June i, 1891.] 
THE TROPICAL AQRICULTURiST. 
A COMPLIMENT TO A COLOMBO FIKAI. 
la an article dealing with this same subject 
the Madras Tivies Bays; — “The liir;;e fields of tea 
now planted m the Ouohttrlouy V*lle3’, with the 
eplendid factory lately erected there by Messrs. 
Walker k, Co. of Ceylon, and the cheap coat of 
manufacture which this working on a large scale 
demonstrates, has created a geueral stir, aided by 
the very succesaful pianling of Mr. Puuuett at Pun- 
dalur, whose forty acres of tci by the side of the 
main road attract the attention of all passers. But 
the initial difficulty still re mains how to dispose of the 
leaf where no factory has been eslabli&hed to buy at a 
fair price.” 

A WELCOME BACK 
has to be given to Mr. Thos. Dickson, junior, 
who left us about a year ago and in the interval 
has voyaged or travelled (ohielly in Anrerica) some 
27,(100 miles. Mr. Dickson’s contributions to our 
Literary lieyister have been read with much in- 
terest and we are glad to say there are more to 
follow. Mr. Dickson has wandered over the 
American continent from New York to San Fran- 
cisco and from New Orleans to Toronto. In the 
last-mentioned Canadian town, he found large 
quantities of Ceylon tea in godowns, the brand of 
“ Wangie oya ’’ being prominent. In New Orleans 
again he found Oeylon tea drunk regularly at the 
oldest club in the town and he had the felicily 
of being introduced as the maker of the tea, it 
being from Lebanon estate. The New Orleanists 
received the Ceylon planter with princely hospitality, 
Mr. Dickson was also, as a shareholder, entertained 
in New Y^otk by the Directors of the Ceylon Tea 
Planters’ Company and heformed the highest opinion 
of Messrs. Watson & Farr (a firm of such high 
repute that it is an honour to Ceylon to have their 
names as promoters of her tea) and also of Mr. 
Elwood May. The place Mr. Dickson was most 
tempted to stay in was the vine and fruit 
growing district of California where with irrigation 
they seem able to grow anything and have besides a 
delightful climate. Mr. Dickson returns to the 
charge of the Lebanon group of tea plantations. 

THE AMSTERDAM MARKET. 
Amsterdam, March 18. 
Cinchona Bark, — The pales which will take place 
in Amsterdam on April 2acl, 1891, consists of 0,405 
bales, 996 cases (about 599 tons), divided as follows ; — 
Java bark ; From Government plantations 429 bales, 
29 cases, about 41 tons ; from private plautations, 
5 1)76 bales, 965 cases, about 553 tons. Sumatra bark ; 
2 cases, about 5 owt. Druggists’ Bark : Succirubra 
quills, 704 cases plus 2 oases Sumatra; broken quills 
and chips, 644 bales 18 cases ; root, 170 bales, .35 cases. 
Calisaya quills 40 cases; root Shales; C. Schuhkraift 
quills 27 oases. Lancifolia quills 72 cases; broken 
quills and chips 31 bales, 15 cases ; root 21 bales. 
Manufacturing Bark : Ledgeriana quills 69 erses ; 
broken quills and chips 3,655 bales, 1 case ; root 1,161 
bales. Hybrids quills 10 cases ; broken quills and 
chips 536 bales, 3 cases ; root 136 bales. Officinalis 
broken quills and chips 13 baler^ Total, 6,405 bahs, 
994 cases Java bark ; 2 oases Sumatra (druggists’ bark.) 
— Chemist and Lruffyist. 
■ ♦ 
PRECIOUS STONES AND FIIOS- 
ITIORI'ISCENCE, 
Substances which are phopphoresoeut under ordi- 
nary conditions glow wiffi the greatest brilliancy 
when submitted to the negative discharge in highly 
attenuated gases. Canton’s phosphorus shines with all 
the splendour induced by strong sunshine. Under the 
same ciroumstancea the diamond, especially, that from 
the South African fields, phospboresceg with a brillian 
831 
light blue colour, Diamonds from other localities 
were found by Mr. Crookes to shine with all varieties 
of colour, suoh as bright blue, pale blue, apricot, red, 
.lellowish green, orange and bright green. A green 
diamond when phosphorescing in agood vacuum gave out 
almost as much light as a oamlte, and the different 
faces of the naturally crystallised gems were fouud to 
glow with different shades of colour. The ruby, which 
is practically almost pure alumina, phosphoresces with 
a rich full red. A number of rough rubies in a high 
vacuum glow, when the molecular discharge plays upon 
them, as if they were red-hot, and with an illuminating 
effect almost equal \o that! of the diamond under the 
same conditions. The colour of the ruby has apparently 
iitt'e or nothing to do with the phenomenon ; pure 
white alumina, rubies of a pale reddish-yellow, and 
gems of the “pigeon's blood” colour, all emit praoti 
rally the same deep rod glow. The artificial rubies 0 
Messrs. Fremy & Feill, which ate of the same chemica 
nature as the natural stone, behave in precisely th 
same way when subjected to the discharge in a tuffici 
cntly high vacuum, showing that in this as in all otho 
respects the natural aud artificial rubies are identiaa 
in character. The sapphire, however, which in ohemicae 
composition differs but slightly if at all, from the rubyr 
gives out a bluish-grey bgbt, whilst the emerald glow 
with a fine crimeou-red colour. — 6'oocl Words. 
RAiNEAi.r. RegisthxVtion IX India.' — From a 
Government resolution we quote as follows : — 
With reg'ird to the necessity for the defiuition of a 
“rany day,” the Meteorological Reporter remark that 
from an agricultural point of view, it is not only neces- 
sary to know the total amount of rain, but also the 
character of the rainfall. It is evident that a rainfall 
of 20 inches during a given period in two or three cy- 
clonic downpours might be destructive to the crops, 
whilst the tame amount occurring as frequent moderate 
showers in the same period might be beneficial in the 
highest degree. The only fairly satGfnctory way of dig. 
criminating the character of the fail is by comparing 
the actual number of rainy days with the normal num- 
ber, and the slarting point for such a compiriS'ju will 
be a suitable definition of a raiuy day. The ileteoro- 
logical Departments of other c> untrie.s have generally 
adopted a rainfall of 'OF' or upwards in twenty-four 
hours as d' fining a rainy day, and this has been followed 
iu the annual reports on the Meteorology of India. A 
fall of 01" however appears to be too small to be of 
any value for agricultural purposes in this country. 
The knowledge of such a fall m'ght be a u.s.ful 
indication of the prevalence of cloudy weather which 
is some times very desirable for the crops at cer- 
tain periods. But the comparison usually desired 
appears to be between the actual number cf days 
on which useful or heavy rain fell and the normal 
number of such rainy days; and the Government of 
luidia concurs with the Meteoiologicsl Reporter that a 
fall cf ■ 1" (one-tenth of an inch) iu twenty-four hours 
will be the most convenient and suitable definition. 
The proposals for the improvement of rainfall 
registration which have the approval of the Govern- 
ment of India may now be summarized. 1st. — That a, 
common hour for rcgisl ratio.”, viz., 8 a. m., and a 
common rainfall week ending on Saturday 8 a m. 
should be adopted in the whole of India. 2nd. — That 
all rain gauges should be systematically inspected, the 
services of ibe Meteorological Reporter to the Govern- 
ment of India being utilized for supervision of the 
duty of inspection wherever this is considered desir- 
able. 3rd. — That Sy men’s rain gauges, tested by the 
Meteorological Department, should be the onij' des- 
cription of gauge used. 4th. — That monthly returns 
of raiDlaU be published by each local Government, of 
which copies would be found together and issued as 
an annual volume by the Imperial Meteorological 
Department. 5th — That the Imperial Meteorological 
Department should adopt a fired division of the year 
into four periods corresponding with the periods of 
general rainfall for purposes of comparison. 6th. — 
That for the purpose of calculating the number of 
rainy days a fall of one-tenth of an inch aud upward^ 
be taken to denote a rainy day, 
