630 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March 1, 1899. 
CEYLON TFA IN AUSTKALIA. 
MR. ROWBOTHAM'.S VlliWS. 
Among the passengers, who returned by tho 
''Himalaya" from Australia oq Wednesday were 
Mr. and Mra. Bowbolham, the latter of whom, we are 
glad to state, has coiisiiierably benr-fited by ihe change. 
Mr. E jwbotham has slated to a morniug contemporary 
that, as far as Australia is concerneJ, we must cry 
halt, because Ceylon tea does, not requir.^ any extran- 
eom effjrt whatsoever; no more puffing or '' lo^ 
roilin?," as it would bi teimed in Auitralix.. 
Mr. Rowbotham declares that tha mistake has lain 
in the indi'joi iiiiinat'j and injudicious sliipinonts of tefi 
to Australia, a fact which is C')iiside' ii.l)ly damaging 
the Ceylon tea trade in tiie Southern Colonies. '• Do 
you know," s.iid Mr. Rowbotham, "it was these in- 
discriminate shipments wliich wrecked the China 
trade years ago, and if they a-o continued much 
longer I have no doubt that Ceylon is bound to suffer 
in the same wf.,y." 
"Arguing then from your point of view the Cool- 
gardie Exhibition will not benefit us as far aa tea 
goes?" Mr. Rowbotham: — "Certainly not. It has 
been nione^ thrown away, by tlie planters, which will 
not do him a bit of good.' Ut-ylon tea, [ assure you 
has the largest proportion of buBines.s in Australia, 
though it will surprise you to know that thcne hxs 
been a decrease in the drinking of tea. We are 
drinking less t?a in 1801) than wo did in IS'JO; any 
why 1 you ask. Becnupe, sir, tbe country is being 
rapidly opened np and the people are able to drink 
wine and beer cheaper than they did some years ago, 
both these commodities beini procurable at a very 
cheap rate in ihe different Colonies. However, as I 
pay, Ceylon tea is well-known in the Colonies »nd 
requiries no more advertising." Mr. Rowbotham 
earnestly advocates the sale ol tea in Colombo, the 
juatification for whifh has been uigtd in more 
quarters than one of late. It may not be >;enerally 
known, but it is nevertheless true, th:it the attention 
of Australian tea havers has been drawn to the fact 
that it is ibsolutely cheaper to import tea direct from 
London than it is to do so from Colombo. And 
we have a lesson of cause and effect in the fact 
that at the present moment theie is a shipment ou 
the water from London to Australia. Mr. liowbjtham 
contends that not only can tea be purchased at a 
cheaper price in London, but that freights are also 
lass, so that, unless a movement is nuide to sell on the 
spot, London will commund the Australian market, 
though 6,000 milss further removed from Australia. 
" It is no u.se mincing m itters," observed Jlr. Row- 
botham " for I aay that, from the fuels above stated, 
there is no doubt that both Ceylon and the Ceylon 
planter are being imposed upon, and the sooner 
the remedy is devised the better for all conc«rnad." 
PoLisHTNG Small Stones.— The principal tlunn; 
in polishing stones is to grade the hardness of the 
polishing material with the .stone to be polished. 
For cutting a surface level, use various grades 
of emery on lead laps, with a separate lap for 
each grade of emery. See that all scratche.s aie 
iemoved. For the polishing, on hard wood t!i it 
will not warp glue a piece of bull' leather. Oa 
tliis place a little putty powder, which, like the 
emery, must be used wet. The followins.' has 
been given as best for soft stones : — Take, say, 
^Ib of putty powder, put it in a iar, cover it with 
nitric acid, and place it in the open air, as the 
fumes are noxious ; let it stand fur a day, then 
jjour oll'acid and water repeatedly until the water 
ceases to he acid. Polish with the residue. — 
From " Work" for Feb. 
* This is going too far, more especially seeing that 
W^e.stein Australia has been getting no tea direct 
from Ceylon, although steamers run from Colombo 
to Freemantle. — Ed. T.A. 
MINOR PUODUCTS REPORT. 
CiTBONEi.LE Oil.— This article i« firm at a ipot 
price of lljd iu drums, whilst the price to uriveii lljd 
c.i f. 
KoL* Nuts. — Receut arrivHls of fresh nats have 
been Bold fit 101, and in dried nuts there appears 
to be praciically nothing doing, la anction la»t 
week 19 packages were s-ld, fair Grenada nuts at 
4J, buldish but dark uut:> at 3i to B^d, medium quality 
at 2id. an I dark C«yloa;at li, ilinh and Colonial 
DiH(iiitHt,Ji<.n. 27. 
CiN'CHON.i. — At the first London anctioni of tbe 
y«sr, htld on Tuesday, nine brokers offered sup- 
plica amounting to l.nu packages, mad* op as 
follows : — 
Packages ofifered. Packages. 
East ladian .cinahoua. 1,015 of which t>i\ were aotd. 
Java cinchona .. 273 dj 273 do 
African cinchona .. 2o7 do 221 do 
Ceylon cinchona . . 235 do 10(5 do 
South American cin- 
chona . . 121 do 121 do 
1,911 1,325 
There was a moderate demand, as instanced by the 
above t ible, but some of the bjiigbt-in lots were aftor- 
war.is disposed of by pi ivate treaty at sale-rates. Tlio 
average unit obtained was almost ecjuivalent to tliat 
of the last Amsterdam auctioua — vu , LG-16d to Id 
per lb. 
The following figures represent the approximate 
amouHt of baik purchased by the principal buyers : 
Agents for the American and Italian lb. 
works . . . . . . 72,279 
Agents for the Brunswick factory .. 57,5i8 
Agents for the Frankfort and Stuttgart 
factories .. .. .. 49.809 
Messrs. Howards li' Sons .. .. 23,244 
Agents for the .Mauubeim auj Amster- 
dam factories . . .. ., 17,818 
Agents for tho I:jiperial Quinine fac- 
tory .. .. 3,150 
Druggists, (fee. .. .. ,. 41,949 
Bought in or withdrawn 
2fi8,7C7 
141,121 
Total quantity cfifcred .. 4"9,688 
Prices realised were as under : — 
Ckylon.— Fair to good Succiiubra stem chips and 
shavings, 2JJ to 31 per lb. Ledgeriana chips 4Jd. 
J.WA.— Ledgeriaiia natural stem chips at 3*4 to 
4|1 ; branch at 2.Jd to 3d ; and root bark at 3«d to 
45d per lb. 
East Indian.— Ledgeriana natural stem chips and 
shavings 2jd to Hid; ditto branch IJd; not aid. 
( rown original stem 2d to 3Jd ; renewed 2id to 
4|d ; Succirubra renewed chips 2id to 2| i ; oiiginal 
chips 2gd ; broken qmll 3|d ; and root 2|d. Hybr d 
natural stem chips 8d per lb 
QuiNiXK.— Best German brauds are without alter- 
ation, and a dull tone prevails. B. and S. Bruns- 
wick is quoted nominally at lOJd per oz. - Chemist 
and Dnir/nisf, Jan. 28. 
Planting in the SouTHEn.v 1'eovince.— Tea culti- 
vation is now at a stand still, and the S.-W. clearings 
this year will not exceed 200 acres. The natives 
received a shock through the whole of 1898, owing 
to the low prices, and are now going back to cin- 
namon. I see the Udugama Company did badly 
last ye.ir; but can they expect to make a profit 
oat of 500 acres yielding less than 200 lb. per acre? 
The tei-box-making concern seems to have been 
also worked at a loss, besides the loss of thousands 
of trees cut out of the jungle. The Talgaswella Com- 
pany will shortly hold its annual meeting. I believe 
they have made a small profit oa last year's woikin". 
There are our only tea crin-.panies, and do not 
adver:i33 the district, but we have good payin" steates 
ftll the same. — Co : 
