652 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Feb. 1, 1899. 
For well-fertilized trees twenty years old the pro- 
ducts should average 2.5 kilos per tree. Rulalive 
to the future of coffee culture in Brazil, there is 
nothing in the natural contlitions to pievcnt eilher 
the continuation or expansion of raising coffee. The 
principal difficulties are in the manaj^eraent. 
The present position of the planter is very pre- 
carious, and moat of them may he compelled lo sell 
or surrender their properties lo the raortf;agees. la 
that event the new possessors co!ild work the planta- 
tions to advantage at tiie present prices. A great 
many Italians have been imported and have displaced 
slave labour on the plantations. Tkere is no likeli- 
hood of these Italians emigrating, a» no other land 
offers any better advantages for obtaining subsistence 
and which condition invites further immigration. — 
Itio News, Nov. 29. 
THE SUGAR INDUSTUY. 
We remember the question was publicly rawed 
some time ago, whether the West Indian Siifjar 
Planters are as enterprising and as up-to-date 
as they should be, and wliether their misfor- 
tunes have not been aggravated, if not caused, 
by their failure to do their best for tiieir lands, 
and to avail themselves fully of iniprovement.! 
in machinery and manufacture. Of tliat we can- 
not judge ; but here is an extract showing that 
in Hawaii, there is no lack of enterprise 
and go . — 
" The Hawaiian sugar and coffee planters set a 
L'ood example to Indian planters in t'leir methods. 
They act on the old but still true maxim that 
the gods help those who help themselves. Sugar, 
it may be mentioneil, is Hawaii's chief article of 
export, and coffee one siie is trying to develop. 
The sugar planters have a laboratory and experi- 
mental station of their own, where cane of difl'erent 
varieties is grown and tested ; and they show 
great enterprise in making proper trial of ff rtilisers, 
irrigation plans, and new machinery, such as the 
nine-rollj mill for juice extraction, the clarification 
of juice by the Deming apparatus, and crystallisa- 
tion in motion. We are not surprised to hear as 
a sequel that the sugar industry of the islands 
firospered last year, all the plantations paying 
arge dividends. The export of coffee is small as 
yet — only 337,158 lb. last year,— but last year 
doubled the year before ; and it is proposed to 
appoint, at Government expense, a commission of 
experts to promote a knowledge of the best 
methods of cultivation, to watch markets, 
and so on. 
CEYLON TEA IN THE UNITED 
STATES AND CANADA: 
. STRONG FEELING IN THE FORMER IN 
FAVODR OF " BLENDS " AND 
" OOLONGS." 
GOOD PROSPECTS FOR CEYLON TEA IN 
AMERICA, ON THE CONTINENT OF 
EUROPE AND IN AUSTRALIA 
We publish on page 555 along, chatty letter from 
orr old friend, Mr. MacCombie Murray, who has- 
now watched the American tea market for a good 
many years since lie gave up planting in Ceylon. 
He lays the result of that experience and a number 
of facts gathered at first hand before his friends, 
the tea planters of this colony, and it behoves 
them through their representative bodies in the 
Planters' Association and " The Thirty Com- 
mittee " to give due consideration to the informa' 
tion now brought to light, and more especially 
as to what is said respecting " blends " and 
'■ oolongs." With respect to the dislike «f 
American families for " pure Ceylon tea," Loa- 
ever, on their first experience of the snme, we 
should like to ask Mr. MacCombie Murray 
whether he is quite sure that the snid fHinilies 
understood that a less period of infusion should 
be given to Ceylon tei than lo the \»eaUer 
China and .Japan products r Here, for instance, 
are the typical instructions in the case of 
" Ceylon Tea ":— 
" How TO Mark a Good Cup or Tr.A — First fill 
your kettle with krksh water, then see tint it really 
noir.s. Next warm your teapot, and put one small 
teaspoonful of tea for each cup required ; then poQt 
on the required quantity of boiling water, infuse for 
FIVE minutes, then pour off the tea into aBothtr 
teapot ready for nee. Thus treated, CEvr.oN Tka 
will gire a liqaor, pure, delicious and fragrant." 
Now, the above (printed in English, Sinhalese 
and Tamil) was intended for household servants 
in Ceylon. Iti the case of American or other 
families, unaccustomed to our teas, we should 
recommend at first only *' four minutes " of in- 
fusion in place of " five," and we shouhl like 
Mr. MacCombie Murray to get any meniljer of 
" Finlay Acker's " staff or other tea dealer* to 
experiment in this way and say if pare Ceylon 
tea is still too strong and " lierby " in tatite, 
for the delicate American palate ? As regards 
"oolongs" we have recommended that trials 
should be tnade with natural "green" teas 
from Ceylon, ami we trust Bain|iles will be sent 
to Mr. MacCombie Murraj' to get the opinion 
of the large tea distiibuting house that he 
names. We sincerely hope that our correspond- 
ent may speedily build up a lemunerative and 
steadily extending tea business in the gieat 
city of brotherly-love with its over a million 
of population, all no doubt well-to-do contpara- 
tively, and all of whom ought to be drinkers of 
Ceylon tea ! — let alone the several millions of 
customers available in the State of Pennsyl- 
vania, 
From another quarter altogether, last niai- 
bronght us some interesting infoi rnation regard- 
ing tea prospects in America. This corresponds 
ent — largely interested in Ceylon tea property — 
writes from London, 22nd December, as fol- 
lows : — 
" I enclose three cuttings to show yotl what is 
happening in GaHftda, with regard to the proposed 
differential duty on tea. No. 1. you see, aJvocatei 
this differential daty ; No. 2 tells of the attempt! 
the Japanese Consul is making to stop it; while No. 3 
deprecates any change in the tariff. 
" The statistical position, the home consumption, 
the large increasing demand from ' other countries,' 
the small increase in prod-action — all should tend to 
better prices in London and Colombo. But vrhile the 
very existence of the half-dozen large blending and 
distributing over-capitalized companies depends on 
beating down prices, they can manoeuvre successfully 
to that end, Russian oriera defeated them in 
several cases last Tuesday, when they wished to 
divide lots Id to l^d under Russian limits. These 
orders were for good high-grown and high-priced 
teas, which unfortunately Australia and America 
hardly touch. Calcutta has been supplying large 
quantities lately to America, delivered at 4id to oid, 
prices which must show a loss. Why this stuff is 
produced heaven only knows! Agents in Calcutta 
may benefit — shareholders do not. Yet the Indian 
people seriously think of stopping their Campaign 
Fund and leaving Ceylon alone to find markets ! 
With Russia taking (as you think) 10 millions next 
