730 
T«E TROPICAL AOftlOULTURIST. 
[April t , 1893. 
for it tUfite wM twice m mnoh as dnst to be bad 
the Bfooerymnn here would buy it. 
About fcur yeara ago I went very carefully over 
many of tbe Japaneie tea farma. You must »now 
that t<8 «ai mtrodnoed Into JM>»n from China 
ahoat one thouaand yoara ago. When It waa first 
bronahfc over it wai ao costly that only tbe Japaneae 
noblemen could afford it, and aome tl\reo hundred 
years ago, I am told, tho Mikado had n tea omoer 
on hie staff to look after hia lea gardens. Wow 
every farm has i'a little patch of tr4S plants. Xho 
beat of tea oomes from Kiota, from the Inmoua tea 
^ A now tea plantation in .Japan is started from the 
seed. This is gathered in October from the plant, put 
in a mixture of Band and earth and dampened to koep 
it freah until apring. The tea plant is a species of 
osmellia, a short, stocky bnab, three to five feet 
high, with white, waxy flowera. Its leavea are 
(lark gr.en, and it would make a beautiful shrub for 
hedgel The bjat soil for a tea farm is virgm forest 
land lint that is remarkably acarce in .Japan, and the 
land' tint has been cropped for centuries ia generally 
used Tho soil must be well drained, and it is 
OBsential that water ahonld not lodge around the roots 
of the plant. Slany of the ten farms for this reason 
are on hillsides arranged in a kind of torrace. 
The seeds gathered in tho fall are planted in the 
apring in circles about two feet in diameter 
each circle containing about thirty seeds, with the 
centres of the oircloa making up tho garden about 
five left apart. Thoeo two-foot oirclea in a few years 
form a compact biieh, and each year it is carefully onlti- 
vated as well as heavily munured. Bnriug the third 
year of its growth the plants havelosTOs ready for the 
picking, end # tea plant is at its very test between 
its fifth and its tenth year. There are at least three 
pickings a year, and a good tea farm should yield an 
average of 2,601) lb. of tea to the acre. 
The picking of the tea is done by girls with small 
baeketa, which are in tarn emptied into great basket*, 
carried by coolies to the firing room, wbsreitis sorted, 
sweated, rolled, steamed and dried. The process is a 
long one before tho tea is packcil in large earl lieru jars 
to bo taken to the seaooaat, where it ia made ready 
for export. The large firing establishments at Kobe 
prepare the tea by another drying for shipping to tlie 
American market. It ia during this last firing that the 
coloring matter, if used at all, is put into the tea. 
The idea that green tea is always (lokired is a mis- 
take, as the natural color of the leaf is green and the 
snn-dried tea is green. The crops that uro picked lata 
in tbe season have not this high color, and for this 
reason the coloring matter is used. It consists of a 
mixture of imMgo and soapstouo, which m thrown into 
the pail while it is on the fire. Wo next hear of 
the caddie* of thegrooery stores, where it is sold for 
about five times, what it costs the wholesale dealers to 
import it. 
New York, Jannary 6tb, 1S92. 
An American, 
The rooeption whiob Canadian produce has met 
with in London during the past season is in every 
wav encouraging, and should inoite Canadians to 
new and holder efforts. In tho egg trade (or 
instanoo, a remarkable development has taken placo. 
between thirty and forty railliona of eggs having 
been landed at Liverpool. These oonaignmenlB 
met suoh a ready sala at good prioes that a further 
expansion of the trade ia expected next season. 
The apple trade has also assumed great preportions. 
The imports into Liverpool for the Bonson were 
.JG9 880 barrels, as against 9C,628 barrels during the 
iormsponding period of the ptovioua year. The 
principal portion of these supplies has boon Cana- 
dian the prioBS of which range from U to 20 per 
cent’ more than for those of the United States, 
Bo that in this particular instance at least, the 
American protective tariff has had tho eilcot^ or 
promotingltrade between England and tho Dominion. 
Colonics «n4 Indin, 
SETTLEMENT OP EUROPE.\NS IN THE NEW 
HEBRIDES, AND THE FUTURE 
OP THE OROIT. 
The day is coming when all the islands of the 
Pacific will bo c' aimed as the natural heritage of 
the empire or republic, wbichtvor it may be, that 
may finally be established on the Australian con- 
tinent. When the population of that continent 
equals forty or fifty millions, ehort vurk will be 
made of the titles of tho various European nation- 
alities to islands or parts of islaniiB as in New 
Guinea, or to groups of islands on the outskirts 
ofAnstralia. Meantime it is, naturally and justi- 
fiably, a eourco of extreme irritation to the Australian 
oolouiats, who even risked a rupture with Britain 
in order to prevent the further introduction of con- 
viots to its shores, to see Prance ostablishing a 
convict settlement in close contiRuity to their free 
land on the fine island of New C.sledonin. We may 
rely on it that Australia only waits mitil she is 
strong enough to right this great wrong. Meantime 
the French, having eetablishoil theinsolves in New 
Caledonia, naturally caet looking looks on tho ad- 
jacent group of islands known as "the Now Hebrides.” 
More than one attempt to annex these islands to 
Franco was made, but this was too much for 
British patience and the attempts wire reaistod 
and some species of agreement has been entered 
into for joint control under a joint oommisnion- 
the settlement of subjects of both countries being 
allowed, but under very unequal oonditions. Tho 
sale of arms and ammunition and of intoxicating 
drinks to the natives ought manifoBtly to be for- 
bidden, and Sir John Thurston, who has suooeetlcd 
-Sir Arthur Gordon as High Commissioner of tho 
Western 1‘acifio, as well as Governor of Fiji, has 
stated as a fact disgraooful to the United States 
Government, that, bub for the objoetions of that 
Government, such sales would have been prohibited 
to the subjects of all nations. As matters now 
stand the trafllo is penal and puaisbablo only 
when British subjsots are the wrong doers, and 
Pronohmen who have therapolves piircliaseJ large 
tacts of land from the native chiefs for arms, can 
procure and have actually proc tbe pnniehment 
of those oonneoted with a Britirl, urig for carrying a 
cargo of arms I It says much for British enterprise 
that British trade in the islands should bo in- 
creasing under circumstances so ono-sidod. Not 
long ago we extracted an account of tho, in this 
case, apparently, unprovoked murder of a Mr. 
Sawets, a planter on .Santoo, the largest of the 
islands. Enquiry was made by a British war vessel, 
which was to be submitted to the joint Commission, 
and in answer to complaints that wrongs inflicted 
on British subjects were not redressed, although 
wrongs committed liy them were promptly pmiishod. 
Sir John Thurston’s answer was that those who 
choso to Bottle in the islands took their livus in 
their hands, — sat upon a powder magazine and 
must expect some day to be blown up ! And yet 
purohasea of land by settlers are recognized and 
regularly registered. As might be anticipated some 
of tho aboriginal oliicfs attempt to sell the samo 
lands over and over again. Here inequality 
again prevails. The French adopt a tone of demand: 
” we want such and such land and wo must 
have it, ” while British aubjeots are compelled to 
observe much moie iqultable proceedings. Tho 
removal of the unlives from island to island for 
putposea of labour is forbidden, although latterly 
the Missionaries, who are scattered over tho islards 
where they have done muoh good, have favoured 
ft rolftxatipn ol Ihia rtile. Wo buve a chart before 
