208 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Sept. 1, 1903. 
saw all the leading sights — and were quite surfeited 
with churches, galleries and pictures ; while 
for about 7 francs extra we were able to make a 
slight detour from the direct route at Milan to see 
Lakes Come and Lugano. [But why not turn aside 
— and give two or three days to Venice — unique 
among Italian towns?— Ed. T.A.'] Summarising 
these it may be said that for under £10 a head 
of extra expenditure over and above the cost of 
the direct journey to England we had a long 
visit to Naples (and a tour of its surroundings), 
three weel^s in 
ROME, 
a week in Florence, three days in Milan 
and a peep at the Italian Jakes, an inter- 
esting journey over the wonderful San Gothard 
Pass and a passing glimpse of Switzerland. 
Our expenditure was spread over some three 
months, but for those who desire to get 
through it more expeditiously, the trip might be 
very comfortably done, say, in a month (exclud- 
ing the Amalfi trip) for about £15 a head 
including living in addition to the railway 
fare already specified. This would give Naples 
one week. Kome, say, three weeks. Florence 
five days and Milan two days, and one day to 
the Lakes. 
Numbers of the English have now found 
out the inducements held out by comfortable 
Pensions, the number of visitors using them 
has increased very largely and the number 
of such houses has also multiplied accordingly. 
Owing to the bad weather farther North and the 
unpopularity of Germany the influx of visitors to 
Italy this year has been very large, while 
many have taken up their residence there. Ai 
Florence, it is said, there are some 7,000 English- 
speaking residents. Undoubtedly on the grounds 
of climate and economy alone, there is much 
to be said in support of this preference. 
At Kome we stayed at Mrs. Caraer Kose's, 57 
Via Sistina (on the Pincian Hill) a very healthy 
part of the city. 
THE LATEST BOOK ON TEA.* 
is by Mr. Claud Bald, and a copy has just 
reached us frora the Calcutta publishers. It 
is a work of nearly 300 pages with some 22 
pages of very useful illustrations, and the 
information is evidently up to date, albeit 
specially adapted to the Indian tea planter. 
Nevertheless the following extracts from the 
preface and contents, will show that there 
is a great deal for all working in tea, and espe- 
cially foK^young planters desirous of being well 
up in their profession :— 
" The desire of the author in undertaking this 
work has been to give some practical hints and 
directions regarding the details of tea estate 
management, which may be helpful to those who 
are entering upon aPlanter's career, or to Managers 
who, through force of circumstances, have neen 
placed in charge of a property before having 
gathered sufficient experience. It is hoped that 
the work may also be useful as a book of reference 
for Directors, Managing Agents, etc., with regard to 
* Indian Tea : Its Culture and Manufacture 
Being a text book on the cultivation and manu 
factureof tea, by Claud Bald, Calcutta, Thaoker 
Spink & Co., 1903. 
the various operations in field and factory. It is 
not intended to be a mere popular work with a 
superficial description of tea garden life ; the first 
aim is to le helpful to those engaged in the 
industry, and the author hopes that any Planters 
of experience, who may be inclined to difier from 
him on minor points, will view the work with 
some indulgence, as it is impo.'isible for all men to 
think alike on all points regarding the cultivation 
and manufacture of tea. The scope of the work is 
intended to include, beside the operations of 
planting and manufacture, some hints on buildings 
and machinery, forestry, accounts, etc., in fact all 
the most important matters which are included in 
the management and control of a tea estate. No 
attempt is made to deal with the history, the 
bibliography or the statistics of tea, all of which are 
outside the scope of this book. Scientific terms 
are avoided as much as possible. The chemistry 
of tea is not dealt with, beyond what is necessary 
for practical work ; readers who wish to study 
this branch of the sui)ject are referred to the work 
by Mr. Kelway Baiuber on the ' Chemistry and 
Agriculture of Tea,' and also to the various and 
valuable productions of Mr. Mann, the Scientific 
OSKcer for the Indian Tea Association." 
Contents : — Preface, Cultivation, Drainage, 
Pruning, Extensions, Tea Seed, Prepara- 
tion of Land and Plantina, Iloads, Land- 
slips, Manuring, Renovation of Deteriorated 
Areas, Tea Blights, Forestry, Tea Manufacture — 
Plucking Leaf, Withering, Rolling, Fermen- 
tation, Firing or Drying, Sifting and Sorting, 
Packing, Some Indications of Quality, Green 
Tea, Buildings, Machinery, Railways and Tram- 
ways, Accounts, The Cooly, and Appendix. 
Illustrations.— Plucking Leaf, Tea Flowers, 
Development of Tea Seed, Development of Ger- 
minated Seedj Seed Sower, Causeway at Mountain 
Stream, Faulty Revetment, Proper Form of Re- 
vetment, Effects of Green Fly Blight, First Flush. 
First Plucking, Second Flush, Second Flush with 
Succession Buds, Banjy Shoot, Growth from Banjy 
Brick-kiln, Foundation,. Plan of Factory Build- 
ings, Section of Building Site, Lower Terminal of 
Single Wire Tramway, and Terminal of Light 
Wire Tramway for Top-Dressing. 
Here, besides, is the opinion of a practical 
Ceylon planter : — 
' ' Claud Bald's ne w book j us t published— Thacker, 
Spink & Co., Calcutta — on 'Indian Tea: Its 
Culture and Manufacture,' is really worth perusal 
and deserves a place beside Rutherford's Note- book 
in the Planter's Library. It is not like ' Ruther- 
ford ' of merely a statistical character as the 
headings of chapters show. Written in the simplest 
of English with the cleverest expression, it contains 
much concerning the industry and its working that 
even an experienced planter, or, I should say, parti- 
cularly an experienced planter, will enjoy the 
perusal of." 
A New Rubber-Pkoddcing Creeper— called 
Rhynchodia Wailichl, has been discovered iu 
the Pegu district by Mr Hearsey, Divisional 
Forest Officer, Shwegyin. The creeper is found 
growing abundantly on low land in light forests 
on both sides of the Railway line in the 
Nyaunglebin Sub-division, but is liable to 
destruction by potta-holders. The rubber is clean 
and of good quahtv.— Indian Daily News, 
July 30. 
