900. 
THE TROPICAL AORlCULTUftlST 
[June I, 1892. 
ciatLn — will be provided at a mcment’s oolite. Wait- 
ri«3cV Will be iu alt' ndance, and every effort used 
to tnako -‘Tbe Ceylon Kioak’" a iavourile and 
convenient reaoit for ladies or irenllemeo when in 
town. Tbe attendants will be mstruoied to give every 
inlormatioo— is solioited ns to iho class, price, and 
quantity of tea used, and the Asfociation trust that 
this attempt to provide fur the convenience of their 
present and prospective customers will be heartily 
availed of* 
Bsohewiug all those attempts at presumptions 
and impertinent coercion adopted by various 
a.spirants lor public pstrunage, with which 
all are now so familiar, the Assooiation refrain 
even from fnilowing the erample of that aged 
and eminent fadoLt Sir Kdwin Clark, Li..t), v n.a., 
r. K. c. P. (M.I.L.K.), tor however desirous tbey may 
bo to introduce and maintain their teas in public I avour 
they daro not pteaume to dioiutu in a mailer con- 
oeruiiig which all are equally qualitteil to judge. All 
thiy do is to from time to time place the punlio in 
pos.essiou of certain fucis— coiioeruing which all tea 
expeita are perfectly and unanimously agreed, — and 
Btquaiuied with which every one can safely be left 
to use his or her own discretion and taste. 
The soil of China has unrilig many centuries been 
subjected to a continuous drain — without any op- 
portunity for recuperation — of all the obeiuio.l coti- 
Btiiooiiia essential to tno pruduoiion ot good tea, and 
is now BO thoroughly impovorished as to be iurap- 
able of supplying tho world with auy thing more 
than a more weedy, sickly-lookiiig rcpreseutaiive 
ol what ahould be a succulent and healthful nriiole 
ot diet. Ceylon, on the other hand, endowed with a 
rich and generous aoil scarcely tested aa yet, aud in 
tbe hands of skilluland eoieutitio cnltnrists.wbo can be 
relied upon not to exhaust, lar less ‘’gil, the giiose 
that lays tho golden ogg,” is prooilcing a ton so brim- 
ful of all that is appetising and invigorating that it is 
acarccly astonishiug to learn that old gentlemen unac- 
customed to its strength have, liko the poor old 
doctor hir Kdwin Clark, aoVualJy bioonie siighily 
intoxicated by its use. 'Ihe Association trust 
that the good citia-ns ol Dunedin will not 
falliutothe egiegions blunder of mistaking the spu.i. 
ons article lor llio '• Uial Mackay”; not that we iie- 
liove 11 posaiblelliat ihloxicaliou would lOsult, but tor 
the sake of avoiding waste, ter eviiy onealoild know 
that Cey!o« tea goes much furtlier than China tea, and 
couBtqucmly should not to u.ej wiUi the same lib t- 
ality. The world, however, has passed judgment iu the 
matter, niul tho result shows the verdict given— China’s 
export is yearly decreasing, Cey ion's export is increas- 
ing by leaps aud bounds. 
Tex in Fiji.— a Suva oorrespondent reports that 
the cultivation ot lea is rapidly extending in the Fiji 
Islands. It has already been proved beyond doubt 
that the soil of these islands is capable of producing 
a very superior ^quality ol tea, and seme of tho tea 
grown on the lute Mr. Mason's estate on Taviniii was 
regarded as equal to the best Ceylon of the time. 
Coder Sir John Tuurston’s capable administration 
planters in Fiji ere now suireanded with but few 
of the old diUiculties, and iiiero is no reason why 
tea and ooflee should not become ns good payiug 
lines as sugar iu the lelands.— Coionfes and djidtai 
Ceylon and Indian Tea Planters. — A con- 
responctent writes to tho Englishman aud draws 
atlcnlioii to the lamviitublo waut ot energy nhicli has 
difltiuguisbed the liidiaii tea iudihitry m its eomptli- 
tion with Ceylon. Kviry device known to the “now 
advetlish g ” hae been employed in pop lUrising the 
Oeylou pioduot in the homo market, and the methods 
which have proved so auoooasfiil in Loudon, are now 
being extended to Chicago with the view ol securing 
a ptaoiioiil monopoly of tho American "'orket. As 
auueuuood some iiiontha ago, tho Ceylon Planters 
Aasuoiatiou has voiud a considerable sum for the pur- 
pose ol aeudiug a xoprosoutative to the World's Fair, 
pbd shall evnvort the free citizens of the United States 
from their present faith iu the Chinese product to an 
enlightened taste fnr Mazawsttee ; ami the local Qnv- 
ernineul has identified iiself with the scheme by a 
grant of KSO.OtK). There is no reason to doubt that 
ibn iugennity and cnierpriec whicli have procured 
tor Cl yliin tea a wholly dispreportienste share of 
the Knglish trade will be less successful iu Chicago 
than ill London. Tbe American market is at present 
large, and tbe enormons increase of population gives 
premise in tho future of practically iiiilimdod expan- 
sion. Those who aro interested in the Indian teaiii- 
dusiry will Imre only themselves to blame if they are 
shut (lit in the tntiire from their due share in the 
tea supply of Ihe New World. The correspondent 
statea that Ihe Indian Ti a Association is now oolle.ct- 
ing funds for the purpnse of providing an exhibit of 
In. ian Tea at the Chicago Kxhibition. but it is doubt- 
ful whether, even with a oenlribntiou of from 115,000 
to 1110,000 from tbe local Government, the amonnt 
siibeo'ibcd will exceed 1135,000 In view of tbe scale 
upon which the Exhibition has botu conceived, this 
sum is, it need scarely bo pointed out, hopelessly in- 
adeqnate. It is fnr less tl nii Ihe individual coiitti- 
butioii of scores of enterprising firms j and if this is 
tn be regarded as the maximum. ludian tea growers 
may bo content to abandon the attempt to compete with 
ttuiir more etiterprising rivals in Cryloii. 
Tropic and Semi-Tropic Fruit.s in the 
Unitep Btateh.— For tho first tiiiio the Cenaua Office 
has made a apecial investigation for the purpose of 
ascertaining the extent and value of tho iiroduction 
of oranges. lemons, figs, almonds, coconuts anti other 
tropic and semi-tropic fruits and nuts ns industries 
of the United States. The material from which the 
statistics containod in tho Censiis bulletin jnat issued 
aro oompilod was obtained direct from the growers 
upon schedules specially prepared for that purpose 
and by personal visits of special agents to sections 
ot tho country whore those products are grown. 
From the liguros it appears that in addition to the 
tropic and semi-tropic fruits and nuts grown for 
home and family use in tho United States there 
wore in the census year 1:1,515 acres of almonds, 
()77'.50 of banana, lliO'HH of citron, of coconut, 
•1,177 of fig, 550 of guava, l,3fi2’25 of kaki, 7,250 of 
lemon, 405*58 of lime, 12,180 of Madeira nut, 7,007 of 
olive, 181, tKW of orange, 2,180*.5O of pineapple, 171*80 
ot pomelo, and 27,110 .50 of pecan trees, reprosont- 
iiig 058,500 bearing and 800,010 non-bearing almond 
trees, 577,782 bearing banana plants, *1,237 bear- 
ing and 11,110 non-bearing citron trees, 123,227 
bearing and 1,190,510 non-boaring coconut trees, 
138,180 bearing and 285,201 non-hearing fig trees, 
32.013 bearing and 120,520 non boaring guava trees, 
5S,3!IO bearing and 124,52*2 non-boaring kaki trees, 
107.003 bearing aud 498,784 non-boaring lemon trees, 
10.000 hearing and 44,255 non-hearing lime trees, 
l8S,4uO bearing and 411,248 u 'U-beaiiiig Madeira iiel 
tree-, 278,380 bearing and .331,0*22 nun-beating olive 
trees, 3,885,890 hearing and 9,705,246 iiou-beariug 
orange trees, 21,750,000 pineapple plants, 3,279 bearings 
and 12,867 eou-bearing pomelo Irous, aud 214,988 
b iiriiig and 657,980 r.o -Iciitiiig pecan trees. Exclu- 
ding pineapples and bananas, which are all counted as 
bearing plants, as they commouce frnitiiig within a 
year of p auling it is seen that the average number 
ad non-bearing trees is about double tbat of tbe 
bearing trees, the product of wnich iu tho ceoaus ymr 
was, as as far as reported, valued at $14,116,226 59, 
divided as follows . — Aim. uuls. 5(1.525,11)9 80 ; bansna, 
$280,653*75 ; coconut, $251,217 *11 ; tig, $307,271*76 ; 
It'iiiiiii, $988,099*02; lime. $62,496*90; Madeira unt, 
$1.256, 9o8; oiive, $386,368*32; orange. $6,602,099*06; 
pi. .spile, $812,159 17; pomelo, $27,216; and pecaHi 
$1,616,576*50. Oil Uio basis of present pnoea, witli all 
ibe iicU bearing trees in fruitage, tbe next ceuaus ought 
to show a value of pro luct of more than $50,000,000. 
As a forecast of the future growth of these branches 
ol hor.iculture, in addition to tbe acreage already 
planlud, the number of acres of land iu the United 
Stall a susooptiblo of development iu plant in any one 
or all of the fruits and nuts named has boeii ascer- 
tained, aud the aggregate figures are also given HI 
the eaiue huUctio, — Londoa Xi/iics, April lOtb, 
