Sept,  i,  1892.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
i9S 
NOTES  ON  PRODUCE  AND  FINANCE. 
They  Mean  Business. — The  papers  received  from 
Calcutta  by  the  recently-arrived  mail  show  that  the 
Indian  tea  planters  feel  very  stroDgly  upon  the 
subjeot  of  their  due  representation  at  Chicago.  At 
a meeting  held  at  Silghat,  and  reported  in  the  English- 
man, the  Caloutta  subscriptions  were  considered  unequal 
to  the  occasion,  and  comment  was  made  on  the  letter  of 
the  Indian  Tea  Districts’  Association,  London,  which 
letter  was  said  to  contain  a great  deal  of  good  advice, 
but  no  financial  assistance.  The  meeting  was  evidently 
in  the  mood  for  stirring  things  up.  It  recommended 
not  GDly  that  the  owners  and  shareholders  of  ocean 
and  river  steam  companies  and  all  interested  in  any 
way  in  tea  should  be  pressed  to  subscribe  indivi- 
dually to  enable  full  advantage  to  be  taken  of  the 
splendid  opportunity  to  improve  the  prospects  of  the 
tea  industry,  but  it  was  finally  considered  that  the 
local  government  should  give  liberal  help,  as  the 
prosperous  condition  of  the  Assam  province  was 
entirely  due  to  the  capital  invested  by  the  planters. 
This  last  phase  in  the  discussion  was  very  much  to 
the  point,  and  we  hope  it  was  not  without  its  effect 
on  the  Government  of  Assam. 
The  New  Season’s  China  Teas.— The  quality  of 
the  new  crop,  as  far  as  can  be  judged  at  present,  is 
for  the  most  part  fairly  good,  although  the  liquors  of 
some  parcels  are  rather  thin.  Prices  on  the  whole 
opened  considerably  lower  than  last  year,  only  a 
few  breaks  of  very  distinctive  quality  having  fetched 
comparatively  high  rates.  With  respect  to  the  sup- 
plies of  the  first-crop  teas  for  the  ensuing  season, 
says  the  Grocer,  they  are  said  to  be  100,000  half- 
chests short  of  those  in  the  preceding  year,  and  the 
market  will  thus  be  relieved  of  any  glut  that  would 
otherwise  be  experienced;  but  as  a drawback  to  this 
conclusion  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  Russian  opera- 
tors, contrary  to  their  usual  custom,  have  bought 
100,000  half-chests  (or  an  equivalent  to  the  above)  less 
than  in  1891,  and  by  that  means  the  shortage  in  the 
supply  has  been  negatived  by  a falling  off  in  the 
demand.  The  late  rye  famine  in  Russia,  independent 
of  other  uupropitious  circumstances,  has  been  one  of 
the  chief  causes  of  a more  parsimonious  system  of 
buying  on  the  patt  of  the  Muscovite  population  and 
a leading  caterer  of  theirs  is  reported  to  have  taken 
only  about  30,000  half-ebests  of  Monings  as  bis  year’s 
supply,  in  plaoe  of  over  70,000  half-chests  as  in  1891  ; 
but  it  is  also  said,  by  way  of  explanation  that  orders 
for  the  fulfilment  of  contracts  not  exeouted  on  the 
opening  of  the  market  at  Hankow  will  probably  be 
oompleted  in  London  later  on  instead,  and  if  so,  such  a 
departure  from  an  old-established  practice  may  prove 
to  be  a great  advantage  to  the  export  branch  of  the 
trade  here. — H.  and  C.  Mail  July  15. 
THE  DOUBLE  COCONUT  OF  THE  SEYCHELLES 
ISLANDS. 
The  history  of  the  Seychelles  coconut  ( Lodoicca 
Hechellarum,  Labill.)  is  most  curious.  There  is  not  a bot- 
anist who  has  not  read  about  it  over  and  over  again,  not 
a traveller  to  Madagascar,  Reunion,  or  Mauritius,  who 
has  not  viewed  with  astonishment  its  enormous,  black, 
two-lobed  fruit,  a character  that  has  given  rise  to 
names  as  strange  as  they  are  French.  Ordinarily 
it  is  called  “ Coco  de  mer,”  because  it  is  carried 
away  by  tidal  currents  and  deposited  on  distant  shores 
where  it  occasionally  germinates  and  grows  well ; it 
is  also  called,  “ Maidive  coconut,”  as  it  is  found  in 
those  islands,  transported  thither  undoubtedly  by  some 
current ; “Solomon’s  coconut,”  “ double  coconut,”  are 
also  names  by  which  it  is  known,  besides  others  ; Rum- 
phius_  mentions  it  in  his  Herbarium  Amboinese  as  Cocos 
maldivicus,  and  alludes  to  the  more  or  less  fabulous 
stories  about  the  supposed  virtues — in  one  place  it  was 
used  as  an  antidote  to  poison  ; in  another,  it  was  a 
wonderful  specific  against  colic,  apoplexy,  paralysis,  Arc. 
Without  giving  too  much  credence  to  the  probability 
of  these  properties,  it  appears  certain  that  the  fruit  of 
this  palm  tree  fetched  a high  price.  Travellers  who  were 
able  to  get  it,  paid  £6  to  £12  for  a single  fruit,  while 
! the  largest  sepecimens  went  for  as  high  a figure  as  £18. 
| Precious  vessels  or  cups  were  made  out  of  the  shell, 
| and  were  used  to  hold  tobacco,  or  betelnut.  In  the 
j Maldives,  the  king  made  it  a royal  property,  in  order 
| to  present  it  to  his  favourites,  and  the  theft  of  one 
of  these  coconuts  wras  a capital  crime. 
Vague  ideas  prevailed  for  a long  time  concerning 
the  appearance  of  this  tree  in  its  native  country,  its 
size,  leaves,  stem,  &c.  Bnt  the  discovery  of  the 
Seychelles  islands  in  1743  put  an  end  to  these  doubts. 
People  soon  found  out  that  it  was  indigenous  on  the 
islands  of  Praslin,  Curieuse  and  Ronde.  Sonnerat 
described  it  botanically  in  his  Voyage  to  New-Guinea, 
and  brought  it  with  him  to  Reunion.  Commerson 
continued  the  observation;  and  then  Labillardere,  who 
gave  it  its  present  name,  and  then  Queen  de  Quincy, 
Governor  of  the  Seychelles  ; but  it  was  not  until 
Messrs.  Harrison  and  Telfair  were  enabled  to  send 
flowers  and  fruit  preserved  in  spirits  to  Sir  W.  M. 
Hooker  at  Kew,  that  the  complete  botanical  study 
of  this  curious  plant  could  be  undertaken. 
The  Lodoicea  is  found  on  the  mountainous  parts  of 
the  three  islands  mentioned  above,  where  it  grows  on 
reeky  soil  in  company  with  Cocos  nucifera.  Its  majes- 
tic stem,  50  to  70  feet  high  as  a rule,  sometimes 
reaches  twice  this  height  crowned  with  a magnificent 
head  of  leaves,  sixteen  feet  long  and  more.  Travellers 
descibe  its  appearance  as  noble,  but  somewhat  melan- 
choly. The  young  leaves,  while  still  undeveloped  and 
rolled  up  at  the  top  of  the  stem,  are  edible,  like  those 
of  the  Areca  oleracea ; they  are  also  pickled  when 
fully  grown,  the  broad  handsome  leaves  frequently 
numbering  more  than  a hundred  on  a single  tree  are 
used  in  roofing,  hat  making,  and  even  for  thin  walls. 
The  midrib  is  made  into  brooms  and  baskets ; the 
felt-like  down,  which  covers  the  young  leaves,  is  much 
valued  for  making  pillows  and  mattresses. 
The  stem  is  made  into  pipes  for  irrigation,  or  fur- 
nishes building  wood,  or  planks  for  boxes. 
The  fruit  is  not  merely  an  object  of  superstition 
or  curiosity  ; many  useful  and  durable  articles  are 
made  out  of  the  nut  such  as  dishes,  plates,  bowls, 
and  cups.  It  is  frequently  used  for  storing,  drinking 
water,  each  shell  holding  about  three  quarts. 
When  ripe,  one  of  these  enormous  nuts  weigh  as 
much  as  40  lb.,  and  measures  50  inches  round  and  15 
inches  long.  At  first  it  was  thought  that  they  ripened 
annually,  but  more  recent  observations  have  established 
the  fact  that  they  take  many  years,  probably  nine  or 
ten,  to  ripen. 
When  the  ripe  fruit  is  subjected  to  a temperature  re- 
sembling that  of  the  Seychelles,  it  germinates  readily  and 
grows  quickly.  During  the  first  few  years,  the  young 
plant  does  not  in  the  least  resemble  the  adult  tree  ; it 
is  more  like  some  of  the  Pricliardias  of  the  Pacific. 
As  soon  as  the  stem  is  fairly  formed,  its  base  is 
rounded  and  fits  into  a natural  bowl  or  socket,  which 
is  pierced  by  numerous  small  oval  holes,  with  hollow 
tubes  corresponding  on  the  outside.  The  roots  pass 
through  these  holes  and  tubes,  and  penetrate  the 
ground  but  they  never  become  attached  to  the  bowl, 
thus  having  a free  play  and  allowing  the  tree  to  sway 
about  in  the  wind,  a very  necessary  provision  against 
violent  gales.  The  stem  forms  a splendid  column,  per- 
fectly straight  like  an  iron  pillar,  and  covered  with  the 
old  leaf  scars.  The  leaves  are  covered  with  a thick  down 
before  they  unfold,  and  when  fully  expanded  are  fan- 
shaped, ten  feet  long  by  five  feet  wide,  though  sometimes 
they  attain  a length  of  20  feet  and  a breadth  of  10. 
The  colour  of  the  leaves  is  shining  light  green,  and 
when  they  fade,  they  bend  and  bang  downwards  along 
the  stem  before  falling.  The  crown  of  foliage  gene- 
rally contains  twenty  leaves,  but  this  number  may  run 
up  to  a hundred  according  to  certain  travellers,  and 
then  the  whole  tree  forms  the  most  splendid  object 
it  is  possible  to  behold. 
The  tree  is  dioscious.  At  the  age  of  thirty  years, 
it  first  puts  forth  its  blossoms,  the  males  forming 
enormous  catkins,  three  feet  long  and  three  inches 
in  diameter,  while  the  females  are  set  on  a strong 
zigzag  stalk,  covered  with  large  reddish  brown  scales. 
The  fruit  externally  is  covered  with  a thick  fibrous 
husk  like  the  ordinary  coconut.  The  inside,  before 
the  fruit  is  ripe,  is  formed  of  a kind  of  firm  trans- 
