406 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Dko. 2, 1901. 
of evervthiag points more to tho existence oi a pnvate 
CakutU fli-m!^ than to a public institation promoted 
bv the tea indastry foe its own bdneflt. 
'AH the crifcioit.m^ "I have he u-d are, however, dirpcted 
not against individuals, b.it against the siuoidU ana 
unbusiness-lika methoda adopted by the 
ation for carrying out the behests of Ua chcntele. Its 
method^ are lo^ cond.m .ed by pc-t>>al^y ever^ono 
outside Calcutta and many even there. What i- wanted 
is the formation of some association or company 
which will be owned, controlle 1, and w n'ked entirely 
ia the interests of .shareholders and P'-0Pi;'^f • 
in other words, the producers of tea. lha oDjeoc 
aimed at should be to benefit the whole loAi;^.a te^ 
industry, afld not merely, as now to benefit a few 
favoured ones at the expense of the rest i some 
such alterations ace not immediately made, uieie s 
every probability oE rival schemss springing up all 
over th. country. In fact tw. such schemes are 
already known to be maturing ; the promoters of wh.ch 
are only waiting t j see whether the Bxpmsion Coni- 
mi'=.aion meatia to continue its present methods or not. 
Should the Commission insi-it on contuiuing as it nas 
hecun, it will undoubtedly have to face a very sti-'on^ 
ojposition, and probably ba kept entirely out ot the 
markets over a large area of the country, ilut, on 
the other h vnd, should mora enlightened pnn cipl^a be 
followed, the Commission will not only be le t tne 
field to itself, but will also gain the go'^wil anl 
active support of those who at present strongly op- 
cose its methods and ways. „ , • t„ 
It now rests with the Indian Tea Association to 
assure the oublic, by full and unreserved explana- 
tions, that 'the exploiting schema is really not a cl .se 
preserve for C Uoutta, with selfi-ih interests behind ag 
the motive power; but that the work will m future 
b- carried out solely with the object of directly bene- 
jitiu" tha whole Indi i,u tea industry. Until some_ such 
assurances are convincingly given, the Association 
eumot reasonably expect to have thit moral a.id 
matsrial suppjrt from the plantingVommunity, wliich 
is very ewential to the success of the scheme, oome 
have gone ao far as to strongly advise shareholdegrs 
proprietors, and others who have joined the levy, to 
withhold their future contributions unless immediate 
reforms are made in the directions indicated. Bat 
it is sincerely to be hoped no such drastic measures 
will be necessary, and thxt wiser counsels will pre- 
vail, before irretrievable damage is done to a scheme, 
which after all is the best that has yet been proposed 
for the amelioration of the Indian tea industry. 
3. B. Leslie Rogers, 
Gora Gully, Punjab. 
—Indian Gardening and Planting, Nov- 7. 
AN ANALYTICAL LABORATORY FOR 
CALCUTTA. 
We have more than once commented upon the 
abs;nce of a ruliabie analytical laboratory inli his 
country Co which the puulic could resort. That 
such an institution has not been established before 
is a m.itter for surprise, considf;rinsr tlie require- 
meats of the commercial commuriity in this city 
aloue. We are therefore glad to see that Dr 
Schu'ten will shortly opsa such a laboratory at 12, 
Mi.ssion Row, Calcutta. Dr Schulten holds the 
Diploma of a graduate in Chemistry and Natural 
Science of the University of Erlangen (Germany), 
and has acquired a thorough practical experience ia 
testing commercial, agricultural and other articles 
a« an assistant of Protessor Dr Konig at the Pub- 
lic .Station tor Chemical ami Scientific Research 
in Miinster in Westphalia. He has kept up his 
connection with this institute and will continue to 
do so by correspondence. He is thoroughly ex- 
perienced in the different branches of analytical 
testing and his laboratory will be fitted witli the 
latest appliances for this work. The following ar« 
a tew of tho articles of which he will undertake 
the chemical analy.sis :— Soil, Manure, IJjneiueal 
Saltpetre, Lime. Stones, Sliellac, Coal, Metals, 
Indigo, Seeds, Oil, Sugar, Spirits, Water, Food- 
stuffs, etc. In indigo testing he has special ex- 
perience gained during the last nine indigo seasons 
in Calcutta and Samarang (.Java). Microscopical 
investigations will be undertaken by him as well 
as chemical ones. To easure against delay in the 
execution of work, he has engaged a qualified 
assistant who holds the Diploma of a graduate ia 
(chemistry, etc., of the University of Heidelberg 
Germany), and has for the last three years b^ea 
(working in one of the largest laboratories in 
Germ.y. — Indian Gardening and Planting, 
Nov 7. 
ALOE! FIBRE AT MADRAS. 
Mr V W Tytler is going well ahead with 
his aloe fibre factory at Madras. Government 
gave him a grant of some twenty thousand 
acres, part of it rent free for three, and 
a part rent free for five years, and he has 
now on this land about 300 miles of aloe 
hedging which should give about three tons of 
clean fibre per acre, but Mr Tytler is cramped tor 
want of more niachinerv, so he is getting out the 
Todd machine, which is in exclusive use in the 
Bahamas and which at a minimum of cost turns 
out between half to a ton of fibre per day. 
Messrs Ide and Christian, the London brokers, 
luve pronounced Mr Tytlei's fibres to be very 
superior quality, and their, /ia< was borne out by 
the results in 'the sale room, as the Madras fibre 
tptclied .t.'W 10s a ton where the other was selling 
at £28, and this in spite of its being only a small 
l«ti aud the packing iutciior.— /.P.ff., Nov, 9, 
TUSK MEASUREMENTS OP INDIAN 
ELEPHANTS. 
Sir, — In continuation of my letter in your issue of 
the 8th instant, under the heading of " A Notorious 
Rogue Elephant," 1 write to give particulars of some 
measurements of record tusk.=. The late Sir Victor 
Brooke shot a large elephant in the IVlysore forests 
which is said to have been 11 feet high and its single 
tusk measured 8 feet in length, 16} in circum- 
ference and 90 lb in weight. Another single tusk 
from Gorakhpur is said to have weighed 100 lb. 
Lieutenant Fowler, of the 5th Fusiliers, Bangkok, 
writing to the Bombay Natural History Society (Vol. 
XI. No. 2 Page 335) gives the length and circum- 
ference of the elephant tusks in the Royal Siamese 
Museum, Bangkok, of which there are several large 
ones, the largest as 9' 10" aud the thickest 20|" circum- 
ference. There is a skeleton of an Indian elephant in 
the Calcutta Museum which measures II' 3" so that in 
flesh it must have been over 12 feet in height ; yet 
there are sportsmen who say that there are no 
elephants of 10 feet found in India. 
Mysore, nth Nov. 
—Madras Mail, Nov. 13. 
Big Bobe, 
PEARLING 
REGULATIONS 
AUSTRALIA. 
IN SOUTH 
Adelaide, Oct. 30. —The Legislative Assembly 
tod;i,y passed a bill to regulate pearling in 
the Northern Territory by means of licensing 
dealers, and preventing ilUgit traffic.-5-,4?tS- 
tralian paper, 
