197 
aggerated cue, for I bi^lieve there are hundreds of such 
oises trauspiring in our midst every day ; but ths 
ill health and treatment may bo attributable probably 
fo quite a very diffei etit set of caueea thp-n the one 
herein illuatrated. I hnve no henitatioii in saying 
that the ever-watchful physician fails in the 
performance of his eacred duty to the public if ho does 
not warn parents agsiiist the too comccon evil and in- 
jurious habit of tea-drinking, a habit, I regret to say, 
far too prevalent and painlul nowadays among young 
children of tender years, more especiady in country 
districts, where snoh a treacherous beverage is par- 
takrn of by young and old at every meal. Prevention 
of disease is as much au essential factor in medicino 
and in the hands of the physiciau to point out such 
serious evils as that of the treatmeot of disease when 
it does oconr, and therefore I sincerely exhort the 
head of every family (especially mothers) to beware 
in time of the insidious and suicidal evils arising 
from this too common, prolific;, and fertile source of 
ill-health, disease and heart affections among children 
in families. For years I have, as a resident in t he 
bnah, watched the evil effects arising from the use of 
strong tea drinking, especially amongst the young, and 
I can truthfully eay that parents who are fool-hardy 
eudugh to follow this baneful and pernioioua habit of 
tea-drinking have only themselves to blame for having 
sickness in their families— aye, or even diptheria, which 
in my belief, arisesTrom this evil.* Over and over 
again I have endeavoured to warn parents against 
this evil custom, and hive been pooh-poobed, and 
laughed at perhaps by seriselees people, for my pains ; 
but I have the oocsolstion of knowiag that I 
do so chiefly in the interest and for- the protec- 
tion of poor unfortunate innocent little children 
and sufferers who unfortunately know no better. The 
arterial blood in youth is simply, in my candid belief, 
destroyed and rendered dark and anremio by the 
too common error and prejudicial habit of tea- 
drinking which contains so much tannin in the 
infusion. [When infused too long. — Ed T. A,'] 
Coco a ought to be a much better and safer beverage 
for the young. Food and drink must exercise a thera- 
peutical . effect on the functions of the body, the 
constitu"on, and animal physiology for good or evil 
(howeve' obsoure their operation at times may be) as 
much as some of our potent medicine agents. The 
idiosyncrasy of the age is becoming so fastidious that 
some people are never eatisfied unless the stomach is 
turned into a complete medicine chest, so careless 
are they to think or know the effects of medicine, 
food, and drink upon tha ;system--in fact, swallow 
anything that bears the name of being a panacea for 
health, even the deadliest of poisons. In fact, medi- 
cine nowadays is nothing unless the most virulent 
and deadly agents are selected and prescribed whole- 
sale. The days of preventive medicine are nowhere 
to be found in the category of the 19 th century practi- 
tioner.!— *Si/c?«C!/ Jfai7, July 25. 
Bamboos. — It is pleasing to note that this beautiful 
genus of plaut is gradually gaining popularity. In- 
deed, it is a wonder how it is they have kept in the 
background so long as they are much superior to a good 
many of the Palms in cultivation ; for the conservatory 
and general decorative purposes, it is hard to find their 
equal, as their lax and graceful foliage renders them 
suitable for mixing with all kinds of plants. Most of 
the species are either hardy or half-hardy, and very 
easy of cultivation, their chief requirements being a 
rather ricli soil and abundance of water in summer. 
The following are a few of those best suited for gene- 
ral purposes. Bambusa Fortmiei var. variegata, a 
very pretty dwarf-growing variety well adapted for 
pot work; B. striata, B, anrea, B. violoscens, andB. 
nana, the latter is rather a tender species, and does 
best^ when in a stove. The genus Phyllostachys, found 
m China and Japan, also contains many beautiful 
species, well deserving more attention from horticul- 
turists ; should the demand for them increase, many 
forms will doubtless be produced superior even to 
t hose existing at \)vofiQ \ \t.—aarden ci-s' Chronicle. 
» Tea the oause of diphtheria \~Bt3Tt.~A 
t Which is utterly uutme.~Eo, t, -i, 
CEYLON TEA IN AUSTBALIA. 
Tha review of the Australasian tea trade for 
the year ended 30th June 1891, published by 
the Melbourne Argus and repriinted on another 
page, shows that India and Ceylon teas are 
rapidly superseding the China product in these 
important markets. The quantity of tea received 
from Fooohow during the twelve months fell 
from 24 and 21 million lb. in 1888-9 and 188t,-90 
to 15J million lb.; while the quality ehowed a 
great falliog-off, — so much bo that the customs 
authorities in Melbourne refused to pass large 
quantities as UDlit for consumption. On the 
other hand the shipments of Ceylon tea increased 
from 946,000 lb. . in 1888-9 and 1| million lb. in 
1889-90 to 2,900,000 lb._ in 1890-91, the soft and 
flavoury Ceylon teas being muoh in favour with 
the publio. We hope that they will become 
increasingly so, 
WEIGHING OF TEA. 
The following letter has reached ua by the mail :— 
I think the grievances which youi' correspondents 
have ao very barely connected with tea- weighing in 
London are somewhat exaggerated. I do not mean 
that the individual cases are not figuratively correct, 
but my experience and that of others in London 
ia that after allowance for draft, the teas from 
many gardens invariably come out almost exactly 
to garden weights ; other estates constantly show a 
heavy loss, which leads us to conclude either that 
those gardens which are habitually accurate weigh 
with greater liberality, or that by superiority of 
package, accuracy of weighing machines and careful 
supervision they prevent loss. 
It not uufrequently happens that teas are sold 
in excess of garden weights, as you will see by 
enclosed account sales (which we sent back to 
Ceylon by last mail) after deducting the trade 
allowance. 
When your correspondents 'write about a loss of 
2 per cent or 3 per cent they include the draft or 
natural trade allowance, which they can minimise if 
they like, but which they will generally find it is 
their interest to increase. 
The trade allowance is as all are aware one pound 
per package upon all packages grossing 28 lb. thus 
on a chest containing ISO lb. the grower allows the 
buyer | per cent, but upon boxes of twenty pounds 
which may carry draft he allows the buyer five per 
cent. As but a small proportion of Indian tea comes 
in half-chests the Ceylon half chest seems to supply 
a special want both of the country and of the 
continent and we frequently advise our Ceylon friends 
to give their extra trade allowance and thereby 
probably secure a higher price for their teas. 
I have referred to draft as a natural trade allowance 
because a very large proportion of the tea sold in 
the United Kingdom is retailed in very small 
quantities, from an ounce upwards and it is not 
possible honestly to make a chest of tea holding 
only 100 lb. weigh 400 quarter pounds. I think it has 
already been made clear to your readers that the 
trade allowance goes straight to the buyer and that 
the broker and merchant do not fatten upon it. The 
Board of Trade rules allow two pounds to be drawn 
from each bed, that is from each ; grade of a 
break, free of charge for sampling purposes, provided 
this sample is drawn after the tea is weighed up 
so even this small quantity comes out of the buyer's 
and not the grower's pocket. 
Any further samples which are required, and they 
very often are required by merchant or broker, have 
to be returned in land. But it does not yet seem to 
be quite clear to all that the Board of Customs collects 
duty upon the trade allowance. 
E"or instance when an invoice is sent to a country 
dealer it is sent thus ; — 
To 20 J chests Ceylon Pekoe 1,000 lb. at 9d £37 10s 
To duty and customs charges &c. 1,020 lb. at Id i'lT OslOd 
Ihw9 is U(?t mi I ^va't te«li«Ye th*te ever >yU1 be ftuy 
