132 
THfe tropical agriculturist, 
[August i, 1891. 
ozalio aciiJ, potanh, and soda), clipped into merobant- 
able shade, and short and baled for shipment. The 
Mallory steamers for New York always carry a great 
uuutity. There is a large market in England and 
ranee. Sinoo Turkey forbade diving in the Archi- 
pelago, the best “ Turkey ” sponges have come from 
the Barbary coast. There are now more spongers in 
these waters than ever before, yet the supply was 
never so great . — Ntw York Tribune, 
to the British tea planters, who, happily, slill con- 
tinue to bo blest with a cheap silver exchange, failing 
which their prospects would, even now, become 
lomewhat embarrassing. It will be astonishing if, at 
present prices for British-grown tea, China tea should 
still be taken in prelorcnoo by any who are not pre- 
judiced in its favour. — Yours, &o„ 
Onu Intkbistkd in Ceylon, 
Oolwyn Bay, June I6th, 18S)1. 
THE CEYLON TEA INDUSTRY. 
To the Editor of the " Manchester Quardian.’’ 
Sir, — Referring toyourartioleon Ceylon in your i'sue 
of today, the following figures will testify to the wonder- 
ful developmont of the Ceylon tea trade; — 
1886 
Shipments. 
lb. 
4,411,678 .. 
Annual 
increase. 
Percentage 
of annual 
inoreas. 
1886 
so* 
8,111,137 - 
.’ 3,699,659 
... 84 
1887 
ss« 
13,800,545 .. 
. 6,689,408 
. 10,580,751 
... 70 
1888 
... 
24.381,290 .. 
... 75 
1889 
ss. 
81,048,086 .. 
. 9,666.789 
... 40 
1890 
40,901,654 .. 
. 12,853,469 
... 37 
1891 (Eatim.) 
03,000,000 .. 
. 16,098,446 
... 84 
Tha annnal peroeuragea oi luoruasea lu Buipmeubs, 
nearly all of which come to Ihe London market, can- 
not fail to impress everyone taking any interest what- 
ever iii the development of British-grown tea generally. 
The fortunes of Ooylon tea-planters ate now closely 
interwoven with those of their brethren in India. To 
a very great extent the movements in one market are 
quickly reflected in the other. The analysis of the 
Board of Trade returns for the United Kingdom 
published lately in their annual review by Measts. 
William, James, and Henry Thompson shows the 
fluctuations to have been aa follows, viz 
Percentage Oousnmption. , 
Feb.- 
Jan. April May. 
1891. 1891. 1891. 
63i ... 51 ... 46 
18J ... 20 ... 28 
28 .. 2!) ... 27 
1890. 
Indian 52^ 
Ceylon 18 
China and Java 29 J 
100 
Doc. 
1890. 
67 
17* 
25* 
100 
100 
100 
100 
The same authorities are also responsible lor the fol- 
Homf*CouBumption of Tea in tha United Kingdom 
for 12 months ending May 31sl 1891. 
Indian China Ceylon To^tal 
98 38? 000 63,MG,000 dl.lsb.OOO 192,816,000 
In addXn to which there was re-exported mm the 
United Kingdom lor the same period, as per Board of 
'*^™ndlan China Ceylon Total 
2S27;200 28,052,800 1,426.000^ 
Indian like Ceylon tea nearly all fauds its way to the 
London market, the direct demand for other markem 
bZe yet very small and of singularly slow growth 
Tho demands made for these strong teas for export 
from the United Kingdom Is also small as y^. »“ 
evidenced by the re-export lignrea above. While 
admitting that today Ceylon holds by far the bettor 
SosYtion with respect toother growths, yet it has been 
atlained only by a sudden lowering of prices, and I 
JdM’by the best euthoritie. that P;y>““«PndU 
3 "S '3"3“ 
exports this season to London house 
112,000,000 lb. The I,oDdon Prndneo Clearmg-houao 
daily quotations are, however, evidence enough that 
the “good old daja" for tea ars not oonsidared h“e*y 
to retnrn in a hurry. Every additional Id per lb. 
loit eo picient low prices m«ang incalculable Hungs 
DIVING. 
Tub Siebe-Gouman UiviNQ Dbess. 
The Siebe-Gormnn diving detss aa wo see today in 
the tank at Ibo Naval Exhibition is Ihn development of 
the Biebe oostnmo invented in 1-37. Thu dress is used 
in all parts of the w rid, and all snbmarine operations, 
Tho diver must, therefore, be a practical man, able to 
turn bis hand to any trade. Pier construotiou, wreck- 
raising, enbmarino mining, tha olesuiug and repairing 
of shipn, work in colliorien and tunnels— in all saoh 
operations Ihe diver is required. 
How Deep in tub Deep. 
Mr. Qormau has drawn up from nm Urge experiences 
a valuable paper on tliu art of diving. Hero, fotiastauce, 
is a table which shows the pressure on tho square inch 
at a given depth of water 
feet. 
Ib. 
feet. 
lb. 
feet. 
lb. 
20 
8* 
00 .. 
39 
150 ... 
65* 
30 
... 12i 
100 .. 
. 43* 
Limit. 
40 
... 17* 
110 .. 
. 47i 
160 ... 
69* 
50 
... 21* 
120 .. 
. 52* 
170 ... 
74 
60 
... 20i 
130 .. 
. 56* 
180 ... 
78 
70 
... 30i 
140 .. 
,. OOi 
190 ... 
82* 
80 
... 34* 
*204 ... 
88* 
It is obvious that tho least fUw in the eonstruotion 
of tho 'dtoss would be fatal to the diver, and Mr. 
Oormau is very proud of tho foot that no diver has died 
owing to faulty manufaeture. The air pipes are tested 
to bear a pressure of 109 pounds to the square inch. 
apONOE AND PkahL PlSlIEUlES. 
within theso last ten la iifleeu years a large oom- 
moroo baa sprung np in the above ttaliories, and thia 
oan only be attributed to the nsa of tho diving appt,* 
ratus, wbioh is now daily b -Cuming of gr- ator iiupot- 
tauce for those parposos; formerly naked divers only 
were employed, and the result was only the recovery 
of a limited quantity, as the diver oouid not remain 
bat a few neoonds to oiillcct, and then only in reacli of 
bis arms’ length i now the divers remain from two to 
four hours under water, oolloatiiig in that time what 
would have ri-qiiited twenty naked divers, la tho 
sponge fishery in the Mediterranean waters thure aro 
employed over three hundrod sets of diving apparatus, 
witnont reckoning the flsherii a at the Bahamas, Ber- 
muda and off the ooasi of Australia and other parts of 
the world. Tho pearl fisheries are rapidly booomiug 
of the greatest importance, not ouly for tha pearls, but 
also for the shells, tho last-named of a certain species 
fetohing from £7 to £8 the owt. The pearl oyster 
(olsssifiod as tho Aviciila margaritifera) is an oyster 
slightly larger than tho Enropeau congooer, and is 
valuable for tho pearl it beara, the sholls themselves 
being of no oommeroial value ; those are found more or 
less ill all parts of the world, but more principally on 
the ooasls of Ceylon, IVost Australia, Fiji Islands, 
Mulaooa, Straits end somo parts of tho coasts of the 
W est India Islands. The pearl oyster {Melcagrina 
margaritifera) is valuablo for tho shells ouly, a pair ol 
ihem weighing about two pounds. These are found 
in great quautities all over the north ooast of Anstra- 
lia, and in the Malucoa Straits and ooasts of Guinea 
largo fisheries are now being condneted with oonsider- 
able Buocess and profit ; and, as tho diving apparatus is 
now being more and more introduced into these 
fisheries, wo may expect them to become a very impor- 
tautindastry, 
CoEAL AND AmDBE. 
Coral has receivtal as yet very little advanoemeiit 
from the use of the diving apparatus, and the fisher- 
mon seem at present bound to their anoieut style of 
* The greatest depth any diver has descended. 
