August i, iSgt.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
147 
South AuRtra^it in that it is far 8<»fter than the 
Indian or American mica. Me^Hrs. Peabody state that 
several of their triHudsar© qnite ready topurchaHe Aus- 
tralian mica if it can be laid down at the right price and 
good quality! and their order is for an experinneutal 
shipment ; they also send samples of mica according to 
which the Older must be tilled. If the shipment is 
satistaotory it will no doubt lead to larger orders. They 
thought that the 35 per cent, duty and the high cost 
of labour in Australia, as compared with India, would 
be two obstacles that would be difficult to surmount 
in the development of this industry. On the whole 
the commuuioation from New York is considered to 
bevery favourable, and the prices at which the order 
ia to be filled are very satiHfaotory. The sample of 
American mica forwarded does not from appearance 
seem to be equal to the usual samples of South 
Australian mica,— Obserttr, 
^ 
RAINFALL: EXPERIMENTS EXTRAORDI- 
NARY. 
The Agrioultural Department at Washington have 
made an experiment, as our r®ader8 are aware, 
in the produotion of rainfall. A balloon was sent 
up into the olonds, where it exploded with great 
violenoe. Later in the evening a downpour of 
rain ooourred ; but (we thank Ueuter’a oorrnspon- 
dent for;lhe postscript) " whether this was duo to 
the explosion has yet to be determined," 
It is not likely that our ’oute Yankee friends 
are wrong ; and as the experiment " is to be 
repeated ori a largo scale,” we had better look 
oo^t. For if a downpour of rain oan be produced, 
why not a blizzard or an October gale ? Mean- 
while have every season to believe in the genuine- 
ness of the following announcements. 
New Yohk, — Tuesday last being a foggy day* 
experiments of a novel kind were attempted in 
order to clear the eurfaoe of the sun. For this 
purpose the new electro telesoopio Hctchkiss gun 
which has been stationed upon the summit of the 
statue of Liberty was heavily charged with nitro- 
glycerine and a hundred packets of Messrs. [Notice 
to Advertisers. — This space £5 6s.] world-purifying 
soap, and repeatedly discharged at the luminary 
in question. 
The following Thursday, June 25th, was a fine 
day. It is understood, however, that this may not 
prove the sneoess of the experiment j that Messrs, 
[see notice above] do not guarantee tbeir soap to 
clean objects outside the terreetrial atmosphere. 
OaiOAOo, Aug. V — The municipal authorities 
having determined, at any expense, to secure fine 
weather daring the World’s Fair, a perfect aimy 
of stationary and moveable balloons are to be 
oontinuoualy employed in the removal of any clouds 
mund upon or above the premises of the exhibition, 
nain-clouda declining to “ move on ” are punctured 
and exhausted by a novel and interesting eleotro- 
hydrauUc pump. The atmosphere is striotly watched 
at night by means of the eleotrio eearch light. 
Ihe adjoining slates have already oomplained of 
an excessive and disproportionate amount of rainfall 
and are petitioning Congress on the matter. 
Very Latest NEWa.-The Protectionist party in 
Washington have organized a oommittee of aoientiats 
to oonaider the proposal mooted by a wellknown 
hnanoiet lor the manufacture of a Europeau 
izzard. It is believed that the experiments have 
»“ onoonraging nature, the only 
hrawbaok arising from the difficulty of direction , 
ohni.ii * being that the atmospheric disturbance 
THE CHINA TEA TRADE. 
In considering the China tea trade it is not often 
that a ray of light is found to relieve the general 
Fombteiiees of the picture. In bis report on the 
trsilo of Fooohow for 1890 Consnl PbUlips tells us 
that “ taking all things into oouaideratiou the year 
under review has been mure prosperous than the 
preceding one for the foreign merchant," He has 
to add, however, that it baa gone badly with tbs 
native tea brokers, the losaea sustained by many of 
them having been very great. The total quantity of 
tea ahippod from Foochow last season waa 452,000 
cbestS; aa sgainat fi76,000 obeats io 1889-90 and 
596,000 in 1888-89. The quantity taken for tbs 
Auatraliau market aa wall as that for Loudon shows 
a large decrease, and the present season wilt no 
doubt see a further falling off. The reason that the 
last seasou proved comparatively profitable for the 
foreign nierobaut waa that there was a abort supply 
item India as well as from Hankow, a oondiiioo of 
things wUieb is not likely to be repeated very often. 
The demand for teas of a common kind led to the 
shipment of a large quantity of tea many saasoos old, 
and on the arrival of this tea in Melbourne a great 
quantity of it was at once eondemned by the Cnatoma 
Authorities as unfit tor human food. As the Consul 
remsika, this must prove a heavy blow to the Fooohow 
trade, which oanoot at the present momant 
afford to have the quality of its tea called in 
question. The incident will doabtless give a further 
impetus to the growing demand for Indian and 
Oeyluo teas in the Colonies. 
It is aatislautory to find teal in the Fohkien tea distrieta 
some atteuiiou n.s at last been paid to tne plant, 
tbe stirubs being piDpsrly trimmed and well attended 
to, with favourable results. The authorities are 
awakening to the fact that if the Fouunow teaa are 
to hold tneirown agaiuit tbosa oi luuia and Ceylon 
more care must be paid to (heir cultivation and 
preparation, and they appear, Mr. Fnuiips says, to 
be ready to luloo to auy suggestiuu mat pruui.ses to 
bring auout an improvement lu tbe trada. X'uo mull 
v.luuule Buggestiuu tbai ouuld be giveu tueui, bat 
one whlcD We arc atiald they will nut be wdiiug to 
listen to, is tbat tbe export uuty and lekiu auuula be 
swept away in toto. Tms tbe ouly uoa.ee mat can 
save what remains of tbe trade, tor it u absoiumiy 
impossible tor China to bold her own agauiat net 
equally ur mote lavourably oiroumstanoed uumpoutora 
wbile she conimusa to baudiuap nerseil wim taxauun 
to the extent of 95 or 80 per cent. Xu take 
measures for tbe iiiiprovemeut of tbe artiole 
IS an excellent thing io iuulf, but what has 
beeu tbe cause of tbo doteriuraiiuu lu the 
quality ? Mr. Phillips tells us there was a time wben 
tbe Fooohow teaa aero so well prepared (hat tuey 
retained all their good quuliues for a seasou witouut 
uousiderable doterioratiuu, Uuder the preasuce UL me 
competition from ludia aud Ueylob (be ptuduueri uavu 
adopted tbe no doubt shortsignied poiioy of sutiuip* 
ing ihe quality lu oidur to make up fur the lukauun 
from whlcu their rivals were iree. Itemuve ibis crusb* 
ing load of taxation and me tariuuis and utUeis ouu- 
oerued iu the lunuetry would have mure ii'eeuum lO 
improve tbe quality of tboir tea. 
Consul Garuusr, lu his lepoit on thn tiade of Hau- 
kow for last year, euumuratos the udvautaaes Xudiau 
aud Ceylon tea gioWors bave over tujae in Uhiua as 
follows:— Ist, gteatur oummand oi capirai: auu, luoiiity 
of.obtaiuiug ioaus at a lower rate oi ruteruat 1 8 rn, free- 
dum frum f#Xm, octroif aud expoit uuty i ftn, uonrutaud 
of a better aud oUeapor labour maraut ; utU onuiuiaud 
of oUomiOAi aud asi.uuUurai kuuwinuge; dtu, nettec 
acquaiutauee witb tasies ana reqiuremeuts ui purehasers; 
Ith, easier modes of trausport ; otb, greater ueaiueaa to 
oouutries tbat purebase , 9m, eugimuus piibiiu Morks 
fkoilitatiug irrigaiiou lu dry seasoua anu pceveutiug fiuuds 
iu wet seasuUH : lu.b, large size of tea estates litu 
bettor maohiuoty. Agaiual all these advautagos' of tuo’ 
Indian aud Ooylou grower, Uhlua, Mr. Uarduer 
says, possesses oua advaucage, aUd mail is, mit -uo 
Chiuose tea-grower, working tor his owu UaUd msteau 
o| for wages, brings gUsu gtoAtsr oare aud mote 
