Fes. 1, 1900.1 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
thin faces, indicating the lack of nourishment 
from these beverages. And who is more tremu- 
lous than the old lady ^vho regularly takes tea to 
quiet her nerves ? , , . , ^ 
We see then that seeming good derived from 
these drinks is only the deceptive iuliuence of 
this narcotic poison. We may now notice speci- 
flcally the effects upon various bodily organs and 
functions. ^ . i. ^ 
First, the digestive system. One very important 
part in the digestion of food is the action of the 
saliva upon starch, converting it into a kind of 
sugar called maltose, whereby it is readily 
absorbed and assimilated. This action of the 
saliva upon a large per cent, of our food is pre- 
vented by tea and coffee, even in small quanti- 
ties, thus producing one of the commonest forms 
of indigestion, viz., starch digestion. The con- 
stituent in saliva which changes starch into 
maltose is known as ptyalin. This seems to be 
paralyzed in its action by the presence of the poi- 
sonous thein, or caifein. The action of the saliva 
is not confined to the mouth, but continues in the 
stomach until the contents of the stomach be- 
come acid in character by the introduction of 
the' gastric juice. Hence, as the tea or coffee 
is present in the stomach, the action of the 
saliva is interfered with here also. 
The pepsin in the gastric juice of the stomach 
is one of the principal factors in the digestion 
of albuminous substances, such as meat, boiled 
eggs, gluten, etc. This very important agent is 
precipitated by the tannin in tea and coffee, thus 
seriously interfering with the work of the 
stomach. In experiments made for the purpose of 
determining the influence of tea and coffee upon 
digestion, it has been found that in a case where, 
under ordinary conditions, there was ninety-four 
per cent, of albuminous digestion, upon the ad- 
dition of tea, the amount of digestion was only 
sixty-six per cent., and with coffee, sixty-one per 
cent. When distilled water was added instead, 
there was no change in the amount of digestive 
work done, so that it is evident that the change 
was not due to the simple dilution of the 
digestive fluids. .... 
Then again, the use of these beverages is injuri- 
ous in taking into the stomach too large a quantity 
of liquid food. The effect of this is to check the 
secretion of saliva, and to delay the action and 
weaken the digestive qualities of the gastric juice. 
If the drink is hot, it tends to relax and weaken 
the stomach ; if cold, it checks digestion by cool- 
ing he contents of the stomach down to a tem- 
perature at which the work of digestion cannot 
proceed. Hence we see that the drinking of tea 
and coffee is one of the causes of the dyspepsia 
evrywhere prevalent. 
Upon the nervous system a very injurious effect 
is had. Upon the introduction of tea or coffee 
into the stomach, and the absorption of the the in 
the drug is at once recognized by the system as a 
poison, a dangerous intruder, which must be ex- 
pelled at once. The whole nervous system is 
aroused to energetic work, stimulating the heart, 
lungs, and kidneys to increased activity in order to 
get rid of the poison. Although the nerves may 
have been " run down," as we say, they are now 
so braced up that the person supposes that he is 
being greatly benefited ; but after this exertion, 
the nerves are weaker than before. It is like a 
man, weary with his day's labor, plodding his 
way homeward. He is so tired that he can hardly 
place one foot before the other ; but as he comes in 
sight of his home, he sees his dwelling in flames, 
or a child in danger. The sense of danger causes 
him to forget his weariness, and he works with 
energy until the danger is over ; but afterward 
comes double exhaustion. He is more tired than 
at first, though for a time he had no sense of 
fatigue. So it is when the nerves are stimulated 
to undue action by the presence of this poison. The 
relief is only temporary, while future years are 
sure to bring a liarveat of sufferiug. 
A SUGAR (4K0WING INDUSTRY FOR 
CEYLON. 
VISIT or MR. TURNKR OF IHE STK.MT.S SUGAR 
COMPANY, LIMITED. 
It is possible that we may have t6 date 
a new departure in the agricultural industry 
of the island from the visit of Mr. J. Turner, 
of Penang, which has just closed. Mr> 
Turner was not able to do as much as he 
had planned in the only fortnight he could 
spare ; because he landed suffering from the 
effects of an attack of influenza caught after 
leaving Marseilles. Still, through the courtesy 
of H.E. the Governor in granting him letters 
to several of the Provincial Agents, tlnough 
calling on the Oolonial Secretary — who knew 
and esteemed Mr. Turner's superiors during 
the latter's sixteen years in Demerara — through 
examining" plans and maps with the Sur- 
veyor-General and getting the benefit of 
that energetic officer's acquaintance with the 
country, as also through having the advantage 
of a very instructive letter from Mr. levers and 
opinions from Mr. Fisher and others, — Mr. 
Turner was able to decide on a course of 
action before leaving our shores. A visit to 
Annradhapura, even though he only gave 
it a limited number of hours, convinced Mr. 
Turner (shrewd Scottish planter and agri- 
culturist as he is) that not in this locality, 
nor farther North, must he look for sugar land : 
but rather towards the East. Mr. Turner came 
to this conclusion from what he observed on the 
coach journey between Dambullaaiid the North- 
Central capital, so that he saw no need to 
linger there or to penetrate into the Northern 
Wanni. As a matter of fact, this opinion 
coincides with that offered by Mr. levers 
and Mr. F. H. Grinlinton. The best soil for 
sugar is to be found near the hanks of the 
Mahaweliganga below the Minneriya tank 
or in the neighbourhood of tile great tanks 
north-west of Trincomalee referred to in the 
Survey Reports of last year. Of course, the 
soil has to be practically examined and 
tested, the climate (with reference to mon- 
soon floods especially) and means of trans- 
port investigated ; and Mr. Turn^ir is by no 
means the man to hurry to a conclusion 
where so much is at stake. But he saw and 
learned enough,— he was especially pleased 
to learn how mangroves flourished in the 
districts recommended, because it has 
passed into a proverb that where 
mangroves luxuriate, sugar-cane will succeed, 
— to feel justified on Saturday in sending in a 
letter to Government asking on what terms 
and conditions would his (Company aet a 
lease of 10,000 to 20,000 acres of land in one 
or other of two districts named, provided 
after further inspection, the selection proved 
suitable. For less than ten thousand acres, 
the Straits Sugat Company (which has its 
headquarters at 110, Cannon Street, L(3ndon) 
would not care to come to Ceylon ; and as 
the opening up of so large an expanse of 
country means a heavy local expenditure, 
apart from some £50,000 on a suitable factory 
and machinery, it is evident that the tei'ms 
offered to this pioneer undertaking must be 
specially attractive. Of course, it will l)e for 
the Government, on the other hand, to take 
every precaution to guard against amerelytem- 
porary speculative enterprise, oi' a breach of 
