Oct. I, 1900.] THE TEOPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST, 
2n 
To the Editor. 
THE DEATH OF SIR JOHN LAWES. 
Analytical Laboratory 79 Mark Lane, London, 
E. C, September 6th, 'l900. 
SlE,— I send you a cutting from last Saturday's 
Times containing an appreciative memoir of the 
late Sir John Lawes whose death is very sincerely 
regretted by all those interested in agriculture 
who have read the numerous papers published 
during the past hfty years in connection with the 
well-known experimental plots at Rothamsted. 
I have had the honor and pleasure of paying 
several visits to the well kept farm and the 
particular objects of the various experimental plots 
have been personally explained to me by Sir John 
Lawes, whose genial manner and kind hospitality 
always added so much to the pleasure of a visit 
to Rothamsted. 
The writer in The Times in his reference to 
the absorption of free nitrogen from the atmos- 
phere by leguminous plants, gives the impression 
that the more recent theory is, that these plants, 
CAN absorb free nitrogen themselves whereas the 
fact siill remains as true now as it was when 
first enunciated by Sir John Lawes in 1861 and 
repeated in his essay on "Fertility" in 1881, that 
leguminous plants can only absorb nitrogen in- 
directly through the agency of bacteria, by which 
the primary work of fixation of the free nitrogen 
from the atmosphere is performed. 
It may be useful to point this out as other- 
wise a wrong impression might be gathered from 
a perusal ot this otherwise very correct memoir. 
JOHN HUGHES. 
[For the greater part of the notice in Ike Times 
see page 273.— Ed. T.A.] 
Be IMPORT DUTY ON TEA, 
Hewaheta, Sept. 22. 
Sir, — I would not abolish the import duty 
on tea, but would suggest that it be reduced 
to 25 cents per 100 lb. By so doing sufficieiat 
funds would be available to enable Govern- 
ment to appoint Tea Inspectors, whose duty 
it would be to inspect all tea corning into 
the Island and all tea leaving the island. 
Direct garden shipments might be passed 
without inspection, as the countries to which 
they go have their own inspectors. 
Blends of pure Ceylon might be so stamped 
by the inspectors and blends of China and 
Indian and Ceylon stencilled in large letters 
across the packages. 
If possible, a standard of quality should 
be fixed : it is not only the red leaf— for, 
excepting its bad appearance, it often 
draws a very good liquor— but some teas 
sold by public auction lately in Colombo 
consisting of whole invoices were objection- 
able : the dry leaf, bad in colour and" smell ; 
infused leaf, black and nasty, and liquors 
loathsome to the palate. Would some enter- 
prising man get such teas analysed, pos- 
sibly a standard in leaf might be fixed and 
a standard of liquor based on chemical 
analysis. Should the Tea Inspector think 
any teas not up to this standard of liquor 
he might hand samples to the Public Analyst. 
If Colombo became the centre of the tea 
industry— and I see no reason why it should 
not— what a grand thing for Colombo ; and, 
as we should always be the nearest producers 
to the central market, I see no reason why 
we should not reap some advantage. The 
question of blending China tea with Ceylon 
applies just as much now, as it would if the 
blending were done in Colombo, except that 
the Government Inspectors here would have 
more hold than when the blending was done 
all over the world. 
If any confusion arose re the import duty 
on Tea being mixed up with the Tea Cess, 
doubtless some arrangement could be come 
to with Government re division of duty, but 
I am inclined to think in a very few years 
the revenue from the import duty of 25 cents 
per 100 lb. would be far in excess of the cost 
of collecting and payment of inspectors, and 
Government might see its way to hand over 
any balance to the "Thirty Committee" for 
exploiting tea in foreign countries.— Yours, 
&c., E. T. 
P S — Would the nominal duty of 25 cents 
per 100 lb. stand in the way of houses makinp; 
Colombo their headquarters ? I hope not. 
E. T. 
RUBBER PLAISTING IN TOBAGO, 
WEST INDIES. 
Richmond, Tobago, Aug. 28. 
Dear Sir,— The cultivation of rubber, parti- 
cularly the Castilloa elastica, is more than likely 
to prove very successful in this island. 
I recently sent to London a sample, weighing 
21 lb., of rubber obtained from Castilloa trees I 
planted on this estate eight to nine years ago. It 
was valued at 3s 6d per lb. by Messrs, Lewis 
and Peat, who report that this rubber would have 
a ready sale at that price, 
I cannot yet say what the yield of rubber per 
tree is here, as the experiments I made in tapping 
were carried out just after an exceptionally dry 
season; and being anxious not to run the risk of 
spoiling the coming seed crop, I only tapped the 
trees very lightly. But from a tree tapped 
lightly on three different occasions at a week's 
interval, I obtained a half-lb. of rubber. 
The Castilloa does remarkably well here. One 
tree eight years old measures five feet in girth 
at thiee feet from the ground, and another 
of the same age measures four feet and ten inches. 
The Louis d'Or rubber plantation, started here 
two years ago, is progressing exceedingly well 
under the able management of Mr. T. Orde. 
The estate has now 160 acres of Castilloa and 
40 acres of Ceara rubber. There are several 
other estates in the island now being planted 
up with cacao, rubber, nutmegs and coffee, all of 
which thrive well in the Windward and Northern 
Districts. 
I find that cacao bears very well under the 
shade of Castilloa. Nine years ago I planted an 
acre ot ru\|her and cacao together — the rubbers 
at 24 feet apart, cacao at 12 feet— and so far 
I have noticed very little, if any, difference in 
the bearing of these cacao trees and those under 
the shade of the " Bois immortelles." Finding 
this the case I planted last year 1.5 acres ia the 
same manner, and there is every reason to ex- 
pect that in another eight or nine years, they 
will give a gross return of about £30^ per acrQ, 
Coffee also bears very well under the CastUlOftj 
