Feb. 1, 1899.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRlCULTURtST. 
543 
A letter from Mr. Shirley Tremearne, Official Agent 
ot the Western Australian Mining and Industrial 
Exhibition, was considered, in which he handed 
prospectus of this exhibition, which was to be opened 
next March in Coolgardie, and suggested tliat, with a 
view to furtiicr pusliing the sale of te:i, the tea 
industry of India should be represented thereat. 
The Committee considered that very short notice had 
been given, and that it would be difficult to avail them- 
selves of Mr. Tremearne's suggestion, especially seeing 
that the end of the season was at hand. At the same 
time, however, the Secretary was instructed co send out 
a circular to Agents of all tea gardens, asking them to 
Bend samples for exhibition. 
With regiird to the resolutions passed by the 
Darjeeling Planters' Association Committee on 10th 
September, which were referred to the General 
Committee by the Darjeeling and Duars Sub-Com- 
mittee for settlement, — as follows : — 
"That this Association protests against the present 
contraction of the Calcutta market, as prices realized 
there for toasfrom this district compare most unfavour- 
ably with prices in London. 
" That this Association also protest against the 
way in which teas are characterized and run down 
by Calcutta Brokers when the market is low. 
" That a copy of this resolution be sent to the Indian 
Tea Association with a fequest to ascertain whether the 
Selling Brokers are also Buying Brokers, and, if so, 
whether steps should be taken to put a stop to this." 
The Committee considered that the statements 
made by the committee of the Darjeeling Plautcrj' 
Association wore very sweeping and general in their 
nature. They thought thac an as.sertioa such as 
that contaiued in the second resolution should not 
be made unless accompanied by specific instance.s 
suflicient to warrant it, and that until some proof 
of the statement (which was not borne out by the 
experience of the committee) was submitted, it was 
unnecessary to make any enquiry in connection with 
the subject of the three resolutions. The Secretary 
was instructed to address the Honorary Secretary of 
the Darjeeling Planters' Association to this effect. 
Messrs. Lyall, Marshall and Company's proposal 
to work the disposal of tea dust among the poorer 
class of Natives, and enquiry as to the terms upon 
which the tea was to be given to the Indian 'Tea 
Supply Company, was considered ; and the Secret- 
ary was ■-instructed to reply that the idea of the 
committee was that tea dust should be delivered 
(if it appeared herenfter that gardens were disposed 
to subscribe thus in kindl) to them for cost of freight 
and packing, in order that it might be disposed of 
amodg the poorer class of Natives at a purely 
nominal cost. — The Planter, Doc. 2-i. 
« — 
Speed Calculation for Cycllsts.— A simple, 
nietliod, say.s the Engineer, for a bicycle rider 
to deteiniine at what speed lie i.s riding is to 
count the number of revolutions made by tiie 
crank in eighteen seconds ; multiply this by 
the near and divide by one Imndix'd. The re- 
salt will be in miles per hour. For instance, 
say tliat clie crank makes 20 revolutions in 18 
seconds, and that the bicycle is geared to 60 
then ""^y[^=l- miles per hour. This is a 
calculation tlial can be made by tiie bicyclist 
mentally at any part of tlie ride, bub the 
dilliculty will be to average one's speed during a 
ride by simply counting the number of revo- 
lutions for only 18 seconds of lime. The inti- 
mate connection between biain and luu^cle will, 
I fenr, vitiale even the calcnlalimi itsci'', no 
matter how iiccnriitely liie riiicr may time his 
levolullons. Walcdiin;; the hand (il a stop 
watch, for insjance, will insi'iivibly increase the 
rev(dulions as the pointer approaches the 13 
secniuls limit, lint as a species of mental 
gy iiiiiaslic.s I'lU idea is not a bail one. — riuiieci; 
THE TEA CORPORATION, LIMITED. 
Our old friend Sir Charles Lawson — wiioni we 
recall when a merchant at Cocliin before ins 
long and honorable connection with the Madras 
press— has begun to take a special interest in 
the Tea industry of Ceylon in consequence, ap- 
parently, of his holding shares in the Tea Cor- 
poration, Limited. He has succeeded in getting 
a Committee of Enquiry into the management of 
the Company for the first year, a propcsal in 
which the Directors readily acquiesced, havin" 
nothing to hide and not much, we fancy, to re^ 
veal beyond what appeared in their Rejjort. The 
press of Ceylon has been asked to throw light 
on the working of the Company, and especially 
on the remarkable discrepancy between the fin- 
ancial anticipations and results for the first year. 
But we cannoD see thac there is much to ex- 
plain. It may be that the estimates of dividend 
were, at the time they were framed, a little 
too sanguine ; but there is clearly much excuse 
for the Directors afj to the non-realization of a 
dividend in the fact that certain properties were 
not given over at the date fixed and in the remark- 
able dill'erence in the cost of the tea before and 
after that period. Then the uniform ])revalenee 
of high exchange and the continuance of dear 
rice, no Directors could foresee ; while it is 
evident that altogether the Company did nob 
get fair play during the first year 'of its ex- 
istence. As regards the future, we can assure 
Sir Charles Lawson and the Committee of En- 
quiry that they coulil not have a more reliable 
Ceylon Manager than the gentleman in charge 
of their properties, well seconded as he is by 
experienced Colombo Agents and by a staff of 
Superintendents who — so far as we know are 
as hardworking and eflicient as any in the island. 
As to tlie Corporation's properties, we are not 
in a position to say whether too much was paid 
for them in view of adverse exchange and a 
general tendency to fall in the price of tea ; but 
the estates themselves are well-thought of and 
mostly situated in good tea districts. Our advice 
therefore to Sir Charles Lawson and otliet- 
natur;illy critical if not impatient shareholders, 
■would be to " possess their souls in patience " 
and to await the result of a full year's fair 
trial of the working of tlie properties under 
present managoment. 
. ^- 
THE TEA PLANTERS' NEW BOGEY. 
(Fiom the Saturday lieoieiv, Dec. 10.) 
Tea planters in Ceylon are confronted with a 
new bogey in the guise of Orthezia insir/jiis. 
This entomological auriosity derives its title from 
a Frenchman named Dorthes, who seems to have 
discovered and classified it towards the close of 
the hist century. It traces its descent from 
the family of Cocckhc, but belongs to the 
homopterous, as oppo.sed to the hemipter- 
ous, branch ; that is to say, its wings are of 
uniform texture, unlike tUo.se of its haff-brotlier 
better known but known for worse, the bu"' 
whose wings are partly hard and partly sofl! 
It i^ a small scale insect, covered with a white] 
WMxy secretion, and varies in length from one- 
cij^hih t) a (luarter of an inch. It is appallingly 
piolilic. The male has wings, but the female is 
apterous. At piesent it is leportcd to have 
.specially attacked lantana, for which it de.servea 
our thanks, and, so far, has done little damage 
to lea. So wc may hoiic that no more will bo 
