404 
THf^ TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 
[December i, 1891. 
powerful steam eoginoa down to the delicat^ 
operations of the obemiet and analyist — to 6ecur° 
perfection and eoonomy in operation, must be seen 
to be duly approoialed, For instance the number 
of oast-iron pipes traversing the buildings for 
the servioe of the various departments arrests 
attention and one has to learn that not only do 
these convey hot and oold water, but hot air, oold 
air, and perhaps different gases. 
Wo parted from our oonrteous host, and bis 
clever Doctor-Superintendent with regret, greatly 
impressed by what this afternoon’s visits had 
revealed to us. Mr. Mebl was our pleasant in- 
structive companion back to Mannheim where, 
after dining together, wo took the night train to 
Mayenoc. Alluding to the poor soil in the 
neighbourhood, and bow little was done even with 
the vine, though some rjuantities of plums and 
cherries were sent to the Knglisb market^ he 
metioned as the moat important industry for the 
rural people, the growing of vegetables which were 
prepared and “ pressed ” for ship use. — Mannheim, 
a town of 80,000 people is within the limits of 
Baden and the Grand Duke had left after a short 
visit to his palace here the day before. It is a 
handsome, well-bnilt town with broad avenues and 
side walks shaded by trees and the October 
festival was about to commence here as in Munich, 
attracting much attention and a large gathering. 
Doveb, Oct. 16th. 
The week has been one of very wet, stormy 
weather hero ; and one night we had a great burst 
from a strong gale in the Channel which did 
much damage at the cod and on the Admiralty 
pier, estimated at £1,000 loss in all. That very 
evening the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, 
oroBsed from France himself ; but fortunately by the 
6 p.m. rather than a later boat. Still, though the 
storm had not then burst, the crossing was very 
uncomfortablo even in one of the powerful steamers 
which now, in ordinary weather, do the 26 miles 
in very littlo over an hour. On this occasion the 
hour and a half was exceeded, and we had an 
amusing account from a fellow-passenger of the 
Premier’s persistent nibbling of hard dry biscuit — 
all through the passage as ho remained 
in one sheltered spot on deck. 
Althongb the weather of the past twelve months — 
winter, spring and summer especially — has been 
BO much condemned, 1 learn that fruit growers of 
Kent — " the garden of England ” — have had no 
reason to complain, but rather speak of two favour- 
able seasons. Always, the county of gardens and 
orchards, with the decline of farming and the 
preaching (by Mr. Gladstone especially) of the 
duty of extending fruit cultivation in England, 
great additions to the orchards and gardens 
have been made in the past ten years even in 
Kent. I remember in 1884, being struck with the 
number of fields planfod with pung fruit trees. 
Now I hoar of men having, individually, as much 
as 1,000, and even 3,000 acres under fruit for the 
markets not only of England, but of big towns 
as far north as Manchester. They begin in the 
early year oroping srrawberries, picking from 3 to 
4 a.m. each day, so as to get their crop into 
London by special train in the early morning ; 
then follow gooseberries, currants (all varie- 
ties), raspberries, plums, peaches, apricots and 
of course apples and pears. 'The largo cul- 
tivators making contracts in a big way do well — 
one acre of strawberries often gives £200 gross 
return in a year ! — but I bear that the smaller 
garden owners, especially those farthest away from 
town, often do poorly. One unfortunate in this 
neighboutbood sent 60 bushels of plums (bis season 
to London, only to get as his return a debit note 
for 4d to 2 >(iy 1 The plums had not realized carriage 
and charges. But talk of the Ceylon Bailway, I 
have beard enough of the misdeeds and over- 
charges and partiality of the “ the London, 
Obatbam and Dover ” while hero and I must give 
you some instances in my next. 
I have just heard that a Colonel Stewart 
of_ Dover Garrison — spoken of as a much liked 
Highland oflioer — expects to go to Ceylon by the 
end of the year as Senior Commissariat ofiicer. 
I have just been honored by an invitation from 
the Council of the Boyal Oolooial Institute to their 
Annual Dinner at the Hotel Metropolo on 10th Nov. 
after which in the evening Mr. W. E. Maxwell, 
c.u.o., is to read a paper on “ The Malay Feninsnln, 
its resources and prospects,” Lord Brassey in 
the chair. 
- ■ ♦ 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Forinofla Oolongs are cultivated by small native 
farmers, who have small gardens, and some of whom 
do not pick over 100 ponnds at one picking, of whioh 
they havo three or four during the season. Unlike 
Japans, the first picking is the poorest of the season, 
the second crop is better, but the autumn crop is the 
beat of all. The reason for this is, that daring August 
the island is visited with heavy rains, after which the 
warm weather of September causes tbo plant to 
grow luxcriantly. The leaf is full of sap, added to 
which is the fact that the moisture in the atmosphere 
causes the plant to ferment quickly, which allows 
the manufacturer to enro the leaf without expo- 
sing it to the sun, which, it is claimed, takes from 
its strength. The great strength of the leaf en- 
ables the manufacturer to fire the Tea longer, and 
the longor it is fired the better it will keep. It is a 
fact that the third crop or antnmn Teas, that havo 
been well fired, will improve after having been 
exposed to tho air for a few days in the dealers 
bin. The action of tho atmoaphoro brings out tho 
fragrance of the Tea, whilo at tho samo limo tho 
baked fl.ivour disappears. Those 'Teas will keep for a 
month aithont mnoli, it any, deterioration; the tiret 
crop as will lose iiavour as rapidly as Japuus. 
It is related that in yo olduo time, when the China- 
men were begged for seeds of tbo precious plant to 
send to European oonsorvatories, tbey secretly des- 
troyed all germination in the seeds by boiling and 
then presenting them, with their blaudosl smile, would 
say: ‘‘Belly solly Tea no glow all the samee China.” 
During the reign of Queen Anne black tea sold 
from 12s to IGs per pound. In 1707, from 15s to .30a 
per pound. 
“Strange and far-fotehed things they only like; 
dou’t you seo bow they swallow gallons of tho juice 
of tea, while their own dock leaves are trod under 
foot.’ Those words wore penned over 160 years ago 
by Sir Kichiird Steele, in his “ Comedy of Ihe Faneral,’’ 
but how applicable they are to much of tho so-called 
tea sold at tho present day 1 
The bark “ Formosa” brought the first cargo of 
Foruioaa Oolong to tho United States, where sho 
arrived blatoh 7th, 1869. It consisted of 7,800 half 
ohosts, shipped by Mr. John Dood, an Englishman, 
the pioneer in the Formosa tea business. It is now 
the favourite tea with most connoisseurs. 
“ ® singular fact,” writes an American paper, 
“ fn*'" tho Indians living on a Ten garden will not 
touch Tea. From hygienio grounds they have been 
urged to use it, but they spit it out with disgust.” 
Is that so ! St. r.otir« 
Tub Ooffeb Chop in Coobo, is this season, 
we are glad to hear, likely to be a good one. There 
has been an abundance of tain — rather more than 
®hoogh. Experiments are now being made by some 
of the planters of growing Liberian plants among 
heir Arabian oollee, with the hope of improving the 
pegies, — Mail, Get. 29th. 
