112 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Auoust 1, 1658 
Lady Bird Beeti.es for Soutiif.en India.— 
We regret to learn tliat the lirst batch of lady- 
bird beetles obtained in belialf of the United 
Planters' Association of India from Australia has 
proved a failure. Not a sin<.;le insect had thawed 
out alive. 
Wkkvils in P\ur)Y.~It will be observed that 
in the useful circular just issued hy Messrs. 
Willis and Green (see pa^^e 91) principal remedy 
recommended is fresh naptlialene, already so 
much pressed on tlie notice of our Sinhalese 
rice cultivators, and whose virtues is, we believe 
now well-known to them. 
CoFi'KK IN J A\ A.— People in tlie East of Java 
are iiuUing Ioiik faces at the bad price of coflee 
and the short (uop. An estate at blitar which 
last year produced 1,400 pikuls now produces a 
couple of hundred. Some estates have sold at 
424 to47i {,'uilders per pikul, and one hears of 
phuis to brinj,' all under the hammer. A good way 
not to meet the famine years stoutly, says the 
Socrabai/a Co^nant.-S. F. I'rcss, June 27. 
Japanksk Tka.— a lartje company has been 
formed in Japan for the purpose of introducing 
Japanese tea into Russia, depots for its sale are to 
lie opened in Moscow, Warsaw and Odessa. 
Japanese officials are also visiting in order to 
find other openings for tlieir goods. Russia, on 
the other hand, is going to lun a special line of 
steamers from the Black Sea i)Orts to Yokohama, 
\carrying petroleum to Japan and bringing back 
Vaw'iron and camphor.— /'ioxcc?', July 2. 
N Lat)Y-bird Beetles and Bug.— We direct at- 
tention to Mr. E. E, Green's very instructive letter 
elsewhere which, we think, is a satisfactory answer 
td'Alr. Blaniord's objections to the Imlinn Coflee 
PlH ''ers' Mii-sion through Mr. Newport. We were 
wrou" in supposing green-bng had dated back 
to Nietnei's time : to Mr. Green belongs the 
honour of describing it- We earnestly trust that 
an attempt will be made to get the proper lady- 
bird enemy of the new lantana hng " O'thcsia 
insignis." 
Tea Cultivation. -Manuring and Pru.iing 
are freely discussed by correspondents elsewhere : 
as regards the former there is nothing like each 
planter experimenting for himself. "Experi- 
mental plots" are far better guides than chemical 
analyses. As regards improved Tea Pruning, 
"J" oives some very cfood advice, and no wonder ; 
for the'-e are few more competent managers than 
he, in the islanil. In our Overland Siipphment 
wi'll be found more about grevilleas from another 
old planter, Mr. J. Eraser ; and references to our 
tea exports. 
The Lantana Bug.— Although we published 
Mr. E. E. Green's full letter and warning on 
Friday last, our evening contemporary waits till 
he receives the same news in an extract on 
Monday, before he votes " urgency." Mr. Willis 
in sending on Mr. Cireen's statement respecting 
the bu" to our contemporary, adds: — 
You will see that this is a rather serious statement, 
and it is very hard to say what is best to be done. 
One thing may be recommended to planters— that 
they should destroy at ouce any lantana on which 
they see Orthezia. In this neighbourhood the result 
of the bug as far as the lantana is concerned, is 10 
cause it to give place to the newer invader, the 
Tithonia or so-called sun-flower, which bids fair to 
r "Place lantana all over the island. 
We trust that an immediate campaign against 
bugged lantana may be commenced and that 
Government will do its full share. 
Sin William and Sip. Joseph Hookep..— In 
acknowledging the presentation by the Linnean 
Society of a special medal as previoinly renurted 
by us, Sir Joseph Hooker thus gracefully alluiled 
to the part that his father had taken iu launch- 
ing him ill liis career and supporting him in 
it : — ** It remains, Sir, to thank you ;;ordially 
for cou()iing my father's name with my own in 
this award ; but for which indeed, I could not 
have accepted it without a prote»t. I inherited 
from him my love of knowledge fur its own «>ake, 
but this would liave availed lue little were it 
not for the guiding hand of one who ha<] himself 
attained scientific eminence ; who, by evample, 
precept and encouragement, kept me to (he|l<lth!^ 
which I should follow ; launched me iu the licl ls of 
explorati(jn and research, lil>erally aiiled me during 
his lifetime, and paved for me the way to the po>i- 
tion he so long held at Kew with ku great credit to 
himself, and benefit specially to our Indian and 
Colonial posse-ssions." — G'rtrt/en^r*' Chronu-le. 
The CoMi.vG " Cok.ver ' is Tea is tlw 
lieailing of an article in the Indian Planters' 
Gazette of June 4, from which we quote : — 
On the 2lst April we pointed to the possibility 
of the London Tea Maiket gettiog inUj the hands 
of the lar)»e dealers, and suggested ('0'0|>eration 
among all. British Indian growers to check the 
operation of these people. Since then matters 
seem to have intensifieil. Althou(;h the average 
price (according to the last mail) in London had 
fallen only to 7d, the miserable re.sults of the 
sales at Calcutta tend to shi>w that influences are 
at work to still further depress the market. It 
wouM thus seem to be evident that the situation 
must be grappled with in the prompte>t manner. 
Those concerns with good reserve funds can al- 
ways resort t'l the extreme measure of abstaining 
from manufacture in totu, or restricting their 
operations to very line plucking ; but those carry- 
ing on from hand-to-mouth must apparently go to 
the wall. At all events a very serious lo8s on the 
season's operations must result, and all must gird 
up their loins for a struggle that will be long and 
severe; but if loyal antl united action is imme- 
diately taken, we believe the corner men can be 
beaten. * • * The stoppage or restriction of 
sjpplies might force the big men to act more gene- 
rously, and we suggest that fine plucking should 
be the order of the day until such time as the re- 
duction of stocks indic.^ted the prudence of more 
copious cropping. Weekly meetings of the agents 
here couhl be held, and each could compare his 
visible supply with wiiat was held in the London 
warehouses, wiring the different Managers how to 
act in the matter of plucking. A well-digested 
scheme of this kind would go far to regulate the 
markets. Stocks ought never to be allowed to 
accumulate in the manner they have heretofore 
been permitted to. We can |>retty accurately 
judge now of the weekly demand for deliveries, 
and provide for the winter requirements ; for 
should the depletion justify it, the large yielding 
months of August and September would make 
good any deticiency tiiat might become apparent 
towards the end of summer. This is of course, 
restriction under another guise, but it is better 
to keep our reserves on the bushes, than boxed 
up in bond. Once tea is madi? it must be held or 
sold, and w e can draw upon our plants at discre- 
tion. We believe that improved prices would re- 
sult when it became known in London that this 
determination had been universally come to ; the 
tactics of the ring would be rudely shaken, if not 
shattered altogether. But co-operation on strictly 
loyal principles is imperative. 
