April  i,  1896.J  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
683 
TEA  IN  AMERICA. 
New  York,  Feb.  12. 
Not withstaudiiig  the  {^eiiera.1  tone  of  business  ciicles 
was  lifted  higher  as  the  result  of  the  bond  sale,  there 
was  110  improvement  in  the  tea  trade.  The  market 
drugs  its  weary  length  along  the  rules  in  buyers 
favour,  except  in  those  grades  which  arc  in  limited 
supply.  There  has  been  a moderate  invoice  trade 
during  the  week,  and  we  have  no  change  to  note  in 
^^Today  at  noon  the  Montgomery  Auction  and  Com- 
mission Company  will  sell  '.),171  packages,  viz.  : 2,570 
half-chests  Moyune,  including  many  desirable  chops  ; 
3 123  half-chests  and  boxes  Pingsuey  ; 2li2  half-cliests 
Japan  ■ 95  half-chests  Japan,  basket-fired  ; 50  half- 
chests Japan  Nibes  ; 1,257  half-chests  and  boxes 
Congou,  including  all  grades;  25  boxes  Scented 
Caper.s  ; 183  packages  India,  Java  and  Ceylon;  l,.)9b 
halt- chests  and  boxes  Formosa,  new  season’s,  includ- 
ing the  celebrated  “ White  Bear”  chops,— Ainemwi 
ilrocer. 
UflDEVELUPEB  AUSITI.ILIAN  INDUSTRIES. 
( Hi/  John  Plummer,  Si/lIuci/,  New  South  ]\  ale.<}.) 
Australia  abounds  with  the  elements  of  successful 
manufacturing  and  other  industries,  which  remain 
at  the  present  moment,  from  various  causes,  m a 
negle-.ted  or  undeveloped  condition,  especially  in  New 
South  Wales,  where  the  surroundings  are  of  an  ex- 
ceptionally favourable  character.  Take,  for  instance, 
the  flower  farming  industry.  Although  the  colony 
has  been  described  as  a floral  paradise,  from  the 
abundance  and  luxuriance  of  its  native  and  cultivated 
flowers,  the  manufacture  of  floral  perfumes  and  es- 
sences is  unknown,  although  experimental  scent  farms 
have  been  established  in  the  adjoining  colony  of 
Victoria.  The  quantity  of  eucalyptus  oil  annually 
exported  from  the  colony  is  insignificant,  yet  the 
rich  abundance  of  the  trees  from  which  it  is  obtained 
should  enable  the  Australian  trade  to  rival  that  of 
Algeria  and  California,  from  whence  the  woidd’s  sup- 
plies are  principally  obtained.  The  abundance  of 
citrus  fruits  may  at  some  future  time  lead  to  the 
establishment  of  manufactories  for  the  preparation 
of  candied  citron,  orange,  and  lemon  peels,  as  weU 
as  of  lemon,  etc.,  oils  and  essences.  The  crystalli- 
zation of  mandarin  oranges  and  the  manufacture  of 
oranc'e  marmalade  are  also  coining  industries;  in 
fact  ° the  latter  has  already  been  initiated  on  a 
limited  scale.  At  present  the  chief  obstacle  to  the 
development  of  the  marmalade  industry  consists  in 
the  absence  of  the  Seville  orange,  which  could  be 
introduced  and  acclimatized  without  difficulty.  The 
nlivp  is  very  sparingly  cultivated,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  the  soil  and  climate  of  New  South  Wales 
are  identical  with  those  ot  the  leading  olive-growing 
countries  of  Europe.  The  castor-oil  plant  grows  lux- 
uriantly in  the  humid  coastal  districts  of  the  colony; 
as  it  does,  indeed,  in  most  tropical  and  sub-tropical 
countries,  and  in  the  regions  bordering  the  Mediter- 
ranean, viz.,  Greece,  Italy,  and  Spain.  Tne  annuM 
consumpMon  of  castor  oil  in  Australasia  is  over  600,000 
trallons,  of  which  130,000  gallons  represent  the  re- 
quirements of  New  South  Wales.  Nearly  the  whole 
cf  the  s ipply  is  derived  from  India ; and  the 
wholesale  price  of  the  oil  in  Sydney  is  about  2s  fid 
per  gallon.  The  initial  cost  of  establishing  the  in- 
dustry would  be  heaviest  in  the  item  of  machinery 
for  expressing  the  oil,  although  th-j  price  of  labour 
would  also  have  to  be  considered  carefully,  as  the 
Calcutta  oil  is  produced  at  a minimum  outl-iy  in  this 
particular.  Flax  cultivation  is  another  neglected 
industry.  As  is  well-known  the  plant  not  only  sup- 
p ies  fin X and  tow  fibre,  but  also  a valuable  seed,  of  the 
greatest  use  as  -a  fodder  for  cattle,  in  the  fo.m  of 
oilcake,  of  which  it  forms  the  chief  ingredient;  also 
for  medicinal  purposes;  and  above  all,  linseed  oil, 
which  fonn.s  the  uase  of  all  paint-mediums.  Cotton- 
seed oil  i.s  imported  to  some  extent,  although  it 
could  be  loo..Uy  obtaiue',  the  cotton  plant  being 
capable  of  easy  cultivation  in  many  places,  indigo 
can  also  be  readily  grown.  There  is  in  the  colony 
a wild  plant,  so  abundant  as  to  be  a pest,  from 
Rfi 
which  it  was  hoped  tinctorial  juice  might  be  obtained  ; 
but  experiments  have  hitherto  proved  unsuc- 
ce.ssful.  The  true  plant  which  supplies  the  indigo  of 
commerce  occurs  wild  in  Queensland,  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  it  should  not  be  acclimatized  in  New 
South  Wales,  experiments  in  this  direction  always 
having  proved  successful.  Hops  are  Imt  little  culti- 
vated in  New  South  Wales,  although  a few  very 
small  crops  are  picked  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Orange.  In  Victoria,  Tasmania,  and  New  Zealand, 
however,  they  arc  successfully  grown,  the  product 
being  but  little,  if  at  all,  inferior  to  the  best  Kentish 
hops.  In  the  opinion  of  experts  the  plant  could  Le 
successfully  grown,  in  New  South  Wales,  which  im- 
ported during  1891  no  less  than  841,938 lb.,  of  hops, 
valued  at  £3(5,010.  Many  other  instances  of  neglected 
industries  might  be  adduced,  but  the  foregoing 
will  suffice  to  show  the  opportunities  allorded  in  New 
South  Wales  to  those  possessing  the  requisite  capital, 
experience,  and  energy. 
- 
THE  INDIAN  TEA  ASSOl’l ATION,  LONDON, 
AND  THE  I'ROPOSED  TAX  ON 
OVERSIDE  DEf.lVERV. 
The  following  letter  has  been  addressed  by  the 
Indian  Tea  Association  tb  the  Secretary  of  the  Lon* 
don  Chamber  of  Commerce,  protesting  against  the 
proposed  tax  on  the  overside  delivery  of  tea  which, 
if  it  became  operative,  would  seriously  interfere  with 
the  customary  transhipment  of  parcels  destined  for 
other  markets  than  those  of  the  United  Kingdom. 
Indian  Tea  Association,  London, 
“ 14,  ,St.  Mary  Axe,  E.C. 
“ February  18,  1896. 
“ Kenric  Murray,  Esq.,  “ Secretary, 
“ London  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
“ Eastcheap,  E.C. 
“ Dear  Sir, — On  the  part  of  the  Indian  Tea  Associa* 
tion  I beg  to  signify  their  desire  to  join  in  the  pre- 
test against  the  proposed  agreement  between  the 
London  and  India  Docks  Joint  Committee  and  ship- 
owners, as  being  greatly  detrimental  to  the  interests 
of  the  Indian  Tea  industry,  and  I beg  to  request  chat 
you  will  be  good  enough  to  notify  this  fact  at  the 
meeting  convened  for  today  to  consider  the  matter. — 
I am,  dear  sir,  yours  faithfully, 
“ (Signed)  Ernest  Tye, 
“ Secretary.” 
—II.  ,0  G-  Mail,  Feb.  28. 
THE  TEA  MARKET, 
early  in  the  week,  commenced  with  a strong 
feeling,  but  closes  with  a quiet,  if  not  dull,  tone 
The  fact  is  the  trade  will  not  buy  forward  to  any 
great  extent  when  the  general  run  of  imports  proves 
so  indifferent  in  quality.  For  any  district  Teas  with 
point  and  character  there  is  real  competition.  On 
the  eve  of  another  season  in  China  there  is  again 
an  opening  to  pick  up  the  lost  trade.  Russia,  how- 
ever, now  holds  the  field,  paying  not  only  prices 
far  in  excess  of  London  quotations,  but  buying  five- 
sixths  of  the  northern  grown  Teas.  Consumption  is 
growing  apace  in  Asiatic  Russia,  the  Siberian  railway 
opening  up  hitherto  inaccessible  regions. — London  and 
China  Express,  Feb.  28. 
♦ 
PL&NTiNG  AND  PRODUCF. 
The  Procedure  at  the  Sale  Room. — The  cor 
respondence  which  we  published  last  week  on  the  sub 
j^“ct  of  the  public  sales  of  tea  ventilates  a matter, 
which  has  forced  itself  upon  the  att-ention  of  the 
trade.  The  growth  of  business  in  India  and  Ceylon 
tea  renders  the  consideration  of  propo.sals  tending 
in  the  direction  of  reform  in  the  procedure  of  the 
sale  room,  a question  of  urgent  importance.  In  our 
columns,  Mr.  D.  F.  Sliillington  called  attention  to  the 
unreasonable  policy  of  crowding  the  entire  offering 
of  Ceylon  tea  into  one  day  s sale  in  each  week,  and 
made  the  suggestion  that  the  week’s  offering  should 
