June 1, 1899.] THE TROPICAL AGEICULTtlRISt. 
8f9 
PLANTING NOTES. 
The BniTisH Tea Duty.— It will be iatereBt- 
ing to see what the General Coiiimittee of the 
Indian Tea Association say to tiio opinion of 
the Mincin<j Lane Brokers, that the total aboli- 
tion of the tea duty would probably lead to an 
ncreased import of cheap China teas. Of conrse, 
the discussion is academic at present ; for, there 
is no chance of abolition for several years, al- 
tliongh a reduction from 4ii to 21—10 which no 
one would take exception — may be granted in 
an early Budget, especially if Mr. Stead's "Truce 
of God" is carried as the result of the sitting 
of the Peace Congress. 
"Coconut Tr&hs in quantity do not help a 
landscape much," writes Henry Drainmoml about 
the South Pacilic island.s, as quoted in his life 
by Dr. Geo. A. Smith. " It is one against the sky 
that stirs your soul with the wonder of its 
sjrace and beauty. But any kind of tree will 
beat them as foliage. The form is not fine ; 
shadows are wanting. There is a stiff, metallic 
look, and the green is dingy and tarnished wit'i 
decaying fronds, the shreds of fibrous clotii, 
and even the bunches of brown which hold the 
coconuts." It is curious how exactly this view 
corresponds with that of the poet, Miss Jewsbury, 
when, after a visit to Ceylon, she wrote : — 
"Those coco palms not fair in woods. 
But singly seen and seen afar. 
When sunset pouts its yellow floods, 
A column and its crown a star ! 
Central Afhican Tea may in the near future 
become a feature in the Mincing Lane, The 
following from the BritUlh Central African Times 
is significant :—" Mr. Moir has favoured us with 
n sample of liis tea, grown and cured on the 
Lauderdale estate. Not being professional 
tea-tasters we can't give an authoritative opinion 
on its merits, buc the sample appeared to us to 
be of very good quality and made an excellent 
cup of tea. Judging from the rainfall of Mlanje, 
and the samples which both Mr. Moir and Mr. 
Brown have succeeded in producing, we should say 
that tea could be grown very successfully in the 
Mlanje district. It is, however, a risky culture 
at the present time, overproduction ir. Ceylon and 
India having brought down the price considerably. 
As an article of local consumption, however, 
ihere is an opening for one or two estates just as 
there is for sa?ar. We believe, Mr. Moir has dis- 
posed of all the crop he had to the local residents 
at Mlanje." 
Inuioo. — The Oil Paint and Drug Reporter of New 
York, discussing the question of artificial indigo, re- 
marks : — • Whether the natural article will eventually 
be superseded by ita synthetical competitor is a 
questioa that only the future will answer. The arti- 
ticial product has already established itself, and it 
caunot be denied that its consumption is increasing. 
The acreage in India planted with indigo last year 
was 2;t5,.5l'J acres, lu IS'JT, H7G,8U9 acres were sown, 
and In 189G as much as loli.OOl acres. The crop* 
wore of corresponding amounts. Thi') shows that the 
output of nitural indigo has declined during the last 
three years. What 18'JJ will bring forth in regard 
to this question rcaains to bo seen. Those in- 
terested in the industry in India are alive to tho 
situation, and, knowing the powerful competitor they 
now have in the synthetical indigo, are btjnding every 
effort to hold their own ; but. as in every other 
article which the soil produces, tha crops of iudit?o 
are irregular in quantity and uncertain iu quality, 
and this fact wdl greatly handicap tho champious 
of tho natural article in their tiglit a^ain^^t artificial 
rndi|{0. tho supply ot which is uuifortn in ipudity 
and inoxhauatiblo iu quantity, and CftU be regalftted 
(g suit prevailiDg conditiouti, 
Planting in Keunion.— The readers of our 
monthly periodical in this French Dependency 
are very eager co deal with a number of tropical 
products after the latest approved and scientific 
fashion. Among other enquiries, one lately 
reached us as to why in our " Coconut Planter's 
Manual" and "Cochran's Manual of Chemical 
Analyses" no fuller analysis of Copra was given. 
The answer is afforded in the letter from Mr. 
Cochran, which we publish elsewhere, and which 
practically supplies all that is needed. 
Dry Kot— The May Part of Buildinq World 
contains an article on " Dry Rot in Timber and 
its Prevention. ' Amongst other recipes the writer 
says : — Substances, such as paint or tar, that 
imprison moisture within wood or prevent its 
free evaporation, should never be used on damp 
or badly seasoned timber. Painting the ends of 
beams, joists, and all timbers touching the wallsi 
with creosote has been found to be very effective 
in keeping out damp. It coagulates the cell con- 
tents, thus giving solidity to young cells ; it 
absorbs oxygen from the cells ; it resinifies witliia 
the cells, and so excludes air and moisture ; and 
it acts as a poison to fungus. Several other pre- 
servatives against damp and dry rot have been 
suggested, the best being, perhaps, jodclite and 
carbolineum avenarius. These jireparations are 
applied hot, with a brush in the same manner 
as ordinary paint, and it is claimed for them that 
owing to their powerful penetrating properties 
they drive out all moisture, and make the wood 
impervious to damp. Timber of large scantling 
is sometimes, while appearing perfectly sound, 
quite rotten internally, where strings of mycelium 
permeate the core, it is wise, therefore, to have 
all large timber sawn in two parts, which can 
then be reversed and bolted together, care being 
taken to insert strips of wood between the pieces 
so as to form an air space. As a further pre- 
caution, the inside face of each piece might be 
painted with creosote, jodelite, carbolineuju, or 
corrosive sublimate dissolved in alcohol. 
A Corner in Tea. — We (Indian Planters' 
Gazette) doubt very much, notwithstanding all 
that has been said on the subject, whether such 
a thing as a "corner" in tea could be carried out. 
Interests are too many and conflicting, and too 
well divided to allow of this. It is true, Lipton, 
Limited, holds a pretty commanding position on 
the market, yet we doubt if his opposition or 
support could alter the market a halfpenny either 
way. We may take it, judging from exports, 
that Messrs. Finlay, Muir & Oo. hold even a 
stronger position, in relation toother agency houses 
in India, than Lipton, Limited, does in London 
and yet we would be very sorry to see them 
trying on a "corner," for they would soon find 
thair level. We note iu Messrs. Carritt & Co. 'a 
annual review of the tea market a reference to this 
combination of buying interests ; but we believe 
more attention is being paid to this than it is 
worth. The natural law of supply ami demand 
continues to rule the roast, ami was never better 
exemplilied than in 1S!)S and ISO'J. Overproduc- 
tion iu 189S drove prices do)Vn to starvation point; 
in 1899 scarcity is driving them up. If the strong 
combination of buying interests exists, aa is sup^ 
posed, why has it not stepped in just now and 
.said : " No ; we won't buy at these prices ,' " Some 
other cause, we are of o|)inion, must be found 
to account for the abnormal depression of 1S9S. 
Whatever it was (and we do not presume to .-iiy 
what it was>, it had a very depresaing effect, an4 
'will be loDg reiueiubercd. 
