Dkc. 1, 1902, J 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
417 
CENTIPEDES vs. SCORPIONS. 
Galle, Nov. 3rd, 1902. 
Dkar Sir,— There is an excellent native lemedy 
for tlie bitfs of centipedes and scoipions. A 
mixi lire of burnt coir yHin ai d coconut oil applied 
to the bite will I ot only relieve the pain, but pre- 
vMit any ill efl'ects by leducing i he ii)fl:in'Diation. 
The opplicfiiicii siioiiid bo cdi t'"Uf d for a few days 
till the swelling disappears. — Yours faithfully, 
CEYLON OOLONG TEA. 
EXTRACT CF LETTER EFFFI BED TO FROM MB. C. P. 
LAFKIN. 
Toionto, Aug;. 11, 1902, 
Why do you not take up the mat ler of 0('loi'pf^ ? 
Ar the case stands today you know that vhen we 
fought only wi'h Ceylon Black teas we made ex- 
tiemely little or no headwey with the Japan tea 
drinker, but when we gave him his kind of tea we 
made rapid hea(!way, bo far ve have practically 
not touched the Oolong tea drinker, as the taste for 
Oolongs is iust as distinct as the taste for Black 
or Green Tea. Now the samples that I have had 
sent to me from some of the Gardens in Ceylon 
prove conclusively that Ceylon can produce a tea 
so much better than the ordinary Formosa Oolong 
and yet of similar character that with proper 
handling it will entirely displace tho^e teas. 
Events have proved that niy judgment in the 
jiast has been right in regaid to Ceylon Blacks 
and more recently in regard to Greens ; 
therefore I think my ju'lgment should be taken 
in regard to Oolorgs. Besides it would 
benefit perhaps another class of Planters, that 
is, the owners of the high-giown Estates on 
which those fine Ceylon Oolong samjiJes were 
produced. If there has been some grumbling on 
theii part that the Green Tea Jndnstiy vill only 
benefit the low-srown Estate Planters, why there 
will be lecipiocity between them, each henefitting 
the other, as the Con mittee will be using their 
funds to create a demand for both kinds of tea. 
As to prices : you know that far better prices are 
paid for Oolong- than for any ether kind of tea. 
And as to any interfeience with the trade you 
have now, why theie will be no more ihan if you 
were iiit)o<h ciufi Ceylon Cocoa, for as I said'be- 
fore u-e are vol touching the Oolong tea drinker 
to any extent today \\(<x <lo I expeci that we will 
in fu uie with Black or Gieen teas. If ( eylcn 
had hadG'teiisas well as B acks with which to 
ctmmeiife the ci'mpaign in Anierira, you would 
not be sei dii'g 'ess Blick hereihai' ) on s) e today, 
hut you iLoidd be sending infinitely more po%mds 
of tea. Ahd if yt u add 0()i(nf,> lo y< ui- pio- 
dnciions you will in no way injure the Black or 
Green Tea trade, but simply place another weapon 
in our liardu with wl ich to wipe out the pro- 
ductions of China and Japan. Do not throw this 
Ooloi g aside — Yours truly, 
(Signed) P. C. LAEKIN. 
EawKubbfr NoTtS.— 'Ihe Balata export frmi 
the Duich Colony, l^urinam, amounted in 1901 
to 237 tons, of a va'ue of 593.475 gulden. =The 
Gern an Cor sul of Cochabj inba reports that, 
Bccordii e to ti e Polivian Government in Piieito 
Acre, the csouKhoiic exported from ihe dis- 
tric's of Acre, aid i«qniiy inipunted to 49,3;0 
bales, weigl t 2,0.32.422 kilos. =The h'ggpsi quantity 
wasshiiped in Mny, namely, 125,374 kilos. 
=San J()!-6 de Cosia Rica exported in 1901 
58.687 kilos, of raw rubber of a value of 76,293 dols. 
— India- Riiiber and Trades' Jonrnal, Oct. 27. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
The Valve of Gvfsum as a dressing for grass 
land is now beirg shown by the apjeararce (f a 
paddock in the I>rr uin district, Gipps lend, owned 
by Mr 'William Martin. Last scfson, Mr Martin 
states, he used eight tons of Hatell's *Corso" 
gypsum, and the retult has attracted the notice of 
many fai mers and graziers in the district, who 
have noticed the vivid "sri en of the dressed land. 
One paddock w hich was being attacked by grubs 
was dressed wiib 1:^ cwt. of gypsum per acre, the 
result beii g that all Ihe giubs were destroyed, 
and there is row a splendid sward of pasture. — 
Agricultural Journal, Oct. 10. 
CuElKG Vamlla.— A Nilgiri correspondent 
writes to the Madras Mail : — It has now been 
established beyond all doubt that this valuable 
orchid can be successfully grown in this district. 
The planter w liom I mentioned in some previous 
Notes as having taken up its cultiration has from 
3,000 to 4,0CO plants growing. Any intelligent 
Kurumber can be made to understand the arti- 
ficial fertilisation of tke flower. The culture 
would appear to be very simple. In Mexico shoots 
about 3 ieet long are tastered to trees on the 
approach of the rainy seasoia, and scarcely touching 
the ground. These soon strike roots attached to 
the bark and form plants which begin to fruit in 
three years, and remain fruitful for .30 or 40 years. 
The curing of vanilla peds is a tedious process and 
calls for the exercise of a good deal of care and 
judgment.— ZndiaTi Gardening and Planting, 
Nov. 13. 
Prospects fob Greek Tea : New 
Machimery— 7«dtan Gardening and Plant- 
ing, October 30th— has the following: — 
Under thi- latler head of finishing teas, Indian 
planters will soon be supplied. Two or three 
systems will compete for favour. That very clever 
( ejlon planter, Mr. Henry Alleyn, who has lately 
been in Calcutta, has, in conjunction with a well- 
known Ceylon engineer, invented a process which is 
both sinijile ard practicable, and his machine will 
ere long 1 e on the market. We have been favoured 
with a sight of his sanjp'es and were very favour- 
ably impressed by them. Messrs. Drunimond Deane 
as judges will also have son ething in this line to 
ofTer to complete their present system, and the 
well known fiim of Messrs. Davidson ai d Co. have 
paid attention to niacliineiy for the purpose. The 
Allejn ( rieve machirie is in the hands of the Cal- 
cutta agent for the Drunimond Deane Pre cess and 
w il betxhibiifd atwoikassoon as vi.achines arrive 
from Ceylon. From sanipleswe have seen, we are very, 
favouiably inipiessed with it. Before next season 
Ii dian planteis should be able to make a choice, 
ard the field being a wide one there is room enough 
for all. Green tea with the present encouragement 
is bound to grow. The bounty is not so large as 
was expected, but green teas having secured such 
excellent prices this season, it was perhaps thought 
that a bor us sufficient lo cover expenses of altering 
manufacture and the cost of the requisite machinery 
was sufficient. W^e agree with tiie London Com- 
mit fee that "the suiest way of obtaining relref 
fn m the present excess of blrck tea is to be found 
in the manufacture on a large scale of green tea 
suitable for the American ard other markets." 
Since also the green tea demand offers the only 
large field left for the expansion of British giown, 
it stands to reason that it wenld ke unwise to 
neglect it. 
