September i, 1891 .] THE TROPIOXL AORrCULTURlST. 2tt 
ooudition in which some packages of tea have bion 
loft after iuspootiou. This, no doubt, is owing to 
the pressure of work oonsequeut upon the anxiety of 
mere i> ants to put their teas on the market too soon 
after arrirul, not leaving the warehouse properties 
Bulhoieut time to liaish up one parcel before the next 
is put ou show ; aud, as the merchant’s interest 
ceases dircolly lea is auld, he can hardly bo expcclod 
to look very carefnlly after the condition of the paek- 
uges when the ownership has pass' d oat of his 
hands. At the same time, the warehouse proprietor — 
who IS paid for the careful storage of the tea — ought 
to bo careful to see that this being a seositive article, 
sliould not bo exposed to tbo air aud fug a moment 
longer thau absolutely necessary. 
The quealiou of railway rates has properly engaged 
the attention of the Oommittce, and tho Honorary Se- 
cretary of the Association has been in almost daily 
attendauce at the House of Uummous, wailing to give 
evidence, in oonjuDotion with Mr. U gors (to whom 
the trade are mnch indobted for the immense amount 
of time and thought he has bestowed upon this sub- 
joot.) To us it is a matter of surprise to Sud so much 
apilhy shown by traders, and the very little resis- 
tance they have made against the proposed charges of 
toe railway companies. As regarus tea, there can be 
no reason why it should be placed in a higher class 
thau colfee; and in reference to small oousigumeuts 
the proposal of the railway companies is most unjust, 
and if it becomes law the carriage accounts of grocers 
will be enormously increased without any reason, 
It is not too late to oppose the Hills in the House 
of Uommous, aud we would again urge our readers to 
stir tliomselves and take a more lively iuteteat in 
resisting the railway compauiea’ proposals. The thanks 
of the trade are duo to tbo Oommlltee of the Lmdou 
Wholesale Teadoalers’ Association for their success- 
ful labours duriug the past year, aud we are glad to 
have this opportunity of expressing, on behalf of 
grocers, their appreciition of the efforts the Oommittee 
have taken to protect their interests in respect to tho 
subjects we have iudioatod . — Indian Planters' Gasette. 
^ 
L0>'])0*V THA LKTTHB. 
Tho highest price realized during the week by any 
ludiau Tea was Is Hid for Id chests Ifroken Orange 
Pekoe from The Assam Proutier Tea Co. Tho highest 
price realized by any Oeylon Tea (bar the two little 
lanoy lots referred to below) was Is SJd for 18 half- 
ohosts Broken Pekoe from Ulassaugh. The two fancy 
lots, were: — 
- Two Boxes, Silver Tip, containiog 51b each, net, from 
Beaumont, une Package, Golden Tip, ooutaiuiug three 
boxes, of 61b. each, net, ftomSalawe. Tne former was 
“taken out,’’ at 4a Gd the latter was also withdrawn, 
at 5s per lb. 
Ceylon, not content with touching one extreme of 
tho scale of prices, hss this week touched tho other; 
not with a few lb. of acokloutally spoiled Tea, bnl 
with no less than 80 half-chests of Pekoe h’anuiugs, 
which realized k^d per lb. This triumph has not 
yet been signalised by the usual Illustrated Advet- 
liaemeuts. 
Overheard this week. iScene, a Merchant’s Office, 
1‘ersQMB, A Ceylou Planter— Au ex ludiau Planter, 
but unknowu to tho former as being an old Tiidiau, 
A merchant. Ceylon Planter lotj, after a night of fire- 
works illustrating Ceylon Planters' methods of manu- 
facture: “But ikeu you kuow Ceylou Plautora area 
long way aliosd of ludiau Plaiitirs,’’ 
Merchant, “ In what way f 
Ceylon Planter, “ Why in intelligooce, and evory- 
thiiig else. It stands to r.asou. ’ Then ooiifidontly 
lliey had ail tlie ludiau planters' experience, and 
now have their own, plus superior mtolligenoo. Began, 
where Indian pluuters Islt elf; dout you Kuow ? ’’ 
Merchant, " Oh ! yes, of course ; 1 see.” 
Hx-Itulian Planter, quietly, “ I have always hoard 
inat the proof of too pudding is in the eating : it always 
“"hck mo as strange that such adepts at advertising as 
the Ceylon planters, should leave tlto world la the dark 
as to tho dividends tbeir estates pay, as compared witli 
Indian Companies. But a few days sgo I was informed 
that if anyone went to Ceylon and advectisod that 
they were about to form a new Company, aud rt- 
qiiestcd olTers of tea ostatea for incorporaliun therein, 
tlioy wou'd reocivo by ictiiru of poaf, otfers of 'JO per 
cent of the e-tat:a on the iaiand ! Indian planters 
have a partiality in favour of dividends. Any little 
vanity they may possess, finds its vent in comparisons 
of dividends, ra'.hct than in profitless comparisons of 
pr^less intel igence. Good afternooo.” 
1 hear that Oeylon planters, as a rule, still perpetuate 
the old custom, which was ouoe tho praotioe on some 
gardens in India, of partially rolltiig firrt, and then 
completing the roll, after other batches of leaf have 
been partially rolled. It would be interesting te get 
at the trntli of the origin, aud the cause of the con- 
tinuance of this practice in Ceylon. I uudoratood 
from my informant, that it is quite a regulation pro- 
coeding, aud he spoke of it as though to change it, aud 
roll each charge straight oil, were not to be thougbl 
of. So presumably they think it deeiiable in the ic- 
tereetof quality! So far as I know, it .arose in /lufi'a, 
not with any idea of its being necesiary at all, but 
because, maey gardens in those days had rollers of dif- 
ferent types, and one roller produced a better twist 
than the other ; but not being able to do all the work 
by itself, the ether roller was employed to partially 
roll the leal, which was then fieiahed in the one which 
prodnoed the better twist. Oau it be that those Indian 
planters who went to Oeylon, (may it be said— to 
lustruot the Oeylon men — ) took the oustom with them, 
and that it is now in consequence the orthodox thing 
to do in Oeylon ? It is about as risky a prooeediog— 
especially to leave to a native — as one could invent, 
aud as it osnnot of itself mprof'e the quality of tbo 
liquor, upon any known theory, it seems to be a super- 
iluauB amount of trouble and anxiety, sud risk, for 
some merely imaginary gain. Without great oare and 
attention it spells—" dull in the onp.” 
Pebipatbtic Planter, 
— Indian Planters’ Gazette. 
(If may do Ceylon planters good to study such 
hostile criticism as the above. But who did our 
entorprise the bad turn of sending the 2id fan- 
nings to the London Market 7— Ed, T, A.] 
♦ 
THK MOON AND THE WEATHER. 
(By an. Astronomkal Correspondent.) 
The folk-lore of old times comes down to os from 
a simple people who but rarely moved away from 
the place in whioh they were born, and who, as 
regards this subject, scarcely suspected that " other 
parts ” simultaneously experienced other weather 
than that whioh tho convenient moon provided 
for themselves. It is, therefore, very marvellous, 
that, in these days of constant movement and easy 
means of travel, that old moon-lore should have 
survived, and be still so deep-rooted amongst all 
olaasoa of the people, and not alone with the simple 
peasantry of every country. But so it is. 8o much 
so, indeed, that even among philosophers one now 
aud then springs up to do battle for tho moon, 
unabashed by the almost silent scepticism of the 
leading soientilic toaobere of the present time. 
Kxoept in occasional passing notes, the “ moon and 
tho weather ” is seldom referred to at all by the 
present generation of aoientifie men, who, so fat as 
they are concerned, consider tbo subject aufli- 
cieotly settled by their predecessors- The “ Meteoro. 
logical Society ” of our day, too, would not ignore 
BO large a following if it could find reliable 
data to feed them with ; but not only does this 
Society fail to make use of the moon for progoos- 
tioating the weather, but as a writer in Knowledge 
said, not long ago ; “ On my complaining to tho 
Soaiety that not one m twenty of the forecasts i» 
