8o3 
THE TROPICAL AQRICULtURIST. 
[May 2, 1892. 
to prove ill exceea of requirements. It is, therefore 
{itobable that there will be a sironf; market for these 
(leacriplioDS for some time to come and the only 
check to no upward movemeut will be the large eup- 
pliea of Oevlon tea, which will have a steadying tifec 
should they prove to bo of good qn- lity. Althongh 
the sales of Ceyluu teas, couformably with advices 
from the island, have been considerably smaller than 
last year up to tbo same date, the demand etill 
continues inactive, and the slight recovery notice- 
able about the end of January in common teas has 
been lust. Finer tens, however, maintain their posi- 
tion well, slthongh the demand is not very active 
even for those descriptions; but, as the quantity 
advertised for next week is small, present rnies bid 
fair to be maintained. The quality has bet n fairly 
good, showing some improvement. Java teas have 
been iiiueh negleo'ed. 
WoHTH Noting. — Discussing last week s tea mar- 
ket, the Grocer's Vhroviele says : — The course of the 
market thin week has been listless and lending down- 
wards for allbntgcotl liquoring teas. Fine and finest 
from either India or Ceylon command fullest attention 
and show no change in value ; but common teas see m 
out of'favonr at the moment, and, probably owing to 
the slackneea of the country demand, the dealers are 
unwilling to increase atneks. There ia no doubt that 
the policy of tea planters this season has been 
mistaken, although, after the phenomenal rise 
witnesred last spring, when common leaf tea 
ijurhed lOiI., it is not surprising that producers 
should " go for" quantity in the following sea- 
son. The wonder is thst they did not allow 
their inclinations to had them still further cu 
the down grade. There la altvaya a large proportion 
of low oUsB tea at the end of every seaeon, and this 
year, owing to the roaroiii just given, the propor- 
tion of oommon stoff is extraordinary Low quality 
Ceylon ia aelling down to -Id snd even 3Jd, It would 
appear now that there are limita to the standard of 
quality, and no matter how temptingly low the price 
may be, tbo retailer must use tbo less of it when 
the quality goes too low rather than more ; thus 
planters, by their desire to prodnee a very large quan- 
tity, are defeating their own object and damaging the 
prospects of the tea trade far more than they are aware 
of. Another foature this season has been tbo over- 
whelming quantity of inferior and low grade broken 
pekoe. Ireland baa always been the largest consumer 
of broken teos, and the native appreciation of good 
tea there ia keener than anywhere else in the dnited 
Kingdom. But an over proportion of low gra e tea, 
whilst fine and finest continue to fetch lull prices 
and are scarce as well, disorganises the Iriih trade 
in tea ; and the carious fact is now seen that Broken 
Pekoes can be bought at 7id with equal quality to 
whole leaf Pekoe at 9d. 
Bamans Flouh and Banana (igowiNO.— Mr. H. M. 
Stanley, the explorer, said several good worda fur 
banana flour in bis ration books, but no steps have 
been taken to introduoo.it in to the produoe market. It 
is credited with being nutritious, palatable, snd, above 
all, much more easy of digestion than wheaten flour. 
Mr. Stanley claims that banana bread wonld be a good 
■ubstitute lor wheaten bread as a standing article of 
human dietary. There seema no reason why it should 
not be so ; Inat tbo flour will make bread, wbou pro- 
perly dealt witb, has bien proved, we believe, by many 
practical experiments. The current issue of the Kew 
Bulletin states that the banana plantatione of Fiji 
are threatened with ruin by a curious disease, or, 
rather, series of diseases. These consist of aphides, or 
plant-lioe, a fungus causing rot in the root-stock, and 
various species of thread-worms. It is worth noting 
that in the soil abont the roots of these plants nearly 
thirty diflereat speciee of worms have been found, 
and of these about twenty-five are new to soienee, 
though as yet only two have been detroled actually 
attacking the roots, living in certain brown, rotten 
cavities or between the sheaths of the leaves, and 
in some cases even at the very core where the 
tissues appear to be quite sound and white. The 
only suggestion for saving bauauis as yet made 
is to plough up the Und leaving U fallow, and 
alternating some other crop. The ground could then 
ho replanted with banana ** stools*’ from an unaffected 
locality, 
I'HK SiLVEE Question. — According to the New York 
Tribune, although Mr. Foster, Secretary of the Trea- 
sury, is coming to England solely foe ptrsonai reasons, 
ho will confer with Mr. Goschiu with a view to 
arranging an international conference to ooiiaider 
wbst action should be taken in regard to the silver 
queatioD. So much the better. There cannot he a 
doubt that all parties in the United States are at 
preient more anxious than ever to gel the questioa 
settled. The BepiiBliovn Party ia committed to the 
Silver Aot of last year ; the Democratic Parly ia 
afraid that the free coinage movement may cause 
a split in its ranks on the eve of the elections. The 
British and the Indian Government must have viewed 
the recent decline in the FIsstern exchanges and its 
possible oensoquenoes with concern. For nearly twenty 
years the question has been debated, and d( spite all 
tbe hopes of the optimists, it has not “ settled itself,” 
hut has assumed a more acute form. It ia believed that 
the Indian Government dare not borrow gold for 
railway extrusion, and a silver loan at tbo present 
time is out of tbe questio!', Something will have to 
be (*one.— //. ^ C. J/aif, Feb. 26th. 
‘•SIROCCO’’ ENGINEERING WORKS. 
The exteusivo works belongiog to Mr. S. 0. David- 
son, at Bridge End, Belfast, were recently tbo scone 
ol an event of sn extremely interesting character 
iHnslratii g, as it did, the hurmoeious relaiioua eiisl- 
iug between Mr. Davidson and his employii. The 
occasion was tbe opening of the new dining and 
reading rooms whieh have been recently added to tbe 
works, and Mr. S. C. Davidson and Mrs. Davidson 
hospitably entertained tbe tmployes and their friends 
(numbering over 300) in cuuueotioii with the cere- 
mony. Tbe new building, which is intended for 
the purposes mentioued, bas been fitted upewith- 
ont regard to expense or trouble, the sole object 
of Mr. Davidson being tbe cumfort and oonvtnibuoe 
of the people employed in the works. The principal 
ortiou of tbe proceedings took p'ace in the lecture- 
all, which oconplea the third storey of the baildiug. 
After tea, Mr, Davidson tcok tbo (hair amidst ap- 
plause, Bud btitfiy explained tbe object uf the meeting. 
Be raid the special feature of their rutcrtiiisment was 
to ioangurate tbo opening of these dining and reading 
rtoms, which, in tbo first place, as they all ku> w, he 
intended for tbe daily cunvonieoce and aooommodation 
of those employed in the works, and fuilber to enable 
them occasionally to hold social gaiberings, or for tbe 
purposes of educational leotuios, without having te go to 
any place outside the Birocco works, Ue considered 
that be could not have a more snitablc tost of tbe capa- 
city and accomniodalion of the rooma than to employ 
them on tbe first occasion of their being used to 
meet there, as his guests and friends that evenriig, 
everyone who was in his employment along with a 
few of their own and bis own persoual friends. He 
sincerely hoped that this test would not discover many 
defects in the arrangements of tbe place, either as 
regarded tbe acoommodation of the tea-rooms or that 
hall, as concert-room or ballroom. He offered them 
bis hearty welcome that evening, and trusted that they 
would all enjoy tbomselves as thoronghly as be wisheil. 
On the motion of Mr. Hugh M'Bratney, seconded by 
Mr, William Fiew, a vote of thanks was passed to 
Blr. Davidson for providing the dining and reading 
rooms. Mr. Davidson having replied, music, in which 
tbe Misses M. and K. Davidson took part, followed, 
and dancing went on until an early hour in tbe morn- 
iug, — //. and C. Mail, F'eb. 26th. 
Wattlk Cultube in Natal, — Before the 
Immigration Commission, a faimet related : — ” Ue 
did not think the wattle industry would be overdone. 
He bad started growing wattles fifteen years ago, and 
bad found it answer. It was possible to clear dUd 
10s per Mxo,— Natal Mercury, 
