540 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Feb.  I,  1896. 
that  Ceylon  has  a ch.armetl  sound  in  the  ears 
of  our,  at  present,  bellicose  cousins,  Ceylon  tea. 
Mr  Scovell  stating  as  the  result  of  his  exjie- 
rience,  being  much  oftener  spoken  of  than  Indian 
tea.  The  feeling  that  the  Chicago  big  show 
h.ad  not  commensurate  results  was,  he  thinks, 
due  to  the  hope  of  reaping  too  soon  what  was 
sown.  Very  often  in  America  he  had  Yankees 
say  to  him  “Ah  ! I remember  the  tea  I had  at 
Chicago.”  Canada,  he  thinks,  will  prove  a 
better  outlet  than  the  States.  In  San 
Fransisco  where  they  go  in  for  afternoon 
teas  “same  as  the  English  do,”  there  is  a 
growing  demand.  The  fruit-growing  district  in 
Caleforni.a  was  visited  by  Mr.  Scovell.  Oranges 
and  lemons  seemed  to  pay  and  for  ther  cultiva- 
tion land  was  in  demand  in  the  Lake  Tulare 
district.  Pi'unes,  apricots  and  other  kinds  of  fruits 
were  less  profitable;  and  from  the  fact  that  gardens 
could  be  acquired  ,at  seven  yeai's’  purcliase,  there 
did  not  seem  to  be  much  confidence  in  their 
future.  From  San  Fransi.sco,  Mr.  Scovell  went  on 
to  Yokohama  after  a twenty  ilays  jiassage,  pro- 
tracted three  days’  beyond  its  normal  e.xtent 
by  heavy  we.ather.  lie  visited  the  tea 
plantations  at  Uji,  where  is  grown  the 
most  highly  flavoured  tea  in  Japan  at  the  best 
a poor  article,  China  tea  of  the  worst  jat.  The 
methods  of  cultivation  are  the  most  primitive,  and 
as  far  as  tea-making  is  concerned,  charcoal  stoves 
and  hand-rolling  and  sorting  are  resorted  to.  At 
Yokoh.ama  he  saw  in  operation  the  “ f.aking  ” 
process  for  giving  the  leaf  that  appearance 
which  American  connoisseurs  delight  in.  Sp.aee 
forbids  us  publishing  more  of  the  information 
gathered  by  Mr  Scovell  in  the  course  of  his 
tour.  We  welcome  him  back  to  Ceylon! 
SUGAR-CANE  CULTIVATION. 
Oar  Galle  correspondent  writes: — I think  there  is 
a great  deal  to  be  said  in  favor  of  Mr  James 
Dixon’s  contention  that  Sugar-cane  can  be  suceess- 
fully  cultivated  in  the  lowcountry.  Of  late  years 
several  Sinhalese  land-owners  in  Gangaboda  Pattu 
have  gone  in  for  this  cultivation  and  have  established 
mills  for  sugar  manufacture.  E.  A.  Jayasinha 
Mudaliyar  has  120  acres  fully  planted  at  Nagoda  with 
a factory  and  all  modern  appliances  for  sugar  infilling. 
His  sugars  are  well-known  in  the  markets.  In  audi- 
tion to  this  and  Messrs.  Winter’s  estates  there  are 
a good  many  gardens  with  mills,  whose  proprietors 
appear  to  do  a thriving  business.  When  Sir  Arthur 
Havelock  visited  Baddegama  the  return  trip  was 
made  in  the  Nagoda  Mudaliyar’s  boat  to  Wakwella ; 
and  His  Excellency  was  much  pleaced  to  view  the 
largo  acreage  under  cane  cultivation.  Mr.  Dixon  s 
interesting  letter  is  deserving  of  attention  on  the 
part  of  agriculturists  and  others  seeking  new 
investments  for  their  capital. 
PLANTING  AND  PRODUCE. 
Tea  Packing  in  Tin  Pi. ate. —The  controversy  on 
this  subiect  is  carried  on  with  considerable  vigour  m 
Swansea,  and  the  local  and  trade  papers  discuss  the 
BnUiect  A grocer  in  Swansea  raises  an  objection  to 
thenacking  of  tea  in  tinplates.  “It  will  never  do,’’ 
sivs^ho  “You  know  that  hay  when  stacked  often 
caLes  sufficient  heat  to  cause  a blaze.  Well,  unless 
aZe  outlet  for  the  damp  contained  111  tea  is  provided  it 
nil  ao  wrong.  Of  course  the  air  cannot  get  to  it  to 
Bl™r.offidS,Ljgen  lor  a bul  the  re.olt  ,v,t , 
air-tight  tin  boxes  will  be  that  the  tea  will  get  heated, 
then  mildewed,  and  spoilt.  Under  the  present  ar- 
rangement the  lead  foil  lining  of  he  wooden  boxes, 
not  being  hermetically  sealed,  allows  the  hot  au- 
to get  away  through  the  wood,  and  the  tea  ar- 
r^fhere  quite  sound  and  who  esome.  It  is  my 
firm  belief  that  it  would  not  do  so  were  it  to 
be  packed  in  sealed  tin  boxes.  Then,  again,  there 
is  an  extensive  lead  industry  in  China,  and  the 
people  there  will  be  sure  to  protest  against  the  dis- 
ccutiiiuance  of  the  use  of  lead  foil.”  In  an  inter- 
view which  a Llanelly  correspondent  has  had  with 
Mr.  Frank  Randell  in  reference  to  the  question  of 
tea  packing  in  tin  plate,  and  the  objection  thus 
raised,  that  gentleman  said  that  if  experts  decided 
against  the  box  being  hermetically  sealed  the  chests 
could  be  so  made  as  to  provide  the  required  venti- 
lation. The  objection  was  no  objection  at  all.  As 
to  China  protesting  against  the  change  in  the  in- 
terests of  the  Chinese  lead  industry,  he  admitted 
that  China  would  not  come  within  the  scope  of 
the  change  until  the  advantages  of  the  new 
packing  had  been  made  abundantly  manifest. 
As  to  the  suitability  of  the  packing,  this  was 
conclusively  proved  by  the  enormously  increased 
demand  for  metal  chests  for  tea  packing.  In 
point  of  fact  the  tea  even  in  the  inside  lead 
cases  of  the  chests  now  chiefly  in  vogue  was  herme- 
tically sealed  up ; but,  for  himself,  he  held  an  open 
mind.  The  objection  raised,  however,  was  completely 
answered  by  the  fact  that  the  tin  plate  cheat  could 
be  easily  ventilated  as  a wooden  box.  In  the  whole 
of  his  experience  he  had  not  found  that  the  tea  grew 
mildewed  through  the  box  having  been  hermetically 
scaled.  In  his  opinion  such  conditions  of  packing 
were  a safe  guarantee  against  mildew.  It  was  an 
admitted  fact  that  the  2 per  cent  of  the  metal 
chests  in  which  tea  was  now  brought  over  was  ap- 
proved of  by  the  planters  and  traders,  and  there 
was  no  reason  why,  in  the  interest  of  the  South 
Wales  tin  plate  trade,  they  should  not  en- 
deavour to  capture  the  remaining  98  per  cent.  An 
official  of  the  Government  Railways  in  Ceylon  waited 
upon  Mr.  W.  H.  Ludford,  the  district  manager  of 
the  Great  Western  Railway,  at  Llanelly  a day  or  two 
ago,  and  asked  to  be  supplied  with  full  particulars  of  the 
new  method  of  tea  packing.  He  is  reported  to  have 
said  that  as  the  industry  of  tea  planting  was  so 
rapidly  growing  in  Ceylon,  the  matter  of  adopting 
new  methods  of  packing  was  of  first  importance,  es- 
pecially in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  present  wooden 
boxes  were  open  to  so  grave  an  objection  through 
being  smashed  in  transit.  He  considered  therefore 
that  there  was  a great  future  for  metal  chests. 
Coffee  in  Mexico. — According  to  Mr.  J.  L.  Pernet, 
of  Orizaba,  a well-known  authority  on  coffee  esti- 
mates, Mexico’s  crop  this  year  will  be  only  300,000 
centals,  or  fully  50,000  centals  less  than  last  year. 
The  shortage  is  said  to  be  due  to  the  severity  of 
last  winter,  to  the  lateness  of  the  rainy  season,  and 
to  the  over-crowding  of  trees.  It  is  still  asserted, 
however,  that,  with  little  more  experience,  coffee 
planters  in  Mexico  will  become  serious  competitors 
with  Brazil. — 11.  and  C.  Mail,  Jan.  3. 
THE  TEA  DUTY  IN  AUSTRALIA. 
Referring  to  the  discursive  debates  on  the  new  tariff 
in  the  assembly  at  Victoria  and  the  resolution  to  retain 
the  duty  on  tea,  the  Si/dney  Herald  contrasts  the  policy 
of  the  Victorians  on  this  matter  as  compared  with 
New  South  Wales.  It  says:  “During  the  debates  in 
the  Assembly  a motion  had  been  tabled  for  reducing 
the  duty  from  3d  per  lb  as  at  present,  to  25  per  cent 
ad  valorem,  the  intention  being  to  reduce  the  cost 
to  the  consumer  of  low  qualities  of  tea.  The  pro- 
poser withdrew  his  motion  when  it  was  reached,  but 
another  member  W'as  ready  to  champion  a more 
drastic  reduction  still,  and  invited  the  committee  to 
include  tea  amongst  the  articles  altogelhor  exemp- 
ted from  payment  of  duty.  He  based  his  proposition 
upon  the  too  familiar  claim  of  ‘ a free  breakfast 
table,’  and  Mr.  Best,  in  replying  for  the  Ministry, 
admitted  that  ho  had  some  sympathy  with  the  policy 
of  reducing  the  taxation  upon  an  article  in  sucli 
general  use.  But  the  state  of  the  finances  did  not  en- 
courage him  at  present  to  surrender  a revenue  of  about 
£100,000  yearly.  Should  the  public  accounts  pre- 
sent a favourable  aspect  later  in  the  financial  year, 
he  might  he  witling  to  consider  how  a reduction 
could  be  made,  but  he  asked  the  House  to  re- 
flect on  what  the  effect  would  bo  in  England 
