TROPICAL 
AGMCULTUBLST. [July 1, 190.1 
than they would (or need do) had they one 
Agent on the spot controllijog the recruiting. 
These facts will doubtless commend them- 
selves to the P. A. Committee when they next 
meet in Kandy. 
CINJS'AMON SALES IN LONDON 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
A great coiuijliment is paid lo our uioiUhly by Sir 
Geo. Watt, K.C.I. E., F.L.y., and Mr. H H Mauu, 
F.L.S., in their new and greatly eniarged book on 
" The Pests and iiUghts ol the Tea Plant." They 
say lu their introductory chapter, intei' alia that 
"the Tropical AgriuuUurist of Colombo has been 
found a mine ol iufoniiaiiou for confirming or 
correcting observations made iu India." Special 
reference is also made to " the very ^reat assist- 
auc,e most generously afforded by Mr, E E Green. 
THE TEA COKPOKATION. 
(To tlie Editor of the Finaucial Times.") 
Sii-,_\Vill you permit me to address a few words 
to my feiiow shareholders iu the Tea Corporation, 
Ltd., through your columns ? Having lived for up- 
wards of 50 years iu Ceylon and owning at the 
present time an adjoining estate to the plumbago 
properties of this company which properties also I 
formerly owned, I am abled to speak with as- 
surance, having extracted a large amount of 
plumbago myself from them before I sold them. 
The fact that during the first four mouths of this 
year about 75 tons of plumbago were extracted is a 
distinct proof that the t-hareholders of this com- 
pany are in the dark as the annual returns from 
this source, because, couuting an average profit 
of £17 per ton, this would show approximately 
£4,000 for the year, This is very different from 
the estimate of Mr. Plender and the secretary of 
£1,000 per annum. Adding this result to what we 
may reasonably expect from the tea, cocoa and 
other products, say, £10,000, we arrive at a profit 
for the year of £14,000. As a practical tea planter, 
1 cannot believe that those of my feiiow share- 
holders agreeing to the scheme now being forced 
upon them can' realise what they are sacrificing. 
Surely it behoves such a firm as Messrs A Gibbs 
and Sons to protect the interests of the share- 
liolders, many of whom came in on their name. I 
strongly feel that the committee of which Mr 
Foss is Chairman deserves the thanks and support 
of every shareholder, — I am. Oic, 
C, Shand, 
52, Longridge-road, S.W„ 16th May. 
TEA IN TURKEY, 
til his recent report for the year 1902, the British 
Vice-Consul at Adana states that tea is on the 
increase as a beverage, especially in winter. Very 
cheap teas can sell well, and local agents should 
be told to extend this trade iu the interior. 
Thousands of Circassians residing to the east of 
Kaiserieh drink much tea, and this now comes in 
from Russia or Persia. No drinkable tea is sold 
iti Turkey, aud yec thaD sold commands an exces- 
sive price. This trade needs to be developetl.— 
Board of Trade Journal, May 28, 
The only event during the week, the quarterly 
cinnamon sales, have, we regret to record the fact, 
ceased to disturb the equanimity of our trade. 
There -vas a time— not very long ago — when these 
auctions were looked forward to with great curio- 
sity and even anxiety not only by our trade, biit 
by the consunieis of the whole world. The 
London .sales gave the key-note then for the 
immediate future of the article. We recollect, 
when reporting about the result of these sales at 
the time, Laying stress on the fact that cinnamou 
had ceased to be the monopoly of a tew brokers 
in the Lane, and that all Spice Brokers con- 
sidered the article worth their attention. It was 
of course worth their while, for not only was a 
regular and steady business done almost everyday 
in spot lots, parcels afloat or for distant shipment, 
but the public auctions also v\ ere of the greatest 
importan:e, and comprised thousands of bales of 
all sorts. But soon combinations between ship- 
per? and dealers were arrived at, the article 
ber;an to be dealt in between Tirsb and last hand 
direc^, anrd instead of a good trade every day, 
business d windle i down to a retail churacter, and ' 
the public auctions now comprise hundreds 
instead of thousands of balesT In place of Is 
per lb. c. i. f. as used to be realised, 81 c. i. f. 
has been accepted, aud even 7id c. i. f> tor a 
small quantity of usual assortmenc has been taked' 
this week we hear. Evidently some shippers 
anticipate still lower prices in the future if they 
sell a " bear " at so low a figure. As a matter of 
fact the value in Ceylon has not fallen low enough 
to permit of a margin on the sales at 8d c. i. f. 
But then this arrival business of late has become 
a puzzle to everybody, which did not even find 
its solution in the discovery of the wild cinnamon. 
— London Commercial Record, May 29. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Peraic Para Ectbber.— Mr F Stephens of 
Perak has sent home a sample of Para rubber 
which was valued at 4/6 a lb. — Malay Mail. 
The Consular Report on Planting Pug- 
ducts IN Java— in the past year appears 
elsewhere (abridged) tonight. The general 
result seems to have been a decrease, rather 
than an increase, in prices. 
Chickkns from Eggs Twelve Months' Old. 
—I beg to enolose you a letter just received 
from one of my correspondents which, I think, 
will interest many of your readers :— " To the 
Manager, British Egg-Preserving Depot, Hinckley, 
Leicestershire."! am writing to tell yon, as I think 
it will interest you, that I have just hatched a 
chicken from an egg which I preserved in your 
Water-Glass twelve months ago. I put the egg in 
the solution on April 15th, 1902, and I set the 
egg on April r6th of this year, and the chick was 
hatched last Wednesday, a nice bird, and quite 
strong. I have had it photographed, and if you 
care to see it I will send you a copy. — E. Dare." 
I may say this is not the first person we have 
heard from who had discovered that Glass- 
preserved eggs retain their fertility for a prolonged 
period after being immersed in this solution. 
K, B. Baghot De la Bere Burbaye Hall, 
Leicestershire,— Gardeners' Chronicle,Ma>y 23, 
