186 
THE TROPICAL 
A&EICULTURIST. 
[Sept. 1, 1902. 
frequently commence to bear at S years. 
Bach vine the memo states can produce from 
25 to 30 pods, 4 inclies to 8 inches long. 
This is surely a very moderate yield. I have 
frequently counted 70 to 80 pods or more on a 
single vine and well up to the measurement 
noted." 
IMPROVED CEYLON GREEN TEAS. 
We were enabled a few weeks ago to 
send the well known Indian tea authority 
Mr. J. B. Leslie Rogers, a few samples of 
the teas turned out by Ambawatte mills, 
Colombo, and we are pleased to give his 
report on the same as of general interest : — 
I have just been testing these samples, and 
tlie following is my ojjinion on the same. I 
nixy add that as I have more experience of the 
Asiatic than the American Green Tea Market, 
my opinions chiefly apply to the former. 
No. 5 Samples. — Good Hyson qaality. Rather 
broken leaf colour bluish Green and sliorhtly 
aiifeven. Aroma good. 
No. 6 Samples. — Good. Young Hyson quality. 
Loaf fine and well roUed, but., rather broken. 
Colour bluish green, but of a more desirable 
shade than No. 5. Aroma very good. 
I>}FUSION. 
No. 5. — Infused leaf, a good olive green. Pale 
straw green liquor, strong, crisp and full- 
flivoured. Fresh delicate aroma. Good in 
the cup. 
No. ti. — A good even olive green. Liquor — a 
pale straw green. Strong, crisp and more deli- 
cately flavoured than No. 5 Fresh delicace 
aroma and very good in the cup. 
General Remarks. — Both high-class teas, 
which compare very favourably with the same 
qualities made in China and Japan. They 
would, however, in my opinion, be much im- 
proTed if turned out a lighter green colour with 
less of the blueish tint. I ^\ould also suggest 
sifting out more of the small broken leaf, and 
disposing of the latter separately. 
Messrs. Pin lay, Muir & Co. are to be congra- 
tulated on these favourable samples. Similar 
makes with the improvements suggested, would 
undoubtedly "catch on " in the Asiatic Markets; 
and I also believe these teas will compete more 
successfully against .Japans in America, than 
the other so-called Green Teas now being 
made in India and Ceylon. My views on this 
matter coincide entirely with the policy now 
bein^ pursued by Messrs.' Finlay, Muir & Co. ; 
and I shall look forward with much interest to 
a successful tern ination to their important ex- 
periments in this direction. 
SALE OF CEYLON ORCHIDS IN 
COLOMBO. 
There was quite a lively time at the sale of 
Mr. Dodwell Browne's orchids by Mr. A. Y. 
Daniel this morning. Some 250 specimens were 
offered in about 100 lots, and the total realised 
was about R 1,000. The highest price re- 
alised was R36 for the giant orchid, purchased 
by Mr. Macmillan, Curator of the Botanic 
Gardens, for the Lieut. -Governor. His Excel- 
lency, indeed, secured quite a number of rare 
specimens. 
Amongst those present were : the Hon Messrs 
H L Wendt and .T H de Saram, Messrs F 
Dornliorst, Morgan de Saram, S P Hayleyj P D 
Siebel, R Daniel, Gigg, Geo. de Saram, Charle? 
Ferera, H F MacMillan, A W Andree, C Drieberg, 
DrA J Chalmers and others. Amongst the pur- 
chasers, many of whom bought several lots, were 
Messrs J H de Saram, MacNIillan, S P Hayley, G 
de Saram, M de Saram, F J de ^^aram, Gigg 
S D Young, R Daniel, J H E Rodrigo, Chas 
Perera, P D Siebel and Dr Chalmers. The prices 
paid ranged from R5 to K36. Mr. MacMillan 
bought one Sarcochilus Calceolus (fragrant flowers) 
for R36 and also a GrammatopJu/lhim Speeiosiim, 
described as the queen of orchids, for R33. Mr J H 
de Saram bought; a pretty Sac Blnmei (lately 
flowered, eight blooms) for R3i, two V. Suavis and 
two V. Sauderiaiia going to Messrs P D Siebel 
and Geo. de Saram for R20 each. 
FLORA OF~THE MALA.Y PENINSULA. 
The Asiatic Society of Bengal has received 
R8,750 from the Government of the Straits Settle- 
ments, being a contributioti for the purpose of de- 
fraying the cost of publication of Sir George 
King's materials for a treatise on the Flora of the 
Malayan Peninsula.— itf. Mail, July 22. 
^ _ 
BRAZIL COFFEE CROP. 
There are 659,960,060 coffee trees in the 
State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, of which .525,62+,4.35 
are over four years old. Daring the present 
season the yield is on an average of 2 6-10 pounds 
net per tree. On some plantations with tuUy- 
matured trees, the yield lias been as much as 
12 to 14 pounds per tree. In commenting on 
the official returns of the coffee plantations, 
Messrs W H Crossman and Brother say: — 
" The State of Sao Paulo alone is capable of 
producing sufficient coffee to meet the entire 
consumption of the world ; the fact that such 
a great quantity of trees exist, and such a large 
percentage of them below the age of four (4) 
years, proves conclusively that the planting has 
been going on successively during all the years, 
when it was proclaimed low prices meant heavy 
losses to planters, a id that there was not 
sufficient labour t > care tor the plantations. It 
was claimed there were not enough hands to 
harvest a crop of nine million bags, and the 
Italians were leaving the country in great num- 
bers ; yet what do we see? Rio and Santos 
alone in one season are able to harvest a crop 
of upwards of fifteen millions, and have found 
time to continue clearing and extending plan- 
tations up to and including this very year. 
It makes very lictle difference, in view of the 
monstrous supplies existing, whether the next 
crop is nine, ten, eleven or twelve millions. 
Any one of these quantities is much in excess 
of what is really watibed.— /jicZ«a?i Gardening 
and Planting, July 24. 
Coconuts and White Ants at Zanzc- 
BAB.— Mr Theodore Burtt of the "Friends' 
Industrial Mission," Zanzibar, writing from 
Pemba on 2nd July, reports :— 
" Re white ants and young coconuts. Some time 
ago I removed the soil from the, upper part of 
some hundreds of J'oung plants in the nursery, 
and put v\'et sand straight from the shore in 
place of the soil close round the nuts and 
young shoots. For some weeks the white anta 
let them alone entirely. Today I see three 
have been eattm off. I will soak them with 
sea water and hope to let you know the result 
after a while." 
