•274 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Oct. 1, 1901. 
e{ Spaia vi&b forbidden, but under present conditions 
the Q-overnment interposes no objection. Senor Lopez 
has already made some experiments, and is con- 
vinced that coffee can be advantageously grown in 
the province of i^alaga and elsewhere in Audalasia. 
Others who have examined the question claim that 
there is not sufficient humidity in ihe Andalusian cli- 
BUbte. Practical experiments on a large scale will be 
madej and the result is awaited with great interest. 
Cuba and Porto Rico formerly supplied Spain with 
nearly all her coffee, paying the Government at con- 
snmption tax of sixty pesetas per one hundred kilo- 
frammes (£1 43 5d per cwt) on all coffee entering the 
eninsula. At present the import duty on coffee is one 
hundred and forty pesetas per one hundred kilo- 
(rammea (£2 163 lid par cwt) from all countries excep- 
from the Spanish island of fenando Po, and Spain's 
supply last year came largely from Valparaiso and other 
South American ports. Coffee from Fernando Po 
pays a duty of 105 pesetas per one hundred kilo- 
grammes {£2 2s 8|d per cwt). If coffee can be 
Buccessfnlly cultivated in the province of Malaga, 
it is believed that it will be generally grown 
throughout Andalusia.— Jowrna of the Society of Arts, 
for August 23. 
Produce, planting, and commer- 
cial NOTES. 
TEA AND COFFEE. 
tChe Morning Post," in a long article on " Vege- 
table Food Products," discusses tea and coffee, and 
its remarks, especially about the former, should serve 
to increase the popularity of tea with its readers. 
J^t»i referring to the prej adice against tea on its in- 
troduction to these isles, the "Post" says: "Thus 
in 1678 Mr Henry Savile, writing to his uncle, Mr 
Secretary Coventry, blames the conduct of certain 
friends of his ' who call for tea instead of pipes and 
bottles after dinner, a base unworthy Indian practice, 
which I must ever admire your most Christian family 
for not admitting. Even as late as 1756 Jonas Hanway, 
in his 'Essay on Tea,' ventured to assert that 
' What Shakespeare ascribes to the concealment of 
love is in this age more frequently occasioned by the 
nse of teai However, these were but stray voices in a 
widening chorus of praise, and when the East India 
Company's monopoly terminated in 1834, tea, which 
had then become a necessary luxury, was soon re, 
garded as a necessity even by the labouring classes. 
The notable fact that all substances, wherever found- 
which contain the alkaloid ' theine' — it is the charac- 
teristic constituent not only of tea but also of coffee, 
the mate and guarana of South America and the kola 
of Cent;:al Africa — are highly prized by the human 
race, would seem to prove that this alkaloid, the 
chemical formula for which is 08 HIO N4 U2, satis- 
fies some common craving of all sorts and colours of 
men. But doctors disagree as to what precisely 
eraving may be and as to how and why it is satisfied 
by the drinkingof tea or coffee, 
TEA DUST, 
The "Financial Times " publishes a letter from 
a correspondent signing himself " Pussellawa," who 
says : " May I suggest we all agree to burn our tea 
dust ? On my estate it represents three per cent of 
production. This withdrawal would afford some little 
relief, and some of the objections of your correspond- 
ent be met. As I am addressing, I presume, prac- 
tical tea planters, it is needless to occupy your 
space with details." Upon which our contemporary 
says : " The idea is an ingenious one, but we fear 
it is impracticable. The same suggestion was thrown 
out timidly some six months ago when the tea in- 
terests were in consultation, but it failed to receive 
support. £ach man was willing ihat bis neighbour 
should burn his tea dust, but tailed to see why he 
■bouid do so himself, seeing that it commands a sub* 
■tonUal vt^ne in the market. As a matter of fact, 
the course of Nature is solving the tea problem, the 
present short season restoring the average as against 
the two previous superabundant seasons. What is 
now concerning tea growers is how further expansion 
of estates may be prevented rather than how the output 
may be restricted." 
It is possible that the lea%-es of the coffee tree will 
one day become marketable in the Lane. A chemioa 
analysis shows that the leaf contains all the" charac- 
teristic properties of the berrj, but is richer in the in. 
The natives of Sumatra make a drink from these 
lea res, and the editor of the ''Queensland Agricultural 
Journal," who, presumably, has tried it on his own 
account, declares the coffee-leaf tea to be a pleasant 
and refreshing beverage.— Z/. and C. Mail, Aug. 30. 
TEA AT SALE PRICES, PLUS 5 PER CENT. 
The following advertisement in the latest Gcocer— 
referred to yesterday in our London Letter— is the 
outcome of the secret tea sale scheme, and must be 
rather a thorn in the sides of the dealers who seethe 
cost price, date of purchase and lot number of the tea 
declared and purchasable at an advance of five per 
cent : 
The Market Prices Company, Tea Brokers and 
Clearing Agents, 72, Mark Lane, London, E.G. 
The undernoted teas have been purchased in this 
week's public sale, and are offered at public sale cost. 
On market terms. 
Purchasers can have 6 chests or 6 ^-chests of any lot. 
It is only necessary to wire lot number when ordering. 
Samples will be sent free of cost on application. 
[Here come half-a-dozen lines in Assams, brought on 
Monday, the 12th August ; and the announcement 
then proceeds; — 
CEYLON TEA (BOUGHT TUESDAY, 13TH AUG. 1901.) 
Mark Price. Loi. 
Pekoe Lauderdale 4| 
Pekoe Dartry 
Broken pekoe Dartry 
Pekoe souchong Lauderdale 
Pekoe souchong Ingnrugalla 44 
Pekoe Ingnrugalla 5' 
Pekoe Mahagastota 6f 
Pekoe souchong Polatagama 4^ 
Pekoe souchong Dartry 4| 
Broken or pekoe Tangakelly 11| 
Broken or pekoe Ouvahkellie lOJ 
The above prices are subject to our commission of 
5 per cent. only. 
No charge for paying duty, clearing, or samples. 
Market terms : A deposit of £1 per chest payable «t 
purchase. 
The remainder of the purchase-money to be paid on 
clearance or prompt day. 
Discount allowed to prompt day at the rate of 6 per 
cent per annum. 
23 
do. 
27 
do. 
49 
do. 
19 
do. 
20 
do. 
24 
do. 
14 
do. 
16 
do. 
6 
do. 
22 
do. 
25 
i do. 
No. 
f 
94 
95 
96 
6i 
97 
4 
44 
98 
99 
5' 
100 
6i 
101 
4i 
102 
41 
IO3 
111 
m 
IO4 
IO5 
Gathering Cloves.— The clove tree grows to 
from 40 feet to 50 feet high, with large oblong 
leaves and crimson flowers at the end of small 
branches in clusters of from ten to twenty. The 
cloves are at first white, then light green, 
and at the time of gathering bright red. Pieces 
of white cloth are spread under the trees at har- 
vesting lime, and the branches are beaten gently 
with bamboo sticks until the cloves drop. They 
are dried in the sun, being tossed about daily till 
they attain the rich dark colour which proclaims 
them ready for shipment. A clove tree beg'ins 
to bear at the ageot about ten years, and continues 
until it reaches the age of seventy-live years. — 
Journal 9f Horticulture, Aug. 29. 
