THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST.  [May  i,  1896. 
TEA  IN  AUSTRALIA. 
A good  business  has  been  done  in  China  tea,  sales 
comprising  l.VJ  half-chests  common  congou,  2,fs50 
haif-chests  panyong  at  4^1  to  5d,  3U0  half-chests 
good  panyong  at  lii  to  did,  800  quarter-ch"sts  buds 
at  od  to  5^  I,  70  quarter-chests  line  buds  at  8d,  209 
quarter-chests  S.O.  pekoe  at  6]d  to  7d,  and  20,)  half- 
chests kooloo.  Ceylons  have  been  in  fiir  demand, 
and  sales  are  reported  of  .oOO  pj.ckagos  at  prices 
ranging  from  did  to  Is.  Of  Indians  90  p.ick  vges  have 
been  sold  at  di^d  to  Sid.  At  the  auction  sale  on 
Tuesday  there  was  a good  demand  for  Ceylon 
teas  at  steady  I'ates.  Out  of  328  chests  aud  dO  half- 
chests offered,  sales  were  made  of  249  chests  and  dO 
half-chests;  pekoe  (123  chests  and  GO  haif-chests)  at 
djd  to  8pl,  and  pekoe  souchong  (126  chests)  at  Gd 
to  7id.  Of  China  tea,  4,G99  packages  were  offered, 
but  bids  in  most  cases  wore  below  reserves,  and  only 
310  half-chests  and  49  quarter-chests  were  sold  at 
4.kd  to  5id  for  good  common  to  medium  panyong, 
d|d  to  7d  for  fiae  panyong,  and  5d  for  buds. — The, 
CEYLON  TEA  IN  AMERICA. 
Copies  of  two  American  paper.s  have  come  to 
hand,  containing  attractive  ailvertisemont.s  of 
Ceylon  tea,  by  Me.ssrs  Lottoinley  & Leling.  One 
says  ; — , , 
Mersure  it — one  teaspoonful  makes  three  cups — it  s 
all  tea — lasts  longer — ^a  pound  moans  more— that’s 
your  interest  more  thitn  ours.  It 's  a delicious  tea, 
you  'd  buy  it  if  it  only  went  half  as  far. 
In  another  we  read  ; — 
Sallow  cheeks- — too  much  coffee  will  make  you 
bilious — try  a change — tea — no,  not  ordinary  tea, 
that  might  be  worse — but  pure  Ceylon  aud  India 
tea — Machine  lo’led,  clean,  delicate. 
VARIOUS  PL.ANTING  NOTES. 
Enemies  ov  Cinchona  in  Ckvi-on. — At  a mcct- 
tiim  of  the  Entomological  Society  on  .March  Id:— 
lVli°J‘hB.  Geen  exhibited  the  eggs  of  some  species  of 
liocustidic  extracted  from  the  str-m  of  a young  chin- 
chona  tree  at  i'unduloya,  Ceylon.  He  said  the 
species  of  the  parent  insect  was  undetermined ; it  was 
possibly  either  a Cymatomera  or  a Cyrtophyllus, 
both  of  which  possess  large  sabre-shaped  ovipositors. 
A slit  half  an  inch  deep  and  more  than  two  inches 
long  had  been  cut  into  the  hard  wood,  in  which  the 
cg-i-s  had  been  symmetrically  deposited,  edge  to 
ed°e  w'ith  the  coloured  part  inwards.  The  greater 
part  of  each  egg  was  of  line  texture,  and  coloured 
ffireen-  but  at 'the  extremity  from  which  the  young 
hisect’ would  make  its  exit  the  egg-sbeU  was  soft, 
plaint,  and  beautifully  reticulated.  The  row  of  li-at- 
tened  green  eggs  l;,ing  side  by  sid.e  resembled  an 
acacia  leaf,  but  as  they  were  concealed  within  the 
stem  the  resemblance  was  apparently  without  motive. 
—The  Alhcmvwn.  f.i 
INSKCT.S  AS  AN  AlD  IN  SUUdKl! V.— UllO  ot  tlic 
most  curious  uses  to  wbicli  imsects  arc  put  was 
related  at  a rceeiit  meeting  of  tlie  Lin  moan  (society 
of  London.  It  was  stated  that  the  ( .reck  barber- 
sur-'eou.s  of  the  Levant  ciniduyed  a large  siiecies 
of  fuit  for  the  of  holding  together  the  eogc.s 
of  an  incised  wound.  'I’lie  ant,  held  with  a pair  ot 
forceps,  opens  its  mandibles  wide,  and  is  bionglit 
near  to  the  cut  being  treated,  so  tliat  it  can  seize 
the  two  edges,  wliiidi  are  held  togetlier  lor  the  pnr- 
, oL  As  soon  as  the  uiifortmiate  ant  has  obtained 
a iirm  grip  of  the  cut,  its  head  is  .severed  fron.  its 
l.r.dv  Mr  Issiguiiis.  ol  wlio  dc.scnbed  the 
operation  to  the  Linmoaii  Society,  sai.l  that  he  bad 
seen  natives  with  si.x  or  .seven  ants  heads  holding 
together  wonmls  in  tlie  cour.se  ot  lieahng.  A 
similar  observation  was  made  some  years  ago  in 
’llraz’l  w'hicli  fact  is  interesting  Irom  an  ctlinologi- 
...ahioint  of  view,  as  showing  the  independent  ex- 
i^imice  of  the  same  custom  in  couiitnos  so  lar  apart 
a.s  Rrazil  and  Asia  Minor. — 1‘ablic  Oi>nuvn. 
The  Uvmenopteuous  Fau.na  of  Ceylon. — At  a 
meeting  of  the  Zoological  Society  on  March : — A 
communication  was  road  from  Lieut. -Col.  C.  T.  Bing- 
ham on  the  hyineiiopterous  fauna  of  Ceylon.  The 
paper  was  founded  mainly  on  tha  collections  made  in 
that  island  by  Col.  Yerbury  and  Mr.  E.  E.  Green, 
and  dealt  only  with  the  Monotroclious  Hymenoptera, 
of  which  335  species  were  recorded.  Of  these  seven 
woi'e  now  described  as  new.  The  author  observed 
that  this  number  was  far  less  than  what  must  actually 
occur  ill  an  island  nith  so  varied  a climate  and  flora. 
Moat  of  the  species,  as  was  to  be  expected,  likewise 
ocoured  in  India. — The  Athenaum. 
Notk  the  CnowTii  of  Uevi-on  Tea.s.— 
The  total  e.ximrt  in  1873  was  but  23  pounds  ; 
in  1883,  l,6(jd,768  pounds;  in  1892,  71,809,4(55 
pounds,  and  in  1894,  8.j,0UU,U0U  pounds.  Atone 
time  the  staple  industry  of  Ceylon  was  coffee, 
and  a grand  coffee,  Lanka,  producetl  by  the  en- 
terprise and  industry  of  the  European  planters, 
cultivated  in  the  mountaion  ranges  of  tlie  in- 
terior at  from  2,500  to  5,000  feet  above  sea  level. 
This  industry  was,  however,  almost  destroyed 
in  tlie  course  ot  a few  years  by  the  ravages  of 
a fungoid  pe.st  kown  as"  “leaf  disea.se,”  and 
tlie  i»lanters  at  once,  witli  the  )>atient  energy 
and  skill  characteristic  of  their  countrymen  in 
Ceylon,  as  elsewhere,  set  to  work  to  plant  their 
lands  with  tea.  Mow  quickly  successfully  this 
done  may  be  gathered  from  the  above  result.s. — 
Grocem  Vritcriun,  March  1(5. 
Tf,.\  C’ompan1[-;,S. — Elsewheie  ive  imblish  tlie  re- 
])orts  of  several  Tea  Companies.  M'ith  regard  to  the 
i’anaival  Company  an  interim  dividend  ot  4 ]ier  cent 
was  paid  in  September  last,  and  one  is  now  recom- 
mended of  (5  )>er  cent,  making  a total  of  10  percent 
for  the  year.  It  is  a satisfactory  feature  of  the 
lialance  slieet  tliat  close  on  to  .TSOO  is  assigned 
for  writing  off  cost  of  new  extensions  and  machi- 
nery comjdeted  during  the  y"ear,  it  having  been 
a common  practice  witli  .some  companies  in  tlie 
past  to  carry  such  expenditure  to  the  capital 
account.  Tlie  estates  embrace  l,U57i  acres,  of 
which  all  but  379.^  are  under  cultivation  with 
tea.  Tlie  new  central  factory  of  the  Company 
is  reported  to  he  well-aih  anced,  and  the  expendi- 
ture upon  it  is  to  be  spread  over  some  two  or 
tliree  seasons.  For  tlie  lialf-year  ending  30th 
June  last  tlie  shareholders  of  the  Rangala  Tea 
Company'  received  an  interim  dividend  at  the 
rate  of  8 jicr  cent  jicr  annum,  and  now  tlie 
directors  recommend  a further  dividend  at  tlie 
.'ame  rate.  Tlie  rejiorts  with  regard  to  the  result 
of  manuring  are  very  eneonragiiig.  The  share- 
holders  in  the  Staiidanl  Company  are  to  lie  con- 
gratulated niion  receiving  a tlii  idend  of  15  per 
cent  for  tlie  past  y'ear  aud  upon  tlie  strong  posi- 
tion of  ihe  concern.  Coll'ce  at  liigh  prices  aiul 
a good  exchange  have  been  important  factors  in 
the  favourable  result,  'i'lie  sliareliolders  in  tlie 
Suny'gama  Company'  have  also  to  be  congratu- 
lated. In  September  last  they  received  an  in- 
teiim  dividend  of  4 ]>er  cent,  and  now  the  direc- 
tors have  recommended  a final  divhlend  ot  8 
per  cent,  tlie  dividend  on  preference  shares  for 
the  half-year  being  at  the  rate  of  (5  per  cent 
))cr  annum,  hi  this  issue  wo  al.so  (luole  a re- 
jiort  of  the  Lamlarapida  Company  meeting  at 
which  a ■ dii  idcml  ot  (5  |)cr  cent  for  the  year 
was  declared.  .\  variely  of  causes  contrilmtcd 
to  a decrease  in  the  amount  of  prolit,  hut  llie 
)n’Ospects  of  tlio  croj)  for  the  present  year  seem 
very'  good.  Tlic  lir.sl-  statutory  mci'tiiig  of  tlic 
Nuwara  IGiya  'I’ca  I’'.s1a(cs  t 'o,'  was  held  on  (he 
251:11  nit.  wlieii  a lull  slatemcnt  was  made  of 
the  po.sitioM  of  the  Com|iany  by  Mr.  C.  A.  ML 
Cameron  who  occupied  the  chair. 
