S4 THE TllOPICAL AOWCULTURIST. (Jult 1. 1901.. 
THE TEA trade: 
According to an old newspaper, the tea habit is 
much more universal than is commonly supposed, 
as the following schedule will prove : 
People of all classes take tea. Dead people take 
•terniT ; gay people, festiviT ; nice girls, puriT ; 
free people, LiberT ; fashionable folks, socieT ; 
good people, pieT : succesful candidates, inajoriT ; 
editors, honesT; solemn citizens, graviT; funny 
roosters, leviT; orthodox citizens, deiT; polite 
people suaviT; bashful fellows, modesT; kind 
ones, chariT; bachelors, singulariT; short people, 
breviT; cunning folk, rascaliT; romantic simple- 
tons, novelT; respectable people, ChristianiT ; 
arti-tic people. beauT; strong people, responsi- 
biliT; criminals, penaltT; vicious cusses, enmiT; 
grocers, varicT — but the T pot cracked at this 
juncturs. 
Among »he fragments were found : Wedded 
couples, feliciT; Mormons, multipliciT; Quakers, 
(jraDqulHT; the asylums, insaniT, niediclT, pov- 
erT, &c. ; pretty girls. incomprehensibiliT; lovers, 
naiT; everybody, longeviT; the one who does 
Bot pay his subscription, T-total depraviT,— 
American Orocer May 1. 
CACAO DISEASE IN TRINIDAD. 
MR. MASSKE'S REPORT. 
Some time during the end of the year 190C, I re- 
ceived an enquiry from Surinam as to whether I 
had noticed in Trinidad a disease attacking the 
branches of cacao trees and causing' growth in 
bunches like the European " Witches Brooms" or 
" H«cksenbesen." I was glad to answer that I had 
not yet seen such an appearance among our Trini- 
dad trees. It was reported from several indepen- 
dank sources that the disease was very prevalent 
and did a large amount of damage to the trees, 
aerioubly affecting the crop. Specimens were 
kindly procured for me, and these on examination 
proved to be infected with one of the Fungi known 
to cause abnormal growth of the branches, running 
Into knots or " brooms." The specimens were sent 
on to the Director, Royal Gardens, Kew, and 
attached is the Report of Mr. Massee the Mycolo- 
gist who examined them : — 
" ExoascuM Theobroma, Bitzema Boi, ia the pro- 
visional nrnne given to the Fnngns parasitic on the 
Oaeao brftnchea,, caaaiiig witches' broom thereon 
The Author o( the species could not find th« fungus 
in a fruiting condition, neither did ik« material for- 
warded to Eew furnish frait. Material should be 
sent at the time when the tips of th* twigs ar,e 
only slightly swollen, and covered with a white delicate 
bloom. Ia much swollen branches the fruit of the 
fungus has entirely disappeared and ths persistent 
or perennial mycelium of the fungus can only be 
fouMd. Owing to the perennial mycelium a crop of 
spores is produced each season on the diseased 
branches; such spores being spread to neighbouring 
trees by wind, &c., extends the disease. If it were 
possible to remove all diseased branches, the disease 
would soon disappear, but as this is hardly possible, 
in addition to removing as many diseased shoots as 
possible, it ia advisable to spray with dilute Bordeaux 
mixtur* from time to time, so as to prevent the 
inoculation of young twigs and leaves." 
It would be nothing short of a serious calamity 
were the infection introduced into this Colony, and 
ateps have been taken with the view of securing 
effective regulations to prevent such an occurrence. 
Similar growths are to be observed in many trees 
fltowiDg in fehia Colony, Arabian coffee being eon- 
siderably troubled, but not so as to seriously affect 
its growth or productiveness. This, however, is not 
the same as attacks cacao, but is related thereto. 
It is probable that in the course of Nature many 
diseases exist among our indigenous trees which, on 
the occurrence of suitable conditions might attack 
and destroy many cultivated plants as did the 
Hemeleia with Ceylon coffee, and a careful watch 
is necessary for the first indication of disease, so 
that measures can be devised for its suppression 
before the damage becomes too extensive to be 
effectively dealt with. The disease of which we 
write is an easily recojfnised one and cultivators 
may see a preserved specimen showing its character, 
in the Herbarium of this department. In any case, 
where trees appear to be suffering, the department 
would be glad to receive and secure the determina- 
tion of specimens which may be thought to be 
diseased. — Triaidad Bulletin. 
CHEAP NITROGEN. 
After four years of research and application, 
Sir William Crooke,the eminent agricultural chem- 
ist, has solved the problem of furnishing nitro- 
gen to the plant world at a cost which brin^ this 
all-powerful stimulant and renovator within the 
means of the poorest cultivator. Hitherto nitrates 
have had to be imported from far-away scattered 
deposits and, though of recent years the price baa 
been brought down to between £7 and £10 per 
ton, this has proved far beyond the means of the 
aveiage horticultuiist and farmer. Sir William 
now separates the gas direct from the atmosphere by 
electricity, and, although the experiment of fitting 
the nitrates so obtained for commercial purposes 
was costly, the product was sold at a remunera- 
tive profit of £5 per ton. — Indian Planters' 
Gmaette, June 1. 
TEA PLANTING IN ASSAM : 
THE OFFICIAL REPORT. 
Cacutta, 7th June. — The official report of 
tea planting in Assam during the past year gives 
the total number of gardens as 8041, against 815 in 
the previous year, the total area being returned 
at ] ,059,624 acres against 1028,431 in 1899. The 
number of persons employed permanently increased 
from 457,343 in 1899 to 468,326 during the year 
under report. Over 97 per cent, of the area under 
tea is in European hands, while less than 3 per 
cent, is owned by natives. The total outturn was 
141,118,644 lbs. against 128,371,857 lbs. in 1899, 
showing an increase of 12,746,787 lbs. — Madras 
Mail. 
GEM MINING IN CEYLON. 
With the exception of the diamond, emerald, 
turquoise, and opal (says a writer inKuhlow's 
German Trade Review) almost every precious and 
semi-precious stone is found in Ceylon, and fre- 
quently a great variety of them are dug out of the 
same pit. Rakwana is especially famed for its 
sapphires. Spinels of all colours and garnets are 
almost invariably found in conjunction with the 
other stones ; also the different varieties of zircon, 
commonly termed jargoon. Cat's-eyes are usually 
found together with aquamarines and the different 
kinds of beryl, ot which the alexandrite is the 
most sought after. A good proportion of the stones 
found are cut locally in the village of Racnapura 
and in Kalutara, a small place on the coast some 
40 miles south of Colombo. — Globe. 
