li^ 



1'HE TROPICAL AGRICULI'URIST, 



[August i, 1883. 



affairs to find he has given satisfaction to hoth the Gov- 

 cnmient of Peralc and also the Chinese themselves. He 

 was a gold miner from Melboui'ne, Victoria. Mr. Scott 

 promised me specimens to send to you. 



More macliiuery is ordered out for the Larnt mines, 

 and the railway will materially cheapen transport of 

 engines, x^mups 6cc. required. 



There are tm-ee large mines in full swing in Larut, they 

 are called Kamuntiug, Assam Kumheng and Tupai. The 

 first mentioned is to the north of Thaipeng (the commercial 

 capital of Perak) and extends over a vast tract of flat 

 country below Bukit Janah range and Bukit AssamKum- 

 beng with the mines of that name to the west of Thai- 

 peng with Tupai mines to the south of Thaipeng city. So 

 much for the geography of the mining districts of Larut, Pe- 

 rak, a place your readers upcountry in Ceylon perhaps never 

 heard of before and probably will forget now though neverthe- 

 less teeming ^vith life and enterprise, and the money being 

 turned over in a most wonderful manner. '* Nothing venture, 

 nothing win'isthe motto; "Headsyou win, tails you lose." Like 

 the gamingtable put down a dollar and take up three or no- 

 thing I Em'opeans would "rush" these fields if cobfor the 

 trcpical climate and open-air labour. "With gold it is different, 

 because the miners burrow like rabbits (only a good deal 

 deeper): lu these lands of the sun, .Johnny China has every thing 

 his own way. He can buy and sell cheaper than the European 

 in both provisions and clothes, and although one would 

 prefer dealing with one's own countrymen anywhere and 

 evei'ywhere, however, when we find our own couhtrymen 

 charging sometimes double the amount the Chinese charge 

 for the same articles, it is a temptation to discontinue dealing 

 with European storekeepers and go to the Chinese with 

 dollars in hand for a direct saving of fifty per cent, and some- 

 times one hundred per cent. The writer speaks from personal 

 experience, having dealt with both, and although at present 

 not mentioning names of any firm may have to touch on 

 this subject in a future letter and give some proof of the 

 difference m the charges for clothing in ])articular between 

 what is called a good house in Penaug and Chinese store- 

 keepers. AVhat has this got to do with mining ? Everything 

 in the world, because it under-«»'/ies one's health and robs 

 us of our tin, and what can anyone do in this world without 

 tin, we shoiild like to know. 



A French gentleman rejiresenting a French Jlining Com- 

 pany has just arrived in Perak, and goes, we believe, to far 

 off- Kiuta district, where their mining interest is situated. 

 Mr. Towgood and family went there last month. A very 

 lively place Kinta from all accounts. 



Messrs. Scott and Mclutyre found tin on Capt. Schutze's 

 estate near Gapis, at the foot of Sara, It is to he hoped 

 good will result from this discovery, and that Schutze will 

 get his estate off his hands with his vast territory of 5,000 

 acres. We shall speak of soils and agricultural prospects, 

 cost of labour, contracts, kc, in a future letter. Meanwhile 

 chinchin. 



Coco.i Pi.rjt. — It is very common in Portland and Car- 

 penter's Moimtains ; seems to thrive best in a cool, muist 

 soil. It grows to the height of 6 or 7 feet, and bears a 

 fruit not unlike the English plum in size and shape. Of 

 these some are red, some white, and others black, without 

 any essential difiference in the shrubs of either sort. The 

 fruit is perfectly insipid, but contains a largo nut, inclos- 

 ing a kt-rnel of very delicious flavor, which makes up 

 abimdantly for the insipidity of the pulp. The fruit of the 

 several complexions mentioned have been preserved with 

 sugar, and sent by way of presents to Europe ; but the 

 red and black kinds are generally preferred. — BnowNE. — 

 Hortv.s Jatnuicen^is. 



The Co.mpositios or Tea h thus noticed in a notice 

 to corres] oidents in the (inccnslandcr : — 



ExrEKiJiBNTs. — (1) The tea plant can hardly be expected 

 to thrive over a very wide range in Queensland, owing 

 to the fact that the rainfall in most places is inadequate. 



(2) Pure tea, when aualysiul, is a wholesome beverage, 

 said to contain in itself the constituents of the fines, 

 mineral springs. In the ash, magnesia, potash, lime, 

 iron, and chloride of sodium arelouml; wliile the extract- 

 ive matter is nearly half albumen, showing that the leaves 

 contain a nourishing food almost equal to beans and peas. 



(3) The invigorating power of tea is caused by a volat- 

 ile oil called thei)ie. (4) Black-lead and gypsum are used 

 ia Oliina fct the furfoses yf adulteratiyu. 



Chocolate SLvxge. — One box gelatine dissolved in one 

 pint milk ; pom- this by degrees, while boiling hot, on five 

 ounces grated chocolate, stirring it all the time; when 

 cool, add four well-beaten eggs, pouring this into a kettle 

 with one quart cream, in which has been dissolved one 

 pound sugar, let it boil till the chocolate is thoroughly 

 melted and smooth, and the mixture has become much 

 thickened ; pom- into moulds, and eat with whipped cream. — 

 Southern I'lanter. 



FoocHOW" Te.i has now for some years been deteriorating, 

 and it is uaturallj losing its hold on the English market, 

 where Indian teas are greatly preferred. Every year sees a 

 decline in the consumption of Foochow tea in England ; every 

 year witnesses a large and steady increment in the import 

 of Indian tea. Nor can this be wondered at. The Indian 

 planters bring science and care to bear upon their cultiv- 

 ation of the tea plant; theChinaman, eitherthrough ignor- 

 ance or carelessness, takes no trouble to improve the stock, 

 and the consequence is that it becomes poor and degener- 

 ate. In future the Foochow producers will liave to make 

 up their minds to accept much lower prices and to pay 

 some attention to the improvement of the stock, or they 

 must he prepared to see a rapid annual decline in the foreign 

 demand for their teas. A good quantity of Foochow tea 

 goes to Australia at present, but the Indian teas arefincUng 

 their way freely to Jlelbonrne aud Sydney,and great efforts are 

 b'-ing made to popularise tliem by the Indian Tea Syndicate. 

 The Indian teas are most carefully cultivated and picked, 

 acd the yield goes on increasing to the extent of more than 

 a million jonitis every season. T'nless the China teas are 

 materially improved, and the prices for them greatly reduced, 

 it will be a question of time only when they wUl be al- 

 together superseded in British markets by the Indian teas. 

 Having re^'ard, then, to these facts, it is the rankest folly 

 for Chinese producers to hold out for prices which can give 

 the foreign mcLchant no margin of profit and may instead 

 involve him in heavy loss. The Chinese producers will not 

 only have to surrender a portion of their profit, but the 

 authorities will have to reduce the duty upon the staple, 

 if they wish to long retain their hold on the British market. 

 The question is one that will have to be faced soon, and 

 the sooner the better for the Chinese producer. — .V.-C 

 Henild. 



Kew Pkoduct.s at Coonook.-— Daring the past fort- 

 night we have had decidedly cool weather, with 

 glimpses of the monsoon over the Koondahs; but very 

 little rain has fallen in or about Coouoor. However, 

 some planters are hard at work getting out cinchona, 

 as experience shows an early planting is everything. I 

 lately had the pleasure of visiting the Chelmsford 

 Es'ate, situated at Kullar, where during the past year 

 and a half, considerable experiments have been made 

 with rubber, cocoa, Liberian coffee and fibres. The 

 rubber (ceara) was imported as seed about a year ago, 

 and some acres planted 0' by 0' now averuge a growtli 

 of upwards of 20 feet with sturdy steins which will 

 support a man's weight some feet from thu ground. 

 The tree and leaf somewhat resemble, the Castor. oil 

 plant, and- the stem branches at a some 10 ftet. This 

 tends to thicken the trunk by checking the growth in 

 height, which entirely caps anything I have s;en in 

 blue guins. 1 he trees arc expected to yield a return 

 after the third year. The cocoa aud LiLeiian coffee 

 are slow growers, but a three year old tree of the 

 latter was full of cherry, which appeared very large 

 to my eyes, used to the Mocha variety. Both cocoa 

 and Liberi in coffee must be grown from seed, but tho 

 rubber grows from cuttings which are perhaps more 

 easily propagated and certainly less expensive with a 

 product promising such good returns ; and growing 

 best at an elevation of 1,000 feet, it bids fair to rival 

 coffee cultivation in the planting future, more especially 

 as it requires little att utiou after a few months. 

 As the Tongas ch.ange hoises at the entrance to the 

 estate, it is welt worth a passenger's while to alight 

 and inspect the different prodi.c's. A great deal of 

 attention is given to the extra'iliou of fibre from alose 

 and machinery has bet-n imported, which worked by 

 bullocks cm treat a large cjuantity per diem,— l>'(*«?/i 

 cj India Observer, 



