n8 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[August  i,  1892. 
quotes  the  following  from  Messrs.  A.  Harvey  & Co.’s 
monthly  report : — 
Ceylons  have  arrived  inrapidly-increaaing  quantities, 
though  the  extra  weight  of  leaf  in  the  last  steamer  has 
checked  the  ardour  of  buyers,  who  had  previously  been 
very  eager,  and  had  enabled  importers  to  sell  at  once 
each  shipment  as  it  came  forward  at  prices  that  should 
have  proved  very  satisfactory  to  shippers.  The  value 
shown  in  these  teas  has  necessarily  been  very  good  to 
create  the  strong  demand  of  the  past  two  months,  but 
the  heavy  increase  in  the  shipments  looks  like  lower 
rates,  unless  the  recent  strong  advance  in  the  Colombo 
market  materially  checks  supplies.  Almost  all  sales 
have  been  effected  privately.  Dust  sold  from  4}d  to 
6d  ; fannings,  5d  to  7d  ; broken  leaf,  fid  to  8d ; pekoe 
souchongs,  61d  to  8^d ; pekoe,  7d  to  9 Jd ; good  orange 
pekoes,  lOd  to  Is  Id  ; and  choice  teas,  up  to  Is  5d. 
In  its  issue  of  3rd  June  the  Argus  reports  the  sale  of 
400  packages  Ceylon  at  6£d  to  lid;  and  in  its 
issue  of  the  4th  it  says  : — 
In  tea,  the  only  description  in  which  business  is 
reported  is  Ceylon,  of  which  about  200  packages  have 
been  quitted  at  various  prices. 
The  S.  A.  Begister  of  Adelaide  in  its  issue  of  7th 
June  reports  ; — 
All  grades  of  India  and  Ceylon  tea  are  firm  at  an 
advance  of  Id  to  2 per  lb.  on  prices  ruling  a week  or 
two  ago.  The  stocks  held  in  this  market  have, 
however,  been  too  small  to  afford  any  scope  for  specu- 
lation or  large  dealing,  even  had  our  merchants  been 
inclined  to  deal  extensively,  hence  sales  have  been 
confined  to  fifty  chests  of  this  line  and  100  of  that, 
parcels  which  in  the  years  past  were  only  regarded  as 
retail  orders,  but  in  the  altered  state  of  things  are 
looked  upon  as  wholesale  parcels.  No  single  sale  of 
more  than  250  packages  has  been  brought  to  maturity 
during  the  late  little  spurt,  and  only  a few  thousand 
packages  in  all  have  changed  hands.  It  must  be 
remembered;  however,  that  blended  teas  have  almost 
entirely  superseded  the  consumption  of  teas  from 
original  packages.  Nevertheless  prices  are  firmer  and 
sales  brisker  than  for  some  time.  During  the  fort- 
night some  1,500  packages  in  all  of  India,  China,  and 
Ceylon  growths  have  been  placed,  from  low  to  good. 
Prices  are  not  given  in  any  case,  but  from  all  quarters 
the  record  denotes  firmness.  Coffee  is  comparatively 
low  in  stock,  and  the  strong  prices  obtaining  in  Ceylon 
and  Noumea  must  have  the  effect  ere  long  of  estab- 
lishing a substantial  advance  in  local  prices.  Today 
there  is  scarcely  a 5-ton  parcel  that  would  be  quoted 
for  were  the  enquiry  made,  and  business  is  carried  on 
in  half-ton  and  ton  parcels,  Is  5d  per  lb.  being  value 
of  good  ship  assortments,  d.  p. 
THE  ELECTRIC-LIGHT  IN  AGRICULTURE. 
In  a reoeot  article  entitled  “ Electro-culture,”  we 
quoted  results  of  experiments  at  the  Massachusetts 
Agricultural  College,  which  show  that  ourrents  of 
electricity,  properly  applied,  influence  plant  growth 
favorably.  We  also  attempted  to  show  that  the  earth 
is  an  exhaustless  reservoir  of  electricity — that  it  is,  in 
faot,  a vast  Leyden  jar,  the  dense  air  at  the  surface, 
compressed  as  it  is  with  the  weight  of  a ton  on  each 
square  foot,  being  the  non-conductor,  the  glass,  which 
separates  the  opposite  electricities  of  the  conducting 
upper  s rata  of  thin  air  and  of  the  earth,  so  that  when 
connection  of  the  upper  air  and  of  the  earth  is  made 
by  a oonduotor,  active  currents  of  eleotricity  are  ob- 
tained, and  was  shown  by  Fischer,  of  Waldheim,  who 
placed  sixty  lightning  rods  around  each  hectare  (2§ 
acres),  by  which  he  collected  electric  currents  and 
inareased  the  orop  50  per  oent. 
In  the  present  article  we  quote  from  Prof.  Bailey, 
of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  ot  Cornell  Uni- 
versity, in  reference  to  the  effectsof  the  electric  light 
upon  plant  growth.  His  experiments  in  1890-91  slow 
that— 
The  electrio  light  promotes  assimilation ; it  often 
hastens  growth  and  maturity;  it  often  intensifies 
colors  and  sometimes  increases  production.  The  ex-  1 
perimeuts  show  that  rest  and  periods  of  darkness  are  I 
pot  necessary  to  plants,  and  that  the  eleotric  light  J 
enables  plants  to  assimilate  during  the  night  and 
must  produce  plants  of  great  size  and  precocity. 
In  1891  Herve  Haugon  found  that  the  electric  light 
produced  chlorophyll,  or  green  substance,  in  the 
leaves  of  plants.  In  1869  Prillieux  found  that  the 
electric  light  enabled  plants  to  decompose  water  and 
carbon  dioxide.  In  1880  Dr.  Siemens  found  that : 
With  electric  light  by  night  and  solar  light  by  day 
melons  were  remarkable  for  size  and  flavor,  bananas 
were  unsurpassed,  grapes  were  of  stronger  flavor, 
strawberries  fruited  early  and  abundantly,  wheat,  oats 
and  barley  grew  so  rapidly  that  they  fell  of  their 
own  weight.  In  all  cases  plants  exposed  to  both 
sources  of  light  showed  decided  superiority.  In  all 
cases  growth  was  hastened. 
It  is  to  be  observed  that  in  all  these  experi- 
ments it  was  found  necessary  to  modify  the  light 
by  using  a glass  globe. 
It  appears  from  the  experiments  quoted  that  electric 
currents  give  power  in  the  motor  which  may  be  used 
to  cultivate  plants ; that  electric  currents  applied  to 
plants  stimulate  growth  and  influence  the  yield 
favorably,  and  that  electric  currents  give  light  whioh 
enables  plants  to  grow  night  and  day. 
Electricity  is  a new  soience.  We  are  just  beginning 
to  learn  how  intimately  it  is  connected  with  our 
work,  and  how  we  may  turn  it  to  our  n?es.  Sooner 
or  later  every  discovery  has  a practical  application.  The 
progressive  and  thoughtful  agriculturist  treasures  up 
new  ideas,  even  though  he  may  not  see  their  imme- 
diate use.  As  Emer. on  has  said: 
Our  duty  is  plainly  not  to  throw  ourself  across  the 
track  ; not  to  block  improvement;  not  to  sit  still  until 
we  are  stone,  but  to  watch  the  uprise  of  successive 
mornings,  and  to  conspire  with  the  new  works  of 
new  dnjB.—Lousiana  Planter  and  Sugar  Manufacturer. 
CARDAMOM-GROWING  IN  SOUTHERN 
INDIA. 
The  Madras  Mail  correspondent  in  North  Travan- 
core  writes,  under  date  Maroh  26th,  that  the  carda- 
mom-weighing season  is  over,  and  that  the  super- 
intendent of  the  cardamom  bills,  who  during  the 
harvest,  attends  at  some  central  spot  in  the  collect- 
ing region  for  fiscal  purposes,  has  left.  The  cardamom 
crop  was  a large  one  this  year,  but  owing  to  rain 
falling  while  most  of  it  was  exposed  on  slabrocks 
to  dry,  a large  amount  has  been  damaged.  There 
are  several  siikar  depots  for  weighing  cardamoms, 
the  moat  important  being  at  Sandampara,  near  Devi, 
kulam,  and  at  Oodaman  Shola.  The  way  to  the 
former  leads  from  Devikulam  through  magnificent 
forests,  from  which  the  undergrowth  has  been 
cleared  and  cardamoms  planted  instead.  The 
owners  of  those  plantations  reside  mostly  in 
the  lowcountry  villages,  and  only  come  up 
once  a year  to  cut  back  the  encouraging  under- 
growth and  to  pick  the  crop,  which  is  taken 
to  the  nearest  weighing  depots,  and  there  laid  out 
on  large  slab-rocks  to  dry. 
Cardamom  being  a Travancore  sirkar  monopoly, 
great  precautions  are  taken  to  prevent  theft  and  smug- 
gling across  the  British  boundary,  but  much  smuggling 
goes  on  nevertheless,  a great  many  gardens  being 
within  a few  miles  of  the  frontier.  At  each  depot  is 
stationed  a detachment  of  the  Nair  Brigade,  beside 
numerous  peons  and  guards  The  sirkar  gives  the 
land  to  the  ryots,  without  demanding  any  money 
payment  whatever.  As  much  cardamom  seed  as  is 
required  is  also  given  free.  When  the  orop  is  picked 
and  dried  the  Government  takes  charge  of  it,  and  stores 
it  in  buildings  set  apart  for  the  purpose.  It  is  weighed 
and  packed  in  gunny  bags  called  “ chippams,”  se  >led 
with  the  sirkar  seal  all  along  the  stitching,  and  sent 
away  on  bullocks  to'  Kumili,  under  the  guard  of  a 
detachment  of  the  Nair  Brigade.  Here  it  is  packed 
in  carts  and  sent  to  Alleppy,  where  it  is  sold  at  publio 
auction.  As  each  bag  is  weighed,  a ticket  is  put  in 
giving  the  ryot’s  name  and  the  total  weight  and 
number  of  bags  belonging  to  him,  and  the  number  of 
each  bag,  so  that  eaoh  ryot  may  get  his  sbaro  of  the 
