886 
THE TKOPIOAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Dec. 2, 1901. 
which actuate the skilled agriculturist in 
England and other countries, and remember 
that the chief elements of success are patience 
and hard work."— London Times, Oct, 2. 
PRODUCE AND PLANTING. 
The following letter siRiiea "Taster," ia the 
Grocer of last Saturday, shows that although some 
grocers are apathetic on the subject of the private tea 
auctions, others in the.trade are doing their beat to 
rouse up the rieepera. It says: "In view of the 
committee meeting of the Grocers Federation m 
Glasgow next week, it may perhaps prove of iiiteresc 
for these gentlemen to learn that, so far from tne 
secret tea sales ' fizzling out ' as many grocers appear 
to believe, they are very much alive Messrs. J. 
R Buchanan & Co. continue well to the fore; and 
dealers and blenders are merrily competing every 
Wednesday for the privilege of squeezmg the grocer. 
The ranks of the ' rmg ' have this week been swellea 
bv the accession of Messrs. Shaw, Wallace & Co., 
who include tea from the Budla Beta Company 
in next week's private auction. This in itselt 
ia not a matter of much importancp, so long as the 
ereat majority of leading merchants remain solid for 
fhe Tiolicv of tho open door, but we have had some 
esper^ence of the cheerful methods adopted by the 
Tea Buyers' Association in the lua^ter of Ceylon 
pnlps and if the supply of secret off rings can only 
be made sufficiently large, the.e i. -ttle doubt that 
the nrivate room would again H ased as an engine 
of coercion against sellers in the public sales. The 
new ewe lamb will doubtless be welcomed into the 
Bflcret fold next week with suitable adulation and 
Blausible promises; a high price will probably be paid 
f him by his admirers, aod h» will be afterwar.is 
distributed to the confiding grocers. Whether the 
sellers obtain a better or a worse price at these sales 
not a question into which I propose to enter. The 
teller has a perfect right to dispose of his property 
as he thinks fit, and in this case there may be ad- 
vantages which are not apparent to other people. It m 
safficient for the grocer to know that supplies are now 
Inrthcoming for secret auction from a fresh source. 
Tt might perhaps be well, however, for the retailer 
to clearly understand that the opposition on the 
iiart of merchants bo the secret sale scheme does not 
arise from anv special desire to protect the grocers 
interests or to fight the grocers' battles ; it simply 
arises from the fact that the great majority of mer- 
chants have the common sense to perceive that it 
would be as detrimental to their interests to 
be shut into a private room as it would 
be detrimental to the grocers to he shut 
out The extraordinary apathy displayed by the 
grocers throughout the country in net grasping the 
fact that their interests are in this case identical with ^ 
the merchants is certainly somewhat remarkable. 
T would venture to point out, that if the grocers do 
not see their way to speedily make common eause 
with the merchants who are combating the 'ring,' the 
• fizzling out' process may develop lu a way which 
firocers least expect." . • , 
Anropos the reference made in a recent issue to 
the Inland Revenue statistics about drink, a return 
prepared by the authorities of the Board of Trade 
living information as to the consumption of alcoholic 
beverages in various countries contains plenty of 
material for thinking, and proves that there is plenty 
of' scope for the consumption of tea, cofiee and cocoa. 
Of the total revenue of the United Kingdom 'M per 
cent comes from the taxation of alcohol. The United 
States derive 29 per cent of their income, Prance 
1<) ner cent, and Germany 18 per cent from this source. 
Of wine the United Kingdom consumes 0.39 gallon 
■ner head Germany 1.45, the United States 0.,Sa, and 
France 2 5 gallons per head. France is the largest 
wine-consuming country. The figures for our own 
oowntiry slaows a cousumptioa ot 31 gallons of J)q^s 
per head, whilst France has 6 gallons, Germany 27, 
and the United States 13. In spirit drinking, as in 
wine drinking, France takes the lead. A comparison 
between Great Britain and her colonies is instructive. 
In New Zealand the coasuniption of wine amounts 
0-15 gallon per head, that of beer to 8 6 gallons, and 
that of spirits to 0 119 gallons. Even more remark- 
able are the figures for Canada, where the consump- 
tion of wine is 0 08 gallon per head, of beer 4-0 
gallons, and of spirits 0 68 gallon per head. It is 
clear that some of our colonies can give us lesBons 
in temperance. 
In this connection it is worthy of note that the 
writer of some special articles on the spread of 
temperance in the Echo says : — " Tea is the salvation 
of Australia. In Russia the whole of the vast nation 
would grovel under the rule of the vodke demon 
but for the counteracting effect of the samovar, 
which brews the most delicious preparations 
of tea to be obtained in the world ; so Aus- 
tralia would in a few generations become a 
country of frivolous and volatile wice-bibbers 
were it not for the allurements of the teapot. 
Throughout the Australasian Colonies tea is taken 
at every meal by all classes. It is safe to eay 
that our ' corn-scalk ' cousins do not on the same 
average spend more than half as much on intoxi- 
cants as we do. The temperance movement is a 
much more powerful social factor there than here." 
As will be seen on reference to the summary of the 
new Fiscal Bill of the Australian Federal Parlia- 
ment, given in another column, the duty on tea 
per pound is 2d, plus twenty per cent ad valorem' 
and on cocoa per pound, 2d, plus fifteen per ceut 
ad valorep-. — H- and 0- Mail, Oct. 11. 
KEW GARDENS. 
Mr John Purcell Quinton, a member ot the 
Gardening Staft' of the Koyal Botanic Gardens, 
lias been appointed by the Secretary of State 
for the Colonies, on the recommendation of Kew, 
Curator of the Botanic Station, Sierra Leone. 
Mr Aage Engelbreth Casse, Director of ths Plan- 
tations and Experiraeutal Gardens in Hayti. 
Messrs James G Duncan and George Douglas, 
assistants in St. Geore's Park, Port Elizabeth. 
— " Kew Bulletin," April-June, 1901. 
Retirement of Curator.— It will be a matter 
of genuine regret to all acquainted with Kew 
that Mr George Nicholson, F.L..S., was compelled 
by impaired health to retire on June 31st from 
the post of Curator of the Royal Botanic Gar- 
dens. Mr Nicholson entered the Curator's office 
on Febrnary loth, 1873, after a public competi- 
tion. In 1886 on the retirement of the pre- 
ceding curator, the late Mr John Smith, Mr 
Nicholson was appointed by the Trsasury to succeed 
him. MrNicholson's services to Kew are well-known. 
To him in a great measure is due the present efficient 
condition of the Arboretum. The Hand list of 
Trees and Shruhs grotrn in Arboretuw. was 
prepared by him, and is universally accepted as 
a standard authority for their nomenclature. Kew 
still hopes to retain the benefit of Mr JMieholson's 
botanical experience now that lie has been 
relieved from the pressure of administrative 
duties. 
New Curator.— The First Commissioner has 
filled the vacancy created by Mr Nicholson's retire- 
ment by the appointment of the assistant cura- 
tor, Mr William Watson. This officer entered the 
service of Kew in 1879 as foreman. In 1886 he 
was raised to the position of assistant curator, 
in charge of the indoor cultivation ; this, as 
curator, he will still retain. Mr W J Bean, the 
Assistant Curator in charge of the Arba- 
