;90 
THE TROPICAL AGRIClJLTtJEIST. 
[Aug. 1, 1900, 
if any planter conkl say what actually has been 
the benefit. Then, again, the, planter may bt; 
wrong in his modes of cultivation, and thus tend 
to weaken the bush; but this question sliou'd soon 
be set at rest by Mr. Mann, who has con)e cue 
troni home with very iiigh certificates of merit, 
an<l tiiere is no (loubt theie is ample scojie lor his 
abilities in the different districts, and ir is fortu- 
nate he l:as been engaged for a number of years. 
A few years ag;>, when bhil gardens were op 'ned 
up, there was a great line and cry about tlieir 
produce, that there was nothing but water on 
infusion in the cup, &c. , but if one looks 
over the sales nowadays there is nothing 
like the dill'ereiice existing in price that used 
to be t;h3 Ciise ; and Sepiiinjuri tiheel Company 
lliis year, witli between a (id. and 7d. average, 
have done almost, if not quite, a record in profits. 
Undoubtedly the 2d. per lb. extra duty has had 
a I'ood deal to say to the great depression now 
e.\-istii!g ; but we consider this is now as much 
below reality as the opening sales of 1899 were 
above that, and although we de not think 1900 
'Will be a record year for prices, we think that 
prices just now are enduly depressed, considering 
that tlie figures of export are only about half 
last year, and are probably a true index of the 
state of manufacture in the districts. The 
JDooars are all behind, we believe, as also many 
parts of Assam, Cachar, and Sylhet, which, as 
we are now getting well into June, means an 
average crop ; at any rate not a bumper one 
like last year. With tiie war now nearly over 
we hope the market; niay look up a little ; but 
we trust our jjlanter fiiends will try and solve 
the reason of the jjoorness in cup, and be able 
.to counteract it, eitiier by other modes of manu- 
rifacture, or improved methods of cultivation, or 
• Ijoth combined. — Indian Planters' Gazette. 
TEA WEIGHING IN LONDOIv. 
NEW CUSTOMS REGULATIONS, IsT JUNE, 1900. 
The following is the wording of the Castoms 
Geoeral Order 42-1900 re Tea Taring, which came 
■ 'into force oa the 1st June, 1900. 
"'■".'■"When the scales have been carefully balanced, 
a half pound weight is to be placed in, or attached 
■ to, the weight scale; the weight of the packages 
must then be taken to the pound only, the weiwht 
scale preponderating according to the usual practice 
in taring. The half pound weight placed in the 
scale ia to be ignored in recording the tare." 
Tares. — In order to obtain full benefit from this 
new regulation, Managers should arrange that the 
weight of the empty packages (including, lead, nails, 
screws, bands, etc.) should be some 3 or 4 ounces 
under the half pound, say for example, 201b. ."joz. 
The Cuatoma would then take the weight of the 
package as 201b. 
Gross Weight.— Having made the tares of an 
equal weight, the paf.kage should be filled with as 
much Tea as it will conreniently hold, the gross 
weight to be A few ounces over the pound. 
There being no occasion for the net weights to be 
alike, it is unnecessary to crush the Tea into any 
particular package. 
As the Customers disregard all odd ounces in 
weighing groas, it ia not to the advantage of the 
Producer for the package to weigh many ounces 
over the pound, four or five being sufficient to allow 
lEor evaporation, leakage and variation in scales. 
The following are examples of goo3 and bad 
pickmg under the new Customs methods of weighing:— 
GOOD PACKING. , 
lb. oz. lb: 
Actual gross weight of Taken by ' 
P^'^'i'ge .. 124 4 Customs as 124 
Actual Tare of package 24 4 do do 24 
Actual net weight of TJcen by 
Pa'^'^age . loO 0 Customs as ICO 
there being no loss in weight, a condition which 
cou.d never have occurred under the previous method 
ot weighing, the odd ounces both in gross and tare 
ha,viiig been given against the Producer; these 
totalled from a few ounces to nearly two pounds 
irrespective of the one pound draft allowance. 
BAD PACKING. ' ' 
lb. OZ. lb. 
Actual gross weight of Token by 
Pa^kacre ... 124 15 Customs as 124 
Actual Tare of package 24 9 do do 25 
Actual net weight of Taken by 
package . . lOO 6 Customs as 99 
shoAinga loss of as much as 1-lb. 6-oz., besides the 
1-lb. trade draft. 
Gow, Wilson & Stanton, Tea -Bro/rcrs, London, E.C 
IROPICAL Agricultukist."— Planters and 
others who have pre.served the back numbers 
ot volumes of this ptiblicaxion will bp. 
to lefi.rn that the !on<3:-desired "Topical 
Judex- to the whole 19 volumes will shortly 
appearand a copy will be forwarded to each 
subscriber. 
Kkasonixg Powhr of Plants.— Do plants 
reason? This .seems a strange question but it 
is asked by the daughter of a prominent Mexican 
planter, who has been makintr ,a series of ex- 
periments, and publishing the results in a 
Mexican newspaper. Among the many experi- 
riuients made by this young lady naturaii.^b 
of Mexico the most suggestive was made with 
a morning glory plant. This young lady 
drove a nail in the wall some distance from the 
tendril of a morning glory phnt. The tendril 
began at once to grow toward the nail. The 
nail was shifted ; the tendril shifted its course. 
Inve times the nail was shifted, and five times 
the tendril shifted its course. Fin.ally a cord 
was hung np to tempt the tendril, and it; 
shifted us course toward the cord and left 
the nail which it had five times persisted 
in following. The young lady ask,s : How did 
the plant know that the nail wag there' And 
how did it know that the nail was shifted ' 
When the cord was stretched at an equal 
distance away, how did it know the difference 
between the cord and the nail? - She also asks-" 
Why do the tendrils of the morning glory 
prefer a cord of continuous support, such as a 
cord, wire, or lath, or rail, rather than a pe" 
or nail, wdiich does not give this continuous 
supi)ort? Why when presented with on equal 
choice between the two, will they invariab'v 
choose the continnons support ? After asldng 
a series of questions logically springing from 
the facts cited and othens, she concludes by 
asserting that plants really reason,— /ndian 
Gardemng. 
