February i, 1892/] THE TROPICAL AQRIOULTURIST. 
593 
OATKRPiLLARg ON ALBizztis. — A box of poor tea 
attached to a branch of albizzia having been sent 
to U9 by a planter who wiBhed to know it the 
insects were likely to do harm, we handed them 
to our entomological referee, who writes : — " The 
poochios are the larvas and chryealids of a common 
little yellow butterfly belonging to the genus 
'Teria3.' They feed on a groat variety of pUmts, 
but are not likely to do any more than temporum 
damage to the plant they Beleot. When noticed 
they can be collected by hand and destroyed." 
P«EPAKED Coffee Leaves. — Coffee-tea vvas 
brought under the notice of the Koyal Botanic 
Society of London on Saturday at a meeting pre- 
sided over by Mr. G. J. tJymons, p.r.s. The samples 
of ooiieo-tea, or prepared coiiee leaves, were grown 
in the Society's Conservatory. The secretary said 
it had been estimated that the percentage of theine 
in the leaves of coffee was 1-20 as against 100 in 
tho beans. As the leaves may be easily grown in 
many parts of tho world where it is difficult to 
insure good crops of coffee beans, he thought it 
might prove a valuable agricultural product in many 
of our warmer colonies. At present, he said, only 
some 2,000,000 of men use coffee-tea in comparison 
with 110.000,000 who use the bean, and 500,000,000 
who drink Chinese and Indian tesL.—Echo, 
Ceylon Tea in Australia. — We havo been 
naturally gratified by the receipt of a note from 
a Coylon planter who has returned from a visit 
to Australia, in which he is good enough to say, 
after conveying remembrances from old friends, — 
" Till I visited Melbourne I did not realise how 
much good you have dorje the f'eylou Tea industry." 
The period referred to, 1880-81, is an age back 
in the history of the rapid rise and progress of 
the tea enterprise. It was the day of small things, 
but of large promise ; and few can imagine the 
virulence of the attacks we had to bear from vested 
interests in China tea, and the hardness of the 
battle we had to fight in common with our friend, 
Mr. James Inglis, who represented India in tho 
absence of Mr. (now Sir Edward) Buck, to secure fair 
play for the teas of India and (Jeylon, which 
were being introduced to the Melbourne market. 
We were fortunate enough to get Mr, Newbery, 
CM. a., of the Melbourne Museum, and his 
Assistant Chemist and Mr, Moody of Messrs. 
Henty & Co., interested in our Ceylon products 
and the results of a number of elaborate 
analyses by the able Government chemists, went 
to I show what Mr. Gosohen recently dwelt on, 
the superior cheapness of our tea in conipari- 
Bon with that of China, when strength was 
considered. Wo were also able to exercise 
soma influence through the Melbourne press 
which helped the then infant cause. But 
the contest was a hard one. It is pleasing to 
leara that, though largely forgotten here, friends 
in Melbourne appreciate the efforts we made and 
have conveyed their impressions to a Ceylon 
planter after the fashion he kindly indicates. 
A Bark Syndicate at Work.— A syndicate of 
bark importers, formed for the purpose of keeping 
up the price of oinohona bark, commenced its 
operations at last Thursday's bark sales in 
Amsterdam. At those auctions 470,441 kilos, of 
manufacturing bark (containing about 20,000 kilos, 
quinine) were offered. Of this supply, 30,000 kilos, 
bark, representing 1,45.'5 kilos, qniuine, were bought 
in. leaving 480,0()!l kilos, bark ( = 18,518 Vilos. 
quinine) as tho total purchases by the various 
competitor?. The syndioato purchased over one- 
fourth of this quantity— viz., 118,441 kilos, bark, 
equal to 5,l:il) kilos, quinine sulphate. This 
(][uaatit}', it Bbouid bo borue in miad, baa uot 
gona into consumption, but is at precent stored 
up. The primary object of the combination is 
said to be the advance of the unit to 7o., or IJd. 
per lb., and it is believed that funds to the ex ent 
of 500,000fl. (nearly 42,000^ are at its disposal for the 
realisaiiou of this objec:. The total cost of the 
bark purchased at Thursday's auctions by the 
syndicate was 60,00011 ; or 6,O00l.U, therefore, 
the combination continues its operations in 
Amsterdam only, upon the same scale at 'suc- 
ceeding auctions, its funJs will be exhausted at 
the end of August next year, and it will then, 
upon the basis of tho present price, have accu- 
mulated about 950,000 kilos, bark. At the preceding 
Amsterdam auctions the unit averaged 6 83o. 
Since then quinine has fallen 10 per cent in 
value, and, calculating upon that basis, an average 
unit of 5'2o. would have been the true market 
level. On Thursday last, as a matter of fact 
the average rose to 5 G5o. ; hence the purchasers 
who bought for actual consumption had to pay 
an average of O.gOe. per kilo., or about 7-16d. 
p-r lb. more for their quinine than they would 
presumably have paid had the market been 
allowed to follow its natural course. As the 
manufacturers bought bark representing about 
13,000 kilos, quinine, it follows that the syndicate 
by spending 60,000fl. (5,0000, compelled the 
makers to an extra outlay of about J 0,700 11. 
{9001.)— Chemist and Drurjgist, Dec. 26tb. ' 
Exotic Tkees at Sahabunpore, N. W. P. 
India.— From the ineresting and comprehensive' 
report of these Gardens, which are extra-tropical 
and in a region of moderate rainfall, we extract aa 
follows : — 
The following is a statement showing the number and 
kinds of trees uuder trial in the exotio plantation ai.^ 
tueir presaot condition : — ^ 
Number 
Name. planted Remarks 
out. 
Acacia rupestris ., 4 Healthy, but growina 
slosviy. " 
Dj. tortuoia . . 6 Doing well 
AtiogeisBus poQdula ,. 4 Healthy, but growiuK 
, . slowly. ° 
Acer dasycarpum . . 4 Not doing well 
Broseouetia payprifera. . 27 Doing well. 
Cedrela australis . . 3 do 
Crotou tiglium .. 3 Heslthy, but growius 
^ slowly. " 
Ceratouia eiliqua .. 34 Healthy; fruits i,^^^ 
r,- . T-,. . every year. 
•• •• 5 Not doing well; out down 
r>- ■ • . every season by frost 
Diospyros v.rgmiana .. 2 Healthy, but gro'wn« 
slowly. " 
Hiucalyptus meliodora ,. 10 Doing well. 
Do. oitriodora . . 13 do. 
Do. fp ..10 do] 
Do. saligne . . 15 Doing best of 
Do. biQolor . . 3 Growing slowly 
Do. robusta .. 46 Doing well. 
Do. resiuifera .. 15 do. 
Do. rostra ta; .. 330 do' 
Meha serapervirena . . 15 Doing well and grow- 
r> i.i . V,- , . . '"K fast. 
rithecolobium bigemi- 
..f;";" ^. •• . •• 12 D.iing well. 
Gatnlpa bignonoules .. 20 Growing slowly; uofc 
M • ... ^'''y healthy. 
Oweniaoerasitera .. 7 Doing well 
Prosopis spioigera .. 14 Groivinir 'slowly, but 
7^ healthy. 
Do. juhflora ..100 Doiug yery well ; makes 
o„ . • , , a good roui<h heJee. 
bwietenia mnorophylla,. 4 Growing slowlv. 
U.'. mnhogani .. 7 Doing fairly well, 
bapuim liijlandulosum... 4 lujarod by frost; doea 
not seemihardy. 
