Dec. 1, 1898.1 
THE TROPICAL AGEICULTUKIST. 
445 
Our Commissioner's own Report on the present 
occasion— see jjage 439— is not a very encoura^'- 
lag one as regards New England and tlie States 
generally; but compensation is foumi in the very 
satisfactory state of afiairs depicted in the 
Dominion. Everything now turns on the re- 
inoval of the war duty on tea in the United 
States and with the probable settlement with 
Spain over the Philippines, surely the last ex- 
cuse for continuing the tax will have disappeared. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Manuring of Coconuts.— A. correspondent 
says:— "In the Ar/ricultiiral Magazine iov Nov- 
ember (which is given as a Supplement bound 
with your Tropical Agvicnlturist) a critic of Mr. 
M. Cochran under the heading ' Manuring of 
Coconuts ' assumes in his remarks that white 
castor cake contains no phosphoric aciil what- 
ever. Tills is not so. According to Mr. li. K. 
Tatlock, Glasgow City Analyst, and Chemist 
to the Agricultural Society of tliat city, best 
white castor cake as sold in Ceylon, contains 2 94 
per cent, of phosphoric acid, the critic in ques- 
tion will require to revise his figures, as 
in a dose of manure containing barely 1 lb. of 
phosphoric acid 7 oz. of this substance have alto- 
gether escaped his observation." 
_ "Ceylon and it.sTeaIndu.stry "—is the head- 
ing of an interview with a well-known Colomlio re- 
sident given in the American Grocer. We read :— 
A representative of Messrs. Whit^all & Co of 
Colombo, Ceylon— Mr. Alfred H. Ayden— is now here 
in the interest of his firm, and especially to investigate 
the position of Ceylon tea in America. 
Mr. Ayden says : " The present acreage devoted to 
tea in Ceylon is about 300,000 to 320,000 acres 
Then follow details familiar to Ceylon reac'lers 
but we may quote the following:— 
'i The Ceylon tea indiistry has nof yet reached its 
limit. There is a good deal of land coming into bear- 
ing this year and next, and there is a great deal more 
land in the higher districts of Ceylon which belong to 
the Government which is available for tea, but the 
Government at the present time is not disposed to 
;i. r""' S^'eatest objection being that the removal 
of tbe forests diminishes the water supply by des- 
troying the numerous springs, the existence of which 
depends upon the maintenance of the forests " 
" It would appear that the people of the United 
btates, although taking increasing quantities of 
iiritish-grown teas, are not yet familiar with the 
correct way of brewing the same. Consumers have 
yet to learn that the tea should not brew longer than 
three to five minutes and that they should use only 
one-third the qu«itity that they have been in the 
habit of using of China or Japan tea." 
And again as to tea in Russia : — 
" One merchant in Moscow told me that two Tears 
ago he used in his blends 5 per cent of Ceylon tea 
but now uses 25 percent." ' 
"A merchant starting in the tea trade in Btiasia 
must first pay the equivalent of §500 for the privi- 
lege, and further must guarantee, before importiue 
any teas, to pay a duty equivalent to 40 cents a 
pound upon -lO.QOO pounds weight of tea. On ac- 
count of this policy the tea trade is in the hands 
ot a few large and wealthy merchants, for the mer- 
chant with small capital is not able to guarantee the 
payment of such a heavy dutv in twelve months. 
in Kussia tea is drunk from glasses, is made 
very weak and taken with a slice of lemon and a 
little sugar. Milk used with tea is quite unknown." 
it 13 my purpose to return to London, and "o 
rZ,\, % South Africa, which 
countiy 13 looked forward to as a promising field for 
lintish grown machine-made tea, which is rapidly 
growing in favor the woi-Jd around." 
Mr. Ayden certainly deserves well of Ceylon 
planters for doing his duty by «' Ceylon tea." 
"TheAgiucultuealLejjger, 1898— No lo n 
''^T' Cuh,vat^nas'an'^;i=e'" 
sent ciop at seasons of threntpriprl =, ".f'""^'^ 
tamine.-No.l3. Sugar-cane Disease tTr cho^ '^ °' 
SacchariJ. An account of the fuitgafdisSse aU^^^^^ 
cugar-cane in the West Indies, toge her ti^h^ ^ 
dial measures recommended by the aurhorinr"''; 
the Royal Gardens, Kew. Concluding w h Vr 
iiournes report on the Occurrenrp nf j ^ 
Godavari deltas. occurrence of the disease in 
Eucalyptus Globulus in Cornwai r a „ 
ding to the West BrUon there ifno? ™fn„ 
theirarden of Mr Charles H. Hext af P. 
;i specimen of Eucalyptus globulus co^n^^r' 
known as the "Blue Guni-tre';,' .1 olin° Zi^ 
arge number of seeds. For a tree of i t i° ^ ^ 
bloomandseedin the district seieedinlv'aret^ 
ganienev, Mr Frank Poikingliorne .i*^^ J,^ 
come across a specimen, eithei in the neia .bourl n T 
;;.^elsewhere.-^...c... fro,. ^kc^d^^Sl!^, 
Koss of the Indian MecUcal S^.Tce 'n' ' D '"p 
tiickMaiLson as to the spread of malari-, I.,/ 
quitoes the il/«(?r«,s7l/f«7 .says:- "jy n)OS- 
Ifc is not contended that this is the nr,l„ 
which malaria is spread, and in fact AT?n^ '"'t^ 
It probably is not. It is at least on "'°° 
very important way too. ' The Cw?edge"''L.""i " 
acquired for us by his labour has nnt in u 
very important key, and oi^^a wh^rmly ""I'^t"^^ " 
possibihties. If the mosiuitoi« w!,-^ V^°'^''S'"eat 
in the spread of malaTa,-^"the LsSon 'o/..^'='°^ 
sect is an obvious indication At fi -"^ of that m- 
seems an impossible feat; but on a <=m;ri ""^^^ ^^'^ 
may be done by house owners and ^1,°'''^^ 
breeding gi'ounds of mosquitoes „ 'he neSho, Z*^^ 
of houses may be destroyed. Ponds rn;^ ''^'2°'^ 
should be drained. Fishless ponds sho,,)^! "'""'"'^^^ 
with fish, for it has been shown f i, I ^ •''^ Peopled 
offish feed on niosqules. TMs tte^''^' '1^"^^ 
the evil has been employed on tL P V ^^^^^ 
America with very mffi success ^''%]^^''' in 
aiiothermeansat our disnosa fi!- u ■ etill 
reach of all, t^V ?hLise orkl'-o "^'^^'^ '^e 
surface of the water 1 whiTZ 7^^^^^^^^ 
known to breed. This has hpin f ^ ^ """^^uitoes are 
in America with excellent rcsuUs ^'^P^rimentally 
Cinchona Growkrs in Indu >na, u • 
ested to learn that the con net Hon "^ i 
at one time, threatened brtl e Uniler's.T' 
has come to nought. In an AnV^ • 
report it is state,1 that the vahie and" df"^' 
for quinine were strong incentives to h 
<l"ctu.n, and the cinchonas wTiS furnhh tb' T"' 
were raised and distributed fo • ci Itk-n f! ^''^'^''Jg 
in California and Elorida. Bn /^n ■ 
was success obtained ; and it is fn, 1,^° instance 
that cinchona bark is "o lailo . ' '■T'Y^^'' 
plantations in the Eas ludie" " •That'i"-''"^^ 
-Ed. T.A.-\ And so chea ly' t la wL'f 
growers have abandoned t he niltMl \ m'^ ^"'^"'^ 
We may note also that n Amer ea b 
tiee.has not proved a "u^cr, '^xtpr' in ^A'^l" 
forma, though there was at one H, 
demand for plants owin- to thP • f ^''^''^ 
Australia that piantatioislende to 1?!°"' 
in malarial tracts. It is nmv ^''''^^^^ 
special n-,erit. either ii ^JC.^'^l^ 
economic products, has been fonn • "tilisablo 
40 species e'xperimented S," so th t tliei'^fill'" 
proimgatioii was abandoned several vi' ' '''''' 
In Indiaalsotheblue-.^umtrpel,, I ^^'"'^ 
in most places where i C ,cen la^te V"''"'" 
[Surely not on the Nil^iu ',nd 
- :u.gcs generally. In K L ,. "^ i 
jo,.ris...i„ i.i.i.er^Xn^^ disl;';ef^'::: 
