328  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST.  [Nov.  i,  1892. 
legitimate  trader.  Of  course,  if  the  grocer  throws  up 
the  sponge,  and  buys  his  tea  wholesale  wbere  he  buis 
pork  chops  for  his  lunch,  the  question  is  ended.  In 
the  same  way.  to  buy  tea  of  people  who  deliver  the 
same  thing  carriage-paid  to  all  his  connection  is  equally 
fatal.  Some  are  even  to  be  found  who  are  blind 
enough,  to  publicly  act  as  agents  for  their  bitterest 
competitors,  but  this  extremity  of  meekness  and  self- 
immolation  is  happly  uncommon.” 
Coffee  in  Guatemala. — Some  planters  seem  to  make 
coffee  cultivation  pay.  One  of  the  largest  of  the 
coffee  growers  of  Guatemala  is  General  Manuel 
Barillas,  the  late  President  who  owns  large  estates 
which  are  connected  by  cart  road  and  rail  with  the 
Pacific  port  of  Champerico,  and  are  said  to  be 
among  the  most  favourably  Bituated  plantations  in 
the  whole  Republic.  These  estates  are  roughly 
valued  at  £400,000,  bnt  it  is  commonly  believed 
that  General  Barillas’  fortune  may  be  put  dowD  at 
over  £1,000,000.  The  finest  quality  of  Guatemala 
coffees  are  consumed  by  England  and  Germany. 
France  imports  a little  by  way  of  Havre.  The  poor 
kinds  are  exported  to  the  United  States,  where  the 
finest  qualities  are  not  in  demand. — 3.  and  C.  Mail , 
Sept.  22. 

TEA  AND  THE  WATER  USED  IN 
INFUSING  IT. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Home  and  Colonial  Mail. 
Sib, — Although  it  is  generally  admitted  tbit  the 
nature  of  the  water  used  in  making  the  domestio  cup 
of  tea  plays  some  pirt  in  its  action  upon  the  leaf,  I 
do  not  think  sufficient  importance  is  attached  to  it. 
I will  give  you  my  experience  with  some  tea  from  a 
well  known  Assam  garden.  With  London  water  this 
tea  was  rough  in  flavour,  but  of  great  strength.  Iu 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland  it  had  quite  another  flavour, 
waaaltogether  softer,  aud  more  like  aieif  blended  with 
Ce)l°n  tea.  I was  after  wards  staying  in  the  South  of 
England,  where  the  w »ter  was  impregnated  with  iron  and 
the  tea  was  totally  different  in  flavour  from  that  pro- 
duced from  the  same  leaf  elsewhere.  Where  the  water 
is  chalky  the  result  of  a brew  of  tea  is  again  different, 
so  that  it  seems  that  the  water  question  is  one  of 
considerable  importance  in  buying  tea  for  certain 
districts.  I should  be  glad  if  any  of  your  readers 
with  a knowledge  of  chemistry  would  give  tbeir  views 
on  this  matter. — I am,  sir,  yours,  &c.,  Pilgrim. 
— 3.  and  C.  Mad,  Sept,  22, 
BANANAS  FOR  THE  TABLE. 
There  are  as  many  kinds  of  bananas  as  there  are 
kinds  of  apples — medium  sized  ones,  such  as  we  see 
in  the  North;  big  ones  a foot  long;  thick  ones, 
almost  like  small  muskmelons  ; and  little  ones  only 
three  or  four  iuehes  in  length.  When  you  visit  a 
fruit  stand  you  are  likely  to  select  the  biggest  and 
handsomest  bananas  you  see,  and  there  is  just  where 
you  make  a mistake.  The  smallest  bananas  are  in 
nearly  all  cases  the  sweetest  and  juciest,  the  tioy 
“tig”  banana  being  the  best  of  all. 
The  rind  should  be  thin,  and  there  should  be  no 
ridges  or  corners  to  it.  The  larger  the  ridges  the 
coarser  the  fruit,  The  plantain,  which  is  the  very 
coarsest  kind  of  banana,  has  enormous  ridges.  This 
species  is  not  fit  to  eat  without  being  cooked,  but 
when  boiled  or  baked  or  fried  is  delicious.  Any 
coarse  banana— that  is,  one  having  a thick  rind 
with  large  ridges— is  good  for  cooking. 
All  bananas  contain  starch  while  green,  which 
upon  ripening  is  changed  by  nature's  wonderful 
chemistry  into  sugar.  Now  it  the  banana  is  taken 
just  after  its  rind  has  begun  to  grow  golden,  but  is 
still  streaked  with  green,  it  will  contain  a great  deal 
of  starch,  which  will  make  it  palatable  when  cooked, 
while  the  small  amount  of  sugar  which  has  been 
formed  will  give  it  a sweetness  like  a sweet  potato. 
Btrip  the  rind  off,  and  boil  it  until  soft,  and  it  will 
Make  of  the  nicest  vegetables  you  ever  ate, 
It  is  one  of  the  commonest  sights  along  the 
Amazon  to  see  groups  of  half  clad  Indian  men  and 
women  squatting  around  little  camp  fires  roasting 
bananas,  and  having  endless  mirth  trying  to  pick 
them  out  of  the  hot  coals  without  burning  their 
fingers.  We  are  all  used  to  fried  bananas,  but  we 
are  prone  to  forget  that  for  this  purpose  they  should 
not  be  fully  ripe,  as  that  makes  them  too  soft  and 
too  sweet.  Above  all,  a banana  roasted  or  fried 
should  be  served  hot,  for  as  soon  as  it  becomes  cold 
it  grows  tough  and  unpalatable. — Grocer  and  Trade 
Journal. 
VARIOUS  NOTES. 
Discrepancy  in  Cinchona  Analyses.— In  our 
issue  of  September  3rd  we  oalled  attention  to  a 
parcel  of  89  bales  of  Ledgeriana  shavings  from 
the  Government  plantations  in  Java,  which  was 
sold  by  auotion  in  Amsterdam  on  August  25th 
at  the  parity  of  Hid  to  12£d  per  lb.,  and  the 
published  quinine  sulphate  test  of  which  was  125 
per  oent.  Our  Amsterdam  correspondent  now  points 
out  that  this  percentage  was  declared  by  the  official 
analyst  in  Java,  where  the  Government  barks  are 
tested,  but  that  when  re-aDalysed  in  Amsterdam 
the  bark  was  found  to  contain  only  9-8  per  oent 
of  quinine  sulphate.  Henoe  the  price  paid  at 
auotion  gave  a unit  of  nearly  ljd  per  lb,  instead 
of  one  of  less  Id  per  lb.  at  which  the  offioial 
analysis  declares  the  sale  to  have  been  effected, 
“ There  are  sometimes,”  adds  our  correspondent, 
“ big  differences  between  the  Java  Government 
tests  and  those  made  independently  in  Amsterdam." 
The  buyers  evidently  plaoe  most  reliance  upon 
the  latter,  which  does  not  say  much  for  the 
efficiency  of  the  Java  Government  laboratcry.— 
and  Druggist. 
White-ants  and  Mango  Trees.— If  the  bark  of 
the  trees  is  attacked  by  white  ants,  it  must  be 
first  scraped  off  at  all  parts  where  the  animals 
have  made  tunnels  and  painted  with  kerosine. 
Let  the  ground  be  dug  between  the  trees  as  deeply 
as  neoessary,  the  toil  turned  over  and  watered  with 
phenyl,  if  procurable;  if  not,  with  kerosine  and 
water.  In  Ceylon  a decoction  of  the  leaves  of 
Mauritius  hemp  is  used  for  expelling  wbite^ants, 
but  I tear,  a correspondent  writes,  you  have  got 
into  too  bad  a state  for  that  to  be  efficacious, 
It  has  the  advantage  of  being  of  course  quite 
harmless  to  any  trees.  In  using  the  phenyl,  put  some 
in  a pail  and  add  water  till  it  is  of  the  colour  and 
consistency  of  good  milk.  (Every  plantation  should 
keep  phenyl.  It  is  perfectly  safe  with  foliage;  oarbo- 
lic  aoid  and  kerosine  are  not.  It  is  exceedingly  good 
for  mealy  bug.)  Corrosive  sublimate  and  Paris  green 
will  both  destroy  white  ants ; diseolve  in  water 
and  pour  into  the  holes.  But  be  careful  not  to 
poison  the  trees  by  putting  these  poisons  too  close 
to  the  roots.  Corrosive  sublimate  is  very  popular 
here  being  used  dry.  The  planters  have  told  me 
that  one  white-ant  eats  a grain,  dies,  and  is  eaten 
in  turn  by  another,  who  dies  and  so  on  till  the  nest 
is  exterminated.  I cannot  quite  credit  this,  but  the 
poison  has  a very  strong  effeot  on  white-ants. 
Of  oourse  care  should  be  taken  in  dealing  with 
oorrosive  sublimate  in  bulk,  as  it  is  an  exceedingly 
dangerous  poison.  After  you  have  well  poisoned 
the  white-ants,  remember  to  manure  the  trees  well, 
so  that  they  can  have  strength  to  recover.  If  it  is 
possible  to  flood  the  plantation  for  a few  days  the 
ants  would  have  to  retire,  but  this  is  rarely  pos. 
sible  here  at  least.  . I do  not  think  it  would  hurt 
the  trees,  as  I have  here  splendid  old  trees  growing 
in  water.  I should  like  to  know  the  results  of 
these  suggestions  should  you  find  time  to  inform 
me,  as  I am  collecting  together  all  kinds  of  notes 
on  destructive  mseata  and  methods  of  destruction,— 
Mian  Agriculturist,  Sept.  3, 
