Jtjne 1, 1903.1 THE TROPICAL AQRICtJLTUPJST. 
809 
Been since 1 have been in this couutiy— that is to 
say, that they are the class of Japan and China 
greens that are sold here." 
I am aeudiuK to yon, by this mail, samples ot 
Japan teas which, if the planters of Ceylon will 
only follow caiefully, they will find already sale for 
here, because the cost of production in Ceylon is so 
much less than that of Japan and, therefore, the 
Ceylon teas can be sold at more favourable piicbs 
to the buyer than Japans, which, in this era of keen 
competition, is as important here as elsewhere. It 
is quite possible that, if (Jeylou prot^uces the right 
kind of tea for this market, that they will seriously 
cut into the Japan exports, and there will be a 
time when it will not pay many of the Japan 
planters to ship teas to this country on a favourable 
basis, and that Ceylon will gradually oust Japan 
teas altogether. 
It must be borne in mind that the ignorance of 
the grocer in the States is appalling as regards tea. 
Many a man who has been a tramway conductor 
will start as a grocer, and, as you can imagine, 
taking fares on a tramway is not the best apprentice- 
ship to serve before handling or knowing anything 
about teas. On the other hand, a lot of the wholesale 
grocers here finance the retail grocers ; and, therefore, 
the retailers have to buy all their produce through 
the wholesale houses, and it is the wholesale mer- 
chants that we have to cater for first. They make 
the retailer the distributor, and can practically give 
him what they like, and take advantage of giving 
them Ceylon greens if they can make more money 
out of this class of tea than they can out of Japan. 
Of the houses in this country who are doing most 
for Ceylon green teas Liptou leads, having pioneered 
Ceylon greens into many parts of the country where 
it was never taken before, selling teas in bulk to 
many of the large merchants all over the country. 
Larkin does a certain amount through his packet 
business, but he does nut get at the wholesale as 
Lipton does, selling invoices of Ceylon greens to 
merchants who have innumerable ch muels to distri- 
bute the teas through. Finally- Muir is doing a 
regular business in this country in Ceylon greens, 
and their method of colouring and shipping has been 
the greatest help in getting the teas tried by 
the merchants, and repeat orders are generally the 
reenlt. — Indian Planting and Gardeninr/. 
VARIETIES OP CASSAVA. 
In yonr issue of October 25 last, Mr. W. G . 
Freeman, scientific assistant of the Imperial Depart- 
ment of Agriculture for the West Indies, directs 
attention to the poisonous properties of sweet cassava. 
Hia statement with regard to the West Indian sweet 
Cassava is correct, and recently that Department 
has noted the fact that from time to time people 
are poisoned by eating sweet Cassava in the West 
Indies. Bitter Cassava is much more poisonous. In 
view of the great possibilities of this cultivation in 
the Tropics, I herewith enclose the result of tire 
analyses by the Government chemist here of the tubers 
of seventeen varieties of Cassava which I have re- 
cently introduced to Jamaica from Colombia. It is 
important to note that these new varieties are non- 
poisonous, so that their culture may be turned to 
account as a leading article of food throughout 
tropical regions. 
In yonr issue of August 9, 1902, p. 99, you com- 
mented upon a report of mine on Cassava as a 
great prospective industry, i.e., for the prodaotion of 
starch and glucose, for both of which it surpasses 
all other plants in the quantity p'-oducible per acre 
and at a minimum cost, Thus, 10 tons of Cassava 
tubers per acre is a moderate estimate ; from the 
common naturalised West Indian varieties, which 
yield only about 20 per cent, of starch, 2 tens. But 
my best varieties reoenlly introduced, as will be seon 
in the Government chemist's report, yield from 30 
to ae-.W per cent, ot starch. The variety yielding 
the last-named percentage I have named " Governor 
Hemming," in compliment to our Governor. 
Potatoes in Europe yield an average of about 6 
tons per acre, from which the starch obtained amounts 
to only 16 per cent. 
In America, Maize yields an average of about 30 
bushels per acre— less than half a ton of starch. 
During the last few years, Florida has established 
Cassava cultivation on a commercial scale, and of 
splendid quality. Florida, however, can hardly com- 
pete with purely tropical regions. At the same time, 
the Florida farmers have demonstrated to the world 
the importance of cassava, not only for the making 
of starch and glucose on a commercial scale, but 
also as stock-feed from the tubers and by-products 
— KoBERT Thomson, Half Way Tree, Jamaica, March 
19, 190d.— Gardeners' Chronicle. 
THE CHICLE INDUSTRY OP 
MINDANAO.* 
I am writing to you from the locality of Zam- 
boango, one of the largest towns on the islind of 
Mindanao. This narrative will concern the production 
of the substance known as Chicle and the manu- 
facture of the same into form for the commercial 
centers of the country. South American Chicle and 
the gnm resulting from the treating and preparing 
of the same has had a place in the markets of the world 
for many years. Gums of this nature from this por- 
tion of the world are not so well known. It is only 
very recently tliat the country has been opened to the 
extent of permitting Americans an others to investi- 
g>it9 into these natural growths of a commercial 
product. 
The Moroa for years have secured the milky, white 
saps from the gum-producing trees of the country 
by creating wounds in the barks. Oftentimes the blows 
of knives or pricks with spears form the only means 
by which crevices and fractures are eflecied in the 
rough bark, to the extent of developing a flow or 
an oozing of the valuable gummy substances. There 
is a out made in Fig. 1, showing one of the systems 
employed by the natives for seoaring the flowing 
saps. When the gummy liquids pass from the tree 
to the tube ot bamboo a, these liquids are very 
similar in consistency and app.mrance to milk. The 
bamboo tube is usually suspended horizontally by 
means of the crosspieces, h. 
Shortly after the mass of liquids is exposed to the 
air, it begins to harden and in a short while can 
be cut or broken into cakes. The cakes are often 
shipped to the coast from the interior in this form 
or as is the case in some places, the cakes of gum 
are reworked into desirable order and forms for trans- 
portation to other countries or to centers where there 
are agents who handle the gums of the country. At 
present writing there is one ao;ent of a foreign "com- 
mercial concern here who is buying gums at market 
values in large quantities for shipment. 
Another mode of securing this white sap is from 
the unripe fruitage of the tree, which is very similar 
to the sapota growths of Yucatan. 
The natives of Mindanao use some crude devices 
in the Chicle gum industry. In Fig. 2 is the awkward 
yet effective, manner in which the masses of gum- 
like sap can be exposed to the action of the atm> 
sphere without undue wastage due to specks and foreign 
matters falling in. A series of bamb^>o tubas are 
adjusted side by side, as shown, and the.^e are 
joined with bamboo strips underneath and fastened to 
crosspieces. The latter are arranged so as to support 
the whole affair about three feet from the level of 
the ground. There are openings cut ou: from each 
of the tabes at interval?, as shown, and the air c.ku 
« From The Paint, Oil, and Ihug lifporltr. New 
York, September 29, 1902. 
