April i, i"9T.] 
THE TROPICAL AQPJC'JLTURIST 
697 
HOP TEA. 
A few months ago we noted that a factory had 
oome into existence at Madestone, iii Kent, where 
the preparation of “ hop tea ” was being crrried 
on. This produat has now been placed on the 
market by the Hop Tea Company, of Easlcheap, 
London. It is sold at the rate of 2s. and 2s. 6d. 
per lb. The blend is made of Indian and Ceylon 
teas, to which is added by a special process the 
infusion of hops. It is claimed that soma of the 
worst properties of the tannin are obliterated by 
the hoppy flavour, and a certain sedative element 
introduced. It cannot be denied that in the majo- 
rity of Indian and Ceylon teas there is a rough, 
strong, taste, which, indeed, has made it one of 
its chief recommendations to the poorer classes. 
Anything which in part removes this harshness 
improves the tea, whilst the suspicion of hops 
introduced is agreeable, and likely to find favour 
with many. China tea, it will be understood, does 
not BO readily lend itself to the manipulation, nor, 
indeed, does it stand so much in need of being 
softened down. The idea seems to have been a 
happy inspiration to remove the astringenoy of the 
tea and introduce the tonic property of the hop. 
Medical opinions give it that many persons who 
have hitherto been debarred from indulgence in tea, 
owing to its astringent properties, may with greater 
impunity embark on a trial of the hop-flavoured 
article. — L. <£• 0, Express. 
^ 
OoFFBE. — A small amount of Kona coffee has been 
imported from the Hawaiian islands, where it is 
grown, into San Franciso, but so far reoeipts have 
been light. An appropriation of jJlO.OOO was made 
by the last legislature of Hav/aii to be devoted to 
the encouragement of coffee raising, and the import 
duty on foreign colfee was raised to 6 cents per 
pound, an increase of 3 cents. Although colfee is 
grown in several of the islands comprising the 
Hawaii group, the Kona district on the island of 
Hawaii has been found the best producing section 
on account of most favorable cUmatio conditions, 
and it is from this section that Kona coffee comes. 
The bean somewhat resembles the Costa ilioa coffee, 
but the aroma, odor and flavor are entirely different 
from either that or any other sort of coffee. It 
is said that in the islands this coffee is used 
almost entirely, and strangers, tourists and other 
visitors who taste it consider that it makes a most 
delicious beverage . — American Grocer, Nov. 12. 
Mb, Horne, the Director of tub Public Forests 
and Gardens op the Island of Madriiids, has 
furnished an elaborate report on the industries which 
it is desirable to foster in the present depressed 
state of the sugar trade. Mr. Home does not 
doubt but that in the future, as in the past, the 
cultivation of the sugar-oane must be the principal 
occupation of the agriculturists of the island, but 
he points out that many other resources are open 
to them, and recommends, moreover, the appoint- 
ment of an agricultural chemist to advise in matters 
connected with Sugar-cane growing and its manage- 
ment. Mr. Horne suggests, in addition, the extended 
cultivation of Coconut Palms, Cacao or Chocolate, 
Coffee, Tea, Dates, Oilnuts, Elais, Betelnuts, and 
other Palms, various cereals, starches. Indigo, 
Anatto, oil-seeds of various kinds. Bananas, Pine- 
apples and other fruits. Ginger, spices, fibre plants, 
cotton, silk, indiarubber, Tobaooo, dyewoods and a 
variety of other plants and their products — a list 
which will give some idea of tho resources that are 
open to the cultivator in tho tropics if other oir- 
oumstances be propitious. Cinchona does not 
prosper ia the island, — Uardcners' Chivniole, 
MINING AND GEMMING IN CEYLON. 
In a recent letter our London correspondent 
referred to tho want of success which had at- 
tended the gemming operations of the past year, 
or past few months, in Eakwana, as telling against 
the credit of this Colony— and espooially of local 
gemming and mining projects — in the City of 
London. The writer was too polite to say it openly, 
but he evidently implied that the non-success of 
the enterprise begun under the auspices of a Limited 
Company was the more remarkable in view of all 
that had been written in our columns in support 
of the industry and the many arguments in favour 
of investment which we had need. The inference 
in fact was that experience had shown tho falla- 
ciousness of our information and writings and 
tho result threw discredit on any proposal to 
apply Eoglish capital to the development of 
gemming and mining enterprise in Ceylon. Now 
we beg most strenuously to object to this line 
of inference and argument and to protest that, 
up to this date, there' ia nothing in the opera- 
tions undertaken nor the experience gained, 
which affects the main position we have from 
the first taken up, and held in reference to 
this branch of local industry. Our position, so far 
from being undermined by the work of the past year 
or six months, remains in fact untouched and we 
hold to it as strongly ia the face of English 
capitalists as ever we did. The whole tenor of 
our writings has been to the effect that the Gem- 
digging industry of Ceylon has given employ- 
ment to hundreds and thousands of natives, 
almost from time immemorial— that it is un- 
deniable large numbers of sapphires, rubies and 
catseyes— not to speak of loss valuable stones — 
ara coritinuuusly found and sold by the gemmers to 
native dealers who export and stll ihem in India 
or in Europe, without any notice of by far the 
larger proportion uf such exports being recorded 
in our Customs accounts. Tiie term “ precious 
stones” has bean synonymous with the name 
of Lanka for all the centuries back to, and even 
before the Christian era, and there is no evidence 
that our gemming country has been by any means 
exhausted. On the contrary there is strong evidence 
to show that coneiuarable areas of gemmiferous land 
remain untouched to this day. What we pleaded for 
then was not simply the introduction of English 
capital to buy up such land and to work at it after 
native fashion— which is all, the Gemming Companies 
at work (is a small way) have done ; but above all 
the introduction of machinery and of the latest 
appliances so as to give a fair test to selected 
fields for the first time in history under the 
modus of working recognised as successful in the Dia- 
mond Fields of tiouth Africa. Now this is exactly 
what up to date has not been done. Two Gemming 
Companies with limited capital have been at work — 
but it has been at work very much after the native fash- 
ion, with nativecontrivances more or less adapted, but 
still coming far short of the latest European ap- 
pliances. The consequence has been that no 
proper sciemifio tests have been applied, and 
it has become notorious for native employees to 
make a bolt, leaving a balance of wages due to 
them without claiming it. Again, we have 
heard that all tlie parcels of stones and gem 
ddbris sent down from tha only Kakwana 
Company’s pit, on being shown to an expert in 
Colombo, has resulted in the constant enquiry — 
“Where have the good large stones gono to? — 
this is just the stuff in which they are always 
found ; but there are no stones here save those 
of little Value.” Latterly, wo understand the 
Company at work in tha hold under London auspices, 
