September i, i8gi.] THE TROPICAL AQRIOULTURIST. 197 
■ ■ ■ I I n il ~ ■ I I II I ir~i — I 'ir'TrT iT' • I I ii 
aggpratad oup, for I brlieve tboro ato hundredn of each 
oiaes traiiapirhig iu our midst every day ; but tha 
lil health nod treatment may bo attributable probably 
to quite a very different set of enures than tho ono 
herein illustratod. I have no hositaVion iu saying 
that tho over-watohful physician fails in the 
perfotmauce of his facrod duly to tha public if ho dooa 
not w<aru p.u'entB agaiust the too ccmiLOn ovll and in- 
jurious habit of tea-drinking, a habit, I regret to say, 
far too prevalent and psinlu) nowadays among young 
children of tender years, mote ospeniaily in country 
districts, where such a treacherous buVerano is par- 
taken ot by young and old at every luesl. Prevention 
of disease is as mneh an essential factor in medicine 
and in the hands of tho physician to point ont suoh 
serious evils as that of the trealmcot of diaeaao when 
it does occur, and therefore I sincerely exhort tho 
head of every family (especially mothers) to beware 
in time of the icsidieus and snicidal evils ariiing 
from this too oommoo, proliho, aud fertile aonroe of 
ill-health, disease and heart atfections amimg obildren 
in families. For years I have, as a resident in the 
bash, watched the evil effects arising from the use of 
strong tea drinking, especially amongst the young, and 
I OBU truthfully say that parents who ate feol-hardy 
euiiugh to follow this baucfnl aud pernioious habit of 
ten-drinking have only themselves to b'amo for hiving 
sickness in their families — aye, or even diptheria, which 
in my belief, ari^es.from this evil* Over and over 
Bgain I have endeMVourod to warn parents sgsiust 
this evil custom, and hive been pooh-poohed, aud 
laughed at perhaps by senseless people, for my paius; 
but 1 have the oaneolilion of kuowing that I 
du su ohielly iu tho interest aud fur the protec- 
tion of poor unfortauato innooent littlo ohildreii 
and sufferora who uufoituuately kuow no better. The 
arterial blood iu youth is simply, in my candid belief, 
destroyed and rendered dark aud aniemio by the 
too common error aud prejudicial habit of tea- 
drinking which contains so much tannin iu tho 
iu(us(on. (‘When infused too long. — En T. il.J 
Cooo a ought to be a much belter and safer beverage 
for the youug. Food aud drink must eioroiee a thera- 
pcutioal effect on the fuEctioua of the body, the 
constitu^mu, and animal physiology for good or evil 
(howeve^ obsoure their operation at times may be) as 
muoh as some of our potent medioine agents. The 
idiosyneresy of Ilia age is becoming so fastidious that 
some people are never salisiied uuless the stomaoh is 
turned into a complete medicine chest, so careless 
are they to think or know tlie effects of medicine, 
fuod, and drink upon the system— m fact, swallow 
anything that bears the name of being a panacea tor 
health, even the deadliest of poisons. In fnct, medi- 
cine nowadays is nothing unless tho mott virulent 
and deadly agents are selected aud prescribed whole- 
sale. The days of preventive medicine are nowhere 
to be found in the category of the I»th century practi- 
tioner. I— »Sydnrj/ T/aif, July 26. 
Bamiioos. — It is pleasing to note that this beautiful 
genus of plant is gradually gaining popularity. In- 
□eod. it is a woudor how it is tliey havo kept in the 
background so long as they are luucli superior to a good 
many of tho PalniB in cultivation i for tho conservatory 
and general decorative piu-poses, it is hard to find their 
equal, as their lax and graceful foliage renders them 
suitable for mixiirg witli all kinds of plants. Moat of 
tho Bpecies are either liardy or lialf-hnrdy, aud very 
easy of cultivation, their cliief roquirementa being a 
rather rich soil and abundance of water in summer, 
Tho following are a few of tliosc host suited for gene- 
ral purposes, Xtambusa Fortuuei var. variegata, a 
very pretty dwarf-growiiig variety well adapted for 
pot work; 15, striata, J>. aurea, li. violesc-ens, andii, 
Uana, tho latter is rather a toudor species, arid does 
boat when in a stove. The genus rhyllostachys, found 
in China and Japan, also contains many beautiful 
species, well deserving more attoiitioii from liortioul- 
turista ; should tho donuind for thorn iucrcase, many 
forms will doubtless be produced superior even to 
t hose existing at present,— (fffrdrucra’ Chronicle, 
* the cause of diphtheria ! — Bo. 2 ; ~ 
T Wnieh it utterly untrue.— Eo, T, 4, 
CEYLOH TEA IN AU3THAEIA. 
The review of tha Australasian tea trade for 
the year ended 80th Juno 1801, published by 
tho Melbourne Argiu and reprinted on another 
page, shows that India and Ceylon teas are 
rapidly superseding the China product in these 
important markets. Tho quantity of tea received 
from Foochow during the twelve months fell 
from 21 and 21 million lb. in 1888-9 and 188b-00 
to 15^ million lb. : while the quality ehowod a 
groat falliug-ofl,— so much so that tho customs 
authorities in Melbourne refused to pass large 
quantities as ubfit lor oonsamption. On the 
other hand tho shipments of Ceylon tea increased 
from 9-10,000 lb. in 1888-9 and l.J million lb. in 
1889-90 to 2,900,000 lb. in 1890-91, the soft and 
flavoury Ceylon teas being muoh in favour with 
the publio. We hope that they will become 
inereasiugly so, 
wEianma of tea. 
The following letter has reached ua by the mail:— 
I think the grievances which your correspondents 
have BO very barely connected with tea-weighing in 
London are somewhat exaggerated. I do not mean 
that the individual oases ai-o not figuratively correct, 
[ml my experience and that of others in London 
iu that after allowance for draft, tho teas from 
many gardens invariably come out almost exactly 
to garden weights ; other estates constantly show a 
heavy loss, which leads us to conclude either that 
those gardens whioh are habitually oecurato weigh 
with greater liberality, or that by superiority of 
paokago, accuracy of weighing machines and careful 
supervision they prevent loss. 
it not unircqueiitly happens that teas are sold 
in excess of garden weights, as you will see by 
enolosed account sales (whioh we sent hack to 
Ceylon by last mail) after deducting tho trade 
allowance. 
Whoi> your corrospoudeuts write about a loss of 
2 per cent or 8 per cent they inolude the draft or 
natural trade allowance, whioh they can minimise if 
they like, but which they will generally liud it is 
theu' iutei-ost to increase. 
The trade allowance is as all are aware one pound 
per package upon all packages grossing 2a lb. thus 
on a chest containing 160 lb. tho grower allows tho 
buyer J per eont, but upon boxes of twenty pounds 
winch may carry draft ho allows the buyer livo per 
uouC, As but a small iiruportiou of Indian tea comes 
iu half-chests the Ceylon half chest seems to supply 
a special want both of the ooualry aud of thu 
ooutiuent aud we frequently advise our Ceylon friends 
to give thoir extra irado allowance and thereby 
probably secure a higher price for their teas. 
I have Tofoned to draft as a natural trade allowanoe 
because a very large proportion of the tea sold iu 
tlio Urrited Ivingdoui is retailed iu very small 
quaiititigs, from an ounce upwards and it is not 
poBsihlc houosUy to make a cheat of tea holding 
only lOU Ih. weigh -100 quarter pounds. I thiuk it has 
already been made clear to your readers that tho 
trade allowance goes straight to tho buyer aud that 
tho broker aud merchant do not fatten upon it. T'uo 
Boatd of Trade rules allow two pounds to bo drawn 
from uuoh bed, that is from cauh .grade of a 
break, free of charge for sampling purposes, provided 
this sample is drawn after tlio tea is weighed up 
so oven tliis small quantity comes out of tho buyer's 
aud not the grower's pocket. 
Any further samples which are required, lUid they 
very often aro required by merchant or broker, have 
to bo rotornud in kind. But it does not yet seem to 
ho quite clear to all that tho Board of Customs collects 
duty upon the trade allowauce, 
I'or mstuaco when an invoice is sent to a country 
dealer it is sent thus : — 
To 20 4 chests Ceylon Bokoo 1,000 lb. at 9d £87 lOs 
To duty and customs charges &c. 1,020 lb. at -Id iT7 Oslud 
w agt wid It dva I IjeUqye ever will be any 
