168 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept. 1. 1898. 
Tea Duty Again.— "The proprietor of a small 
totuni making good teas" asks us in a private 
letter to state editorially whether in the matter 
of the abolition of the home duty on tea, the 
interests of Colombo merchants and of upcountry 
planteis are identical. He adds that in his opi- 
nion, a merchant caves only for more business 
and commissions with no special interest in the 
quality of the produce ship[)ed ; whereas the 
planter would wish to see chyap and nasty teas 
discouraged even if business were restricted. — 
There is, of course, some trutii in this; but a 
"Proprietor" should also be fair in recalling the 
fact that the large majority of Colombo mer- 
cantile houses are as closely identihed with 
the Planting Industry of the island as the 
planters themselves. Many firms in view of 
their long list of responsible agencies are, we 
believe, ready to put the interests of their con- 
stituents before their own— that is if the latter 
could be shewn to be different ; many houses 
a<'ain own plantations ; and altogether we do not 
think it can be fairly said there is a diversity 
of interests, although it is true that in a matter 
primarily affecting producers, the vote of the 
latter should carry most weight. But "Pro- 
prietor" and any others opposed to total aboli- 
tion -if that is the reason of the above enquiry 
can "possess their souls in [)atience" and take 
this consolation, namely, that there is not the 
remotest possibility of £3,800,000 sterling of im- 
perial revenue being sacrificed in one year: one 
million or two millions niay be manatred, but 
that is the most a Chancellor of the Exchequer 
can look for in a surplus now-a-days. 
Mr. M. Kelway Hambeu in Ceylon.— Mr. 
Bamber returned to Colombo last evening 
with Mr. John Roger, who is sailing for Eng- 
land on Thursday. While up-country they did 
not go further than Kotmale and the Ilatton 
distrits, Mr. Bamber preferring to wait until 
the Planters' Association have decided on the 
question of appointing a scientilic analyst. He 
will defer his visit to Calcutta for the present, 
but was unfortunate in not being able to pre- 
vent his chemical apparatus from going there. 
It was &hii)ped from London by P. and O. 
steamer with instructions that it misht be 
wanted in Colombo ; and he subsequently 
wrote for it to be put out here on arrival. He 
could not get down to Colombo to meet the 
steamer, however, three days ago the ss. 
"Sunda" carried the apparatus away for Cal- 
cutta. It will piobably be three weeks before 
it can be got back to Ceylon, and althoiigli 
there is much that Mr. Bamber can do in the 
meantime, the circumstance is annoying. He 
is not bound to time as regards his return to 
Enofland. Mr. Bamber has already received in- 
Btructions to visit several estates to make in- 
vestigations and analyses, and should Government 
approve of the expenditure of the necessary 
amount of the Thirty Committee funds, he wiil 
no doubt receive the official appointment already 
referred to, and will be able to commence work 
without further delay. The idea, we believe, is that 
for the special retaining fee Mr. Bamber should de- 
vote special attention to twelve typical estates at 
different elevations, and in different localities, mak- 
ing exhaustive experiments and accumulating data 
of all kinds. At present nothing of this sort exists, 
and the opinions of hardly two planters are alike as 
to the various causes which effect quality and price. 
There can be no doubt that methodical investigation 
and their scientific classification will be eminently 
jiseful. -Local "Times,", 
P.*LMVBAH Fibre. — The iadastry in this product is 
now dying out. Less demand in the Colombo luaj-ket 
has limited the purchase of the fibre, which is now 
bought at 7 to 10 cents a pound. A Colombo trader 
has been carryiug on his trade for some time past at 
a godown ou the lat Cross street, Jaffaa. Ho pro- 
poses to wajd up his business, for want of encourage- 
ment, by the end of this month. It is uo doubt a 
matter for rejoicing, that the injury to our palmyrah 
trees once so mercilessly committed, his to be aban- 
doned. The craze for the fibre was tbtn so alarniing, 
that a continuance- of the same demand, it was feared, 
would have caused a wholesale destruction of the 
trees, and starvation to the people, a large majority of 
whom look to the pa'myrah palm for their substeaaDca 
during several months of the year. — JaSua "Morning 
Star," July 14. 
Ckaka Kubiskr.- Near to the carriage drive 
is a tree of Ceara rubber, Monikot Olaziovii, 
easily recognized by its papery bark like that of 
the common birch. Some years ago this tree 
was largely planted in Ceylon for rubber, but 
although it grew very well indeed, the yield of 
rubber was not suHiciently large, and the market 
price was too small, to render the cultivation 
profitable. The rubber is obtained by vcraping 
off the outer bark and making numerous small 
incisions in the stem. From these there flows a 
n)ilky juice, which hardens into rubber. This 
species is a native of the Province of Cerea in 
IJrazil, where a large part of the world's supply 
of rubber is obtained from the wild trees of 
Mani/iot Glaziovil. With the rise in the price of 
rubber and the improved methods of cultivation and 
tapping, &c., that are being perfected, it is possible 
that the cultivation of this species may again be- 
come an important industry in Ceylon, though per- 
haps rather in native than in European hand— Jl/r. 
Willis' Circular in'Jthc BaduUa Gardens. 
The llEi'ORT OF the Koyai. Botanic Garden, 
Calcutta, for the year 1897-98 is not a very ela- 
borate affair. From the order of Government 
thereon we quote as fallows : — 
Plants of an economic value received especial at- 
tention. In the cold weather Dr. Praia commenced 
the study of the various kinds of pulses and other 
leguminous crops cultivated in Beagal, but as the 
subject is a large one, it could not be brought to 
completion in one season. The results of a series of 
experiments ou the cultivation of rhea-seed were 
inconclusive, but they tended to show that seed derived 
from plants grown in Lower Bengal is very often 
infertile. At the request of the Reporter on Economic 
Products to the Government of India, certain of the 
varieties of cotton were experimentally cultivated, 
and the same officer supplied a number of tubers, 
bulbs, and seeds of plants of economic interest to be 
cultivated and determined, after they had flowered 
and fruited. In this way. Dr. Prain reports, the 
sources of a considerable number of economic pro- 
ducts, the origin of which was unknown or doubtful, 
have been definitely ascertained, and this branch of 
study is about to be developed. The chief work of 
the year was the completion of an account of the 
Orchids nfSilcJcitn by Sir George King and Mr. Pantling. 
This constitutes one of the finest contributions to 
systematic and regional botany that has recently 
appeared. Some valuable papers on botanical subjects 
were also published by Sir George King and Dr. Prain, 
the contributions of the latter officer including a "Note 
on the mustards in Bengal," to which reference was 
made in the Resolution on last year's report. Sir George 
Eiug, the Superintendent of the Garden, was compelled 
by ill-health to retiieat the end of February last. He 
had been in charge of the Garden since July 1871, and 
his brilliant services have been acknowledged by Gov- 
ernment in a separate Resolution. The Lieutenant- 
Governor desires also to thank Sir George King's suc- 
cessor, Surgeon-Major Prain, for his efficient manage- 
ment of the departments under his care, and for the ifl« 
teresting report submittecl by him, 
