558 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Fee. 1, 1900, 
PROFESSOR KOEBELE : 
WHO INTRODTTCED " LADY-RIRD " BEKTLES TO 
ERADICATE FUNGI FROM CALIFORNIAN 
ORANGE TREES. 
There arrived by the ss. "Friedrich der 
Grosse" last evening Mr. A. Koebele, a 
Professor of Entomology, who has lived in 
America, but has for the last five years been 
under the Government ot Hawaii, studying the 
beneficial and injurious insects found in that 
country Questioned by an in erviewer the 
other day, Mr. Koebele stated his stay in 
Ceylon would be only a fortnight as he hopes 
to proceed to Java by the next steamer. He 
has no intention of studying insect life in 
this colony, but his visit is in another way 
of interest to all connected with our tea 
industry as he has brought from Hawaii 
about a dozen varieties of insects, which he 
hopes may counteract the evil influences of 
the green scale. These he is to hand over 
to Mr. Green. Mr. Koebele will, however, 
indulge in no prophesy as to the result which 
will attend this effort, which at present he 
regards in the light of an interesting experi- 
ment. Indeed at the time of speaking he 
could not tell whether the insects had sur- 
vived the voyage and for all he knew might 
be now quite useless. 
During his stay here Mr. Koebele hopes 
to visit Peradeniya Gardens to obtain 
some seeds or plants. Mr. Koebele 
gives a glowing account of the prospects 
of Hawaii, especially of the planting industry, 
which has been attended with much success 
by Europeans, Americans and Japanese. 
Coffee occupies the first place and is very 
fine, there being fortunately no insects to 
trouble the growers, while the prices ob- 
tained are good. The same remarks apply 
also to sugar, which is doing well. The 
Government of the Americans is good and 
the natives are rapidly becoming accustomed 
to western civilization. 
Mr. Koebele has spent some time in 
Australia, collecting insects for fruit- 
growers in California. Asked how that 
country compared with Australia as regards 
fruit, he said the American fruit was of 
better quf.lity, as the great difficulty in Aus- 
tralia was the lack of water. 
This is not Mr. Koebele's first visit to 
our colony, as he had been here five years 
ago and he still retains pleasant recollections of 
what he saw and learnt on several of our 
tea estates. 
THE TEA TRADE SECTION OF THE 
MINCING LANE WAR FUND. 
[TO EDITOR OF THE " HOME AND COLONIAL MAIL."] 
Sir, Some fihnrt time back y u were kind 
enouKh to publish a list of some of the con- 
tributors to the Tea Trade, Section of the Mincing 
Lane branch of the Mansion Hoi-ise Transvaal 
War Fund. 
Slnirtiy aftor tlie publieiv!ion of tliat list the 
Mitic'.ioi; Liiiie brnnch of llie fiuul \v;is elo.ved, but 
as rvriaiii ciiin)):niii'S Mppi-itred "iily to lie a'vait- 
ins; til'- iiif'piuii; of i beii- IjOMrd.i l){?fi)re contiibut- 
iri!/, •Mr. F S Long. Mr John Lloyd and niy.^^elf 
a>5re?d to continue to receive donations, with the 
result as shown in the list sent herewith, 
It does not now appear likely that any more 
subscriptions will come in from tiie appeal already 
made, and therefore we intend clo.-ing our list. 
Tliere were a lew companies winch did not res- 
pond to our appeal, the reason given in nearly 
all cases being that the directors did not see 
their way to voting the company's funds to such 
a purpo.se. However, with the exoelleut example 
set by the forty-one limited liability tea producing 
companies who have already contributed, it is to 
be hoped that these remaining companies will 
respond doubly should any opportunity for so 
doing occur to them. 
A^ain thanking you for the kiiul assistance 
yon have given me in the past in making this 
matter public in quarter.? where it was most 
needed.— I am. Yours fahhfuUy, 
—H. C. Mall, Jan. 19- W. T. WiLSON. 
PRODUCE AND PLANTING. 
Tea and the Revenue.— Tea is the only import 
commodity of great cousequence that brings a sub- 
stantial payment into the Imperial Exchequer, and 
for the past twelve months it was credited with 
£4,042,680, as contrasted with £3,92.5,568 and £3,856,663 
in the years 1898 and 1897. The duty imposed' on 
coffee earned i;i87,859, which was more than hereto- 
fore, when it averaged only £174,750; and, whilst 
that derived from cocoa was slightly on the wane at 
£189,322, the Customs impost on chicory was con- 
fined to £52,042, which was a smaller sum than 
that raised in either 1897 or 1898. 
Prodigious.— It is interesting to note that the 
Mazawattee Tea Company, Limited, have paid to 
Her Majesty's Customs the sum of £85,862 Ss. Bel., 
representing over 5,000,080 pounds of tea. Until 
some rival concern goes one better, if it can, this 
announcement serves as a free advertisement to the 
company named, as it is able to state that the snu 
mentioned represents the largest duty payment and 
clearance from bond in the history of the tea 
trade, &c. 
Mincing Lane and the War Fund.— As will be 
seen from a letter from Mr. W T Wikon, (Messrs. 
Gow Wilson, and Stanton) which appears elsewhere 
the Tea Trade Section of the Mincii g Lane branch 
of rhe Mansion House War Fana has now been closed. 
In the list which we gave on December 1 last, 14 
tea companies were included, the amount subscribed 
being £164 5 . The supplementary list which we now 
give on page ii. includes 27 companies, the amount 
subscribed being £310, thus showing a total of 41 
companies and £474 5^. This response on the part 
of directors of tea companies is highly gratifying, 
but it may be hoped, as pointed out in Mr. Wilson's 
letter, that, should a continuance of the war necessi- 
tate a further appeal, the few companies who have 
not already contributed may see their waj to res- 
pond doubly. 
Tea and Papee.— At Newcastle Police Court, on 
Friday, judgment was given on a charge againss the 
Bombay Tea Company, with which Messrs. Brooke, 
Bond and Co, have some connection, of having off- 
ended against the provisions of the Merchandise iVlarks 
Act by selling goods with a false trade description. 
The allegation was that although the packets of lea 
sold were of the weights represented when wrappers 
were included, the actual weight of tea was less. 
The chairman, Blr. W. E. Plummer, in giving judg- 
ment, said it was contended on the part ot the 
prosecution that the mere handing over of the packets 
of tea to Langley, who had asked for two half-po mds 
of tea, was a tacit admission by the seller that each 
packet contained a half-pound of te;), and that, iis 
the packets in fact co tained less, consequently there 
hftd been an infringement of the Act. The Court 
