November i, 1890.] 
THE TROPICAL AQRICULTUR18T. 
363 
lees bark of some other tree. A well known dealer of 
La Paz, who ought to have known what he was about 
after years of experience, recently lost f 160,000 at one 
fell swoop on a ship load of bark euppneed to be cas- 
carilla, but which, when arrived at the English market, 
turned out to be a species of oak, good for nothing at 
all. The onl}' way to test the bark is by tasting it, 
That which gives out a bitter taste immediately on 
being taken into the month will yield a comparatively 
small amount of quinine, while the best must be 
chewed before the quinine taste is apparent. — Exchange. 
^ 
NATIONAL WOOD SUPPLIES. 
Bulletin No. 4, just issued by the Division of 
Forestry, is a sequel to some previous publications 
of the division which discuss the relations of rail- 
roads to the wood supplies of the country, with 
reference to the conservation of our forest areas. 
It contains a brief discussion by the chief of the 
division, setting forth upon the basis of a recent 
canvass among the railroad companies the enor- 
mous consumption of wood material for railroad 
construotion, and especially showing how future 
supplies are being endangered by the use of the 
most valuable timber and of the young growth. 
To satisfy this demand requires the annual culling 
of the best timber from probably more than 1,000,000 
acres of our natural forest lands. The chief value 
of this part of the bulletin consists in the directions 
which are given for increasing the durability of 
wooden ties. These are found to last on the aver- 
age less than seven years, so that for replacement 
alone an annual cut of 80,000,000 ties is required. 
By lengthening the life of the tie a single year 
it is evident that a considerable saving would be 
effected, tending to reduce transportation charges 
and a'so to husband our forest supplies. For 
lengthening the durability of ties various means 
are suggested, among which are the selection of 
lasting timber, proper care in the seasoning of 
material, attention to the drainage and ballast of 
the road-bed, precautions against fungi, improved 
methods in fastening rails, and various preserving 
processes, some of which are new. The informa- 
tion here furnished is likely to be of value to any 
eonsumtr of wood material. 
The bulk of the bulletin is taken up by a re- 
port of E. E. Tratman, c. e., collating the ex- 
perience of the world in regard to the substitution 
of metal for railroad ties. It had been stated 
hitherto that metal ties were used experimentally, 
but that the time for their introduction was still 
far distant. This report shows that not only are 
there something like 30,000 miles of railroad track 
of the world laid on metal tics, but that where 
these ties have been used most extensively, namely, 
in Germany, India, and the Argentine Eepublic, 
they have shown themselves superior to wooden 
ties in producing a safer, more permanent, and in 
the end more economical track. 
The report is exhaustive, full of the detail which 
alone can make it valuable to the engineer, and 
promises to be an important aid to the metal tie 
question, which in this country has received little 
consideration, from the belief that it is either im- 
practicable, or with our seemingly inexhaustible 
timber supplies premature. The use of the metal 
tie is expected to economize wood supplies and by 
its cheaper maintenanoe and other favourable features 
to reduce transportation charges and increase rapidity 
and safety of American Grocer. 
Ti; A Notes : Daiuehling, Sept. 20th.— Some very 
good sun (onimonccmeiit of week, whicli has brought 
<m fair growth. Foggy tliough latter end, with rather 
too cold rain to make heavy flii-h. Kainfall to date 
121 iuohos. 
CEYLON TEA IN RUSSIA. 
To the Editor of the Tropical Agriculturiitf, Colombo. 
Kandy, Got. 11th. 
SiK,— I beg to enclose letter received from Mr, 
M, Eogivue on the subject of making known and 
pushing the salo of Ceylon tea in Eussia.— I am, sir, 
yours faithfully, A. PHILIP, Secretary. 
Moscow, 30tb Aug. Ilth Sept. 1890. 
A. Philip, Esq., Secretary, Ceylon Planters’ Associa- 
tion, Kandy. 
TEA ruED. 
Dear Sir,— I wrote you last from St. Petersburg on 
the 23rd July/14th Aug. I have since been in cor- 
respondence with Mr. Wm. Martin Leake of London, 
to whom I have asked to coraniunioate to you the 
contents of my letters. 
St. Petersburg, — As I have already informed you 
I visited there all the principal tea merchants, moat of 
them were in Nijni at the time, but everyone I have 
seen has tasted my samples of Ceylon teas, and 
before leavieg that pirce, I have left to Mr, D. 
Haverlandt, who will act as my agent there, all the 
necessary instructions by samples to continue the work, 
see the people and pu.sh the business. I hope that 
orders will soon follow, when the parties interested 
return from Nijni. — I have also distributed more than 
150 lb. of tea, in Is 8d and Is 4d lb. packets, all over 
the town, to restaurants, tea houses, public bars and 
friends. — The general report is that the tea is good. 
More was impossible for me to do. I had to leave 
for Moscow, having been in St. Petersburg quite enough 
time, a little over than one month. 
Moscow. — I arrived here on the 13th/25th August 
and lost no time in visiting the firms interested in 
tea, such as 
Alexis Goubzin’s successors (Hdritiers) A. Kousie- 
tzoff & Co., the first and best wholesale tea honse in 
Eussia. 
Vve. Rostergueff & Successeurs 
,, Catairo & Fils -Second best 
Wogan & Oo. 
Quizinoff Bros. 
Behrend and Stern &c. &c. 
and Popoff Bros. & Co., first retail tea house in Russia 
having over 30 warehouses and shops in every large 
town, such as St. Petersburg, Moscow, Odessa, Riga, 
Varsovia and other places all over Russia. 
Most of their principals being in Nijni, I thought 
best of going there to see them. I did so last 
week. They have all taken great care and trou- 
ble in tasting my samples, compared them with 
Chinese kinds, Caravan and others — and, I am glad 
to say, reported very favourably upon their quality 
which they say, is on the whole far superior to that 
of the equivalent grades of Chinese kinds, against 
which the present general complaint is, that they are 
getting every j-ear more and more inferior. They 
find our teas well made, of fine flavour ami good liquor, 
but would prefer them of somewhat darker infusion 
than the ones I had to show them, viz.: — 
'* Aberdeen ” ') 
“ Mahouea " | 
“Patiagama” | 
“Ferndale” )- Pekoes. 
“ Glengariffe” I 
•‘Labukelle” | 
“Rahatungoda " J 
“ Labukelle ” 
“ Kurnwitte " ) 
The “Labukelle” and “Rahatungoda” pekoes have 
been found the finest of all these teas, but rather too 
pale of infusion, and, as pointed out above, teas of 
a darker colour in cup, which would keep about iho 
same for the second and even the third infusion, — the 
same as Chinese teas do — would be preferred. 
I remarked in my previous letters the way of making 
tea in Russia, viz : — To pour in the tea pot— some- 
times up to four times — boiling water on the same 
tea ; the first infusion is of cour-'c darker than the 
.second and so on, but the last must still have enough 
colour for appearance’s sake, although there is no 
[ Pekoe Souchongs. 
