205 
rnii^rated ia the night to the iuteriial parts of tho 
p'.ant. After a few hoivs of exposure to the light 
tho leaf is pluck-.d, 1I19 t'riis removed witli warm 
wa^'er, tho chlorophyjl dissolved out by boiling alcohol, 
and Ihe blta -hcd leaf steeped in tincture of iodine. 
Tha iodine uniting ■with tho starch develops the 
le't^rs or figures which have bem stenciled by 
the daylight. 
VICTORIA COUNTY, NATAL, TEA 
ESTATES. 
" Spectemur Agendo " writes :— Having time to 
take a stroll round the country, I availed myself 
of the oft-repeated kind invitations of Mr; W. 
Hindeon to pay a visit to his tea plantations at 
Nonoti Peak and Clifton, which adjoin, and are 
within easy ride from Stanger. After passing 
the Kearnsey estate one soon arrives at the Nonoti 
Peak estate, so called from being situated on the 
Nonoti Eiver, under the shadow of a hill, the 
highest in this divieiou, and for this reason 
eeleoted by the ttigonometrioal survey party as 
Buitabla for fixing a beacon thereon. One cannot 
help feeling the differenoe in atmosphere as one 
leaves the depressing air of Stanger — a most ill- 
chosen spot for a township— and approachs the 
salubrious climate of Nonoti Peak, a well-selected 
spot, facing the sea, and deriving the full benefit 
of the sea breeze. Our old friend Tom Peachey, 
the former owner, knew what he was about 
when he pitched upon this spot to settle down 
upon. All the surroundings bear evidence of the 
bueiness-iike and methodical manner in which 
the managemeot of this estate is conducted ; and 
if tea planting does not succeed under it, the 
cause of failure must be looked for elsewhere. 
Judging from what I saw on this estate and 
others in the district, I can see no reason why 
it should not turn out a success. Doubtless, the 
pioneers in this, as in all other industries, will 
meet with checks and drawbacks, and will find 
that mathods which suit in other climes may not 
exactly suit in Natal ; but so f^r things look very 
promising. — Natal Meraunj. 
The Tea Teade of Macao is thus reported 
on by Mr. Consul Joly. It is curious to hear of 
Chinese tea makers studying the taste of their 
own countrymen for " highly flavoured" tea 
Though the quality of the teas during the 
past eeasou was good — in fact, it is said that they 
were even better than they hnve been for some 
time — there has been again a marked decline in what 
was onoe an important staple of export. But what 
elae can be expected when other countries can export 
a good clean tea at a low cost and no duties ? It is, 
however, gratifjing- to hear that though small, com- 
paratively, ha? been tho export, the teas of this 
district have fetched fairly remunerative prices. The 
total nomber of chests exported las'; year seems to 
have been 157,505, aa against 178,220 chests of the 
previous seaaon. The reduction ia striking; in fact, 
the _ Ohiuese _themse!vea find tea business with 
foreigners so much on the decrease that it suits 
their interests to make the tea of this district into 
Pao-sbaue, a highly-flivoured t'=a, which is in great 
demand wherever Chinese se'.tle, in lieu of Oongoa 
for foreign countries. Macao teas have, therefore 
taken their share in the general disaster ; but be the 
causas of tho deterioration of tho tea trade whatever 
they may be, it ia evident that the reduction of 
duty at home has not given any impetus to the tea 
trade in Macao, exposed aa thit trade is still to care- 
less production, faulty preparation, and Inst but not 
least, to tho levy of exorbitant duties and l^hi,}, cbarg^g, 
CEYLON CACAO. 
Ceylon Cacao has taken the place proper to all 
the products m general of our planters in the Lon- 
don market. It realizes the highest prices there and 
has distanced most of its rivals. When the first 
shipments of Ceylon cacao went into Mincing Lane 
and met with the favourable reception which our 
readers will remember, a West Indian Cacao planter- 
happened to be visiting the Island, and we had the 
pleasure of meeting him at a bungalow upoouutry 
The conversation turning upon the subject of cacao," 
and the prices the Ceylon article was then obtain- 
ing, the stranger inquired, with a somewhat sar- 
donic tone, how long we supposed that sort of thing 
would last. Failing entirely to understand what he 
meant, we had to ask what sort of thing he referred 
to. He, evidently supposing our question to be eva- 
sive, said: "Well! to speak plainly, I want to know 
how long you can afford to ship picked samples and 
what you mean to do with the bulk of your cacao V" 
In vain we endeavoured to satisfy him that the ship- 
ments were fair, and comprised all the merchantable 
cacao produced on the estate. He firmly believed and 
plainiy said we could not continue to obtain such 
prices, and that Ceylon cacao, when fairly exported, 
would certainly come down to the prices he and 
others in the West were realizing. We have reasod 
to believe that he retained his scepticism to the eno 
of his short visit. But, happily, Ceylon caca 
retains the character and l-ealizees the high prices in 
which he could not believe. 
The secret of the success of the Ceylon product 
cannot, we think, be attributed to any specal virtue 
in the soils or climates of |the estastes, but to the 
care which our abundance of cheap labour enables 
the planters to observe in the gathering and curing 
of the beans. The superiority of CeyloH coffee like- 
wise consists in the beautiful hue of the bean, when 
cured with the skill and care bestowed upon it in 
the processes of harvesting and curing. Colour, as 
an indication of the preservaton of the best in- 
herent qualities of the Coffee, was always a special 
criterion of its market value, and justly so, as that 
characteristic can only be retained by the most care- 
ful and skilful treatment in preparation. In like 
manner, the bright brick-red colour of the cacao beau, 
we presume must have been found in practice to 
indicate certain inherent qualities that have been 
carefully retained in the process of curino- It will 
be remembered, by some at least of our Ceylon ca- 
cao planters, that they were taught by instructions from 
their elders in the West to impart that test colour 
artiticially. The practice there, we were told, is to 
give the colour by means of a kind of clay, but thsit 
sort of expedient was not approved by planters here, 
and fortunately it has not been found necessary. Accord- 
ing to the letter we published yesterday, from a cacao 
planter who writes from London, the colour of the beans 
is still held as a criterion of the quantity of the article, 
and largely influences its value. This being so, it is 
probable that the brightness of the colour outside 
of the skin may indicate a richness of the chocolate 
colour and quality of the beans within. 
The cultivation of c-icao has not progressed so ra- 
pidly here as might have been expected of a new 
product, undertaken as it was, at a time when plan- 
ters were urgently in need of a substitute for the old 
staple, that had just shown unmistakeably iliac its 
decline was beyond redemption. Oacao had, almost 
at its outset, to contend against Helopeltis, which 
had a gained a destructive force before the cause of 
damage had been discovered. Thrips also attacked 
the enterprize, and it therefore made its debut in 
the face of very inimical forces. Nevertheless, the 
cultivation is reviving, and will continue to extend 
wherever suitable soil and climate favour its growth. 
We fully expect that it will accompany the new en- 
terprize in Tobacco, which requires soil of a charac- 
ter similar to that in which cacao thrives best. To- 
bacco will not succeed on the same ground, year 
after year, without some rest, or rotation, and it will 
therefore need to havo adjuncts such as cotton and 
cacao, which require similar conditions, and arc less 
exacting in (jbg matter of 89il,~Local "Inde^ 
