65  4 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[April  i,  1893. 
Pekoea  and  fine  teas  generally  are  now  absolutely 
neglected ! The  natural  temptation  once  more 
will  be  for  planters  to  go  in  for  an  abundant 
supply  of  oheap  teas,  if  no  remedy  iB  speedily 
applied.  The  conclusion  is  so  obvious  a one  that 
it  does  not  need  the  exercise  of  argument  to 
prove  its  logio. 
We  next  have  to  deal  with  Mr.  Peek’s  remedial 
suggestions.  He  advises  a combination  among 
the  planters  binding  them  individually  to  produce 
certain  proportions  of  eaoh  grade,  and  to  confine 
their  output  in  such  a way  as  to  maintain 
a steadiness  of  supply  in  eaoh  kind.  This 
is  in  itself  advioe  easy  to  understand  ; but 
very  difficult  to  apply  ! Our  planters,  we 
may  be  sure,  are  sufficiently  alive  to  their 
own  interests,  to  be  willing  to  enter  into 
suoh  a combination  could  they  be  sure  that 
all  would  aooept  the  arrangement  and  faith- 
fully carry  it  out.  But  then,  even  if  the  Ceylon 
planters  did  so,  what  about  other  tea-producing 
countries — India  especially — aooepting  similar  limi- 
tations. The  peculiarities  of  the  retail  trade  at 
home  are  well-known  and  appreciated  here.  A 
sudden  demand  for  teas  of  the  cheaper  descrip- 
tion oooasionally  does  arise,  and  should  there 
not  be  a sufficiency  of  Ceylon  of  that 
kind  in  the  market,  the  dealers  must  perforoe 
meet  the  deficiency  by  buying  other  descriptions 
whiob,  in  some  instances,  would  oertainly  be 
foisted  upon  the  publio  as  Ceylon  teas.  This 
would  probably  not  have  to  be  so  muoh  appre- 
hended with  respeot  to  the  higher  qualities.  These 
find  a more  educated  clientelle,  and  are  judged  by 
more  practised  tastes.  But  even  in  the  latter  case 
it  may  be  foreseen  that  a soaroity  of  supply  at 
any  particular  juncture,  might  have  the  effect  of 
induoing  buyings  apart  from  our  own  production. 
Would  it  not  then  be  of  some  assistance  to  Ceylon 
planters  to  have  rather  more  detailed  information 
as  to  “ stocks  ” in  hand  in  London  from  time  to 
time.  At  present  the  figures  given  represent  the 
total  of  all  qualities.  If  it  were  possible  to  say 
how  muoh  is  of  fine  or  higher  grades — ‘Broken 
Pekoes  ’ and  ‘ Pekoes  ’—and  how  much  ‘ Pekoe 
Souchongs  ’ and  ‘ Broken  ’ &o. —would  the  figures 
not  offer  an  index  as  to  the  plucking  and  manu- 
facture for  suooeeding  despa  ches  ? We  fear 
though  that  to  make  suoh  a distinction  in  ‘ stocks  ’ 
will  be  deemed  impossible,  even  if  in  our  shipping 
return  from  Ceylon  a similar  division  between 
“floe”  and  “ ordinary  ” teas  were  setup?  And 
yet  why  should  it  be  more  difficult  than  the  dis- 
tinction which  is  made  in  our  Export  returns  for 
different  grades  of  “cinnamon”  and  “cinchona  bark”? 
We  invite  the  opinions  of  practical  men  on  this 
point.  How  far  the  Planters’  Association  could  aid 
to  bring  about  a combination  to  secure  regularity 
of  output  it  is  difficult  to  judge;  but  we 
should  be  glad  to  hear  that  it  had  at  least  given 
due  consideration  to  a question  of  so  muoh  praotioal 
importance.  The  other  remedial  measure  indicated 
by  Mr.  Peek  of  regulating  the  supply  placed  on 
the  market  at  each  sale — so  as  not  to  have  20  000 
packages  one  sales  day  and  only  8,000  next — is 
surely  more  easily  arranged  for.  And  yet,  we 
know  there  are  praotioal  difficulties  in  the  way, 
for  with  tea  arriving  home  on  what  appears  to  be  a 
falling  market  who — agents  or  brokers— will  not  be 
condemned  for  delaying  its  being  exposed  to  Bale  ? 
BUTTER,  BREAD  AND  NUT  TREES. 
There  may  yet  be  something  new  under  the  sun, 
in  spite  of  the  assertion  of  the  wise  man  to  the 
contrary,  as  the  outcome  of  gardeners  dabbling  in 
poicacc.  It  is  said  that  there  is  a butter  tree  in 
Africa  whioh  produces  as  muoh  as  100  pounds  at 
ocoe,  only  to  be  renewed  in  a few  months.  This 
eecretion,  when  hardened  and  salted,  iB  difficult  to 
distinguish  from  tiesh  sweet  butter.  It  ia  Dot  very 
easy  to  see  how  it  is  deemed  necessary  to  salt  this 
kind  of  prodnce  to  make  ie  like  fresh  butter,  but  it 
is  not  well  to  be  hypercritical,  and  perhaps  some  of 
our  tropical  friends  might  be  able  to  include  this 
valuable  tree  amongst  their  “ eemi-tropioal  ” produce. 
We  would  recommend  the  residents  to  bud  the  bread- 
fruit tree  on  to  this  tree,  the  resulting  combination 
of  bread  and  butter  would  have  manifest  advantages. 
Whether  such  a combination  being  produced  npon  a 
tree,  would  entitle  the  product  to  be  considered  as  a 
“ fruit  ” is  uncertain.  Perhaps  its  position  might 
bear  some  resemblance  to  the  tomato,  when  two 
gentlemen  dining  at  a restaurant  asked  the  waiter 
wnether  the  tomato  was  a “ vegetable  ” or  a “fruit,” 
and  he  replied  that  it  was  neither  one  nor  the  other 
but  a “ h extra.” — Horticultural  Times. 

VARIOUS  AGRICULTURAL  NOTES. 
If  Cape  Wine  and  Cape  Fruits  are  not  of  the 
ohoice6t  qualities  it  i»,  according  to  Professor  MacOwao, 
the  Government  botanist,  mainly  the  fault  of  the 
Cape  fruit  farmers,  who  live  an  isolated  life,  never 
interchange  ideas,  and  are  antiquated  and  conservative 
in  all  their  ways.  Mr.  MacOwan  has  never  yet  found 
an  ordinary  Western  Province  market  gardener  who 
took  in  a gardening  periodioat  or  cared  to  learn  what 
is  being  done  in  other  countries.  The  desire  to  im- 
prove the  output  is  materially  checked  by  the  im- 
mense demand  for  cheap,  ooarse  fruit  among  the 
coloured  lower  orders  in  Capetown.  So  that  the 
grapes  are  dirt  cheap,  it  does  not  matter  to  them 
how  dirty  they  are,  nor  are  they  disgusted  at  seeing 
the  same  baskets  that  carried  the  grapes  into  town 
piled  up  among  the  stable  manure  the  cart  takes 
back  to  the  farm  in  the  afternoon.  In  no  other 
publio  of  fruit  consumers  (adds  this  authority)  is 
quality  so  little  thought  of,  and  hence  the  produoer  is 
satisfied  to  grow  crops  from  seedling  trees  fit  only  for 
stocks.  They  sell  somehow,  and  the  Cape  market 
gardener  is  oontent. — Daily  News. 
Planting  Trees. — The  Government  of  Bengal  has 
issued  copies  of  the  late  Mr.  Worsley’s  note  on  the 
planting  of  trees  on  roadsides,  the  advice  in  whioh 
may  be  adopted  with  advantage  thro  ighout  Bengal  : 
— If  trees  are  not  planted  out  by  the  sides  of  the 
roads  until  they  are  5 or  6 feet  high,  and  if  they 
are  planted  out  at  commencement  of  the  rainy  season, 
they  will  not  require,  in  a olimate  like  that  of  North 
Bihar,  to  be  watered  in  the  following  hot  season. 
The  holes  in  which  the  trees  are  to  be  planted  by  the 
roadside  ought  to  be  carefully  prepared  some  months 
beforehand,  and  some  old  manure,  where  available, 
should  be  mixed  with  the  earth.  These  holes  should 
be  at  leasi  2£  feet  wide  and  2 feet  deep,  but  if 
money  be  available  larger  holes,  say  4 feet  in  diameter 
and  3 feet  deep,  are  preferable.  The  height  of  the 
gabion  is  of  great  importance.  The  two  evils  to  be 
guarded  against  are  (1)  “ the  poisonous  tooth,  ” as 
Virgil  calls  it,  “ of  the  accursed  goat,”  which  is  cer- 
tainly more  injnrious  to  the  young  tree  than  winter 
cold,  and  summer  heat,  and  (2)  the  misohievous 
habit  which  travellers  have  of  breaking  off  the  young 
shoots  of  the  mango  and  some  other  kinds  of  trees, 
and  using  them  as  tooth-brushes.  In  places  where 
the  whiteants  abound,  it  is  a good  plan  to  smear  with 
tar  the  ends  of  the  posts  before  fixing  them  in  the 
ground,  and  a daub  or  two  across  other  parts  of  the 
posts  will  deter  villagers  from  extracting  and  appro- 
priating them  for  their  own  use  If  it  is  intended 
eventually  to  tell  the  fruit  of  fruit-bearing  trees  year 
by  year,  if  will  be  most  convenient  to  plant  a few 
miles  of  eaoh  road  with  each  of  the  valuable  kinds  of 
fruit  trees,  e.g-,  five  miles  with  mangifera  indica,  five 
miles  with  artocarpus  integrifolia,  five  miles  with  ba$sia 
latifolia,  etc.  This  is  the  principle  which  I adopted 
in  Muzaffarpur  town  where  I planted  about  12  miles 
of  avenues  wiih  12  different  kinds  of  trees,  fruit- 
bearing  and  timber,  allowing  one  mile  or  BQfore&ct) 
kind  of 
