March 1, 1900.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
585 
intestines, or by fluid ot any kind in the ab- 
dominal cavity. 
N.B.—The carcass should be placed on the left 
side and the abdominal cavity opened by cutting 
along the middle line from the bteast-bone to t.he 
pubis and oehind the last rib down to the back- 
bone. An assistant can then raise the flap, and 
the liver and gall-bladder lying underneath the 
ribs are well exposed. 
Tne gall-bladder should be slightly raised with 
the hand, and if dirty washed with a weak solution 
of bichloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate) in 
water (1 in 1,000 or 10 grains to the pint). An 
assistant holds a glass jar against it (taking care 
not to allow any blood or extraneous matter to 
enter), and it is then punctured with a sharp 
knife and the bile allowed to flow into the 
jar. A glass cover should be placed over 
the jar when the operation is finished. The 
hands, jar and instruments should be well 
washed and rinsed with the bichloride of mercury 
solution and dried. If several good samples of bile 
are obtained they should be mixed together and 
left for several hours before using. The bile should 
keep good for at least 24 hours if kept cool and in 
a covered vessel. 
Method of Inoculation. — Tlie animals should 
be cast and the legs tied. Ten cubic centimetres 
(about three drams) of bile is then gently injected 
under the loose skin in front of the chest (dewlap) 
by means of a 10 cubic centimetre hypodermic 
syringe and needle. As the needle of the syiinge 
is withdrawn the skin should be pinched between 
the finger and thumb at the point of insertion, 
to prevent any of the bile coming out again and to 
close the wound. The part should be gently 
squeezed to insure distribution of the bile in the sub- 
cutaneous tissue. Protection is given in 10 days. 
After inoculation cattle should not be worked 
for ten days. A swelling forms at the seat of 
inoculation and gradually subsides. There may be 
a little fever. The method is only of service when 
the cattle are free from the disease ; if they have 
contracted it before inoculation it is of little 
service as protection is only afforded after ten dai/s 
from date of inoculation. 
Probably in some cases the bile may not contain 
the protective property to a sufficient degree, and 
some inoculated animals may develop the disease 
after inoculation and die, but this does not detract 
from the general usefulness of the method. 
The disease in Ceylon is usually confined to 
areas and appears at intervals —sometimes long 
intervals— and as the " serum " method of inocu- 
lation on healthy cattle only confers temporary 
protection similarly to the " bile " unless applied 
when the animals are developing the disease, which 
would necessitate "salted" animals being kept at 
a liioh degrees of immunity so as to be capable of 
yielding the proper serum from their blood at once 
whenever the disease broke out. It takes several 
months to bring cattle to this stage by injecting 
increasing doses of virulent blood from an animal 
suffering from the disease. The preparation of the 
animals and serum could only be done at a pro- 
perly isolated rinderpest station. 
While favouring the permanent protection by 
serum, applied when the animals are past develop- 
ing the disease (it is very plain to anyone I think 
how difficult it would be to apply this in this coun- 
try). I think the bile method will answer our 
purpose combined with jnoper care in carrying 
out the simple rales of isolation and disinfection 
as applied to any contagious or infectious disease, 
at least until further investigation has perhaps 
shown a more useful and permanent method. 
In South Africa evidence tends to show that 
it is possible for pure rinderpest bile to com- 
municate the flisease when injected into an animal. 
Bile can be kept for some time by mixing it 
with glycerine, one part of glyceiine to two 
parts of bile. It should be kept 48 hours before 
using. 
I'his is quite safe (due to the action of the 
glycerine) and it is said to be of service as a 
curative applied to sick animals. From fifteen 
to thirty cubic centimetres can be injected either 
under the skin in front of the chest, or into the 
jugular vein when it exerts its action at once. 
I do not advise indiscriminate inoculation. 
When disease breaks out in a district I would 
use ^Jifre bile amongst the infected herd, in doses 
of 10 c.c. (for very big animals 15 c.c. may be 
used), and for clean herds in the immediate vici- 
nity an injection of 20 c.c. of glycerinated bile, 
and 10 days afterwards and injection of 10 c.c 
or 15 c.c, of pure bile taken from an animal that 
has died from rinderpest, which will confer a 
fairly strong protection. 
G. W. StURGESS, M.R.C.V.S., 
Eng. Govt. Vetij. Surgeon, Ccijlon. 
«s, 
THE GEOGRAPHY OP TEA. 
Having acquired, by travel in several of the 
principal places of production and in moat of the 
important countries of consumption, a personal know- 
ledge of the geographical distiibution of the Tea 
plant in growth and of its product in consumption, 
I put together the results of my experience as a 
contribution, to the sum of commercial geography. 
This subject is not one of general importance to an 
International Congress, the areas of production and 
distribution being so comparatively limited, but it 
presents certain aspects of interest to the student 
of geography, and those I propose briefly to deal with. 
It is doubtful if we ever shall be able to trace 
at what period in history an infusion made from 
the leaves ot the Tea plant was first intioduoed as 
a beverage for domestic consumption, or how it waa 
discovered that those leaves yielded a palatable drink 
when treated in the now familiar manner. Nor are 
we ever likely to know definitely when or how the 
regular cultivation of Tea shrubs was adopted in 
China as an agricultural industry, but it is probable 
that as our knowledge of China and its history in- 
creases, by reason of the developments now taking 
place there , we may gradually learn more of the 
past and we may possibly tind authentic books dealing 
with the subject. At present we have little more 
than myth to go upon, and most of it is not worth 
treating seriously. 
It is claimed that reference can be traced to the 
use of Tea in the writings of a Chinese author of 
about 2,700 d.c, but the earliest date that the article 
may be said to be of interest in connection with 
commercial geography is when it begin to be ex- 
ported. Even that period is diiflcult to fix, but during 
the 8th century a.u., it had become an article of 
taxable value, and probably soon after that the 
growing of it was commenced in Japan, although 
the cultivation of it there as an agricultural product 
does not seem to have begun till the 13th century. 
The special points relative to the commercial 
geography of Tea, to which 1 wish to direct atten- 
tion, may be grouped under three headings — 
1. The principal localities of growth. 
2. The principal areas of consumption. 
3. The principal tride routes for transit. 
