102 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Ave:, 1, 1901, 
The following titles are suggested for such leaflets: — 
How a pumpkin plant gets I The soi 
Seed travellers. 
Why must plants be 
watered :> 
The jirowfch of a rice plant. 
The- tiower, what it is. 
out of the seed. 
Cuttings. 
Children's gardens. 
Annual flowers. 
The planting of school 
grounds. 
Many interesting entomological subjects can also 
be used. 
Only a few kinds of plants should be cultivated in 
any one garden, and new ones should only, as a rule, 
be distributed one kind at ;i time. 
Children should be encouraged to grow plants at 
home, and new kinds be given to those who do well. 
The work done should not be made the subject of 
examinations. Children should be encouraged to 
observe accurately, and to record in writing and with 
drawings what they observe. * 
A book should be kept at school in which the 
dates of planting and the subsequent history of all 
the important products may be recorded. Much 
valuable information about the districts, climates, 
and soils suitable for such products may thus be 
collected. 
One-third of the produce of each garden should be 
the property of the teachers in charge, another third 
be given to the pupils, and the remainder, after 
deducting what is needed for seed in the following 
season, oe the property of the Department of Public 
Instruction, for distribution to other schools. What 
is not wanted for this purpose should be returned 
to the Botanical Gardens, 
TROUT, DEER, AND INDIAN ELK IN 
NEW ZEALAND. 
There were liberated in rivers in the Wel- 
lington acclimatisation district this year 
46,000 brown trout and 15,000 rainbow trout 
—a total of 61,000. There were 80,500 try sold 
to other societies— 29,000 brown, 39,090 rain- 
bow, and 12,500 Loch Leven.r The total quan- 
tity of ova collected by the curator of the 
Masterton ponds was 700,000. Of tl;ese 10,000 
were from " fontinalis," 25,000 from Loch 
Leven, 65,008 from "rainbow," and 600,000 from 
brown trout. 
Mr. Grogan, the African traveller, it was 
stated at the meeting ot the Wellington 
Acclimatisation Society last night, is very 
much struck with the extent of waste country 
in New Zealand suitfible for sucli animals as 
African deer, and as it is the intention of the 
society to import deer of this description, the 
council will probably interview Mr. Grogan 
on the subject when he returns to Wellington. 
The annual report of the Wellington 
Acclimatisation Society states that sambur 
(or Indian elk) were liberated on Carnarvon 
estate many ye_irs ago. The herd is now 
reported to number about 100, but there is 
good reason to think that they are really 
more numerous. That they are slowly but 
surely distributing themselves over the 
country most suitable for them is evidenced 
by a report Just received by the Auckland 
Acclimatisation Society to the effect that a 
pair of sainbur antlers had bt^en found on the 
hills near Cambridge, and that two sanibnr 
had been shot there. No sambur have been 
liberated in the North Island except at Car- 
narvon, and ihese deer must of necessity 
have travelled overland from there, a distance 
of ai)out 20iJ miles. The four moose imported 
by the Government, and liberated near Iloki- 
t/ika, have been seen several times, and are 
rejiorted to be looking well. Tlie .society's 
council contemplate importing some varieties 
of deer from South Africa, and hope to be 
able to get the Government to assist them in 
this v-euture. — Z, Mad, May 23. 
PLANTING MANUALS AND 
OTHER LOCAL PUBLICATIONS. 
Tfiking advantage of his freedom from the 
daily treadmill, Mr J Ferguson has been 
revising the manuals on "Ail about Spices " 
(Pepper, Cubebs, Nutmegs, Cloves, Ginger, 
Vanilla, Pimento and Cinnamon) and "All 
about Tobacco-growing and preparation" — 
both of which have been out of print for 
some time. He is also desirous of completing 
a Paper on tlie " Rise and Progress of Coco- 
nut Palm Cultivation in Ceylon," — the mate- 
rial for which he has been collecting lor a 
long time past. Any further information 
bearing on the above products or subjects 
from planters and others will be very wel- 
come and may be addressed to " Naseby 
House, Nuwara Eliya."— The completion of 
a new edition of the popular Handbook to 
" Ceylon " (Ceylon in 1902) must come later. 
Copies of the recent editions of the Manuals 
on "Rubber and Gutta Percha " and on 
" Coconut Planting " are still available. The 
Observer Press is at present busy with re- 
prints of two very useful little works, 
namely,— a new (the Fourth) edition of Dr. 
Vanderstraaten's well-known " Index of the 
Diseases of Children in Cej'lon and their 
Treatment" with several additional Notes by 
the autnor ; and also a Fourth Edition of 
"Cookery for Ceylon" — locally compiled, the 
recipes being given in Sinhalese and English, 
the brochure being dedicated to all house- 
keepers, cooks, &c— A new edition is also 
required of the handy pamphlet, published at 
the Observer Office, on "Gardening Vegetables, 
Flowers and Fruit in Ceylon" in the compil- 
ation of which the late Messrs. W Ferguson, 
F.L.S., and H Sims and Messrs. W Cameron 
and W Nock took a part. Due notice will 
be given of the completion of these works. 
THE TEA TRADE. 
MESSRS. THOMPSON'S ANNUAL REVIEW. 
38, Mincing Lane, June, 1901. 
Int he statistical record of the twelve months, ending 
31st May, which we print at foot, will be found much 
that is of interest, and even a little that is enour- 
aging amidst the disappointments which so many 
have suffered. 
The figures show the great producing powers of 
Indian and Ceylon pi mtations ; unlocked for vitality 
in China's export trade ; a larger volume ot business 
than ever before, but a decline in the average 
value of our product, so considerable as to seriously 
affect the w^ilfare of nearly everyone connected witfl 
the Industry. 
As a year ago, so now, the statistics relating to 
Home Consumption have been disturbed by the heavy 
clearances before the Budget, and do not enable us 
to gauge what increase there has been, if any. We 
incline to the opinion, however, that consumption is 
increasing, notwithstanding the raising of retail pricep, 
necessitated by the advance in the duty. That the 
proportion of British-rjiQwn tea used has increase^ ia 
eertain, 
