844 
THE TROPICAL AQRIOULTURISI 
[June i, iSgr. 
The Recent Fall in Exchange. — Whilah the price 
of tea has fallen about IJJ per lb siuca the 6'h of 
February last, exchange bus declined at very nearly 
the same price — from l/d|^ to 1/4 13-16tli for demaud 
drafts. With their produce at am average of something 
over lid per lb during the lust four months, ai d ex- 
change steadily ruling in their favor, the planfers have 
little to complain ol at present; and, whe.n vve take 
into consideration the fact of the stock of all kinds of 
tea in London being some 16 millions of pounds less 
than it w.as at tne same data last year, the prospects 
of the market in the immediate future are by do means 
gloomy. The following is au interesting list for com- 
parison 
TEA AVEKAGES AND EXCHANGE. 
Demand 6 months 
Tea Aver. 
Drafts. 
Bills. 
s. 
d. 
3. 
a. 
s. 
d, 
Jan. 
4, 
1889 
... 0 
10| 
1 
43- 
1 
4 29-32 
.Ian. 
3, 
1890 
... 0 
Hi 
1 
4 1 
516 
1 
5 15-32 
Jan. 
9, 
1891 
... 0 
1 
6 
7-16 
1 
7 
Feh. 
6, 
1891 
... 1 
Oi 
1 
1 
Blarch 
6, 
1891 
, . 0 
11 
1 
5J 
1 
5 9-16 
April 
10, 
1891 
... 0 
loi 
1 
5 
1-16 
1 
5k 
April 
24, 
1891 
... 0 
11 
1 
4 13-16 
1 
5| 
“IvEAV Bulletin.” — The February miraber is 
devoted to the consideration of the Ipoh or Upas 
poison, the produce of Autiaris toxicaria and con- 
cerning which 30 mucli has been written. The 
poisonous effect is stated to be due to the presence 
of Antiarin, a green resinous substance produced in 
the tree as growing in .Java. Specimens of the so- 
called poison were sent to Kew from the Malay 
coast, and were subjected to examination and report 
by Prof. Sidney Ringer, on tvi’o occasions, with en- 
tirely negative results. The leaves sent with the 
poison were clearly those of Antiaris toxicaria. It 
would appear, then, eitlier that the tree is not 
always, and under all circumstances, dangerous, or 
that its juice is mixed with some other substance, 
such as arsenic, to which the fatal effects are in 
reality due; and there is some evidence that this 
is the case. It is disconcerting to have one's notions 
about the Upas tree disturbed 1 Catch or Catechu 
is also the subject of a note in this number of 
the Bulletin. This is the resinous extract of Acacia 
Catechu, much used in medicine as an astringent, 
and in manufactures as a tanning material. The 
mode of preparation is detailed as practised in the 
North-west Provinces of India and in Burma. The 
article on the production of Cane-sugar is interesting, 
as showing the importance of studying the phy- 
siology, or internal working of the plant, for the 
purpose of ascertaining under what circumstances 
the sugar is formed, what conditions are most 
favourable to its production, and how the amount 
may be increased under cpUivation, To this subject 
we shall probably recur. The timber of the Yomba 
country iu West Africa is also reported on, and from 
what is stated it appears that there exist a large 
number and variety of timber trees easily acces- 
sible by tlie great waterways whioli extend through 
the coiony of La«os. The “ mahogany ” of this 
regiop is the produce of Khaya senegalensis, the 
■' Rose-wood” is yielded by Pterocarpus erinaoeus and 
the Qdoom or iroko of Yomba, in which a trade is 
springing up, is furnished, as has been ascertained 
at Kew, by Chlorophora excelsa, a tree of the Nettle, 
family, Urticaceaj. This latter timber, it is stated, 
can withstand the olfectsof weather and of white ants, 
and is, therefore, largely used in house construction. 
It is also suitable for furniture, as it is very ornamental 
when polished. Other articles refer to the Phylloxera, 
and to the newly-established botanical statimi at Lago.s, 
which, through the enlightened policy of Sir Alfred 
Moloney, is likely to ho of great service to the colony. 
The station is under the direction of Mr. Ilonry Millen, 
who was sent from Kew on the resignation of Mr. 
, James McNair. As an appendix is pul)lishcd, a list 
of seeds, eolleeted in Uie lloyal Uardoiis in 
and whleli are availaldc foi' exclio,ngo and otlicrwiso 
in-miall ouantiticH, hut wliieh are not sold to tho gen- 
eral publio.— i'hronicle. 
Philanthropy and Irrig.ation. — IhelndiaiiAyri - 
says : —Steps are being adopted by Govern- 
ment to minimise the prospeats of distress in the 
Kalahasti Zemindary. The Oolleotor of North Arcot 
has been authorised to place at the disposal of the 
Dewan of the Znuindari the sum of RIO, 000 from 
the loan sanotionod to the estate under the Land. 
Improvement Act to be spent at once on some of 
the minor irrigation works, the estimates for whioh 
are not to exceed R250 each. The amount is made 
available on the condition that the contract for the 
works is given to the villagers themselves, and 
that outsiders are not employed as contractors. 
Cinchona and Qoinine in Southern India. — 
— A correspondent recently pointed out iu these 
oolumas the steady fall that has taken place in the 
value of the unit of quinine during the past ten years, 
till it has reached the exceedingly low price of 
l_ii at the present time, which implies that the bulk 
of the shipments from Soithern India will only 
realize 31 to 4i per lb., a price which hardly covers 
cost of shipment. Suecirubra, or red bark, still forms 
the largest proportion of the exports, but if the value 
of the unit falls any lower, we shall find that it will 
cease to be shipped, the selling price not covering 
cost of harvesting, baling and ehipment, — Madras 
Times. 
A Guttapercha Substitute. — Senhor da Costa, a 
gentleman well known in Portuguese soientifio 
circles, is reported from Goa to have discovered 
an excellent and abundant substitute for gutta- 
percha. It is the solidified fluid which issues from 
the Nivol-cantem, which grows wild in the Concan 
district of British India, and is generally planted 
for hedges. Senhor da Costa states that it is 
insoluble in water, it softens under heat, and hardens 
in the cold. It receives, moreover, and retains a 
given moulded shape, can be cast into very thin 
sheets, and is capable of taking the minutest 
impressions on its surface. Though white when it 
flows from the tree, in its dried state it is of a 
chocolate colour, closely resembling gutta-percha. — 
Chemist and Driu/gist. 
The Wants of China. — A contribution to the 
Japan Mail graphically describes the wants of 
China : — 
The first thing wauted is roads — not even railroads, 
but good cart roads. The next is judicial reform ; and 
the third is the abolition of universil bribery and con- 
sequent corruption. It is urged that as both aides 
bribe, and that no secrecy is even hinted at, the result 
in tho long run is much the same as if no bribery ex- 
isted. As a matter of fact, it costs an Englishman 
about as much to get justice as a Chinaman, only we 
call it Bolioitor’s and counsel’s fees. There are no 
lawyers or pleaders in China, which in this respect 
is perhaps to be envied by other less fortunate coun- 
tries. All the same, the Chinese system works very 
badly for litigants. Torture plays a conspicuous part 
iu oriminil proceedings. A certain specified number 
of tortures are “ legal,” but unfortunately, even these 
are often exceeded, and ghastly horrors are perpetrated 
iu the name of law. As an illustration of a minor 
and “ legal ” application of the question, I may men- 
tion that while I was in Peking one of (be Legation 
servants was oharged with a petty theft and handed 
over to tho native authorities for safe custody. No- 
thing was heanl of him for some days, when the re- 
sult of inquiries showed that the unfortunate wretoh 
had been kept for several hours eaoh day “ kneel, 
ing upon chains.” As this perhaps does not sound 
very terrible, lot me reooramsud any sceptical reader 
to try it for one h >ur only. Kneeling upon broken 
glass, which is an unlawful refinement of the chain 
torture, has been more than once resorted to in tho 
provinces to extort a confession, But mo.st compre- 
housivo work.s on China give full and bideous details 
of Huoh matters. Oua saving consideration, however 
must not be overlooked. When did we abolish judi- 
cial t'Tture ? For a Christian nation I think we kept 
it up to a tolerably late (^ate, 
