March i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



641 



PRODUCTS 



OF THE UNITED STATES OF 

 COLOMBIA. 



The following interesting letter from Consul Anibal 

 Gonzalez, of the United States of Colombia, at Philadelphia, 

 contains many points that will be of interest to many of 

 our readers. The letter was prompted by an article upon 

 the cultivation of tea in that country, which appears in 

 a recent issue of this journal. 



Pi[iLADELPHiA, January 12th, 1884. 

 Editor American Grocer and X)vy Goods Chronicle: 

 On my arrival from New York yesterday, I found your 

 most esteemed of January the 4tii, and also a copy of 

 your most valuable paper. 



Allow me to state that tea planting in my country (United 

 States of Colombia) is not a new or imported idea. Tea 

 is also primitive in my country, and even before the 

 Spanish domination there, tea was found in several regions 

 of the country ; but, unfortunately, our "W'ar of Independ- 

 ence, and afterwards, the civil struggles, did not allow 

 my countrymen to cultivate the thousands of natural, rich 

 products of the soil. 



But now we have entered into a new era, and we 

 want to be a little known by the U^nited States of 

 America. 



They have in this country mostly a wrong idea of South 

 America, and generally they have no idea at all. It is 

 not understood that we are only a very short distance 

 from the shores of Colombia. The distance to the dis- 

 tricts where they have tea plantations can very easily be 

 done in less than 20 days, all by wat«r ; two days by 

 land. 



AVe know very well that we must not export tea of 

 inferior kind, as we want to gain credit for our exports, 

 this being the base of jirosperity and success. 



We export superior coffee, called here La Guaira, Mara- 

 caibo, Savanilla, etc. We export Quina hark on a large 

 scale, and we get in Europe the best prices. For instance, 

 the quina known by the mark "Z" of La Compania de 

 C-olombia, is sold sometimes before arriving into the 

 port. 



We have all the climates of the world, and no change 

 of seasons. In a district of 70 miles, you find sugar-cane 

 plantations, cotfee plantations, tobacco plantations ; and 

 corn, wheat, potatoes, &c., at a distance from the first- 

 named of only 15 miles. 



1 thank you very much indeed for your article and in- 

 formation. 



I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 



Anibal Gonzalkz. 



♦ '■ 



THE CITLTIVATION OF TOBACCO IN SUMATRA. 



The growth of the fragrant weed in the Dutch East 

 Indies is conducted on a large scale by Companies formed 

 for the purpose, many of which held very large pro- 

 perties and give employiuent to great numbers of laborers, 

 those most preferred being the Chinese. It is claimed 

 for the tobacco produced that it especially adapted for 

 use as wrappers for cigars, the leaf being very light, and 

 burning reailily with a white ash. This prevents the cigar 

 from burning down the centre, whilst the flavour is s-o 

 pure that it does not interfere with the finest fillings 

 The produce is shipped to the Amsterdam and Rotterdam 

 markets, where it is sold in large lots by private contract, 

 it baring been found that the system of selling by pub- 

 lic auction is neither in the interest of the importer or 

 of the trade generally. It is not an unusual occurrence 

 for tobacco worth £100,000 to be sold in one day. The 

 trade, which may be said to have begun in 1865, has de- 

 veloped rapidly. In that year the produce prepared for 

 the European market was Ijut little over oO,0(;0 lb., whereas 

 in 18S2 it had reached the enormous figure of 17,0(10,000 

 lb., and had been steadily increasing. Considering how 

 easily tobacco can be grown in British India, and what 

 scope there is for the develo)mient of the industry, we 

 are glad to be able to place liefore our readers some ac- 

 count of the system pursued in Sumatra by one of the 

 leading Companies engaged in the enterprise. 



The Deli Maatschappij was established in 1870, and now 

 owna eleven estates iu the island, and is interested in 

 P2 



various others. On each of these estates there is a staff 

 of one manager and or five other European assistauts, aim 

 about 550 permanent laborers, besides a variable number 

 employed in clearing jungle, etc. The Company maintains 

 two hospitals for its laborers, with a European doctcr and 

 apothecary, and a native staff to each. Forest land is usually 

 selected for the crop, and the soil should be a loam, and 

 if possible of volcanic origin. Proximity to the sea is un- 

 desirable, as the presence of too much salt in the air 

 and soil causes the leaves to burn badly. Only one crop 

 of tobacco is taken from the land, and it is then cropped 

 with paddy for one year, and then left fallow fir about 

 ten years, during which the jungle is oucouraged to grow 

 up. Consequently a large area of land is required to each 

 estate, and as only portions of the laud are annually 

 cropped, only temporary buildings are erected, they being 

 used for two years only, and then a move is made. The 

 land is laid out with much regularity with a system of 

 parallel roads, and in fields extending about 300 yards on 

 either side, those on one side being used one year, and 

 those on the other in the next. The fields are about one 

 acre in extent, and each is in the charge of a Chinese cooly, 

 who practically cultivates it on contract, being paid prices 

 varying from R.? to R21 for every 1.000 plants he delivers 

 to the drying sheds according to the quality. But plants 

 worth less than R7 a thousand aie rarely taken, as they 

 would not repay the cost of preparation. A cooly plants 

 about 10,000 plants, and receives on an average about Rll-8 

 a thousand. Besides this he cuts a number of rattans, and 

 makes during the eight or nine months' work in the fields 

 in all about R180 to R190, besides earning more for any 

 work he does in the drying sheds. The cooly does every- 

 thing reqidred on the laud, from burning the jungle_ to 

 cutting the plant when ripe, and hanging it in the drying 

 sheds. The crop is raised during the dry season, and takes 

 two or thi-ee months to mature after tran.splauting from 

 the nurseries. It is harvested during the months of .Tune, 

 July, and August. In the drying sheds the leaves are dried 

 for three or four weeks, and are then stripped, tied in 

 ' bundles, and piled in heaps iu order to cause fermentation. 

 [ Great care is taken in this last process, the piles being 

 I turned as soon as the heat becomes great, until the colour 

 1 of the leaf gets fixed. When this is effected the leaves 

 j are sorted according to their length, and undergo a final 

 process of fermentation. They are also carefully sorted 

 according to their colour, and resolved into about fifty or 

 I sixty sorts packed separately for export in mats with hydraul- 

 I ic pressure. The sorting requires gi'cat experience, care, 

 I and attention, and the cooly when working at it earns 

 i about R14-8 a mouth. 



I In climate and in soil, Sumatra appears to be favorcil 



for this crop much beyond what we are in India, but 



I there can be no doubt, from the evidence we have in the 



Dindigul and Godavery tobacco now produced, that with 



j an equal amount of care and supervision, both in the curing 



I and in the assortment of the leaf, the local industry uiij.ht 



be very greatly developed. It is only necesi-ary that cur 



Indian tobaccos .shall be better cured .and carefully sotted 



' so that they may be true to brands, fi r a great tiade, we 



i believe, to spring up in the article with other parts of the 



{ world. This is a direction in which private tnterprise has 



never yet been steadily maintained iu Southern India. — 



I Madras Mail. 



PRACTICAL RESI'LTS IN DRYING COCOA: 

 I MESSRS. WM. CAMERON and J. B.'s SUGGESTIONS. 



Sir, — I have read with much interest the articles upon 

 I drt/iitf/ which have appealed in the locai papers — both Mr. 

 Cameron's and J. B.'s. Since I have 1 een a cocoa and 

 tea planter, it has been my object to attain some practical 

 knowledge upon this subject, and, with all due ri spect to 

 Mr. Cameron, I find all my experimcn s fail absolutely, 

 or are unneci ssarily expensix u, so far as 1 1< ave the principie.-. 

 as laid down by Mr. Clerihew. In a j.revious letter of 

 Mr.Cameron's, he tells us that Clerihew's system was known 

 at home 40 years ago — possibly it did i.ot occur that it 

 must be nearly 40 years ago since the fiist C'lerihtw store 

 was erected in Ceylon. 



It is not my intention to enter into tl eories or general 



principles of <h-ying as laid down in formulas, but to 



' plainly relate the result of my experience, which quite 



