188 
THE TROPICAL AGrvICULTURIST. 
[Sept. 1, 1898. 
Whilst on this subject it Btrikea oue forcibly that with 
our favourable climate, rainfall, and other ndviintageous 
reBources, why we fthouiJ so eutiiely depend upon 
Soutberu India for our chiiiies, ouiuus and B^ffrou ? 
This is a point ou which the public would very 
much like to have the opinion and advice of tlie 
intelligent principal of our Agricu'tui al School. 
Many years ago we also depended upun ludia for 
our ginger, but all our wants in that direction now, 
is met with locally, for the Sinhalese have now 
taken to planting it largely and they supply the 
market. C. 
FLOWERING OF THE GIANT ORCHID. 
July 12. 
Dear Sir, — It may interest some of your readers 
to know that the largest orchid known (Gram- 
matophylluno Speciosum) may now be seen in 
flower in these gardens, tliis being, so far as is 
known, tlie first time it haw been induced to 
bloom in Ceylon. That this Malayan plant, which 
was introduced into Ceylon probably about 
1850, merits the title of " Queen of Orchids" will 
be conceded from the dimensions of the Pera- 
deniya specimen above referred to : viz: — Length 
of stems or pseudo-bulbs (24 in number) o to lOlt., 
tlie sheathing leaves being about 2 ft. long and 
closely arranged in two rows on tlie stem ; height 
of flowering-scapes (six) at present o to 6 ft.; tiius 
the height from base of mound containing the 
plant to top of inflorescence is about 10 ft.; cir- 
cunisference of the plant approximately 40 ft. 
Of individual flowers, nearly 500 can now be 
counted (not including the smaller in bud), each 
measuring 5i to G inches across. 
The period of flowering promises to be prolonged 
for a few weeks yet, though tlie expansion of tlie 
first flower occurred a month ago. It is hoped, 
now this interesting plant has got into flowering 
trim, it will blossom annually in future. — Yours 
faithfully, H. F. MACMILLAN. 
Curator, Royal Rotanic Gardens, Peradeniya. 
THE FOUR-PENNY DUTY ON TEA. 
4,500 feet, July lo. 
Sir, — No getting over this argument, i think. 
If, with the barrier of a four-penny duty, " rub- 
bishy " teas are now sent from t olombo to 
London, paying Freight and Charges (IJd :) and 
DUTY 4d a lb., — how much more would the 
same process go on and increase, if theie were 
no Duty at all ? 1 for one, say to my brethren 
■who are abolitionists, 
BEWARE ; 
COFFEE IN QUEENSLAND, &C. 
Department of Agriculture, Brisbane, June 22n(l, 
1898. 
Dear Sir,— I quite forget whether I wrote to 
thank you lor the back numbers of the Agricul- 
turist. Should I have failed to do so, I beg that 
you will now accept my thanks for acceding to 
my request so promptly. 
I now write to ask if you can give me any 
further information on the trade in coffee 
husk refuse between Colombo and the Per- 
sian Guif Ports, to which you alluded in 
the early part of the year. I have promised to 
get further statistics on the trade, and I hope 
that you will be able to furnish me with same. 
I shall bo always happy to reciprocate with any 
information in my power concexaiu^' inatlcrii 
agricultural in Queensland. 
I am publishing a series of articles on coffee in 
Queensland by Mr. Dausey, who is manager of the 
jSackay Coffee Company in Noithern Queensland. 
He seenjs to have mastered the work of cofiee-plant- 
ing here where the conditions of climate, soil and 
seasoiis are dittercnt to tliose in Ceylon. We 
have g.eat li jpe of this imlustry foi Queensland, 
^o disea.-se lias as yet appeared and lieavy crops 
have been obtained on biuail plots— no to 7 lb. of 
clean coffee per tree (b years old) and 3i lb. from 
3 years old tiees. A fair price also is obtained 
locally (9i per lb) I am afraid however, that 
when we come to big plantations, picking will 
be a source of trouble as far as labjr is concerned. 
You will find in the next number of the Journal 
(August 1) a capital paper on coHee giowing on a 
small scale on the coast of Queensland by a tarnier 
who read his paper at the late Agricultural Con- 
ference at Rockhampton. It is worth reading. 
WishiuET you all success with your work.— Yours 
very truely, a. H. BOYD 
[The papers referred to will be read by us with 
interest : Coft'ee growers on a limited scale in 
Northern Queensland have the grand advantage 
of a local market, and if Federation prevails, 
this market, free of every border duly, will extend 
all over the Continent, if not to Tasmania and 
perhaps eventually to New Zealand.— We can give 
no further information about a trade in colfee 
husks, save that it is reported to prevail largely 
in Arabia where, in some parts, a decoction from 
the husks only is diunk, the beans (Mocha coffee) 
being all exported. — Ed. T.A.] 
CULTURE OF VANILLA. 
Sib,— The report of the vanilla crop in the 8eT- 
chellea is very interesting. TUe mode adopted of 
oliowiDg the vines to grow wild on trees is good 
as thu trees afford the required shade an<f 
moisture; but it has its disadvantages, as it is diffi- 
cult to fructify the flowers, wuen the vines eo ud 
too high and ou their branches, unless the nitural 
operators (bees) can ba depended upon to do what is 
necessary. In Ceylon there are so many other flowers 
that yield larger quantities of honey, that the flowers 
of the vanilla are quite neglected by bees and arti- 
ficial means have to be devised to fructify th«m 
Many years ago I purchased a few cnitin/w of 
vanilla for a few pence from the Botanical Gardens 
at Peradeniya and planted them in a earden at 
Colombo ; the vines were allowed to go op some 
maugo trees growing thick ana affording gooa thaae • 
they grew up luxuriantly and formed a regular net'- 
work. Oue morning, my friend, Mr. Wright the 
veteran planter, who was then a resident in Colombo 
called en me, accompanied by a young European 
gentleman, and asked if I would part with the vints 
and at what price ? I left it to them, they paid me 
one shilling for every two knots, a little more than 
a foot in length. The vines were palled down and 
nieamred and a cheque was written out in my favour 
tor E56 ! The cuttings were taken and planted on 
an estate in the Galle district and I afterwards 
learned with regret that the venture proved a total 
failuie. 'vvBi 
That vanilla requires both light and shade is proved 
from tke ff «. that I grew oue on a Cochin foraka 
{Marcima Aanthochyitms) tree, every alternate branch 
being removed to admit light, very successfully and 
thia yielded a fair crop ot beans. The difficulty I 
had to contend with in the preparation of the bean 
was that they split at the ends: this had to be 
avoided by tieiug them up with thread. C.A.O. 
VANILLA CULTIVATION. 
Beniota, July 23. 
DEAR But,— I note with much interest the 
extension in vanilla cultivation, which is tit pre- 
sent taking place. The Seychelles' report certainly 
presented a very roseate account of the industry. 
As you rightly rema,rk, there seems no reason 
