18^ 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept. \, 1901 
THE ASSAM LABOUR SUPPLY. 
CAUSES OF THE DECREASE, 
Calcutta, July 23.~In 1901, 30,777 emigrants 
were despatched to the labour Districts of Assam, 
as against 65,190 in the previous year. The Gov- 
ernment, in its Kesolution published today, says 
that this great diminution is partly explained by 
the fact that the year 1900 was a famine year in 
Cliota Nafrpur, and is also ascribed by the Com- 
missioner of the Division to wild stories bavins' 
been circulated, exagfterating the responribilities 
incurred by garden Sirdars under the new Act. 
There is a further and, to the planter, a more 
serious reason. The coal mines in Bengal have 
increased rapidly of late both in number and size, 
and the mine owner is now a formidable com- 
petitor with the tea planter in the Districts of 
labour supply. He gives higher wages, and the 
mines have at least the attraction of being nearer to 
the Districts of recruitment.— ifc/ac^ras 3Iail, Jaly 24, 
MICA OR TALC. 
The very large sheets of mica, which at 
one tirae used to fetch fancy prices 
on the London market, now seem to have 
fallen out of use, owing, we believe, to sub- 
stitutes being used. At any rate at the sales 
held on 9th July the larger size sheets were 
neglected, the same as at previous sales, 
the demand being mare for medium ancl 
small medium sheets, especially if clear and 
suitable for electrical purposes, and the 
prices realised for such were rather better 
than at last sales. Very small mica and films 
were out of favour and met with no demand 
at all. So all had to be bought in. 
♦ 
A GOOD TREE FOR TEA ESTATES. 
A Dimbula Manager writes : — 
"i2e your article on tree growing, one tree that 
grows well upeountry, which has not received ihe 
attention it deserves, is the lelantha glan- 
dulosa* There are some fine specimens of this 
tree on Glasgow Estate, Agrapatnas, age about 
10 years. It grows very nearly as quickly as the 
Robusta gum or Red Toon, and tor growing 
amongst tea it h greatly preferable to either. I 
can say nothing as to its merits as a timber tree, 
but it should make good fuel." 
How does it compare with the favourite 
Grevillea ? — will be the first question asked. 
A NEW INSECTICIDE. 
We referred some American |)amplilets, recently 
received, to Mr. E, E, Gieen, the Entomologist, 
who kindly writes: — "The one on Carbon Bisul- 
phide, as an insecticide particularly interested me. 
1 have always realised the important part this 
insecticide might play in Ceylon, if only ice could 
procure it in quantity here. At present it cannot 
be obtained tor love or money, except in small 
quantities as a drug. The shipping people are 
afraid of it and will not accept it as cargo. With 
the aid of Carb. Bisulph., white ants might be 
practically exterminated with ease. Then it is 
invaluable for destroying all the larger wood- 
boring in,?ects without the neces.sity for hacking 
the tree to pieces." 
* We caunot find this name iu any of our botani- 
cal or Timber-trees' booka of reference, To what 
e^untry eloes the tree belong ?— Be, I.A. 
PEAT TRANSFORMED INTO COAL. 
A German and an engineer of Swedish natitionality, 
named Frita and Sohduing respectively, have suc- 
ceeded ill transforming peat into coal. Coal, aa 
Maoaulay's Schoolboy knows, consists of metamor- 
phosed vegetable matter which flourished ages ago on 
the earth's surface, the change having been brought 
about under the combined iufluence of heat and 
pressure. Messrs Fritz and S ;h6ning simply imitated 
Nature in their experiments. They subjected peat to 
a pressure of one hundred atmostpheres, that is 
one thousand five hunired pounds to every square 
inch and at the same time heated it. The resultant 
coal was found to have acquired the same heating 
properties as stove coal. Siniilsr experiments might 
be made with Irish peat, which, from its low per- 
oeutage of carbon (sixty per cent), constitutes a very 
poor fuel, — Commercial Intelligence, July 4. 
COW-TAIL HAIR. 
Although peace has been declared, the 
good demand that has existed so long for cow- 
tail hair still continues, and though the high 
prices of lid and lljd jier lb, realised two 
or three years back are no longer obtainable, 
nice long hair, well-washed and free of skin 
and bone, is valued today at 7d to 8d per 
lb. according to lei^gth and quality, at which 
price there seems little doubt it pays shippers, 
especially in India, to send over this article 
in large quantities. Pig's bristles are rather 
dull ; owing to a large failure in che trade 
some time back the market was considerably 
upset, but is now recovering itself and 
Indian shippers are doing well with their 
consignments ; at least those who are in good 
hands seem to be, as it requires a great deal 
of trade knowledge and patience to place 
out the consignments to best advantage. 
RESTRICTION OF TEA OUTPUT: 
MR. ACWORTH'S REPLY TO THE LONDON 
I. T. A. CIRCULAR. 
Dear Sib, — I am in receipt of your letter No. 529, 
dated the 11th instant, with enclosure re restriction 
of output. Circular No, 37, I am not one of those who 
believe in artificial methods of improving the position 
in tea— I mean such methods as cessation of manu- 
facture, destTuctiou of low grades and so on, and 
cannot therefore consent to support the amended 
scheme in Circular No, 37. I am, however, prepared 
to do this :— (a.) I will undertake to hold back 10 
per cent, of my outturn during the current year, not 
put it on any market, but store it in my factory 
till better times ; or (b) I will hand it over to a Com- 
mittee to be formed for the purpose of exploiting 
foreign markets. Either of the above will I do, 
provided that 135 millions of lb of the Indian tea 
crop consent to some sort of scheme for improving 
the position, either by cessation of manufacture 
destruction of lower grades, or whatever seems good 
to them. It seems to me that, should the Viceroy 
consent to a compulsory cess, and should growers 
agree to hand over 10 per cent of their outturn to such 
a Committee as I suggest, our position would be a 
strong one. We could use the cesa entirely for 
bounties on green tea and for advertising, whilst we 
could follow up our advertisements with very cheap 
teas, so far as blacks are concerned. If we could 
onljr dispose of them at 3d per lb. it would suffice, for 
this would pay the grower for the leaf from the bush 
to the hands of the Committee, and would leave 
something in hand to cover freights and sale charges 
If these freely-given blacks were placed very cheaply 
on foreign markets, such as Russia, where there is 
fklreddy A tastefoi; au^ large^trade in blacks, it WQol^ 
