July 2, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



sorry to see though, by your papers, that the Liberian 

 coffee iu some parts has been so badiy attacked by 

 Hemi'eia vastatrix that people seem to be doubtful 

 whether it will do to plant up more. 



Tea. — Our oldest tea planted clearing, about 18 

 months old, is looking very well ; so are all the 

 youuger clearings. Some tea was made by a planter 

 a short time ago, who bad never had any experience 

 in tea-making before, and was forwarded to Mr. 

 Moody in Melbourne for his report. His report was 

 most favourable aud was very encouraging. For fear 

 you m;iy not have seen a copy of it, although copies were 

 sent to several papers, I enclose one cut out of the 

 F'ji Times, a;ul I think you will agree with me 

 that, when you take into consideration the tea was 

 made by a novice and with bad appliances, i he report 

 is all that could be desired.* I shall commence 

 manufacturing soon aud 1 trust we shall get prices 

 equal to Mr. Moody's valuation. t Our climate here 

 is all that a tea planter could wish for, I should say, 

 backed up by good soil, and the return per acre 

 ought to be large. Our rainfall, as the annexed re- 

 turn for last year will show, is well distributed and 

 the temperature equable. 



Rainfall for 1S82. Average tem per.-vture 1882. 



Elevation 1,000 feet. 6 a.m. noon. 



January ... 21-2(3 June ...69 ... 78 J 



February ... 13-34 July ...69 ... 76i 



March ... 12-81 August ...69 ... 79 



April ... 516 September ...71 ... 79 



May ... 8-99 October ..70 ... 80 



June ... 309 November ...73i ... 83 



July ... 4-82 December ...73" ... S3 



August ... 11-12 1883. 



September ... 4-21 January ...73 ... SU 

 October ... 11-92 February ...73 ... 79" 



November ... 4 05 



December ... 978 The above refers to an 



estate 1,000 ft. above sea 



110-55 level, in Taviuui. 



Rainfall 1883, Jan...28-17 

 February.. .28 -75 



Heavier than I have known 

 before here. 



1 shall be able to send you correct meteorologicul 

 returns, as 1 am keeping a daily register of rainfall 

 and temperature. Correct returns are very difficult, I 

 may say impossible, to get from different parts in 

 Fiji, as only very few planters go to the trouble of 

 keeping them and have not rain-gauges, &c Govern- 

 ment ought to issue instruments, free of charge, to 

 planters residing on the different islands, if they 

 would agree to forward monthly returns. I feel sure 

 a lot of planters would only be too glad to do this, 

 provided they received the instruments, but as yet 

 1 have not heard of any being given, except perhaps 

 in or.e or two solitary instances. The consequence is, 

 as I said before, correct returns are not to be got, 

 and, if one plants anything, such as coffee, tea, 

 cinchona, &c., he does so with a certain amount of 

 risk as regards rainfall, &c. This is not as it should 

 be iu such a colony ao Fiji where the climate varies 

 so very much. + Government ought to do all in 

 its power to collect correct meteorological returns 

 from every part and have them regularly published, 

 for the benefit, not only of residents, but also of 

 outsiders who might be probable investors. 1 

 like this climate better for tea than coffee, and, 

 should I extend, I should plant the former, except 

 i n two or three favorable localities for the latter. 



* We lately inserted a copy of Mr. Moody's very favour- 

 able report. — Ed. 



■f- Price.s of large breaks are almost always far below the 

 valuation cf specimens. — Ed. 



t One side of an island being rainy and the opposite 

 eide dry.— Ed. 



Sugar Cultivation is gradually making way, amj 

 one hears of visits being made to parts of Fiji 

 where there are no mills, by capitaliats, with the 

 object of ascertaining if there Is a good prospect 

 of success should they erect mills. Xhe Colonial 

 Sugar Company seem to be gradually acquiring the 

 monopolv of the Rewa river. They have bou^'ht a 

 lot of land belonging to priv.ite parties and are still 

 buying. At present they have an enormous mill at 

 work which they are going to double. The extra 

 machinery I hear is already ordered. When all is 

 up, I suppose this mill will be one of the, if not the 

 largest in any of the colonies. Mr. Hedges, for- 

 merly of Ceylon, has successfully started his mill 

 and is now manufacturing sugar. The firm have 

 about 700 acres planted aud still intend planting 

 more. Others close by are also growing cane for 

 the mill. Some of the canes I have seen lately 

 in Taviuui seem to be sufiering from disease. The 

 canes .-ire stunted in growth and the leaves all 

 split. This disease affects the red canes princip- 

 ally, and planters therefore are planting the yellow 

 kinds. Not being close to the principal part 

 where sugar cultivation at present is carried ou 

 the most extensively, and not having heard, 1 cannot 

 give you correct information regarding yield per acre, 

 outturn of sugnr, &c. lliei-e must be a large margin 

 for profit or I do not think the Col. Sugar R. Co. 

 would go in s-o largely as they are doing. Of course 

 the Company being their own refiners, brokers, &c. 

 must make a great deal more profit than anyone else. 

 Nevertheless if any body who understood the business 

 erected a good mill and cultivated properly, he would 

 make money and a good deal of it too. [Provided 

 he could obtain labour. — Ed,] 



Labour. — This question has lately attracted more 

 attention than usual in consequence of a native ord- 

 inance which was brought forward and passed by the 

 Governor. There used to be a difficulty before in 

 procuring Fijian labour, attended generally with a 

 great deal of trouble, but 1 fancy they will be much 

 harder to engage now that the new ordinance is 

 passed. Plantations situated iu districts where there 

 is plenty of labour will doubtless benefit by the ord- 

 inance, but othe-s, and by far the majority, will 

 suffer seriously, as the aim of the ordinance seems to 

 be to confiue the Fijians to their own province as much 

 as possible. If the ordinance had been passed as 

 originally drafted, a death, blow would have been dealt 

 in my opinion, to Fiji.an labour altogether; but all 

 the unofficial members, wonderful to say, rallied up and 

 fought the Ordinance out clause by clause. Important 

 concessions and alterations were made. Meetings were 

 held by the planters in different places and petitions, 

 &c., forwarded. All these shewed what a serious thing 

 the planters thought the ordinance was and strength- 

 ened the unofficial members in Their fiidit 

 against it. Unanimity is a thing not to be found 

 amongst the Fijian planters aud the consequence is 

 their complaints are but little attended to. Govern- 

 ment knowing thejr weakness and treating them in 

 a way which would open your eves : it's perfectly 

 astonishing. Two or three meetings have lately been 

 called in Taviuui and have always ended unsatis- 

 factorily and that on subjects where one would think 

 the planters could have no two opinions about. There 

 is none of that cordial feeling amongst planters heie 

 that you have in Ceylon, where men will stick shonlder 

 to shoulder and fight against what they consider any slur 

 on their character as gentlemen and planters or against 

 any injustice. Here there is too much jealousy, and 

 it'a every man for himself. One is atra d to do any- 

 thing for fear of getting mari;ed down by the 

 Government, and, if some are ready to move on any 

 question that aOects their iuterests, others will 

 make some excuse aud back out. Its a wretched 



