204 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Sept.,1 1899. 
up. Would manuring imi>rove the tea and 
be pi'ofitable, in your opinion ?— All analogy 
goes to prove it,— why should tea be an 
exception 'i Has the pruning been too sevei'e, 
or too frequent?— In some cases distinctly 
so, in others decidedly not : heroic pruning 
requires as great skill as heroic surgery (and 
very careful tipping after). Averages of 600, 
640, .550 and .500 lb. an acre are ample evi- 
dence of the suitableness of the district for tea. 
In the case of the other i-eport from 
farther North, better tea cannot be made 
"because it is not in the leaf," al- 
though the jat is generally good, and the 
soil particularly so. Manuring could be de- 
cidedly beneficial and factories are not yet 
equal to a big rush in most instances. 
The neighbourhood has prov^ed itself very 
suitable for tea : Avhat it lacks in quality, 
it makes up for, in quantity. 
[Buyers were getting better value some 
months back than ever before in the history 
of tea. It is rot to talk of wholesale fiUling- 
off in quali<:y. There is more care exercised 
in manufacture universally, but there is less 
competition for medium teas in markets.] 
DR. GEORGE WATT'S COMING TOUR. 
COMMERCIAL SECTION OF THE INDIAN 
MUSEUM. 
Dr. George Watt proceeds to Simla at the 
beginning of next week, and after spending 
about a fortnight there, starts on a lengthy 
tour throughout India, in the course of which, 
he will visit all the commercial centers from 
Peshawar to Tanjore. The object of the 
Reporter on Economic Products, the English - 
man says, is to gather material for exhibit- 
ing in the commercial section of the Indian 
Museum, which it is hoped to throw open 
to the public by next cold weather. The plan 
of this exhibition is at once simple and 
comprehensive, although the work of classi- 
fication and arrangement is involving an 
immense amount of labour. Dr. Watt's idea 
is to give the economic history of every pro- 
duct in a nutshell. Thus, if it is a plant, 
it is shown by specimen at every stage from 
the tree to the finished article, while statis- 
tics of every kind are given in connection 
with it, and a map of India placed along- 
side show at a glance the various parts of 
the country in which it may be obtained. 
And all this cyclopaedia of information lies 
within the compass of a small glass case ! It 
is difficult to estimate the usefulness of this 
department when once the commercial world 
appreciates the fact that it embraces every 
one of the manifold industries on which the 
economic life of the country depends. Nor 
is the artistic sacrificed to mere utility. For 
instance, an enterprising firm of ropemakers 
display their productions in the form of a 
large arch, surmounted by their name in 
letters of rope. Again, a kind of dado is 
formed right round the room — and a big room 
is— by polished slabs representing the 
various timbers grown on the peninsula and 
among the Himalyas. Altogether, the eco- 
nomic department of the Indian Muse\im 
promises, when it is completed, to render 
notable service in helping forward the develop* 
■nient of the resources of India, and reflects 
the highest credit upon the learning and 
ingenuity o£ Dr. Watt.— Pionce)-, July 27. 
RUBBER DISCOVERED IN CUBA. 
It is the positive conviction of Major J. Orton Kerbey, 
who returned lately to the Uniteu States from a tour 
of Cuba, that he found there the true rubber tree of 
Central America (Caatilloa elastica) growing native, 
and that the conditions for its cultivation are more 
favorable on the island than even in Mexico or 
Nicaragua. Major Kerbey pursued his invcstigationB 
further into the interior of Cuba than any recent 
visitor, from America, at least, has done in recent 
times, being aided in his search for the rubber tree 
by orders from the government at Washington which 
^ave him command of the facilities of the United 
States military establishment on the island. On the 
southern coast of Cuba, in particular, he personally 
saw the trees which he has identified as the Caslilloa 
elastica, while he was assured by old residents 
of good standing that such trees were to be found 
in abundance. Moreover, he was assured that, in 
former years goma (rubber) figured in the exports of 
Cuban produce, going presumably to Spanish ports. 
Mjjor Kerbey is writing some results of his discoveriea 
for The India Rubber World, and the information 
he has to give may be looked for with interest. — 
India Ruhher World. 
TEA IN AUSTRALIA. 
The tea statistics for the port of Melbourne 
for the week ended Saturday, 15th instant, compares 
with the previous week an^ the corresponding week 
jast year as follows : — 
July 16, July 8, July 15, 
1898. 1899. 1899. 
Lb. Lb. Lb. 
Entered for bond .. 85,797 196,857 819,339 
Duty paid, ex-ship . . 28,672 7,638 46,690 
Duty paid ex-bond . . 150,432 139,799 133,206 
Exportations, ex bond . . 31,174 68,600 97,662 
Exportations under drawback 47,796 41,230 23,533 
The Custom-house statement of receipts and deliveries 
at the bonds for the week ended 15th inst., together 
with the stocks in boud at the close of the week, ia 
as follows : — 
Deliveries 
China 
India 
Ceylon 
Q* O 
a> o 
P3-3 
lTj. 
760 
49,166 
156,995 
« • a 
a g M 
Woo- ^. o ^i? 
r? a ^ 
P4 m CO 
Lb. Lb. Lb. 
32,259 40,486 323,959^ 
.34,164 15,030 273,519 
56,783 42,146 343,101 
Total .. 206,921 123,206 97,662 940,559J 
At the corresponding date last year bonded stock* 
consisted of 423,713.ilb. China, 323,7541b. Indian, and 
327,1371b. Ceylon ; total, l,074,604ilb,— Jfe?6owr« 
Argus, July 19. 
CoLLECTOBS.— Noticing the work of Mr. 
Whitehead, the Bird Collector in the Far 
East, the Spectator says : — 
The time must be approaching when there will be 
no more unknown birds or beasts to discover. 
Then the explorer will perforce fall back on the less 
exciting search for new insects, or new plants and 
flowers. The botanists and florists have still a field 
before them, and a new orchid is a valuable discovery, 
and a new dye or fibre plant potential wealth. If 
the green indigo, reputed to exist in some country 
in the Far East, were found, its discoverer's fortune 
would bs made ; and a real rival to indiarubber, or 
a substitute for Manila hemp, would enrich a wbol9 
commnnity, 
