352 
the  tropical  agriculturist. 
[Nov.  I,  1895. 
New  Tea  Estatr.s  Companie.s.— We  learn 
that  the  valuable  tea  properties — Chrystler’s 
Farm,  Jtimhula,  and  (ilenorehy,  New  (lalway— 
connected  witli  the  estate  of  the  late  ]\Ir.  Jolin 
Martin  are  to  hetornied  into  a Limited  Company 
for  wlddi  Mes.si’s.  Lewis  Lrown  I'c  Co.  will  he 
the  local  agents,  and  iJessrs.  Lyall  Amlersontlv 
Co.  the  London  Agents  and  Secretaries.  The 
shares  \vi  11  probably  betaken  nj)by  the  heirs  and 
others  interested.  A Comjiany  with  such  line 
jiroperties  should  have  a good  name,  let  us  sug- 
gest: “The  Hiohland.s  Tea  F.state.s  Co.  of 
Ceylon”! — Another  first-class  Company  will  be 
“The  Nuwaua  Kliva  Disti.’ict  Tea  Co.” — to 
include  Tommagong  ai  d Coiicordi.a  estates,  both 
purchased  by  ]\ir.  Megginson  for  this  Company 
at  handsome  prices. — A third  Company  on  the 
tapis  is  said  to  be  “The  UuANWHtLLA  E.sta'1'E.s  Co.” 
Austrai-IAN  Timheh  —It  has  for  years  bei  a as 
pleasant  duty  to  record  any  endeavour  to  popuhoine 
the  use  of  Austr.xlian  word  in  this  country,  whether  for- 
paving  or  upholstering  purposes.  Gradually  the  Eu 
calyptus  and  other  large  timber  troe.s  have  become  po- 
pularly known,  if  not  as  popularly  used.  Today  our 
vehicular  traffic  is  carried  oh  over  roads  coustructed 
of  wood  from  tho  Antipodes,  and  promise  is  not 
wanting  iliat  New  Zealand  and  Australian  timbers 
will  soon  obtain  higher  rank.  The  Manchester  Ship 
Canal  Company,  we  believe,  are  endeavouring  to  make 
a market  hero  for  tho  wood  noticed ; they  have 
brought,  and  continue  to  bring,  to  Manchester  what 
may  be  looked  upon  as  pioneer  cargos  for  that  sec- 
tion of  the  industrial  world.  'The  venture,  we  have 
been  informed,  has  so  far  been  successful,  find  there 
is  no  doubt  that,  wlieu  the  cspacity  of  ihe  Eu- 
calyptus is  better  known,  it  will  enter  in  successful 
competition  with  most  kinds  of  timber  now  on  the 
market. — Gardenem'  Chronicle.. 
LaBUUU  C.V.SES  IN  COUUT  AND  OUU  LABOUR 
1..AWS — are  evidently  going  to  attr.act  a good 
deal  of  attention  as  iin  appeal  case  elsewhere 
indicates.  'I'liis  magistrate  who  .succeeds  Mr. 
Northmore  in  his  responsible  post  must  certainly 
be  one  well  uj)  to  bis  work  under  the  Labour 
Ordinance.  In  tliis  connection  we  tUrect  atten- 
tion to  tbe  notice  of  motion  given  by  Mr. 
liobinson  for  tbe  next  meeting  of  tlie  Pussai-fi 
Association.  M^e  know  there  is  a strong  feeling 
rising  all  over  tbe  country  and  especially  among 
Visiting  Agents  in  favour  of  “ monthly  pay- 
ments.” One  old  planter  writing  on  the  subject 
says  : — 
“ It  strikes  really  at  the  power  at  pre.sent  in  the 
hands  of  the  chetties  and  kanganie;.” 
And  there  are  many  more  thougldfnl  men  who 
consider  that  to  make  monthly  payments  com- 
pulsory will  be  of  the  greatest  benelit  both  to 
planters  and  coolies. 
A Coconut  Tree  on  Fibe.— With  reference 
to  the  paragraph  in  a late  Observer,  a itlanting 
correspondent  writes  : — “ Can  the  exjilanation  of 
spontaneous  combustion  stand,  in  the  case  of 
a healthy  coconut  tree,  with  a large  head  and 
full  croj)  of  fruits,  wliicb  is  found  to  be  on  lire? 
I me, an  i.s  it  likely  on  scientific  grounds.  Is  it 
not  more  likely  that  the  bead  of  tlie  tree  was  set 
on  tire  by  a meteorite  dropping  between  the 
br.uiches  which  are  enswathed  in  an  inllamma- 
ble  fibrous  substance  ? I have  known  healthy 
trees  snufl’eil  out  by  tlie  decay  of  tlie  unopened 
leaf,  but  maintaining  their  vitality  until  the 
leaves  die  out  one  by  one  downwards  ; and  I 
have  never  been  able  to  detect  any  disease  or 
insect  jiest.  lint,  j>er  I liave  never  .seen 
a tree  allame,  though  I have  accepted  the  Sin- 
li.alese  explanation  of  tharnlca,  or  meteoiite,  as 
the  cause  of  the  insidious  ilefunction.  Is  it 
sciontilic.”  What  about  lightning  .setting  lliepalm 
on  lire? 
The  Sambur;  From  a Pi.axter'.s  Poixt  of  View. — 
If  you  cut  a dee])  ditch  and  put  a 4 ft.  fence  all 
round  your  garden,  he  will  jump  it.  Even  barbed 
wire  will  not  stop  him,  for  he  will  squeeze  through 
somehow  and  leave  some  of  his  back  hair  on  the 
barb  for  you  to  see  in  the  morning.  No  young  plant 
seems  to  be  safe  from  his  devastations.  He  treats 
my  blue  gums  the  same  as  he  does  my  cinchonas, 
and  he  eats  uj)  the  young  shoots  of  pomnieloes,  citrons, 
mangoes  and  other  trees  when  Ire  gets  a chance. 
Neither  will  we  leave  Orevillea  Ilohasla,  or  coffee 
alone.  Tea  he  trampliis  upon  and  breaks  the  branches 
of  the  plants.  A young  plantation  is  evidently  his 
favourite  playground,  where  high  jinks  appe -a-  to  be 
carried  on  during  the  night  time. — Plutitimj  Oiiinion. 
Honour  TO  AN  kn-Ceveon  1'lanter  i\  Fur.— 
E’sewliere  will  he  found  \ery  intere.sting  ju-o- 
ceedings  from  the  P'iji  Times,  in  connection 
with  a farewell  dinner  to  Mr.  A..I.  Steplien.s 
— eldest  .son  of  tbe  Fatri.arcb  of  Dolosbage — and 
liim.self  well  and  favourably  known  here.  We 
take  over  a great  deal  more  of  the  proceedings 
than  we  usually  do  in  such  ca,se.s,  becau.se  tlie 
several  speeches  reveal  to  us  tlie  present  con- 
dition and  prospects  of  planting  111  the  Fiji 
islands  far  better  than  even  a special  report 
would.  Perhaps  after-dinner  speeches — in  vino 
veri  as — have  to  be  credited  with  this  result  ; but 
the  whole  proceedings  aft'ord  very  interesting  read- 
ing esjiecially  to  Mr.  Stephen's’  many  planting 
friends  in  Ceylon. 
The  Dayidson-Maouire  Tea  Packer.— Messrs. 
Davidson  and  Co.,  of  Belfast,  have  always  shown 
enterprise  in  advertising,  and  they  occupy  with  their 
announcements  several  additional  pages  inthei/owe 
(t  Colonial  Mail  of  September  27th.  In  addition  to 
this,  the  journal  itself  has  a two-pige  illustrated 
article  descriptive  of  the  advantages  of  Davidson  s 
Improved  Patent  Electric  Portable  (Davidson-Maguire) 
Tea  Packer,  for  use  in  London  tea  warehouses.  Mr. 
Davidson,  in  December  last,  exk  bited  his  tea  packer 
as  then  an-anged.  but  now  it  has  appeared  in  a por- 
table form — no  longer  bolted  to  the  floor  of  the  ware- 
house, but  capable  of  being  easily  moved  all  over 
it — and  worked  with  an  electric  motor.  It  is  con- 
sidered possible  that  this  new  design  will  eventually 
supersede  the  present  highly  objectionable  and  des- 
tructive process  of  “ treading  in,”  wlieu  the  refilling 
of  chests  in  the  London  bonded  warehouses  is  neces- 
sary. The  writer  describes  the  opernadt  of  this 
crude  process  as  follows : — 
A layer  of  about  6 in.  or  8 in.  deep  of  tea  is  thrown 
into  the  chest  at  a time,  and  shaken  down  lightly  by 
hand.  A piece  of  cloth  is  thrown  over  the  tea,  upon 
which  the  typical  dock  labourer  then  mounts,  and  with 
his  heavy  hob-nailed  boots  crunches  the  tea  down  as 
hard  as  he  can,  first  with  one  foot  and  then  the  other. 
Naturally  the  haviest  man  gets  it  crushed  down 
soonest ; but  what,  may  we  ask,  are  the  rusults  to 
the  tea  ? Something  to  make  any  planter  or  estate 
proprietor  sick  at  heart,  after  all  the  trouble  and 
care  that  has  been  taken  in  the  assortment  of  his 
teas  into  true  unmixed  grades,  free  from  broken  and 
dust,  for  this  “treading  in”  process  when  applied 
to  any  well-sorted  whole  leaf  tea  so  breaks  it  up 
that,  if  one  of  the  chests  svas  afterwards  re-sorted, 
it  would  likely  show  from  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent 
of  broken  leaf  or  dust,  and  for  this  result  the  tea 
estate  proprietor  (to  add  to  his  sickness  of  heart) 
has  to  pay  2s  6d  to  3s  (Id  per  chest  according  to  the 
size  of  the  package. 
The  new  anaiigement  is  considered  so  thorough 
in  its  working  that,  wh  n the  packing  on  the  estate 
has  been  done  by  its  means,  re-bnlking  in  London 
should  be  quite  unnesaavy.  Consequently  the  sug- 
gestion is  made  that  all  the  chests  of  machine- 
packed  invoices  should  bo  branded  in  small  but  dis- 
tinguisbablo  letteis  wi(l-.  a hot  i.'.Mi  (mi  instru- 
ment for  which  piuipose  iMr.  Davit  . ^ n would  very 
likely  supply  along  with  his  packets)  as  " Factory 
Bulked  and  Machine  Tacked, ” as  on  arrival  in  London 
this  brand  would  soon  bo  recoffuised  amongst  buyers 
as  a “ good  character  ” mark. — Local  “Times.” 
