Aug, 1, 1900.] THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 101 
Ceylon, it is almost always possible to judge the 
altitude at which any special kinds are to be 
soiuht for ; and it cannot be doubted that 
similar conditions will be found to apply to our 
marine shells. 
Thus, while the Tamblegam pearl-oyster 
(Placuna placenia] can easily be propagated and 
reared in the shallow waters near Trinconialee, 
as Dr. Kelaart amply shewed, tlie true oriental 
pearl-oyster {Meleanrina fiicata) of the Gulf of 
Mannar, will only flourish at a depth of from 0to8 
fathoms, — and this is perhaps the reason why all 
attempts at cultivation botli here and off Southern 
India have hitherto failed. 
It is possible that the oysters live far out at 
this depth in the Gulf of Mannai* in order to 
avoid tlie floods and sand storms from the northern 
rivers. The antipatliy of oysters to sand was long 
since jiointed out by the late Frank Bnckland. 
The following allusion to it is to be found in 
the pages of "Punch " (1880).— 
'Tis the voice oJ the oyster — I hear him complain, 
" 1 ccm't Jive in this place ; here's a sandstorm 
again ! 
I had settled at rest 'mid the rocks and the 
tiles, 
They had raade me a home, but this sand, how 
it riles, 
It gets into my shell and the delicate fringe 
That I uae when I breathe ; and I can't shut 
my hinge 
When the grit lodges there ; so the crabs come 
at will, 
Since my noor month is open, they feed and 
they kill. 
I've complained to Frank Buokland who quite 
understands 
But he can't undertake to abolish the sands," 
In 1892 a proposal was made by Lady Blake 
that a Marine Biological Station should be estab- 
lished in Jamaica as a memorial to Colombus. 
The idea was warmly supported by Professors 
Huxley and Ray Lankester, who suggested that 
the Government of Jamaica should initiate the 
scheme, and make the proposed Laboratory part 
of a Biological and Physical Survey of the Island. 
Special stress was laid upon the imiiortance of 
having an observing station of this kind in the 
tropics, where the fauna and flora of the sea are 
so marvellously rich and varied. 
The coasts of Ceylon are swarming with inter- 
esting forms of life, as v^'e know from the 
writings of Hceckel and the brothers Sarasin ; 
and while there are our Pearl-fisheries, of immense 
value, to be safe-guarded, there is also an impor- 
tant Chank fishery, which is undoubtedly capable 
of considerable development. An Experimental 
Station established at Negombo or Mannar tor 
the investigation of the entire Natural History of 
the Gulf would almost certainly quickly repay the 
cost of its initiation and upkeep. 
And the issues at stake are surely sufficiently 
large to justify the establishment of a small but 
first-class Marine Biological Station, similar to 
that vvfhich is doing such splendid work under 
Professor Herdman at Port Erin in the Isle of 
Man ? — Yours truly. 
OLIVER COLLETT. 
"Para" Invkstment.s. — The American consul 
at Para is still trumpeting for the investmeut 
of American capital in the Amazon valley — in 
rubber estates, railvvays and all sorts of things. 
No one should be misled in this niatter. If the 
American capitalist is inclined to take any such 
risk he should spend at least six months at Para 
and Manaos before deciding.— i2io Neivs, May 22. 
To the Editor. 
" GREEN TEAS IN CEYLON." 
Stagbiook Estate, Peermand, June 24. 
(To the Editor, "Times of Ceylon.") 
Sir, — I notice in your leading article on 
June 20th, yon are dead against the produc- 
tion of green teas, and quote an extract from 
a letter of Mr. A E Wright to support your 
argument. 
As against that viev\^ of the matter allow 
me to quote from Mr, P F Street, which 
appeared in the Ceylon Observer and 
" Times of Ceylon " on 21st January, 
1890 :— 
"I consider there is a great future for 
Ceylon green teas of the quality and charac- 
ter _ lately produced by Mr. Deane. and I am 
decidedly of the opinion, that when these 
teas are made in sufficient quantity and bC' 
come known that they will iu time drive 
the China article out of consumption, in tlie 
same way as Indian and Ceylon black teas 
have and ai'e still doing. 
" These are the teas the Ceylon Planters' 
American Tea Company would do well to 
begin the campaign with in America, as the 
taste is already established there for these 
nnfermented teas, Americans will then 
have an opportunity of judging of the 
superior quality of pure Ceylon greens as 
compared with faced China teas of the same 
class." Then he goes on to say : — 
" As specimens of what green teas should 
be in _ cup, and infused leaf they are about 
as desirable as it is possible to make them." 
So much for your argument that it will 
take us some time to learn how to suit the 
world's markets with green teas. 
Again I quote from a letter published in 
the Ceylon Observer, of April 11th, 1890, (and 
I think "Times of Ceylon"?) from Messrs. 
Busk and Jevons, of New York : — 
" We have shown these teas to several 
of the trade, and they invai-iably pronounce 
them finest to choicest Japans in the cup, and 
say they will have to be sold as such." 
Many more such opinions could be quoted 
were I able to collect all the correspondence 
I had on the subject. Among others a letter 
from one of the largest houses in Japan, 
Messrs. Eraser Earley and Varnum of 
Yokohama in which they reported on my 
samples as superior in liquor and flavour to 
anything they could get. but not up to their 
Japan teas in appearance. 
I now come to Mr. Wright's reply to your 
questions, and I must say it is a very un- 
satisfactory one, as it is misleading. It is true 
that green tea manufacture is, when a factory 
is making black and not green teas, a source of 
trouble — otherwise the one is as simple as the 
other. It is true also that rather more fire- 
wood is used, but even if Mr. Wright's figure 
of double is correct (which I beg leave to 
doubt) it is only an extra cent per lb. probably, 
and against this you have the entire saving 
of withering accommodation and spreading 
of leaf. 
Your readers may take it from me that 
the cost of making green tea is no more than 
manufacturing black, and if green tea alone 
