486 
the  tropical  agriculturist. 
[Jak.  I,  i8q6. 
“ The  Treatment  of  Tea  in  the  London 
Warehouse.” — Under  this  heatUn}.;  we  publish 
elsewhere  a letter  from  Messrs.  Davidson  & Co. 
which  contains  good  news  for  planters  in  regard 
to  the  treatment  of  their  tea  in  re-packing  in 
the  London  Warehouse.  The  example  has  been 
set  by  Messrs.  Wrightson  & Co.  of  the  Trinity 
Bonded  Tea  M'^arehouses  of  securing  a complete 
outfit  of  Messrs.  Da\’idson’s  Tea-packers  to  do 
all  their  re-packing  work,  and  we  have  no  doubt 
that  otlier  firms  will  soon  follow,  so  tliat.  as 
the  letter  remarks,  “there  is  every  prospect  of 
the  objectionable  ‘ treading  in  ’ process  being 
entirely  abolisherl  in  the  near  future.” 
Ceylon  Tea  in  America.— Our  Tea  Com- 
missioner to  America  in  the  course  of  a letter 
to  us  remarks: — “I  see  you  lately  said  I was 
subsidising  favorite  firms.  You  are  right,  but 
not  as  you  mean  it ; favorite,  because  willing, 
in  consideration  of  a little  assistance  to  handle 
our  teas,  and  use  their  organization  to  push  them.” 
We  meant  the  term  in  no  other  sense  : certain 
firms  had  got  at  the  Coinn)issioner  or  he  had 
got  at  them.  There  are,  no  doubt,  scores  more 
in  the  United  States  willing  to  do  the  same, 
who  never  got  the  chance  or  heard  of  the  ar- 
rangement. The  fair  thing  all  round  is  to  adver- 
tise in  the  interests  of  all,  and  ive  were  much 
struck  the  other  day  with  the  reimark  of  a Colombo 
merchant  (Mr.  A.  Forsyth)  as  the  result  of  his 
observation  during  a recent  visit  to  America, 
namely  that  the  one  thing  to  do  in  the  United 
States  for  Ceylon  tea  is — to  advertise..  This  bears  out 
our  own  advice  from  the  very  beginning,,  and  we 
are  glad  to  recognise  liow  much  Mr.  Miickenzie 
lias  done  .'vid  is  doing  in  this  direction. 
Indian  Pea.sant  Settlements.— We  are  in 
receipt  of  a memorandum  containing  the  brief 
outline  of  a scheme  which  “ General  ” Booth  pro- 
?08es  to  launch  during  his  approaching  visit  to 
ndia>.  He  [Mroposes  to  ask  Government  and 
the.  Native  States  for  say  50^000  acres  of  land 
in  suitable  blocks  free  of  taxes  for  five  years. 
On  this  land  it  is  calculated  that  10,000  fami- 
lies (or  50,000  people  including  children)  can 
be  settled,  but  it  is  proposed  to  begin  with 
only  half  that  number.  The  capital  expenditui’e 
required  for  commencing  operations,  breaking  up 
the  landv  .sinking  wells,  Imilding  houses,  buying 
ca,ttle  and  .settling  first  colonists  is  estimated  to 
be  about  £50,00U  which  it  is  proposed  to  raise 
in  donations,  in  loans  from  private  sources  and 
bearing  interest  aA  ,3  pec  cent  and  repayable 
witliin  a given  term  of  years,  and  in  loans  fruai 
Government  under  the  Takkari  or  agricultural 
loan  law.  Connecte<l  with  each  colony  there 
will  be  an  agency  for  acquiring  waste  land  near 
the  over-populated  towns  and  villages.  These 
tracts,  it  is  said,  will  be  cultivated  by  means  of 
thedabour  of  the  adjoining  villagers,  thus  saving 
all  preliminary  outlay  for  houses,  wells,  support 
of  colonists  I'^c.  It  is  also  ])roposed  to  establish 
an  agency,  for  making  loans  on  easy  terms  as 
the  go-l>etween  for  Government  in  obtaining 
loans  for  the  depre.ssed  classes  under  the  T.akkari 
law,  as  tire  agents  for  banks  and  others  desirous 
of  investing  in  this  way  at  a fair  rate  of  inter- 
est, and  on  the  co-operative  village  loan  system. 
Another  jnosposal  to  establish  agricultural  schools 
in  course  of  time.  This,  in  brief,  is  the  scheme 
which  the  “General”  proposes  to  launch  upon 
us.  It  look.s  well  on  ]iaper  and  has,  we  believe, 
been  “ genonilly  apju'oved  ” by  leading  English 
ollicials  and  others,  hut  our  own  o])inion  is  that 
the  Salvation  Army  have  not  qualified  to  un- 
dertake Indian  Atlministration  in  this  way  or 
to  do  better  for  the  people  than  the  Government 
docs. 
Indian  Tea  in  America.— The  Indian  Plan- 
ters' Gazette  publishes  extracts  (which  we  will 
reproduce  later  on)  from  a letter  by  Mr. 
Blechynden  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Indian  Tea 
Association  in  u hich  he  mentions  the  success 
which  had  attended  an  arrangement  he  had  tried 
to  make  with  grocers  to  use  cards  for  distribution 
and  getting  them  to  give  a reduction  on  the  tea 
purchased  Avithin  fixed  dates  by  those  presenting 
the  cards.  The  arrangement  wae  caiTied  out  with 
several  men — in  all  some  54  stwes  covering  New 
York,  Brooklyn,  and  a few  in  Jersey  City.  He 
also  refers  to  co-operation  between  Mr.  Mackenzie 
and  himself. 
The  Kelani  Valley  Tea  E.stimate.- Mr 
Coles,  the  Honorary  Secretary  of  the  Kelani 
Valley  Planters’  A.ssociation,  has  kindly  supplied 
us  with  the  following  correcterl  figures  of  the 
estimated  crop  for  1896  as  compared  with  1895  : — 
Yield.  Acreage. 
1895  . . 9,942,000  lb.  23,188 
1896  ..  11,715,000  „ 26,606 
Increaise  . . 1 ,773,000  lb.  3,418 
Yield  per  acre  ie  .530  lb. 
The  District  shows  an  addition  of  3,400  acres  of 
tea  for  1896. 
Planting  in  Uva.— This  has  been  a very  bad 
season  for  planting  in  Uva  to  judge  by  the 
following  from  a Haputale  planter  : — 
“Your  correspondent  from  Bandara.wela  was  about 
right  the  other  day  when  he  said  that  a good  deal 
of  this  season’s  planting  would  have  to  be  replanted 
again.  October  planting — those  who  were  lucky  enough 
to  get  their  planting  done  then  will  be  all  right. 
Plantings  since  then  have  been  most  disappointing — a 
couple  of  sliowery  days  and  then  ten  scorching  hot  ones. 
Christmas  usually  can  be  depended  upon  for  some 
rain.  Today  has  blown  a hot,  dry,  strong  wind  all 
day,  and  no  indication  of  the  much-needed  rain. 
Truly  we  are  in  one  of  the  late  R B.T.’s  dry  cycles.” 
Dr.  Morris,  c.m.g.,of  Kew. — This  mail  brings 
us  a letter  from  Dr.  Morris  in  which  he  men- 
tions: — “I  am  just  off  for  a winter  trip  to  the 
Bahamasi,  to  look  up  things  there.”  We  are 
sure  to  have  an  interesting  paper  on  these  islands 
as  the  result  of  this  trip,  similar  to  tliat  written 
about  tlie  Canary  Islands.  Dr.  Morris,  in  asking 
for  .some  missing  numbers  of  this  journal  is  good 
enough  to  say  : — 
“ I rind  on  looking  over  my  file  of  the  Tropical 
Agriculturist  that  I am  wanting  the  monthly  parts 
for  July  and  August  1895.  Ae  I have  a complete 
set  of  this  interesting  and  valuable  work  from  the 
beginning  I would  esteem  it  a great  favour  if  you 
would  kindly  send  me  the  parts  above  mentioned.” 
In  the  Gardeners'  Chrotivcle  we  find  the  follow- 
ing notice  of  Dr.  Morris’  last  course  of  jiajicrs 
now  pubislied  as  a volume  :— 
Vegetable  Fibres. — Dr.  Morris’s  lectures  on  this 
subject  before  the  Society  of  Arts  have  now  been 
republished  in  a complete  form,  and  may  be  had 
from  the  Society  of  Arts,  Adelphi,  London.  They 
present  within  small  compass  a readable  account  of 
the  nature,  properties  and  source  of  vegetable  fibres 
generally.  On  looking  through  this  excellent  sum- 
mary, the  reader  will  be  struck  with  the  small  num- 
ber of  species  which  have,  up  to  the  present  time, 
been  utilised.  This  is  the  more  astonishing,  as  the 
great  majority  of  plants  yield  fibre  in  some  form  or 
another.  Is  thei-e  not  here  an  opportunity  for  our 
botanical  stations  to  institute,  on  a far  larger  scale 
than  they  have  hitherto  done,  comparative  trials  of 
various  fibre-produciog  plants,  in  order  to  ascertain 
which  aj'e  of  the  most  commeroiiU  im{>ortance.  In 
the  mean  time  we  commend  the  present  publication 
to  the  notice  of  all  ooncorned. 
Ceylon  is  a paratlise  for  libruus  plants,  and  imicli 
could  be  ilone  in  developing  tra<le  and  in  culti- 
vating tlie  best  kinils,  if  “tea,”  “cacao”  and 
palms”  did  not  absorb  capital  and  enterprise 
so  completely. 
