134 
THE TROPICAL 
AaRICULTURIST. [Aue. 1, 1900. 
ABOUT MALACCA TEA. 
{By an Expert.) 
1 have been reminded about tea from Malacca tea 
having come into the niarlcet ; and on lasting it, 
I find it most excellent tea, and able to hold its 
own alongside of Indian tea, at a smaller price. 
My knowledge of tea goes back to a very early 
period, having hobnobbed in 1863 with old C A. 
Bruce who (in 1825) was the discoverer of tlie lea 
plant in Assam. He was charged by the old East 
India Company with starling the proper culti- 
vation of the plant and manufacture of the leaf — 
the first efforts made to grow and make tea out 
of China, which has now s|iread all over India 
north and south, Ceylon, Natal, Java, the Fiji 
islands, and now to Malacca ! He had a large 
staff' of Chinese workmen placed under liim im- 
ported from China ; and many a story I could 
relate of his nariow escapes from the wild animals 
which then abounded in Assam, and from the 
wilder and more savage tribes who in those days 
made Upper Assam the scene of their predatory 
attempts. On one occasion— and this happened in 
Tezpur which be had made his headquar'.ers and 
where he ha I his bungalow with las wife and 
children — while be was .seated with his family 
having his evening tea, a wild elephant walked 
inside the house, cariying door-frames and all 
round his neck, crushing the frail mat walls, and 
putting every one to a speedy flight. When 1 add 
that tiger used to walk about ihe then newly-laid- 
out streets of Gowhattj', which afterwards became 
the capital of the province, it will be seen through 
■what dangers Mr. Bruce and the early officials 
there had to go. However pleasant — for they 
were pleasant— early reminiscences of the early 
days of Assam and the first growth of tea outside 
China may be, I cannot linger on them. 
I feel sure, and do not make the least doubt, 
that whoever has begun the tea industry in 
Malacca knows his work well and thoroughly. I 
say this from the excellent quality and flavour of 
" Malacca tea." — Straits Times, July 19. 
RUBBER CULTURE IN COSTA RICA, 
(From a London Merchant.) 
You may be interested to hear that rubber 
is being freely cultivated in the Sarapiqui 
district and we are starting in the same 
direction. The Castilloa is a hardier plant 
than most rubber trees, needs very little 
vreeding after the first year and grows like 
the jungle tree. Some say that there is no 
need to fell any of the jungle trees save only 
the undergrowth, a small distance round the 
new plant, but I think the sounder opinion 
is that a little felling is good, though cer- 
tainly not to the extent that has been carried 
on in other countries. When Costa Rica is 
well opened up it will supply a substantial 
percentage of the world's rtibber. 
A BICENTENARY CELEBRATION. 
The sweet pea is to have a bicentenaiy 
celebration of its own ; there is to be a con- 
ference of a sweet pea growers in London, and 
an exhibition wholly devoted to specimens of 
this fragrant and beantiful (lower, We can 
only say it deserves thoroughly all the honours 
which can be paid to it. T'he sweet pea is 
said by some to have been introduced to 
Britain from Sicily in 1700— lipnce the bicen- 
tenary of this month— but according to anotlier 
version two varieties made their appearance 
about the same time, one from the snnny 
shores of the Mediterranean and the other 
from Ceylon, and were combined to form the 
flower as we have it now. It was in its 
original form of a modest bluish- purple, the 
exquisite varieties which are now to be found 
in our gardens having been gradually developed 
by the Horticulturist's Art ; indeecl, it may 
generally be said that, conir.iry to the com- 
mon belief, no familiar flower has under- 
gone so gieat a transformation. The sweet pea 
has not been much sung by poets, though Keats 
has an exquisite allusion to it as " ou tip 
toe for a flight " in some of his earliest 
verses. No nation has taken it for its emblem ; 
it has not ever bad any polilical significance 
thrust upon it. But its delicious fragrance, 
its elegant and !?raceful form, and its adapt- 
ability 10 a great number of decorative pur- 
poses make it an inunense lavoiite every- 
where. Rich and poor cultivate it alike, and 
it is an absolutely essential denizen of those 
sweet old-fashioned gardens which so many 
talented pens have lecently translated in o 
literature for those not fortunate enough to 
possess them.— iifo»?je Paper. 
JAMAICA PINEAPPLES. 
Another shipment of pineapples from Jamaica 
has been put upon the market, and has again 
caused a stir in Covent Garden. They consisted 
of over 500 packages of fruits, and they were in 
vew fine condition when they came to hand. 
Th* forms the second direct shipment into this 
country, the first parcel being sold at prices rang- 
ing from Is 6d to 2s 6d per pine, and the first 
announcement of which was published in the 
Globe at the time. From an interview with one 
of the largest importers in the trade, it would seem 
that the direct trade in pineapples, between 
Jamaica and London, may now be considered as 
established on a business footing. — Globe, July 12. 
RAINFALL RETURN FOR COLOMBO, 
Supfdied by the Surveyor-Qeneral.) 
1895. 
1896. 
1897. 
1898. 
1899. 
Av of 
Styrs. 
1900. 
Inch. 
Inch 
Inch 
Inch 
Inh. 
Inch. 
Inch. 
January . . 
5-00 
2-9-2 
3-81 
6-98 
3-22 
3-72 
February .. 
0-Sl 
0-35 
1-68 
1-98 
2-78 
1-93 
0-6.3 
March 
1-84 
5-64 
3-66 
4-21 
0-88 
4-78 
3-71 
April 
9-34 
5-93 
10-97 
22-81 
6-66 
11-31 
15-12 
May 
10-09 
9-31 
8-30 
5-80 
17-73 
12-09 
10 63 
June 
13-99 
8-37 
10-14 
10-94 
9-23 
8-37 
7-83 
July 
0-52 
2-85 
5-24 
6-15 
1-11 
4-38 
6-77 
August 
0-92 
6-35 
9-09 
0-97 
0-62 
3-67 
1-67* 
September 
4-09 
10-99 
4-58 
6-90 
1-48 
5-01 
October . . 
30-36 
16-78 
4-71 
20-60 
12 99 
14-52 
November.. 
5-83 
19.81 
11-66 
17-38 
8-58 
1-J 66 
December. . 
9-44 
11-76 
8-89 
3-U5 
4-44 
,.-39 
Total.. 
92-23 
101-06 
82-73 
103-11 
73-48 
88-33 
50-08 
* From 1st to 8th Aug. 1-67 inches, that is up to 9-SO a.ni. 
on the 9th Aug.-Eu. CO., 
