484 ' "tHE TROPICAL xV(IRICUI>TrRTF5T. [Jan 2, \m. 
rather than that the English Government should 
give ail ear to the ahove cry. Shonhl however 
such lie the cafe, against tlie intere^'t of our 
planters, and the Enj,'lish Govenimeut taUe the 
means releuecl to, it woulJ be ilesirahle, that our 
(iovcinnienl took niethoils of reprisal, and, as a set- 
off to the restriction of Java teas in the En{:iisli 
market, caused an equivalent ranf,'ing in the taritfs 
of all teas inipoi ted here from England. 
The fall in the quotations of some of the prin- 
cipal English-Indian tea-growing companies may 
he seen from a comparison of the 4uotalions on tlie 
dates given helow : — 
Assam Tea 
British Indian Tea (Ltd.) .. 
British and EenniugtonH 
Tea Asso. 
British and Jtenninglona 
5 pUt. cum. pi'ef. 
Daijeehng Tea (Limited) .. 
Dooars Tea (Limited) Ord.. 
„ 7 pCt. ord. pref... 
Doom Dooma Tea Limilefl... 
Jokai (Assam) Ten (Ltd.) Ord. 
,, „ 0 pCt. cum. pref 
Jorehaut Tea (Limited) 
Lebong Tea (Limited) 
ycoltiah A9-;am Tea (Ltd.) . . 
18'J7. 
1898. 
1898. 
62i 
55 J 
■ii 
4. J 
a 
1 
■■■'i 
5i 
21 
23 
21 
21 
17J 
17 
18 
104 
21 
24 
•20 
. 18 
18 
1-14 
. 16 
15J 
15 
.594 
574 
4(>4 
18 
17i 
15 
114 
THE LATEST " TEA CHEST." 
This, as we have already intimated, is the 
" Colimlia" Tea Chest which is made of " liriti.-h 
Colonial Veneer" and for the promotion of which 
"The Timber Tea Che.st Co., Ld." lias been 
formed with oHiecs at 2-2, Eencluircli Street, 
London. The Directors, we learn, are INIessis. 
J. L. Anstruther, Edmund Walker and Edwaid 
Ames— all men with Ceylon experience and who 
ought to know what they are about in bringing 
out a new tea chest. Their Company is to 
have a capital of £8,000 with an issue of £7,000 
and the Agents in Ceylon are Messr.-. Car.son 
(Si Co. and Messrs. Walker Sons & Co., Limited. 
Mr. James Francis Bennett is the London Secre- 
tary pro tern. 
tjlieat advantages are claimed for the new 
chest : the material used is perfectly inodorous ; 
and no piece of wood is placed in contact with 
the tea ; all boxes to be the same weight and con- 
sequently even tares ; so that Jialf the cost of 
the " Colindia" chest is to be saved to the shipper 
in freight and dock charges ! The Directors 
goon to claim that "abetter article is otFei-etl 
at a cheaper price than either 'Momi' or 
'White- wood' clKsts." Instructions for setting 
up the "Colindia" tea chest are given and " 40 to 
.50 chests per day can be constructed by an unskilled 
workman" we" are told. Anything neio in the 
way of tea chests cr other contrivance to benefit 
t!ie tea industry is of interest to the Ceylon 
public and that is our reason for publishing 
these particulars from papers sent us. The 
prices, (Sc. , will, no doubt, be advertised in due 
course. As yet, we believe, no consignment of 
the new chests has reached the island, though 
one is on the way. 
" A FRELIMmARY STUDY OF THE PKICKLY- 
Pears Naturalised in New SouTci Wales" 
By J. H, Maiden, Government Botani>.t, and 
Director of the Botanic Gardens, Sydney, has jnst 
reached us in pamphlet form with several fine 
illustrations. It gives much useful infoiniation. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Aloes in Ceylon.-^ A colonist wriief :- " I see 
a iettei in the T.A. from \\\'. .M. Young— a man 
of many experiments and vicissitudes. There «re 
plenty of aloes in Ceylon ; but ti.ej' nil Ihiwer 
at 85) years, alter which they ure m-eles*'. 
W.M.Y.'s aloes will he a liowering jungle now. 
Old William Smith experiiuenttd on a big hcale 
uDce, I believe, but all fitiluren." 
A New i"oo*» Puoduct— ior the low country, 
may well be found in the Florida bean, ' the 
seeds of which (provided from Australia by our 
late friend, K. L. M. Brown, who was ever ready 
for new experiments) we distributed i-ome monlliH 
ago. It will be ob.served that in Soutli Kulutara 
district the creeper Honrislies exceedingly, and 
returns a really abundant crop of very nutritious 
beans for family use. 
BuDDiNfi the MANiio lias been generally con- 
sidered an imposhibiliiy, but tliix is a mistake 
because it is done by experts in Florida, and it 
can be done by others when understood. The 
secret lies in taking the buds fiom about the 
middle of the growing shoot where they are 
well developed, and yet not too tender — where 
the color ot the bark is just turning from greeu 
to purple — and at a time just prior to a vigorous 
stage or growth in the tree to be budded. The 
shield method lias been used, but I believe the ring 
or [date style would be better. — Juiiriidl of the 
Juiiinka Ayrirntural Society tor October. 
The A.MERiCAN " Tea Lve."— Under the aliove 
heading the Amcrirati Grocer f-ayf, in ref- 
ereneeto the letter (which it quoten) of our 
correspondent, who calls for big vigorous 
measures to open American eyes to the 
excellence of Ceylon leas, that Americans are 
not "ab-^olutely blind but k''enly alive to the 
meiits of (,'eylon tea." In pi oof it quntes the 
circulars ol two proniiiier.t distributors of good 
products on the Atlantic and Pacilic coasf^. We 
copy the former : — 
CEVI.O.N TFA. 
Oriental Visitor of Uitih Caste. — From that pear- 
shaped island aonth-eastof India, described by 60u.e m 
the " Modern Garden of Eden." 
They know how to grow fin*- teas there, and how to 
prepare them. Strong point about Ceylon tejs is their 
cleanliness; another their fragrance and strength, 
making them more economical to u.se, because j-on need 
less of them. 
Very rosy flavour. Yon may not like it at first, bat 
probably will before long. 
It goes on to athim that the American "tea 
eye" is wide open on both sides ot the Conti- 
nent for whatever method may supidement ihe able 
work of tliei'eyloii and Indian Tea Commi.'-.sioners. 
The article concludes thus : — 
We must recognise that the flavour and strength of 
British-grown machine teas are so different, from 
China and Japan teas that Americans must be edu- 
cated step by step up to an appreciation of their merits. 
They are not a tea-drinking peop e, preferring coffee 
and beer, which condition is by souirt attributed to 
cHmatic conditions ; but vphatever the cause there is 
abundant promise to the persistent advoc.ites of 
Ceylon ami ladia tea that every year will see an 
Increased demand. '' SVe may not like them at first, 
but will before long."^ 
Not, however, if low-grade or trashy tea is forced .on 
this market. Just so long as there is merit in the 
teas of Ceylon and Ind'.a they are here to stay. The 
popular taste is lick e and varies in different sections. 
The Eastern and Jiiddle States prefer fermented 
tea; the Western and Souch-western, green or nn- 
fermeuted leaf, and it ij folly to attempt to force a 
change in the cliaracter of the demand, except by in- 
telligent aud persistent effort. 
