Dkcember I, 189T.] THE TROPICAL AGRtOULTURIST. 
a-ystem that a eup of it taken early in the morning, as 
many people do, so disorders the nervoTaa system that 
those who tafre it ectuaily get into a state o£ tea 
intoxiofttion, and it produces a form of nerve disttir- 
banoe which is most painful to witness. If you want 
to have, either for yonrselves or for your patients, 
tea which will not injure and which will refresh, get 
black Obina tea, putting in the right measure — the 
old-fftshioced teaspoooinl for each person, and one for 
the biassed pot. Then pour on briskly boiling water, 
and within five minutes you must pour it off again, or 
it wSn become wicked instead of good. Let this 
pati^&t, therefore, have half a pint of milk and 
water or <iocoatina, or half a pint of tea, a la Olark, if 
yon ploRte," Uuforcunately for the value of this 
opiniODf id is a well-known fact that medical men 
seldom agree upon any point, and their views upon 
tea are as divergent as upon alcohol. If Sir Andrew 
Olark prefers China tea he is welcome to his opinion, 
but when he tells the student of a London hospital 
that British>grown tea is deleterious, and advocates 
the usa of China tea lb preference — as though he had 
studied the question deeply and arrived at the conclu- 
sion a'lle^ careful analysis and considerable research — 
he t'loald support this advocacy with something 
stronger than a mere espression of opinion. To give 
acpsegsioQ in a publio place to a statement unsupported 
by one Jot of evidence is, to say the least, very unfair 
to the ladian tea industry. [Hear ! Hear !— Ed. T. A.} 
Last 'Week's Tea Sales. — The Produce Markets' 
Review says : — " The increased imports of Indian tea 
continue to supply the market liberally, the quantity 
offered at the publio salos being upwards of 43,500 
packages. Notwithstanding this heavy weight of tea, 
the demand was equal to it, and the market closes 
strong, with an advance in some oases strong, with an 
advarce in some cases on the prices of the preceding 
week. Tl'e better quality of the teas generally aooonnts 
for ' VI jricreasing activity in the demand. The 
growths which command most attention are those 
froir 'iSiD Assam districts, as these teas are, on the 
wholo, eapmior to those of several seasons past, 
which is Lome out by the comparatively high prices 
that h&ve been paid. The quality of the Dsrjeoling 
teas is fairly satisfactory, but falls considerably short 
of the earlier arrivals, while those from the Syhlet 
and Dooarfl gardens, with few exceptions, continue 
to be inferior to the imports of the previous season. 
It is fra'::afaotory to karn that strong representalions 
hav 1 made to those interested in the manu- 
fac the Utter growths of the nndesirability of 
ooc , the newly-adopted method of preparing 
the , 'hich, it is hoped, will have the desired 
efFt. , 1 the public sales 43,876 packages were 
brorgi... 'orward, and only 4,200 were withdrawn. 
The siJiOYO quantity comprised a good selection of 
all grauea, and from the quantity sold it will be 
seflQ the demand was well sustained. At the publio 
sales very steady prices have been obtained for nearly 
all descriptions of Ceylon tea. There has been a 
good asaortment of tea of fair qaality, all of which 
has sold well. Pine to finest Btokens were actively 
competed for, and in several oases Is 8d to Is 9d was 
realised for fine descriptions. Fine Pekoes were in spe- 
cially good demand and sold at rather better prioes, while 
the lower grades of Souchongs kept fully up to last 
week's rates. Of thel.'),976 packages offered at auction 
1,620 were withdrawn. lu Javas, 808 packages were 
Offered at sale, all of which sold at steady prices. 
The Abbotslbiqii Tea Estate Oompany Limited.— 
This company has just been registered, with a capital 
J* -1325,000, In shares. Object to acqaire tea or other 
plantations 1?. foylou oi- elsewhere, and to carry on 
thereat the business of tea, Tl'^foe and cinchona planters 
and with a view thereto, to take over ^Hl" ^'^'"•to in 
Oeyloa called Moiitofiore, in the central province of 
the inlsnd of Coy Ion, and the Abbotsloigh Estate in 
tho stvme provinou. Th.j (irat eubsoribers (one share 
each) ire :-0. B. Smitti, 7 Grove End Road, N.W.; N. 
KowMoll, Abbotsloigh, Ilatton, Oeyhm ; 0. Harrison, C7 
Luiooln'B Inu Fields; H.W. Matthews, 9 Uojeford lload 
Wandsworth ; F. Villor, 24 Kitto Itoad, St. Oathoriue's 
Park ; F. i''atris, 40 MoWey Avouue, NqoI Park, Wood - 
Green ; C. Anderson, 12 Brookville Road, S. W. 
Thare shall not be lees than three nor more than 
five ditecfeors ; the first shall be 0. B. Smith, 7, 
Grove End Road, N.W.; W. W. Simpson, Winkley, 
Wballey, Lancashire; N. Bowsell, Abbotsleigh, Oeylon; 
and C, Harrison, 67, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W. 0. • 
qualification three shares; remuneration : the dioectors 
shall only be paid their expenses of travelling in 
England to attend tho meetings of the Board, 
The Coffeh Maeket.— Messrs. Wilson, Smithett, 
and Co. say : The recent rapid and severe fall has, 
as is natural, been followed by a reaction which at 
first imparted steadiness to the market, and thin, 
attracting orders, caused better oompetition, result- 
ing in a recovery of 2a on ordinary qualities and 
3s to 53 on desirable and coloury kinds. Supplies at 
sale during the fortnight were extremely small, 
arrivals being unimportant. The first new crop 
Jamaica was catalogued, and, being of inferior 
quality, sold at a low price, Central American 
kinds are very scarce ; the Costa Bioa crop is 
over for the seasSn, fine qualities in second 
hands realise high prices privately, 103s having 
been paid for good. Of Guatemala there is not 
much to attract buyers ; dull and dingy old parcels 
sold at moderate prices, a few good with strong oompe- 
tition realised high prices. Good home trade Vera Paz 
and Honduras continue to receive attention from 
buyers, the quality being very good. Brazil, after de- 
clining early in the fortnight, is in better request at 
the close, and an advance of fully 29 is established, 
recent advices pointing to some modification of the 
previous large estimate. 
Spceious Coffee,— Coffee always was, and perhaps 
ever will be, one of the most abused articles of import 
and ooneamption ; and as the scarcity of desirable 
qualities, for a long time past, has led to exceptionally 
advanced rates, the temptations to adulterate this 
homely beveroge have been proportionately increased, 
says the Orocer. Adulteration, moreover, in America 
seems to be studied as a fine nrt; for the perfection to 
which it ia brought there now ia simply marvellous. We 
have before seen some fine specimens of sham coffee in its 
roasted state, but never have we examined anything so 
closely resembling the real article as that received by as 
this week from Philadelphia, which place is growing 
notorious for its swindling in coffee (30-callod); 
Several respectable firms there, however, have taken 
upon themselves to expose these trade frauds, and 
are issuing circulars to warn the unwary against 
buying this " counterfeit " coffee. Deceiving as it 
may be in appearance to the ordinary observer, a prac- 
tised eye can easily detect its false character, and 
avoid it accordingly ; but when ground, ready for use 
the bogus coffee referred to is hard to distinguish 
from any o^her. Still, there are means of detection 
even then, which will show that it is not the product 
of the true coffee-bean grown in Oeylon, India, Central 
America, or the Brazils ; and we may add that in liquor 
it is of a dark colour, rather bitter iu taste; with a 
thick, muddy sediment, and almost undriukable. It is 
said to be of German manufsoture — a sort of paste or 
farinaceous substance, first mixed with burnt chicory or 
some foreign colouring ingredient, moulded into the 
requisite size and shape by machinery — the same as 
pills and such-like medicinal preparations — and then 
the spurious compound is finally baked to give it hard- 
ness and consistency. In this form it is imported, 
and distributed largely in the United States, and, being 
sold at the ow figure of eleven cents (or say 6d) per 
lb. I or one-third the price of pure coffee, it naturally 
commands an extensive sale in tho more populous 
districts where it is introduced. No honest trader can 
stand against mslpraotioes of this mature, and it is 
hoped that the attention of the American Guvo;nmeni 
will bo drawn to the matter, with a view to protecting 
both thor owii '""eaae and the interests of the wholQ 
community.— -/f. and C. Mau, Ctt. i'^^.h. 
The Qdantities or Tka that were sold to foreign- 
ers ia Yokohanja, and remained in stock in the 
city on the 15th inst. were 24,800 /(in (onelAi/j^ 
IJlb.) and 208,800 liin respoatuvely.— /a^xni Weekly 
Mail, Oct. 17. 
