November 2,1891.] THE TROP3CAL AGRiGULTURIST. 
317 
and the peculiar charact r of its roots can be well 
seen. The plant grows in tlie Tiiud on the borders 
of tropical rivers, "and it rcclfiimsa good deal of dry 
land b}' collectiD.? the mud about its stilted rootp. 
To aid in this work the roots actu-illy throw pro- 
jections upward out of the watfr, which look like 
the teeth of rakes, and appear to serve the sime 
purpose— that of gathering and rotaimug the mud aud 
liotaam of the river. 
A curious example (A the natural "ira'ching" of 
trees ia repoited form Lawrence County, Illinois, 
where two elm trees, standing 20it. apart, have bent 
over Riid coalesced into one tree at apoint some 20ft. 
above the ground. The united tree is very symmetrical 
and nearly 100ft. in height. AVagcons are driven easily 
through the triangular arch of Hsha.se. — Globe. 
FEED FOK EGGS. 
An egg is largely liitrogcu-^us. The white is albu- 
men, the yolk contains phosphoric aoid and minernl 
substance and the .shell is composed mostly cf 
lime. The hen is a sninll animal. Eggs a"e not a 
miraculous dispensation, as they come from the 
food a hen gets and couvf its into eggs, the same 
as any animal converts its food into products. Corn 
alone is not a suitable food for the production 
of eggs, as it does tiot possess enough of the 
constituents to make ogga. Hens fed on such food 
will get fat. PIf'na like every other animal mutt 
have coar.se food to distend the stomach and howe's 
and for this purpose cut; clover, liny and cabbage 
are largely fed by many. Thtse also contain 
material to made eggs. Skimmilk is also just the 
thing for an egg food. To get eggs feed hens 
to produce eggs. 
Col. F. D. Cubties. 
—Rural California n. 
[Bits of meat and minute fragments o£ bone are 
also good. — Ed. T. A.^ 
^ 
LEMONS AND EGGS. 
Simple things are often of much benefit', and lemons 
and conimon table salt have much Ih -.t is useful about 
them. Lemon juice and water, without sugar, will often- 
times relieve one of a sick headriohc in a short time, aud 
a half gilt of lemon juice three times a day in a little 
water is said to be good for rheumatism. Nothing 
is S') acceptable to a feverish person as lemonade, 
and for cough that refuses to be quieted, I have tried 
the following prepfiration witli success : Take the 
white of an egg, beaten st'ff ; then add the juice 
of a lemon in which two or thre; lumps cf sugar 
have been dissolved, and keeping it near at hand, 
take a tablespoonful of it at a time until relieved. 
A very good way of preparing lemons when tlicy 
are plenty is to put them in cold water, letting 
them boil until they sre soft,'then squeeze the juice 
from them, getting more than in any other way, 
and adding the sugar t) the tiste, or to every 
half pint of juice put one pound of loaf sugar, and 
bottle. Another comfortable use for lemon is to 
bind a thin slice upon n corn that ia troublesome 
at uight, and repeat once or twice. It will grratly 
relieve the soreness. Then if the hands are stained 
from medicine, or any other cause, rubbing them with 
lemon afi;er the juice is extracted, will restore thi m. 
Table linen or any such artic'es that become stained 
can L'o restored by the application of lemon juice 
and table salt, tlien placed in the sun, and stains 
removed by rubbing diy starch in at once, and 
repeating u.— dood Uousekeeinaq. 
New Plantations.— Tea is being pfanted rather 
extensively in the vicinity of Labugams, a well known 
dubftsh of Colombo having opened up a larte extent 
of laud for the purpose. The cultivation of pepper 
and arocanut is also decidedly on the iucreise. these 
products having, evidently, found a genial home. On 
one place ospecially, at tho 20th mile puat, pipi or 
is looking grand ; t)ie joung vines are loaded with 
greeu pepper.— Locnl ludependent," 
NOTES FKOM OUR LONDON LETTER. 
CEYLON planters" ASSOCIATION AND PROSECU- 
TION OF OFFENDERS IN THE PACKET TEA 
TRADE — FRAUDULENT TEA MARKS — LOW PRICES 
FOR, AND BAD QUALITY OF CEYLON TEA — 
MR. ROCtIVUE's MISSION — THE TEA TRADE 
BETWEEN CHINA AND RUSSIA — CEYLON PLAN- 
TERS' ASSOCIATION AND MR. LOUGH. 
London, Sept. 18. 
Some disappointment is felt here at the deter- 
mination of your Planters' Assooiation Tea Fund 
Committee, recently conveyed to the Ceylon Asso- 
ciation in London, not to approve of the proposal 
made by the latter body to prosecute a certain 
number of the offenders in the packet tea trade, 
who are in tho habit of affixing misleading labels 
to their so-called packets of Ceylon Tea. We 
believe that no less than fifty such packets bearing 
different labels were sent out from home to your 
Planters' Associatioo, and it was Mr. Gray's opinion 
that it would be a wise course to select a certain 
number of these issued by different traders in a 
single metropolitan district, and try a prosecution 
in a batch, so as to call prominent attention to 
the rogueries by the magistrate of the district. 
The letter cow received from your Planters' Asso- 
ciation states that it does not think it desirable 
to follow Mr. Gray's advice, or, indeed, to take any 
present steps whatever. Of course, we know that there 
is an indisposition to "worry" tho trade ; but really 
the evil complained of has assumed such proportions 
of lato that we here in London think it would 
have had a very valuable effect if some dozen 
or so of iheso offenders had simultaneously 
made their appearance in the Police Court to 
answer for their misloings. We fear that if this 
growing evil is allowed to go on and assume larger 
proportions very serious injury may result to 
the reputation of your teas. 
And this would have the more to be regretted 
because just now it is certain your teas are not 
advancing in popular favour, it we may judga from 
the low prices which have for the last two mcnths 
been obtained for them in Mincing Lane. Speaking 
on this subject during the present week with a very 
old and influential member of the trade, I asked 
him how it was that Ceylon tea fetched such low 
prices now; and his curt reply was: "Because 
they 're all bad." We read in our Observer that your 
plQsiters say that at certain seasons the leaf they 
pluck is very inferior ; but the case seems to ge 
worse every year, and the season alone does no*" 
account for this annually increasing deterioration 
Cannot some of you suggest some remedy ? fo. 
the state of things ia very bad indeed. Everyone 
in the trade is calling out, and much Ceylon tea 
received is pronounced to be " rubbish." I heard of 
a case only this week of a purchaser who 
had bought largely of your tea, and who 
returned half of it on the brokers' hands as not 
being up to sample, and that sample itself was 
far below the average quality. Surely some of 
your planters might find a remedy for this state 
of things; for we on on this side, although admitting 
a seasonal influence, do not think it can account 
altogether for th-: present state of things as regards 
our imports from Ceylon, some of the stuff sent 
home being really a disgrace to the island, and 
the greater part of it of a quality that the brokers 
will hardly look at. 
A further subject upon which your Planters' 
Association has written relates to a desire for 
intelligence as to tho progress making by Mr. 
Eogivuo and for an account of his expenditure of 
the funds with which ho has been supplied. My 
former letter told you all that could be learned 
by myself of Mr, Bogivuo's proceedings, and I 
