Aug.  I,  1895.) 
THE  TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
lOl 
there  are  few  greenhouse  plants  more  readily  raised 
from  seed  or  cuttings,  if  inserted  at  the  right  time, 
or  more  easily  grown.  While  for  the  clothing  of 
walls,  pillars,  rafters,  and  arches,  few  plants  can 
equal  or  excel  Grevilleas.  And  yet  I have  know'n 
several  good  gardeners  who  have  never  seen  these 
plants  in  bloom,  unless  at  Kew,  or  in  other  botani- 
cal gardens. 
This  is  the  more  surprising  as  they  are  about  as 
easily  irrown  as  a Cytisus.  The  contrast  between  the 
two  species  may  bo  said  to  be  between  glare  and 
grace,  and' the  glare  of  the  gold  has  won  by  ten- 
hundred  to  one  or  more.  In  other  words  a thousand 
Cytisus  are  bloomed  annually  to  one  Grevillea.  This 
proportion  would  assuredly  be  greatly  altered  if  visi- 
tors to  botanic  gardens  at  this  season  of  the  year 
would  enquire  for  Grevillea  robusta  and  other 
species  iii  flower.  The  specific  name  will  probably 
surprise  the  uninitiated  ; for  though  we  iiave  such 
species  as  elegans,  elegantissima,  Ac.,  few  can  beat 
the  normal  species  for  the  extreme  gracefulness  of  its 
drooping  flowers. 
For  changes  of  habit  or  of  colour,  the  following 
species  may  also  be  growui  : — G.  alpina  falpestris), 
G.  Foster!,  G.  Drummondi,  G.  fasciculata,  G. 
aspleuiifolia,  G.  Mangles!,  G.  lavendulacea,  G.  I. 
rosea,  and  G.  glabra.  The  fine  specimen  in  the 
Botanic  Garden,  Cambridge,  is  plante. I out,  and  has 
a free  head,  which  suits  it  admi'ably.  Grevilleas 
also  form  model  rafter  plants,  sweeping  back  to  the 
ground  lines  with  inimitable  grace  and  elegance. 
The  flowers  also  have  great  persistency  after  cutting, 
if  the,  simple  precaution  is  taken  to  cut  the  stems 
afresh  every  second  day  they  are  in  water.  Cut 
spray  in  vases  and  baskets  in  living  rooms  have  thus 
been  kept  fresh  and  beautiful  for  a fortnight  or 
three  weeks  after  cuttijig. 
There  should  be  money  in  Grevilleas  in  bloom  in 
a small  state  to  the  first  enterprising  florist  who 
sUcc^ds  in  putting  them  on  the  market  in  quantity, 
in  sizes  but  little  taller  than  the  market  samples  of 
Cytisus  racemosus. — D.  T.  F. 
CHEAP  THANSPORT  AND  HOW  TO 
GET  IT  -No.  IV. 
ilv  J.  Davi.s^.Allkn. 
- RAILWAY  TARIFFS. 
Tile  late  Water  Jiageliot,  Editor  of  t\\&  Eronoiiiist 
and  trusted  ad>iser  of  tlie  Englisli  Treasury 
Bencdi,  aver.s  in  a posthumous  work  lliat  chief 
among  the  es.seiitials  of  a good  hitsiuess  man  i.s 
slui'idity.  Now  stupidity  is  not  commonly  ranked 
ainong  tite  virtues,  and  to  call  a man  stupid  is 
Oil  all  hands  accounte<l  lude  ; it  would  seem, 
tliereforc,  a.s  if  Ragehot's  literary  executor  had 
played  the  Frotide  with  him.  But  what  he 
meant  by  stupidity  is  clear  enough,  and  leaves 
one  all  the  more  surprised  at  his  u.sc  of  so  opjiro- 
hrious  a term.  He  meant  uiillinching  reiiression 
of  the  intellect  to  the  here  ami  the  now  ; judi- 
cious inditlcrcnce  to  (he  Haws  and  hitches  of 
an  argument  so  the  conclu.-^ion  ho  as  desired  f 
ini|)aticncc  of  any  di.^^iday  of  ^^  isdonl  heyond  (he 
needs  of  the  ease  in  Iiand  ; above  all,  ahhorenc<; 
of  origimility  as  being  akin  to  the  capcriiigs  of 
a wihl  ass : aptitudes  these  with  which  the  fortu- 
nate are  born,  to  which  the  well-ail  vi.sed  a.spire, 
and  without  u hich  the  arts  and  pursuits  con- 
nected with  the  c.rxhangc  us  distinguished  from 
the  yrodmlitm  of  commodities,  notably  of  those 
coinmotlities  jiopnlarly  known  as  “ .Scrip,”  cannot 
he  successfully  prosecuted.  Now  and  again  a 
man  like  the  Premier  of  Cape  Colony,  Mr.  C.  J. 
Rhodes,  despite  his  jiortentous  originality  and 
the  far-brought  and  epic  considerations  by  which 
lie  is  habitually  actuated,  is  able  to  exploit  the 
coNimercial  spirit  by  commercial  methods  for 
ctniuently  uncommercial  ends.  Such  cases  are, 
IXfwever,  r^ie,  of  th«  bulk  of  the  y'orld'6 
business  Bagehot’s  doctrine  holds  good.  But  uob 
of  all  of  it ; not,  for  instance,  of  that  depart- 
ment of  railway  administration  which  is  cou* 
cerned  with  the  jtrohlems  and  devices  of  the 
TARUG'. 
In  this  held  .so  uiiusua!  are  the  aptitudes  in  demand 
that  those  accounted  “experts”  (orlc.t  us  say  “autho- 
rities” and  leave  the  unclean  word  “expert”  to  the 
law-courts  and  i>redatory  finance)  are  not  above  a 
score,  taking  Englaml  ami  the  ITiited  .States  to- 
gether. How  they  grojied  their  way  to  the  views 
and  methods  in  vogue  today,  and  how  little  by 
little  the  labyrinthine  tarifi'  schemes  which  now- 
obtain  were  elaborated,  may  he  studied  iu  the 
Parliamentary  Reports  and  legislatiie  measure-s 
extending  from  the  Hailwaj's  Regulation  Act  of 
1840,  the  first  of  the  general  Acts,  to  the  important 
Railway  and  Canal  Tratiic  Acts  of  1888  and  1894. 
Ill  the  earlier  railway  lulls  jirovisioii  was  made 
for  allowing  i>rivate  individuals  to  run  their  own 
conveyances  on  the  metals  with  the  same  rights  as 
on  the  public  highw  ay  ! Thetariffnotionsoftho.se 
days  were  to  match  : so  much  a mile  for  so  much 
weight,  and  (odder  still  to  the  modern  man  dead 
against  ])referential  rates)  sjtecial  terms  to  regular 
customers.  The  numerous  and  often  recondite  con- 
siderations by  which  the  clas.siHc.ation  and  rating 
of  freight  are.  now  determined  were  then  accounted 
of  only  academic  interest.  Starting  with  the 
.axiom  common  to  most  industiic.s  that  cost  of 
production  is  one  of  the  chief  dcterniinants  of  price, 
the  first  laihvay  managers  anxiously  endeavoured 
to  assimilate  the  charge  for  every  sendee  to  the 
cost  of  it,  whereas  now  there  is  no  iiretence  that 
the  charge  in  any  particular  case  hears  any  re- 
lation  to  the  prime  cost  to  the  administration. 
The  “ Canadian  Pacific”  carries,  or  used  a little 
w'hile  back  to  carry,  w heat  from  Fort  William  at 
the  N.-W  end  of  Lake  Superior  to  the  Atlantic 
sea-board  at  under  jirime  emst  of  conveyance — 
stress  of  competition  of  cour.se,— charging  on  tJie 
far  shortet  Fort  Willialn-Winniiieg  section  rates 
so  much  in  exce.ss  of  ))rinie  cost  of  conveyance  a.S 
to  average  out  at  a profit  oh  the  entire  system. 
So  with  mo.st  raihvays:  local  tratiic  ami  through 
ttattic,  long  hauls  and  short  hauls  are  differently 
rated  ! ami  jdaccs  where  there  is  competition  w ith, 
say,  water  carriage,  or  which  can  snjiply  return 
freight,  get  easier  rates  than  places  where  tbc 
railway  is  the  sole  means  of  trans|iurt,  or  from 
which  (he  cars  run  h.lck  empty.  Or  (still 
illustrating  the  same  principle)  all  industry 
struggling  ulnlcr  .sc\ ere  comjictition  Avill  he  as- 
sisted by  the  concessimi  fif  a ]ieii))er-corn  rate 
on  its  output,  it  Ixdng  lo  the  interc.st  of  the 
railway  to  keep  the  industry  on  its  legs  for  the 
sake  of  the  inw  ard  tralHe  it  puts  on  the  metals. 
Ft  shonhl  ho,  noted  that  the  grant  in-a, id,  for* 
this  is  whiU  the  ledmdion  of  the  rate  amounts  (Oi 
is  nni.dc  on  the  outward  rather  than  on  tlie  in- 
ward trafib',  because  Hie  latter,  consisting  for  the 
most  part  of  articles  in  general  demand,  any 
lowering  of  the  rates  thereon  would  noces.sarily 
l>e  enjoyed  by  jiersoiis  and  industries  needing  no 
such  a.s.si.staiice. 
The  late  Mr.  ( '.  11.  Parkes,  Chairman  of  the 
Great  Flasterii  Railway  (England)  once  said  to 
the  present  writer  that  while  no  hard  and  fast 
rules  could  he  laid  down  lor  the  classification 
and  rating  of  railway  trallic, 
fo u f{  ( ■( ) N s It ) 1; I : ,\ T I u \ s 
were  always  present  in  his  mind  in  dealing 
therewith;  (I)  that  there  is  no  ussignalile  limit 
to  the  extent  to  whieh  trafiie  may  he  created 
by  the  increase  of  facilities;  (2)  that  the  judi- 
ciousness of  any  proposed  taritl’  change  is  best 
measured  by  its  remoter  effects]  [3)  tiiat  any 
