8o4 
THE TROPICAL AGRIOULTUR!8T. 
[May I, 1891. 
The infringements of his patents which Mr. Jaokson 
oonsiders he can prove before law courts this time 
— no notice having been taken of business remon- 
strances — eonoern two rollers, the one prepared and 
patented by Mr. John Brown of the XJva Companies, 
(fee., and of whioh about a hundred are supposed 
to be at work in Ceylon Tea Districts, and the 
other, the Tea Boiler known as “Law & Davidson’s.” 
But having to come out to consult and direct 
the lawyers, Mr. Jaekeon has some interesting new 
machines which he intends while here to bring 
before the Ceylon planters. We refer, first to his now 
“Britannia” Tea Dryer whioh offers great im- 
provements on the “ Victoria ” dryer, more 
especially in the tea being fed below and the 
machine doing all the test of the work for itself. 
There is a down-draft connected with it. Three 
sizes of machines to dry 1, 2 and 3 maunds of tea 
per day are made, costing about £100, £200 and 
£300 sterling each. The first of these Driers — one 
of the ls,rgest size — is about to be erected on 
Labukelia Estate, Ramboda Pass, while others are 
on the way out. The “ Britannia” looks a thoroughly 
substantial, workmanlike machine strongly made 
as indeed are all Mr. Jackson’s machines, and the 
patentee is confident of it giving satisfaction. 
Perhaps a machine of more general interest is 
the new patent Witherer which Mr, Jaokson is 
bringing out. This, he is also confident, will prove 
a practical success. It is not generally known that 
Mr. Jaokson keeps up an Eatabiishment in Aber- 
deen solely lor the purpose of endeavouring to 
devise and apply improvements to Tea preparing 
Machinery. Besides Mr. Dalgarno, there is a stall 
of eight Assistants and Mr. Jackson (like Mr. 
Edison of inventive fame) has to be the presiding 
genius. An interesting fact mentioned to us 
by Mr. Jackson as showing the rapid advance of 
Ceylon in comparison with India, is that the colony 
required about as many rollers as India last year, 
while for 1891, the demand is likely to be a good 
deal larger for our little island, than for the big 
continent opposite. 
THE JAMAICA EXHIBITION: THE THE 
POTTER AT WORK. 
In obtaining the services of a first-claBS English 
Potter the Commissioners of the Exhibition were 
performing a great service to Jamaica, and contri- 
buting to the real objects of the undertaking. 
The island possesses clay in vast quantities, the 
capabilities of whioh have never been thoroughly 
tested, and it was a happy thought to import a 
skilled potter, both to test the clay and to show 
how best it could be practically utilised. The 
potter is now stationed in the Exhibition, and to 
witness him at his work alone is worth doublo 
the amount of entrance money to the ground. 
[The above, from the Jamaica Gleaner, shows 
what might be done if we had a Ceylon Exhibition. 
We have abundance of fine porcelain and terra- 
cotta clays in our island, which could be probably 
utilized if a skilled English nrtizan were imported 
to show the way.--Eu. T, A.] 
“Thk CiN'CiiONA Maiucht” — writes an up- 
country planter — “is deplorable. It is the longest lane 
without a turning that I have ever had to do with — 
and 1 'm beginning to regard bark with well merited 
contempt. L don't know it that will bring it to 
any kind of sense of the rightness of things, and 
what is due to growers?” 
Ceylon Tea Selling at £10 12a, 6 d. per lb. — 
Where is this sort of thing to end ? If only a 
certain number of Ceylon estate proprietors instruct 
their managers to compete with “golden tips” 
for the sake of the advertisement, Reuter will 
yet have a good many messagi's to send us about 
select parcels of Ceylon tea getting unprecedented 
prices in Mincing Lane, Meantime all this helps to 
bring Ceylon tea into everybody’s mouth 1 — and we 
should be the last to complain. On the contrary 
wo have to congratulate Mr. T. 0. Anderson of 
Garmore estate, Maskeliya, on topping the market 
and “ taking the cake” even from Gallebodde. How 
long will Mr. Anderson be allowed toremain champion? 
Sba-weei) and Coconuts.- — The seashore 
between Colombo and Mt. Lavinia — and indeed 
much farther down the coast — is, at this season, 
strewn with large quantities of sea-weed washed 
ashore. This has been the case for many weeks 
back, and yet only in very few c.ases so far as we 
know, has any attempt been made to collect this 
useful manure and apply it to the neighbouring 
coconut palms. The apathy of the villagers in 
this respect is very striking. There can be no 
doubt that a very little exertion in digging round 
the roots of their trees, and applying rubbish, 
sea-weed, &a., (that would be much letter in every 
way if buried), would increase their crops of nuts 
very materially ; yet, with the few'est possible 
exceptions this is never thought of, ai.d absolutely 
nothing in the shape of cultivation is attempted. 
Tea (Jpcountey. — It is quite cheering to 
note the universal good report of tea from one 
end of the hill-districts to the other, and of its 
flourishing so famously even on old coffee estates. 
For instance, in Hantane, take the upland valley 
above Kandy, with Oodowelle — opened over 60 
yesrs ago, — Oorcgalla, Horogalla and Ingrogalla, all 
giving good tea and promising well. Oorogalla with 
280 acres of tea is quite a model of what a well-cul- 
tivated old coffee plantation may be expected to 
do in tea. But the same is true of many of the 
old Elkaduwa and Matale places, while rivals to 
Mariawatte are to be seen around XJkuwala : and 
on the road North of Matale, some of the finest 
tea iu the island is to be seen. Whose is the 
small field of tea on the roadside near Nalanda, 
many miles out ? It is neglected and all weedy, 
but the tea is resolved that no other jungle 
shall have lodgment and is forming a jungle of 
its own ; for as an old Kandyan Araohohi said in 
the early d.ays of tea “It is a jungle plant and 
not like coffee at all.” 
Linnean Society. — At the meeting held on 
February 5, Prof. Stewart, President, in the Chair. 
Messrs. Richard Bentley and E. S. Goodrich -were 
admitted ; and Messrs. T. P. Bourdillon, 0. T. Keane, 
and A. M. Marshall were elected Fellows of the 
Society. Mr. Clement Reid exhibited and described 
some recent additions to the fossil arctic flora of 
Britain. Mr. Thomas Christy exhibited and made 
remarks on some specimens of honey; (1), “Arbutus 
honey” from Turkey, said to produce great drowsi- 
ness and sleep; (2), “Eucalyptus honey” from 
Mount Barker, Adelaide, said to possess valuable 
therapeutic properties; and (3), so-called “wool 
honey” from the Euphrates, collected by natives 
from the leaves of the Oak, and whioh would be 
more properly termed “honey-dew,” being formed by 
aphides, and not by bees. On behalf of Mr. Gammie 
of Sikim, Mr. C. B. Clarke gave an abstract of an 
interesting paper on “The Tree Perns of Sikim,” 
in wliieli several moot points were discussed, and 
difficulties cleared up. At an evening meeting to 
be held on February 19, 1891, at 8 p.m., the following 
papers of horticultural interest will be read: — “The 
Dillenian Herbarium,” by G. C. Druce, P.L.S. ; and 
“ Some points in the life-history and Rate of Growth 
in Yew Trees,” by D.':, JohuLowe, F.L.S.— G'ardeners’ 
Chronicle. 
