492 
TMF TROPICAL AORICULTURIST 
(January i, 1892. 
New Zealand and Sodtu Seas Exhibition.— Sub- 
mitted letter to the Goverunoeiit Agent, 'WeMern Pro- 
vince, dated, lO'h November 1891,tianBn'it(inj5 to l.im Bill 
ot IjsdiHt; dnly endorsed in his favour for a case said 
to contain f.mcy Roods referred to in the extractor 
the letter received Irom Lord Onslow, Governor of 
NewZialand, and requestioKan aokrowlcdgtneiit which, 
however, up to date has not to ii received. 
PuBE Cevlon Tea.— Read letter from Mr. Geo. J. 
iTameson submitting proposal for iutrnduciug and 
puabiog the lale of pure Ceylon Tea in Manchra er, 
and the Lancashire disiricta griierady. Reaclv. 
ed : — “ That tl'C Standing Committee of tl.e 
Tea Fund wonld rcconmiond to the General Ooni- 
milteo of the Planlc's’ A»Koeialion of Ceylon that Mr. 
Jameson be recognised as an agent ef the Planlero' 
Assooiation of Ceylon for the sale of pure Ceylon 
Tea in M.mchesler, and the Lsneasbire distcicis 
generally." 
The Standing Committee of the Tea Fund Ihen 
adjourned. „ 
A. PHILIP. 
Secretary to the Planters’ Association of Cr ylon; 
NOTES ON PRODUCE AND FINANCE. 
Losses in China Tea Trade — Apropo.i of our 
rematha on this subject last week, the Flnmicial A'cws 
says :— *• For a long time the China tea tiade has been 
in process of displacement .so far as Eugland is oon- 
cerned. Although our cousumptiou ol tea has enor- 
mously increasod during the past ten years, it is 
mainly Indian tea that wecousunip. China his had 
to lend its produoa to Russia, allhcngh mostly by way 
of Mincing Lane : but now there is a curious chant o 
apparent in the course of thia trade. Either Russia 
is impuiting less tea — which is doubifni — or it is 
importing more from China direct. It is said that tho 
losses of Kugliah specnlatora in the China tea trade 
have, thanks to this cause, beea enormous during the 
past twelve months. The lignio is even put as high 
as £750,000. 
Last Week's Tea Balks. — “B o far as it relates to 
Indian tea,” says tho Grocer, " the peroers of deluging 
the market with supplies seems to go on apace, for, 
notwithstanding the unheatd-of qnimlity put forwar i 
since the early part of October, the total amount 
offered by anclion dnring tho present week bsa em- 
braced no less than B9.830 packages, which, strange to 
say, and despite the excessive preponde ranee of inferior 
qualities, have been taken elf, and ihat, too. wiihout 
Mgns of such exhaustion on tho part cf the dealers in 
their efforls to clear the market as were apparent a 
short lime buck. With such an erormous supply »« the 
above to handle in two or three days, it is no iim'ter 
for surprise Ihot there hisbeeu rone inevenmss in 
prices ; but, admitting that ihe tendciicy here end 
there has been rather agai; s' tl;e reller, it has been 
obietly for poor low stulf which hardly drservea the 
epithet of tra, ai.d wi'h theao and ono or two other 
uuimportsnt ciceptiona tho auctions have had a 
tolerably favonrol.la retuU. The grades tbat hare 
seemed to engage moat attention have been Icaly 
Prkoes which at 'Jil and over ate unmislukably cheap, 
and the only wonder is tfca* tno tra ‘o in the o. untry 
are not lully awake tn the discovery. Roal'y line teas 
are aearoe, and realize firm rater. Bmalh r fupphes 
of Ceylon tea have come as an urini red re lef to the 
market, and tho iingularity of las’, wet It a puces 
has disappeared. Quotatmrs have shown no reoovery. 
g-llers having to buy in wl eu effers were too 
accept and common grades ronatiluting the chief 
anpplv'. tend to prevent any ai prcciabJe imirovrmont 
in values, especially r-s liuliau te.;s r f a similar char- 
acter ent. r sharply into competition. Tho Pfoihir, 
Marketc Review says There has been no fallmg-oti 
in the demand for Indian tea. The quantity brought 
forward has D' t been exceaiive, and tbeie wa" a 
bardouiug toudeucy at the earlier rales f' r the g' O I 
enmmon aorts. There teas offer betttr vi las thaii 
loca considerable time past, uiid the ti"i!e arc not 
stow to lake advantage of this, as is shown by the 
freedom witli which they are buying. A slight chock 
in the demand, however, is not improbable during 
next month, but if the importers regnla'e the lup- 
pliea, and avoid weighting tho market too heavily, 
prieta may remaiu ateacty. The moditim kinds of both 
whole and broken leaf have been well hid for, at 
steady, and in some cases rather firmer, rates. Tho 
fiuest kinds contincce to sell readily, and as they are 
not too identifcil. they oommancl high prices. 
The Cci'EEE Market. — Diecussing the position of 
coifeo, Mrasrs. Wilson, Sinithett and Oo. say:— “The 
position ef Ibis article has altered hut slightly since the 
date of cur last. The attention of tho trade Is atill 
fixed cri tho political crisis in U'az ', as in the event 
of soiious dirturbunces there, which would dolay the 
shipment of Rio .snd of Semtos coffee, Ihe long-continued 
scarcity would extend into tho New Year ; and with 
exhausted stocks iu every port a rapid appreciation cf 
va'u s would probably take place- It is expected that 
ciifferotice will be peaceably arrurged, and confidnee 
Bfems cEoro general ; the most renent daily reoeipta are 
also on a larger scale. Iu tbis market great scarcity 
prevails, and all grades show a further advance. The 
spcoulalive markets have ahown exoitement during the 
past firtsi gbr, but bnsiuets was of small ext“Dt, 
although quotations tlucluated oPHsiderably. — ll.mul <\ 
.l/cccV, Nov. 27. 
THE RKTICULATEO OH 8PONGE-BEAU1NG 
OUCUMBEU. 
Under the name of “ Luffa," or “ Cncumlier Hponge,” 
wc now imiiort in oompreased bales, from Japan and 
ijgypt, the reticulated skoletona of two varieties ol 
what Ebii Baitcir, the Arabian botanist, twelve hun- 
dred years ago described as ttie “Luffali,” taking his 
title frocu the Egyptian name of “ Luff.'' Dr. Jolm 
VeslingiuB, of Holland, in 1038, in writing ci work 
upon the plants of Egypt, as a sequel to that of 
Prospero Alpini, descrihes, with two engravings, the 
(:ncumher plo,nt tliat now furnislies the commercial 
Liiffii of Egypt, under the title of h\ifa Aralmm or 
I 'lie II III ie irhciilaluK jKijUjiiine. The .fapanese iind 
Itljfyptiaii conmierciai varifitieB ho cloaely reseinble 
each other that the pictures of Vesliiiguis, which 
were taken from plants CTOwn by himself, are excellent 
representations of tho Japanese Luffa man-ocarpa. 
Had tie cultivated the Japanese variety, which conies 
to maturity mucli earlier, he would not have fallen 
into the error of describing the seeds as white instead 
of Idack. From a very early period tlie reticulated 
skeletons of Lujfh AvitliitiH were used by the Egyptians 
in their iiath-rooms, and it is probable that the 
.lapitneso did tliosame with that of tho L. wacrocarjia. 
Bponge-bcaring Cucumbers may he found in a large 
nuiuber of hot countries, and vary in size from that 
of a plum to three foot in length. In some tlio 
skeleton is very tliick and strong, and capable of 
being made of use in tlie household, but in the majo- 
rity tho netting is thin and delicate, and can only 
be regarded as a curiosity. Like ordinary Cucumbers, 
some are edible and are grown for tho table, while 
otiioraare more or loss medicinal, and are used as 
domestic remedies. As the reticulation forms at a late 
period, the Luffa, when of an edible sort, can readily be 
cooked as a vegetable when young ; tho rank odor of 
the fruit would be an objection to its use with us, but 
this tias not availed ranch against the tomato. 
But little attention has been paid by botanists 
either ancient or modern, towards collecting, arranging 
and describing tho class of cucumbers which is 
distinguished by hearing a subciitaiieous or a com- 
plete internal skeleton. Under tho name of Momor- 
dica, Cucumis, Pepo and Luffa wo may find several 
varieties described in old botanical works, chietly iu 
Latin, Diitcli and French ; and may also discover 
that several, as tho Lnfa I’ehila, L. acntaiii/iiht, J. 
.Li/i/ptiea, etc., have been very correctly represented 
by' large plates. , ■ ■ „ 
The Luffa is fully entitled to iiiembersliip in the 
Cucumber family, and is in no seiiao a Gourd, as 
it liSiS sometimes been called. It is moncociouM, 
having separate stamiiiate and pistillate flowers, of 
whioii the former are much the larger, or more 
conspicuous ; and the leaves much more closely 
reremble iu form those of our oommon cucumber 
lliau do many in Egypt, Palestine and India, upon 
