March ], 1899.] THE TKOPICaL AGRICULTURIST. 
633 
PHOTOCniAPHS OF CEYLON PLANTS 
IN THE HAAKLEM COLONIAL 
MUSEUM. 
Tlie IncUsche Mercaur ol 28 Jan. .says ;— 
in the Colonial Museum at Haailein are e.K- 
liibited 151 photoj^rapliic views from East India, 
which the Museum has received as a gift from 
the Society of Amateur Piiotographers established 
in Batavia. Beside tliis very iiikereslin;^- collec- 
tion, there are also to be seen 2i views fiom 
v-trious places in Neth. India, and last not lea't 
51 photos of plants from Ceylon. 
These last attract especial attention by the 
photos being surprisingly fine, and the softiiess of 
the plants and flowers being striiiingiy reproduced. 
The deserving Association in Batavia before- 
mentioned will perhaps find the opportunity, on 
reading ibis short notice, to try to e(iual the 
professional photographers establi;;hed in Ceylon, 
who "take' the flora so excellently in that de- 
partment. 
— «» — 
GKO\yiNC POrULARITY OF TEA IN 
FKANCE AND AMONG PARISIANS. 
DURING THE LAST TWELVE YEARS THE 
SALE OF THE BEVERAGE "THAT CHEERS 
BUT NOT INEBRIATES " HAS TRIPLED IN 
THE FRENCH CAPITAL. 
How far the consumption of tea had entered 
into Parisian customs wa? the object of ititer- 
view.s on the part of a Hekalu correspon Jent 
yesterday. 
'• Our experience," said a representative ot the 
Compagnie Auglaisa, place Vendonie, is that the 
consumption of tea in Paiis is on the increase. 
" With legard to our establishment, the increase 
in purchases by French customers is very marked, 
and they have outstripped other nationalities in 
this respect." 
On the other hand, tl)e manager of the English 
Tea Company, rue Koyale, said: " Parisians are 
becoming fonitcr of tea tuan in past years, but 
certainly not to the extent that is commonly be- 
lieved. From my experience in Paris, I shoiild 
say that the maiustry of the tea trade is to be 
found in tlie English, American and Swiss clien- 
tele. With tliese nationalities the taste is fixed, 
and tlic demand is sicatly, for a tea drinking, as 
everyone knows, is not a fad or a (question of 
fashion. Ou the contrai j', tea is considered as part 
and parcel of the renuiremeuts of a home. 
" As a means of making tea popular in Pari.s I 
think tea rooms have been very useful. F'rench 
ladies like to take a cup when shopping, and 
little )>y little the advantages of tea drinking have 
become known." 
M. Kastor, of the Royally House, rue Royale, 
said : "French peojile aie using much more tea 
than formerly, and from my ex))erience I am in 
a position to say that within the last tcii years 
its consumption has at least doubled in I'iuis. 
HOW THK TAbTK U.\.S GUUWX. 
"The reason lor this growinc; taste in French 
{auiiliea no doubt tukg^ its rise iu luukiug calk, 
Formerly the sale of Spanish wines and ' sirops' 
was much greater than it is now, and special 
pains were exercised to support such classes of 
wines as were jiarticularly suitable to a lady's 
palate. 
"In some way, however, the question was pro- 
nounced on by medical men, and the use of these 
wines and cordials was severely condemned. More 
than that, it was alleged that the quantity of 
alcohol contained in what appeared to be harm- 
less beverages was much greater than could be 
reconiniende J. 
"Also, it was said that sweet, syrupy beverages 
produced ilisorders of the digestive orgnns. No 
one pretended that a glas^of Malaga, for instance, 
would ba ohjecti():;able. But, suppose in the course 
of an afternoon several glasses of wine or cordials 
or ' sirops' were taken, then it is easy to see that the 
case is different. At all events, the decline infavor 
of these refreshments was contemporaneous with 
the increase of tea consumption, and tea-dealers 
attribute the increase in tlio sale of tea to this 
cause. 
'■I do not think the sympathies for Russia in 
connection wich the alliance had anything to do 
with the importation into France of the Russian 
custom of drinking tea. Not that it proves my 
reasoning to be correct ; but it is interesting to 
note that so far as the sale of Russian sainovats 
is concerned in Paris, our coustomers seem to re- 
gard them rather as ornaments ihaji for practi- 
cal use. 
PARISIANS PEEFER OVERLAND TEAS. 
" However, the French taste is like the Russian 
in this respect, viz., that they prefer China tea 
to any other. When we speak of * English ' tea 
(in the trade), we refer to tea whicii comes from 
English colonies, such as India or Ceylon, or China 
tea brought by sea. 
" Now, F'lench peoi)le do not, as a rule, care 
for thtse classes ot tea, pieferring that which is 
brought overland to Ku>.sia, So that in this res- 
pect French and Russian tastes are more or less 
identical. 
" I am aware that much tea is imported into 
Rus.=.ia by English houses, but I think no one 
could controvert the general statements that I have 
made." 
" Are those ' caravan ' teas superior to China 
tea brought over by sea?" 
" They are commonly supposed to be, but I 
am not sure that the belief is well founded." 
LltTLE GREEN TEA USED. 
" Is greeu tea used in Paris ? " 
" Yes, but very little of it. Parisians never, 
90 far as I am aware, use it. I have never sold 
nor heard of its being sold to French people. 
Russians, however, have a taste for it, and we 
keep green tea in stock for them." 
At Colouibin's I'ea Rooms, in the rue Cambon, 
the proprietor said : " Speaking in connection 
with the Parisian tiade alone, 1 am sure that 
within the last twelve years the sale of tea has 
triiiled. French ladies sto;) for a cuj) on their way 
home from shoi)ping as a regular thing now. Cer- 
tainly f.s a rclreshment tea has replaced ' siroj)3' 
and li'iueurs very largely. ^Ve always have the 
latter on hand, but they are not ol ten a>keil for. 
" In the suiniiier cold tea is used to some ex- 
tent but Parisians seem to prefer tea \\ith milk 
and ii uderaiely strong. Willi their tea ihey ask 
for ' iiMsl,' in two syllables, lor the English word 
has <i\pt into the French vocabulaiy, and also 
wulllts and lusks," — iS'ciV Yui k UiiuUl, ^^M' 31. 
