442 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
[December i, 1800, 
MR. ROBERTS ON FACTORY-BULKED TEAS 
AND ON SILVER AND EXCHANGE. 
October 17th. 
Sib,— I n reply to “Inquirer’s” letter which appears 
in the Overland Observer of 20th Sept, last, page 976, 
about “factory-bulked ” teas and exchange, I hope 
the following explanations will supply the informa- 
tion required. 
If packages of tea are marked “ factory-bulked,” 
and on examination after arrival here the teas 
in those packages are found to “run evenly,” and 
provided also the tares of the packages are of 
uniform weight — they are passed as “ factory- 
bulked ” and sold accordingly ; but if found other- 
wise, although marked “ factory-bulked,” they are 
re-bulked here. 
In the case of packages not being marked “factory- 
bulked,” the teas are bulked here as it is presumed 
they have not been bulked at the “ factory.” 
If parcels marked “factory-bulked” could always 
be relied on as being of even quality and even 
tares, the trade generally prefer these, so as to 
avoid the necessity of turning out for bulking in the 
warehouses here which is done to ensure uniformity. 
With regard to the other enquiry as to the 
relation between the prices of Bar Silver and Ex- 
change, it invariably follows that as the price 
of Bar Silver fluctuates, so the rate of Exchange 
rises or falls in the same ratio, though there is 
no fixed standard of an exact proportionate differ- 
ence, as other circumstances occasionally intervene 
to cause variations. Bar Silver in the early part of 
July last was at about 48d to 49d per ounce and 
Exchange was then about Is 6jd ; when the price of 
Bar Silver in the beginning of Sept, rose to 54|d, 
Exchange rose to Is 8|d ; and recently again, with 
Bar Silver at 50d, Exchange is Is 6 jd the per- 
centage of rise and fall being in both instances 
about equivalent, and which, for all practical pur- 
poses, may be taken as a safe basis for calculation. 
—Yours faithfully, J. HENRY ROBERTS. 
S. Rucker & Oo., 12, Great Tower Street, 
London, E. 0. 
COFFEE PESTS. 
London, October 17th. 
Deak Sir, — To leave no stone unturned to try 
and find out some remedy or palliative for green 
bug and fungus on what remains of our once fine 
coffee fields in the Uva district, I applied to the 
foremost authority in England on insect and other 
pests which devastate our fruit trees, viz.. Miss 
Ormerod. In case it interests you I enclose her 
correspondence, but I had to wind up by stating 
that in my 43 years’ experience of Ceylon I had 
made the acquaintance of all the Ceylon authorities 
she quotes, viz., Mr. Nietner, Mr, Green, and lastly 
Mr. Morris to whom she refers me, and that in 
the case of the latter he had, like Balaam of old, 
been called to curse and lo ! he found himself 
powerless before Hemilea vastatrix and had to 
go home even like the eon of Beor, 
1 am now sending to Ceylon a keg of sulphate 
of copper such as has been found so useful in 
the vine ditease and we will try it on a few rows 
of coffee after I have acquired the knowledge |as 
to application, and this I hope to receive in a day 
or two. — I am, yours faithfully, 
THOMAS DICKSON. 
St. Albans, Sept. 20th, 1890. 
Thomaa Dickson, Ksq. 
Deir Sir, — I am always glad to be of use so far 
as the iiitcusely heavy amount of work sent to hand 
permits, and though 1 am not acquainted by 
observation with the coffee attacks I will try to offer 
some suggestions. 
You mention ‘f An insect called ‘ Green Bug’ (Aphis) 
forms its scales in our coffee tree branches,” &o., &c. 
From the mention of “ scales,” I conjecture the 
pest to be the “ Green Bug Scale ” insect — the Leca- 
Tiirm mVide scientifically — on which it so happens that 
I have a very careful and as far as I can judge good 
practical paper. 
But first with regard to your enquiries. I have never 
used sulphate of copper as an insecticide ; there- 
fore am unable to offer any advice on the 
subject. As I rarely work on extra-British 
attacks, perhaps you are very much better informed 
than myself as to what answers— but as in the case of 
this insect it is presumably expected to kill by 
contact, — and if your attack is a scale, so very much 
of the infestation would, for a while, be sheltered 
under the parent insect that I should not expect it 
to be of much use; and so far as 1 know I should 
expect it would be likely to do a deal of barm to foliage. 
The very best reply that I could give to your en- 
quiries would be to lend you my pamphlet, and 1 would 
do so with pleasure if you would distinctly promise 
me to return it within a fortnight. I am so greatly 
inconvenienced and injured by books not being returned 
that I now hesitate to lend any. 
But in this pamphlet is relerence to Phenyle being 
used as a watering at the root, and I have myself 
found such excellent effects brought about by the 
application of this in the form sold as “ Soluble 
Phenyle” that I thick it might be well worth trial. 
But with regard to washes, I should think that soft 
soap and kerosine (or mineral oil) washes would be far 
more lik dy to do good than su phate of copper. 
You want something tenacious which will stick to 
all the little “buglets” before they have settled 
down into full development with the sheltering scale, 
and also something which will so coat the mothers 
scale that the eggs bcneitli h^r, or young hatching 
larvre (popularly “ buglets ”) may be killed before 
they escape. 
What is known in South Australia as Buvford’s 
“ Soaj} and Su’phur Compound ” is easily mix.d and 
I should conjecture would be rerviceable. 
You have to remember in dealing with attacks of 
insects of the kind you name, i e. bug or scale (or 
Aphis) that it is probably cf no use to attempt to 
poison them. They feed by iaserting their suckers 
into the tissues whence th< y draw their supplits; 
therefore however, poisonous ihe wash it is more likely 
than not that unless it is so Ciustic that it kills by 
contact, (and a'se damages the vegetable tissues) it 
will do no harm to the insects. 
What you need is a sticlcy wash such, for instance, 
in general nature as is used for hop wash in England. 
This settles on the insects and chtkes up their 
bnath’ng pores, or in the ease of the eggs, prevents 
them hatching. With ri>gaid to formation of these 
washes (or “ emulsions ”) you would find endless 
good recipes in the publications of the U. S. A. 
Government. 
If you care to study recipes taken by myself from 
almost world-wide (authorized) sources ycu would 
fiud many very g-ood working ones in my own Manual 
just publi.she 1, of which I enclose a circular. Under 
the head “Soft Soap Washes in India ” ycu will find 
reference to mixtures found serviceable for scale, 
aphis, &o., &c. 
I do nob like to suggest purchase of a book of 
my own j but I cannot give ycu the recipes at full 
length in a letter and I know no other work where 
you would fiud at any moderate price similar details. 
Trusting that this may be of some service, I am, 
jours truly, Eleanoe A. Obmeeod. 
St. Albans, Oct. 7tb. 
Dear Sir, — Enclosed is the paper on the “ Green 
Scale-Bug,” in which I hope you may find something 
usjfu'. 
I know that in the case of the attack known as 
“ rust ” in carrot I have found much good result 
from the use of a preparation sold by Messrs. Morris & 
Little, Doncaster, called “Soluble Phenyle.” This is to 
