132 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Aug.  X,  1896 
respond  on  CO. 
4i 
To  the  Editor. 
MANURE  FOR  JAK  TREES. 
Canimbogam  Estate,  Rallai,  N.P.,  June  17. 
Dear  Sir, —Could  you  kiiidly  find  out  for 
nie  through  your  valuahle  pajier  a good  manure 
for  jak  trees. — Yours  truly,  H.  J.  M.  T. 
CEYLON  TEA  IN  CANADA. 
2.5,  Front  St.  East,  Toronto,  June  22. 
Dear  Sir, — In  your  issue  of  May  IGth,  you  pub- 
lish, amongst  the  interesting  list  of  contents,  “Ten 
Thousand  Pounds  of  Tea  for  Canada,’’  and  in  your 
'news  column,  page  491,  are  the  particulars  of  this 
export,  as  a portion  of  the  cargo  shipped  per  steam- 
ship “ City  of  Agra,’’  namely  “ For  Montreal,  Tea, 
■ lO.iiGO  lb.’’  We  presume,  since  you  gave  prominence 
to  this  fact  by  the  headlines  above  quoted,  that  it 
was  intended  that  your  readers  interested  in  the 
export  of  Ceylon  Tea  should  read  with  gratification, 
that  such  a large  amount  as  10,000  lb.  has  been  ex- 
ported on  one  steamer  to  Canada  direct;  but  surely 
instances  of  several  times  this  quantity  being  shipped 
to  Canada  direct  are  taking  jJace  with  almo:.t  every 
opportunity,  of  vessels  leaving  for  Loudon. 
in  proof  of  this,  we  shall  draw  your  attention  to 
the  figures  publislved  in  a circular  issued  by  Messrs. 
Gow.  Wilson  & Stanton,  of  London,  dated  February 
2lst,  in  which  they  report  “ Re-exports  of  Ceylon 
Tea,  United  Kingdom  to  Canada,  1,113,165  lb.  for 
1895  ; as  against  013,817  lb.  for  1892,  . and  Trans- 
shipments United  Kingdom  to  Canada  as  255,408  lb. 
for  1895,  as  against  13,3301b.  for  1892.’’ 
The  direct  exports  Ceylon  to  North  America  are 
given  ns  714,958  lb.  in  1895,  as  against  204,891  lb.  in 
1892,  and  as  Canada  takes  a considerable  portion 
(about  half)  of  such  direct  exports  to  North  America, 
and  as  Canada  is  now  more  than  ever  importing  its 
supply  of  Ceylon  Teas  direct  from  Ceylon,  and  as 
the  business,  under  judicious  advertising,  is  rapidly 
increasing,  as  the  figures  above  quoted  indicate, — it 
must  be  so,  that  large  quantities  of  tea  are  being 
shipped  every  week  from  Ceylon  to  Canada. 
■ • We  ourselves  are  constantly  receiving  direct  from 
Ceylon,  in  rnuch  larger  quantities,  piid  it  would  bo 
interesting  to  know,  if  you  have  the  moans  of  looking 
up,  the  quantity  of  Ceylon  Tea  shipped  direct  to 
Toronto  on  through  bills  of  lading.  Having  taken 
a very  active  part  in  the  development  of  the  sale  of 
' Ceylon  Tea  in  Canada,  we  are  naturally  desirous 
that  people  in  your  counti  y who  take  any  interest 
in  this  matter  should  not  arrive  at  the  wrong  con- 
clusion that  10,000  tea  expoited  to  Canada  can  be 
looked  upon  as  an  item  of  interest,  when,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  we  should  think,  from  the  figures 
above  quoted,  and  from  our  knowledge  of  the  trend 
f of  business  in  Ceylon  teas,  that  a low  estimate  of 
the  present  direct  exports  to  Canada  would  be  at  the 
rate  of  half  a million  pounds  per  year,  because  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  2)5,000  pounds 
quoted  as  trans-shipments  United  Kingdom  to  Canada 
-aro  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  and  as  a matter  of 
fact,  direct  purchases  in  Ceylon,  for  Canada  account ; 
. tcibs  being  shipped  to  London,  to  bo  trans-shipped 
there  10  destination  in  Canada. — Yours  respectfully, 
SALAUA  CEYLON  'TEA  COMPANY, 
P.  C.  Larkin  A Co. 
NATAL  TEA. 
London,  E.C.  June2o. 
Siu,_My  ol'l  I’cter  France  who  h, as 
<lono  so  nin<‘li  iiiwud.s  tlic  advancenient  of  boutii 
Ali'icii  hsifj  been  moved  Iroin  Port  Elizabeth  to  tlie 
(.'ape  Town  oHice  of  llie  Alrican  R.  Mail  .Steam- 
ship Company.  He  sends  me  a cutting  from  the 
H.  African  Telegraph  respecting  Natal  tea.  I 
have  tested  this  tea  and  it  contains  a "ood  amount 
of  tlieine  or  caifeine,  showing  it  is  far  better  to 
drink  tlian  the  niixtmes  that  used  to  be  shipped 
from  Hamburg  to  Soutli  Africa. — Yours  truly, 
THOS.  CHRISTY. 
[Tlie  cutting  ajipears  on  page  126 — Ed.  T.A.] 
THE  FASTENING  OF  TEA  CHESTS. 
23  Mincing  Lane,  London,  June  26. 
Sir,  -I  tliink  it  will  interest  you  to  learn 
that  I have  nosv  perfected  a nail  or  clamp  for 
securing  lids  to  tea  chests  .so  that  the  lids  can 
be  lifted  off  witliout  damage  to  the  packa<re 
and  thus  leave  it  a usable  and  saleable  article 
for  repacking  or  otlierivise.  As  at  present  the 
packages  from  Ceylon  are  very  little  used,  after 
inspection  it  is  always  nece.ssary  to  open  them 
for  the  brokers,  and  sometimes  they  are  again 
opened  for  sampling  whilst  a large  proportion 
are  exported  with  landed  teas  in  them  to  foreign 
markets,  tlius  it  is  an  evident  advantage  to  make 
the  opening  and  closing  of  the  tea  packages  aa 
simple  as  practicable.  My  che-sts  are  made  of 
inodorous  Avhite  ivood,  dovetailed,  grooved  and 
tongued,  are  rather  lighter  than  tlie  niomi  pack- 
ages and  about  the  same  jirice.  1 am  making 
occasional  shipments  to  Ceylon  and  India,  and 
find  that  the  trade  buys  readily,  as  the  grocer 
here  has  a sale  for  a package  wdiich  can  easily 
be  converted  into  a flour  bin,  or  other  useful  and 
domestic  furniture,  while  he  finds  the  iron  and 
hard  wood  packages  are  only  in  his  way. — 
Yours  truly,  ED.  AMES. 
THE  PRICE  OF  CINNAMON. 
Magdalene  House,  Negombo,  June  20. 
Dear  Sir,— In  your  paper  of  24tli  instant  writ- 
ing about  the  last  cinnamon  sales,  you  say 
“ A.S.  G.P.  (Golua  Pokuna)  at  the  s.ale  on 
the  1st  instant,  did  not  command  a higher 
price  for  its  firsts  than  Is  4d.”  Quite  correct. 
“The  next  highest  prices  realized  were  for  spice 
from  W.S  and  K.  from  the  well-known  F S. 
Kadirane  group,  and  these  fetched  up  to  UkL” 
This,  I beg  to  jioint  out,  is  not  correct,  as  my 
1st  quality  cinnamon,  under  two  difl'erent  marks, 
was  also  so'd  at  13d  and  more,  one  small  lot 
of  Hora  Hena  Estate  being  sold  even  at  14d, 
and  these  too,  in  the  .same  catalogue  of  the 
brokers  Messrs.  James  Cook  A:  Go.  in  which 
the  sales  of  “ Golna  Pokuna,”  W.S.  and  K. 
appear.  — Yours  faithfully, 
J.  DE  S.  KAJAPAKSE. 
FRUIT  PACKING. 
Dear  Sir,— I see  that  it  lias  been  discovered  by 
a California  fruit-grower  that  when  fruit  isjiacked 
in  jiowdered  borax  it  resists  decay  for  months. 
I should  wish  to  know,  if  this  .system  of  packing 
has  been  tried  by  anyone,  and  if  it  has  been  really 
successful. — Yours  truly,  GARDENER. 
EXTENT  OF  CINNAMON  GARDENS 
IN  CEYLON. 
Dear  Sir,— Among.st  the  “General  Gather- 
ings ” (a  most  interesting  column)  in  tlie  Weekly 
Budget  it  is  stated  “ The  cinnamon  gardens  of 
C'eylon  are  said  to  have  an  area  of  12,(K)0  acres.” 
Rut  1 always  tliouglit  that  it  was  a great  deal  more. 
Who  can  give  the  correct  extent  ?— Yours  truly, 
CINNAMON  PLANTER. 
