64a 
tHE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 
[March i, 189a. 
have touched the shares in the Company he had 
accepted in part payment for certain estate pro- 
perty he had sold to it *' with a pair of tongs." 
Those who saw fcSir William Gregory on that oc- 
casion tell me that bo looked dreadfully ill and worn ; 
and be bimself confessed that bis attendance at 
the meeting was strongly in opposition to the 
OOunsel of his doctor. 
Mr. J. L. ,Shand did not take the mans grass 
tea box with him, but it bas been shipped this 
week per " Manors " for eonveynnoe to Ceylon 
to be delivered to him there. You will therefore 
soon bo afforded the opportunity of judging tor 
yourselves of the value of the mana-grsss board 
for manufacture locally into attioles of this 
nature, and of its possible applicability to even mote 
extended purposes. 
Mr. BIwood May has just sent home another 
speoimen of the advertisements of his Tea Company 
that he has had inserted, under the arrangements 
formerly detailed to you, in the American papers. 
This one is contained in a paper called The 
Staj/e. a journal which is devoted to a record 
of all connected with theatrical matters, and is 
undoubtedly one of the beat specimens of specialist 
newspapers wo have ever seen. The advertisement 
is very much in Mr. May's customary style. For 
one of its bcadiogs it has “ Ceylon Tea Aids 
Nutrition of the Nerves." It givis at length a 
highly eulogistic letter written by Mr. J. A. Bourchier, 
M.D , of New York, a specialist in diseases of the 
nervous system, in which he says that, after ex- 
tended trial, he recognizes the enormous value of 
Ceylon Tea in dietetics, and that be is able to 
permit its use in the case of numerous disorders 
in which he had previously forbidden the drinking 
of tea at all. Ho further wrote : — “ Ceylon tea 
aids nutrition of the nerves, and thus is not only 
free from injurious effects, but is beneficial as a 
beverage.’’ The advertisement also quotes from 
Dr. Yorke-Davies’s book entitled " Food for theFat" 
published in London some time bark, in which the 
use of Ceylon tea is recommended. These quota- 
tions are followed by a notification that Ceylon 
tea furnishes a oup that cheers with after cheer 
is what an actress needs. She will And this in 
our Pure Ceylon Teas, Blend, Tiffin and Bungaloe." 
The advertisement concludes with the announcement 
that the capital of the Company is 1,000,000 dollars, 
but it does not state how much of this is paid up. 
• 
Export op Tea prom Japan.— During 1891 Japan 
exported between three and four million more pounds 
of tea than in 1800. 
Introduction of the Birch Tree into 
Ceylon. — Some time ago we mentioned that we had 
been favoured by our good friend Mr. Oammie of 
the Sikkim oineboua plantations with seeds of a 
Himalayan biroh, which ho desoribod as rapid 
in growth and as yielding a wood excellent for 
fuel purposes. During our recent visit to Abbots- 
ford we found some plants so well advanced that wo 
out a couple of twigs from one, which, as speoimens, 
we sent to Dr. Trimen. In response the Dircotor 
of the Royal Botanical Gardena writes 
•• Poradeniya, Jan. Ith, 1892. 
“I am so glad to see the Birch, the first in Ceylon. 
I suppose it is Uetula uliliii ; the name refers rather to 
tho nark, which is greatly used, thau to the wood 
though that is good also. I hope the Birks’ of 
Abbotsford will thrive as those of Aberfeidy. 
Not having Mr. Gammie’a letter to refer to, 
we cannot recall the speoifio name he gave, 
but Dr. Trimon's guess may be ootreot ; 
although, on referring to Gamble’s Manual 
of Indian Timbers, we cannot And utilU 
amongst the Betulas described by him, wbioh are 
Aacuminata, Wall., alba, Linn., Hhojimttra, Wall., 
cylindroitachjn, Wall. Jaquernontii, Spaoh., and 
piipyracea, Willd. The only one of these deecribed 
as of fast growth is Setitla cyliniirottachys, which 
grows on the Darjeeling Hills and is used only for 
fuel and charcoal purposes, for which it is very good. 
It is described as an extremely handsome tree with 
drooping branchoa. In this latter oharaoteristio 
it resembles tho exquisitely beautiful birches of tho 
Scotoh Highlands. As yet our specimens show 
no sieUB of the drooping tendenoy, but wo hope 
they will taka it on when further advanced. Mean- 
time, some of ihe Eucalypti, “ red gums ’’ espeoially, 
grown on Abbotsford and other upcountry estates 
are very beautiful substitutes for birohes, in their 
drooping branches and Ane foliage. If, ae Dr. 
Trimen indicates, our birches are the Arst grown 
io Ceylon, it is something for Abbotsford to be 
proud of. Thera are English oaks, one of wbioh has 
borne acorns, and seedling Assam oaks (Quercus 
terrata), to keep them company. 
Ei.KCTniciTV IN Oyster Ctii.TUHK.— It might be 
thought that electricity would fio about the last ad- 
junct to employ in studying the culture of thosucouloiit 
biviilvo. An application of it, however, has recently 
been made by Motis. Lacaso-Duthier, the welf- 
kuown authority on oyster culture. He makes use 
of tile electric light in examining the stages of de- 
velopment throu^i which tho spawn passes. A glass 
cylinder is niomited in a cylindrical skeleton cage 
wliicli serves a.s a support ; into this glass the water 
containing the spawn is placed. At tho bottom is a 
plane, silvered roAeotor ; the cover forms a parabolic 
reffector, in the centre of which is lixed a small 
inoandoaoont lamp. The reffootors and tho sides of 
the glass cylinder act in sucli a way that imt few rays 
of light enlarge from the apparatus directly; hence 
tho liquid is suffused with a soft illumination which is 
adinivahly suited to tho examination of the coiitonts. 
Tliis little apparatus, or a uiodiAcation of it, is now 
being employed in various rosearclies into the life 
processes of ferments and tho culture of microlies, the 
illumination by the incandescent electric light being 
much more suitable for the study of these low forms 
of life than that from other artiAcial sonrccs. — 
F.lectt'lcul Htriew. 
'The Diamonu-uack Moth Caterpillar may he an 
object of intorest to entomologists, hut market gar- 
deners regard it with unconcealed suspicion. Last 
July, swedes, turnips, and cabbages in vanous districts 
of the eastern parts of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and 
Norfolk, and BcotUind wore infested to an extent wliich 
excited gi-eat apprehensions on tlie part of the growers 
and attracted tho attention of the Board of Agriculture. 
Mr. Cliarles Wliitehead, p.l.s., was cormnissianed to 
prepare a special report njion the pest, and this has 
just been issued as aDepnrtmental Paper. Mr. White- 
head siiows that as long ago as IHliil this moth was 
known by turnip-growers to he very niiscliievous, while 
during tlie last ten years it has made it.s appearance at 
many places in numliers which indicate an enormuns 
multiplieationof the species. Sir Jacob Wilson pointed 
out to tho llnyal Agricultural Society last .luly that 
altliough there had been every prospect of a large crop 
of turnips in Northuinherland, tlie attack of the pest 
during tiio previous week or fortnight had reduced large 
tracts to a waste desert. Swedes seem to ho a fa- 
vourite crop, hut cabbages have suffered still more. 
Mr. Whitehead concludes a comparison of tlie remedies 
that have been tried, Ijy pointing out tliat the applica- 
tion of tho mixture of soot and linio in good time with 
tlie StrawBonizer is the best ; imt paraffin, ijuassia, 
and carbolic acid arc efficacious to some extent. 
Nitrate of soda and otlior stimulants have too hocu 
found useful in forcing tho growth of infected plants. 
Prevention, liowever, is bettor than onre, and farmers 
should make a note of tho important fact tliat it is 
most important to cut down in tho spring cruciforoRB 
weeds, such as “charlock,"’ hedge mustard, and prickly 
saltwort, which servo as breeding places for the Arst 
brood of moths . — Ilaily Graphic. 
