao  plantation,  especially 
if  it  happens  to  be  in  a country  where  the  cultivation 
of  that  product  has  not  preoeded  him. 
In  the  West  Indies  as  in  other  countries  the  higher 
the  elevation  the  oooler  the  temperatnre,  and  the 
greater  the  moisture  during  the  hours  of  darkness, 
and  in  hilly  situations  in  well  sheltered  positions  Oacao 
has  been  found  to  thrive  owing  to  the  presence  of 
Bufficient  humidity  in  places  where  the  temperature 
is  very  much  below  the  mean  annual  of  the  finest 
Oacao  districts. 
Here  we  olose  our  notioe  of  thi3  valuable 
e-andbook  on  the  oulture  and  preparation  of  a 
very  interesting  and  valuable  food  product,  which 
holds  an  important  place  in  the  estate  culture  of 
Ceylon.  AATo  have  still  to  deal  with  the  harvesting 
of  the  fruit  and  the  treatment  of  the  ‘‘beans” 
to  prepare  them  for  the  market,  on  which  subject 
the  information  is  full  and  interesting.  To  the 
remaining  subjeots  treated  of  by  Mr.  Hart  we  hope 
to  address  ourselves  in  a closing  article  on  “ Theo- 
broms,”  the  food  of  the  gods,  as  Ambrosia 
(fOeylon  tea)  was  doubtless  (?)  the  favorite  tipple 
0f  the  members  of  the  Greek  Pantheon. 
TEA  EXPORTS  FROM  CHINA  IN  1891. 
Consul  R.  J.  Forrest  reports  on  the  trade  of  Amoy 
for  1891  in  the  following  terms:  — 
Load,  which  is  used  for  the  lining  of  tea-boxes, 
deoliDes  in  sympathy  with  the  tea  trade. 
The  main  exports  fr>  m Amoy  are,  in  the  order  of 
their  value,  tea,  sugar,  paper,  and  tobacco.  In  road- 
ing the  following  figures  in  regard  to  Tea  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  they  deal  with  the  exports  from 
January  to  Deoember  of  each  year,  so  that  both  new 
and  old  seasons’  teas  are  inoluded  in  the  returns 
given:—  1891.  1899.  1889. 
Amoy  teas  lb  3,195,493  3,258,736  3,343,700 
Formosa  teas  lb.  20,275,419  15,087,967  17,992,524 
lb,  23,470,212  18,316,703  21,336,224 
These  figures  represent  the  total  export  of  Amoy 
teas  and  of  Formosa  tens  exported  through  Amoy  to 
foreign  countries  aud  to  Chinese  ports.  The  latter 
took  very  small  quantities,  namely,  52,575  lb.  in  1889, 
92,325  lb.  in  1890,  and  44,1161b.  in  1891.  AVitb  the 
exception  of  an  insignificant  quantity  of  Souchong 
these  teas  are  Oolongs.  For  Amoy  teas  the  export  of 
1891  is  the  lowest  on  record,  while  the  Formosa  ex- 
port has  not  been  surpassed.  In  my  report  on  the  tea 
trade  of  Amoy  for  1890  I remarked  that  had  it  not 
been  for  the  silver  question  and  the  speculation  excite- 
ment created  in  tho  United  States,  1890  would  havo 
been  a most  discouraging  year,  and  that  when  trade 
resumed  its  normal  course  it  would  appear  that  Amoy’s 
share  in  the  tea  trade  is  gradually  and  surely  de- 
creasing. My  prophecy  has  been  fulfilled  : the  export 
of  Amoy  Oolong  to  the  United  States  hes  fallen  from 
1,710,139  lb.  in  1S90  to  1,163,656  lb.  in  1891  aud  the 
end  of  tho  decline  has  not  yet  been  reached. 
The  faot  is,  Formosa  is  gradually  extinguishing  the 
tea  trade  of  Amoy,  and  the  foreign  merchant  has  to 
send  his  agent  to  Tumsui,  where  the  question  as  to 
weight  of  dollars  has  not  yet  been  raised.  There  the 
native  dealers  are  prepared  without  cavil  to  accept  as 
good  dollars  coins  which  defacement  and  chopping  have 
rendered  lighter  than  when  issued  from  the  mint. 
Here  they  are  not. 
Mr.  T.  L.  Bullock  reports  to  the  Marquis  of  Salis- 
bury on  tho  trade  of  Kiukiang  for  the  year  1891  as 
follows  : — 
Tea. — Knowing  how  China  tea  has  been  superseded 
in  England  by  Ceylon  aad  Indian,  one  at  first 
sight  can  hardly  believe  the  figures,  which  show 
how  6mall  has  been  the  diminution  in  export  from 
Kiukiang.  The  tact  seems  to  be  that,  so  far  as 
Kiukiang  tea  is  concerned,  as  the  consumption  in 
England  declines,  that  in  Russia  grows  almost  pari 
passu. 
As  compared  with  1890  Black  Tea  even  shows  a 
certain  increase — namely,  25,681,012  lb.  or  192,630 
piculs,  against  181,922  piculs  in  1890.  But  as  one  can 
get  a fairer  idea  from  a number  of  seasons  together,  I 
have  taken  the  average  of  the  last  three  periods  of  five 
years.  In  1876-80  the  average  export  was  about  190,000 
piculs  ; in  1881-85,  about  205,000  piculs  ; in  1886-90, 
about  198,000  piculs.  Thus  the  figures  for  1891,  though 
lower  than  those  for  the  last  decade  are  above  those 
from  ten  to  fifteen  years  ago. 
AATth  Green  Tea,  a less  important  artiole,  the  case  is 
ery  different.  In  1891  the  export  was  4,615,656  lb. 
