334 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Nov.  1,  1895. 
field  of  industry  presents  openings  for  improvement 
through  the  development  of  scientific  methods.  For 
instance,  agricultural  operations  alone  offer  openings 
for  researjh  to  the  biologist,  the  chemist,  the 
physicist,  the  geologist,  the  engineer,  which  have 
hitherto  been  largely  Overlooked.  If  students  do  not 
easily  find  employment,  it  is  chiefly  attributHble  to 
a want  of  appreciation  for  science  in  the  nation  at 
large.  * * _ Lvery  year  the  field  of  usefulness  of  the 
Association  is  widening.  Fur,  whether  with  the  geolo- 
gist we  seelr  to  write  the  history  of  the  crust  of  the 
earth,  or  with  the  biologist  to  trace  out  the  evolu- 
tion of  its  inhabitants,  or  whether  with  the  astro- 
nomer, the  chemist,  and  the  physicist  we  endeavour 
to  unravel  the  constitution  of  the  sun  and  the  planets 
or  the  genesis  of  the  nebulm  and  stars  which  make 
up  the  universe,  on  every  side  wo  find  ourselves 
surrounded  by  mysteries  which  await  solution  We 
arc  only  at  the  beginning  of  work.  I have,  there- 
fore, full  confidence  that  the  future  records  of  the 
British  Association  will  chronicle  a still  greater  pro- 
gress than  that  already  achieved,  and  that  the  British 
nation  will  maiirtain  its  leading  position  amongst 
the  nations  of  the  world,  if  it  will  energetically  con- 
tinue its  voluntary  efforts  to  promote  research,  supple- 
mented by  that  additional  help  fivn  the  Government 
which  ought  never  to  be  withheld  when  a clear  case 
of  scientific  utility  has  been  established. 
CENTBAL  TBA\AX(;OliE  PEANTEUS’ 
ASSOCIATIUX. 
CEYLON  ANIJ  INDIAN  TEA  DUTIES. 
A general  meeting  of  this  Association  was  held 
in  the  Bon  Ami  bungalow  en  the  ‘28th  ultimo  at 
10  o’clock.  There  w’ere  present  Messrs.  R.  S.  Imray 
(Chairman),  H.  W.  Baker,  .7.  Burrows,  A.  R.  Cox,  It. 
W.  Courtney,  J.  Finch,  R.  H.  Goldie,  W.  Graham, 
B.  Laurie,  A.  E.  Veale  and  G.  L.  Ackworth  (Hono- 
rary Secretary);  also  as  visitor  of  the  Hon'ble  V.  ]7. 
Wilbraham.  The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were 
taken  as  read. 
Cei/Ion  Import  Didicx  on  Tea.— The  Honorary  Se- 
cretary said ; — Mr.  Chairman,  you  will  have  noticed 
in  the  last  leading  article  of  the  Modrax  Mail  on  the 
proceedings  of  the  H.  T‘.  A.  S.  I.,  that  my  speech  on 
this  subject  was  referred  to  and  the  writer  of  the 
article  denv.inded  wliat  it  was  tb.c  planiers  of  Southern 
India  required.  I regix-t  that  my  speech  was  not  ver-y 
accurately  reported,  but  I am  glad  of  this  opportunity 
of  stating  again  publicly,  that  whu.t  we  want  is,  that 
the  Ceylon  Tea  Import  Duty  should  be  placed  on  the 
same  basis  as  that  of  India,  so  far  as  Indian  teas  are 
concerned.  At  present  the  Ceylon  duty  is  about  oO 
per  cent  ail  valorem,  whilst  that  of  India  is  only  Ci 
per  cent.  Ceylon  teas  are  therefore  admitted  into 
India  practically  free,  whilst  an  absolutely  prohibitive 
dvty  is  placed  on  our  te.as  in  Ceylon.  This  is  not 
only  unjust  but  unstatesmanlike,  as  the  two  countries, 
whose  interests  are  identically  the  same,  ought  to 
lun  hand  in  hand.  We  have  no  wish  to  relieve 
t'bina  of  any  other  inferior  teas,  but  our  teas  are  as 
good  as  those  of  Coylon,  and  ought  to  be  treated  on 
the  sanif  footing  as  the  latter  are  in  India. 
VARIOUS  PLANTING  NOTES. 
The  Col  TEE  Estate  of  Me.ssrs.  Ilanisey  ami 
Harrisoii  at  Singgora  is  said  to  he  promising  very 
well.  Several  hundreils  of  acres  of  very  rich  soil 
are  under  cultiv.ation  and  the  only  diflicnlty  the 
proi>rictors  have  to  contend  with  is  that  of  oh- 
t-dnino  hihour.  — I’icss. 
“ TnoiMCAL  roT.ONisATioN.”— Under  this  head- 
iii«-  we  -dve  an  article  of  lascinatiiig  intere.st 
from  ihcT  l^'/n'rialor.  S)iecial  mention  is  made  of 
(‘oylon  in  most  Mattering  terms  .as  to  heauty 
of  scenery,  richness  of  vegetation,  miodness  of 
climate;  hut  m'c  agree  wdtli  the  editor  r.ather 
than  with  Mr.  Boyle  as  to  the  mam  (|ue.sticii  in 
dispute;  .and  there  is  in  this  island,  the  e.xiieri- 
eiice  of  a century  of  British  occupation  .and  sixty 
years  of  jilanting  settlement  to  point  to,  111  sup- 
port of  the  8pectat(ji’s  argument. 
ODDS  AND  ENDS. 
{From  an  Kx-ltniajaUa  rianter.) 
THE  TEA  BOOM. 
T’he  name  of  Ceylon  no  longer  stinks  in  the  nostrils 
of  city  men  and  speculators,  and  the  one  thing  that 
all  and  sundry'  long  for  is  the  possession  of  some 
shares  in  the  big  dividend-paying  tea  companies, 
such  as  Yatiyaiitoca,  Yataderia,  We-oya  Ac.  Ac.  and 
now  tile  much  abused  Castiereagh  Company  and 
Clunes  Limited  have  come  witli  a rush  and  intend 
paying  handsome  dividends,  like  the  rest.  Those 
shareholders,  who,  putting  no  faith  in  Mr.  L.  H. 
Kelly,  sold  out  at  Rt55  must  feel  a trifle  sick  when 
they  see  Castlereaghs  quoted  at  R140,  while,  I can 
fancy',  a benign  smile  playing  around  the  chiselled 
features  of  L.  H.  K.  Although  rejoicing  at  the  suc- 
cess of  the  Ceylou  Planters,  I wou'd  fain  utter  a 
word  of  warning,  and  would  advise  them  strongly 
not  to  put  too  niucli  faith  in  tea,  but  to  keep  some 
other  irons  in  the  fire.  In  Cacao  for  instance  there 
is  likely  to  be  a boom  since  the  interesting  test  was 
made  recently'  by  a French  woman,  who,  with  a 
view  of  testing  the  sn-itainiiig  powoiS  of  chocolate, 
lived  upon  tliat  abme  for  (U)  days,  and  lost  only  15 
lb.  ill  the  iiitoival.  In  tliese  depressed  times,  to  be 
able  to  li\e  f r two  months  on  choculate  alone  is  a 
policy  likeiy  to  be  adopted  by  the  lliiifly,  and  so 
cueo.i  will  be  ill  deiiimid.  Planters,  who  aie  drawing 
big  dividends  from  their  tea  share.-i,  should  also 
reiiieiiiber  that  tea  can  be  grown  in  aliuo.st  any 
country,  the  latest  to  enter  the  lists  being  Russia, 
where  '.hey  are  growing  magnificent  tea  on  the  Cau- 
casus, one  planter  there  having  received  a firm  offer 
of  20,000  roubles  for  his  next  season’s  crop.  In 
New  Zealand,  Australia  and  the  Cape  tea  grows 
w'ell,  the  only  advantage  Ceylon  has  against  these 
countries  being  cheap  labor  and  continuous  flushing, 
and  this  bring.s  to  mo  the  suliject  of  the 
TITNIUI-MANIA. 
W’hat  lias  gone  wrong  with  it  ? In  the  days  of  King 
coffee  there  was  no  trouble  about  tnndus,  one  plan- 
ter never  dreamt  of  taking  a mean  advantage  ol  an- 
other, so  why  do  they  do  so  now '!  The  correspon- 
dence on  this  subject,  whicli  appeared  in  the  Ohserrer, 
was  exceedingly  silly,  and  the  stiqiidity  of  it  reached 
a climax  wh  m a “Buchan  lioon ’’  rushed  into  print 
with  his  experience,  whicli  he  had,  no  doubt  acquired 
in  the  Bog  of  Ardallie,  or  some  other  festive  spot 
in  Buchan.  He  modestly  admits  that  conceit  is 
characteristic  of  his  native  wilds;  an  undoubted  fact, 
for,  sometime  ago,  I pointed  out,  in  these  notes, 
that  another  Buchan  Loon,  Mr.  Marr,  had  been 
lecturing,  in  Scotland,  on  Ceylon,  he  having  spent  a 
fortnight  in  your  island,  and  his  knowledge  of  the 
palm-fringed  isle  having  been  acquired  amongst  the 
Clydesdale  horses  of  Cairnbrogie.  The  labour  ques- 
tion .apeared  to  me  to  have  been  threshed  out  by 
Mr.  E.  .7.  Young  in  his  pamphlet  on  Indian  labour 
fields:  why  don’t  the  planters  read  that?  They  were 
willii  g to  pay  Mr.  Young  for  going  to  India  on  their 
account,  and  yet  they  don't  seem  disposed  to  read 
wliat  he  has  to  say  on  the  matter. 
'J'l'.A-TOXEU. 
— A new  tablet  just  brought  out  in  London  is 
finding  a place  on  ihe  tea  tray.  It  is  a tea-toning 
lozenge,  which  is  dropped  into  an  inlu-iion  of  tea  and 
acts  as  a solvent  to  the  tannin  never  absent  from 
even  the  most  delicately  lirew'ed  of  this  beverage, 
its  component  parts  are  gelatine  and  alkaline  salts, 
and  its  alleged  office  is  the  neutralising  of  any  in- 
jurious digestive  effect  of  the  cup  which  “ cheers  ’ 
— indeed  at  ihe  moment  ot  drinking,  but  often  chides 
bitterly  afterwards. 
women  A'l'Il  CAItKUESSNKSS. 
Mr.  Mackwood’s  allowance  for  moderate  careless- 
ness in  the  tea  factory  seems  a peculiar  idea,  and 
would  be  all  very  well,  for  us  home  buyers  of  your 
tea,  it  the  carelessness  took  the  form  of  putting  too 
much  into  the  chest,  and  not,  everlastingly,  too 
little.  Tennis  has  a groat  deal  to  answer  for,  but 
short  weight  in  the  tea  chests  is  certainly  a very 
reprehensible  thing  to  lay  to  its  charge. 
