May 1, 1902.] THE TROPICAL 
AaRICULTURIST. 
741 
ORIGIN OF PEARLS. 
William Bateson, Esqr., F R S, Vice-President, 
in the Cliair. 
Dr H Lyster Jameson, M A, read a paper "On 
the Origin of Pearls." The author's observations re- 
ferred especially to Mytilus edulis, the Common 
Mussel. The Pearls were found to be due to the 
presence of parssibic Distomid larvae, which 
entered the subcutaneous tissues of the mussel an^ 
became surrounded with an epidermal sack 
,.similai in its character to the outer sliell-secret- 
"ing epitheiirm of the mantle. If the Distoma 
died in the sack it became calcified, and formed 
the nucleus of a pearl ; the pearl arising, like the 
shell itself, from the calcifi ation of the cuticle 
of the epithelial cells. The parasite sometimes 
migrated out of the sack, in which case the nucleus 
of the pearl was incoqspicuous. 
Dr Jameson had invesl igated the life-history of 
this parasite, and found that it aros« as a tail- 
less Carcarian larva, in sporocysts, in Tapes de- 
^ctissatus and Carclium edul^. He had succeeded 
• in infecting Musselsfrom Tapesiw an aquarium. 
The adult stage of this parasite was apparently 
Distoma somatirue Levinsen, which occurs in 
the intestine of the Eider J>uck, and which the 
author had found in the Scoter or Black Duck 
[CEdenun nigra.) 
The complicited life-history of the parasite, 
and the absence of organs of locomotion in the 
iCerearia stage, sufficed to account for the ano- 
malous and hitherto inexplicable distribution of 
pearl-bearing Mussels. 
Dr Jameson had found that pearls were 
caused by similar parasites in several other 
species of Mollusca, including some of the Pearl- 
Oysters ; and he believed that the artificial in- 
fection of the Pearl Oysters could be effected in 
a similar manner to that which he had found 
■isuccessful in the case of tlie Cominon Mussel. 
;When this was achieved the problem of arti- 
ficially producing pearls would be solved.— 
Zoological Society of London, March 14, 1902. 
CEYLON GREEN TEA VERSUS CHINA 
AND JAPAN. 
THE MARKET IN CANADA : GREEN TEA 
WITH A GREEN COLOUR WANTED, 
CANADIAN CRITICISM AND CEYLON OPINION, 
In the last issue of the Canadian Groeev which 
reached Ceylon some astonishing statements are 
made in commenting upon the views of Mr Gait 
on Ceylon Green Teas. The writer, who it would 
appear poses as an authority on the Green Tea 
Trade in Canada, refers to Mr Gait as " A Mr 
Gault," as it he were »ome obscure retailer 
of Green Tea, whereas as \ we understand Mr 
Gait directs the management; of the largest 
Indian and Ceylon Tea business in America — 
the Anglo-American direct Tea Trading Company. 
At the outset this would appear to indi- 
cate malice or ignorance on the part of the. 
writer, who then goes on to state :— Mr Gail t de- 
clares that green tea as turned out by the 
factories in Ceylon is not properly made. It is, 
93 
tie says, " neither a green nor a black tea. ' And 
again in answer to a question regarding the de- 
mand in the United States and Canada, he adds : 
— " Not a pound of Ceylon green tea would be 
sold in America at present were it not bolstered 
up by money and other presents given away with 
a pound of tea." Mr Gait's remedy for the de- 
fects which he alleges to exist is the firing and 
packing of the green teas after the manner of the 
factories in China and Japan. We gather this not 
only from the reading of the interview withhimbut, 
from a conversation we hare had with a teamen who 
in turn, not long since, discussed che subject with 
Mr Gait himself in London, prior to his de- 
parture for Colombo, The firm with which Mr 
Gait is connected has arranged to manufacture 
and pack Ceylon green tea after the manner ot 
Japan and China, and the result of the experi- 
ment will be watched with a great deal of interest. 
As far as we can gather, opinion is divided in 
both Canada and the United States in regard to 
the wis-dom of the new departure which the 
Anfflo American Direct Tea Trading Conipany is 
taking. To the tea manufactures in Ceylon, 
and those dealers in the United States and 
Canada who are ardent champions of Ceylon 
greens, the proposition to adopt the tea- 
making methods of the competitive countries 
is no doubt somewhat humiliating. And further- 
more, to make the leaf after the styles of 
China and Japan would certainly tend to deprive 
the Ceylon article of its individuality, as far as 
appearance at any rate is concerned. But looked 
at from the standpoint of utility, the question 
seems to resolve itself into this: Which inethod 
is going to be, in the long run, most conducive 
to the welfare of the i.ea industry of Ceylon? 
And this can only be ascertained by experiment. 
The logical conclusion, therefore, appears to be 
— go ahead with the experiment. We cannot agree 
with Mr Gait's statement that " not a pound 
of Ceylon green tea would be sold in America 
were it not bolstered up by money and other pre- 
sents given away with a pound of tea. .We are not 
prepared to speak for the United States. But, as 
far as Canada is concerned, they.aie simply exag.- ^ 
gerations. And, according to Talle^iuii maxiiii, 
" Everything which is exaggerated is insigni- 
ficant." A year ago the' sale, of Ceylon Green 
Tea was undoubtedly stiniuiated by the fancy 60 
lb canisters given to every retailer who psrchased 
a certain quality of the tea. But we are not 
aware of any prize or consideration of any kind 
being given to con-'^ilmers. At present there is 
quite a scarcity of Ceyloy green tea on the 
Canadian market and the demand being in exce^ 
of the supply, prices are much higher than they 
were a mouth or two ago. No doubt the demand is 
to some extent stimulated by the extraordinary 
scarcity and dearness of China .green tea.s. But 
that does not aUer the fact tliat the ' teas are 
selling and that without prizes attached thereto. 
Nor does it strengthen Mr Gait's case, because 
the tea package firms are by far the 
largest purchasers of Ceylon green teas. Whe- 
ther. Ceylon green teas will ever take the place 
of Japan and China greens remains to be seen. 
There are some who strongly maintain that they 
will. Others again are just as strong in the 
contrary view. Although there was a large in- 
crease in the importation of gieen tea of Indian 
and Ceylon growth last year,' the quality is still 
relatively small \Yhcn compared wplth , China and 
Japan green teas. The importation of ,C»ylon and 
