M\v I, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICOLTURIST. 



819 



GRAPE CULTIVATION IN OALIFOENIA. 



The Californians liave gouu iu for the cultivation of tlie 

 grape with the same euergy which they manage to infuse 

 into every industry which they undertake. According to 

 a recent writer in the English press, viticulture is now 

 carried out in that much-favoured country with extraordinary 

 activity. Very large districts are now planted with the 

 grape vine, and the yield is enormous. It is calculated that 

 within three years the vine will produce a wine making 

 grape; in the fourth year there is a profit, which in the 

 fifth year is sufficient to pay off all preliminary expenses, 

 including the cost of the land. Some idea of the extent of 

 cultivation may be gathered from the figures given. This 

 year's crop of grapes will produce five hundred thousand 

 gallons of wine and a hundred thousand of brandy. The 

 labour is mostly that of the much-abused Chinaman, although 

 a number of skilled experts from the wine districts of 

 France and Germany are also employed. The process is 

 simple enough, and is greatly aided by machinery which 

 does the stemming and squeezing. After that the liquid is 

 clarified by white of eggs, isinglass, or gelatine, filtered 

 through charcoal, and drawn off into casks for shipment. 

 Great quantities of these Californian wines are consumed in 

 the States, and no pains are spared to make them popular. 

 Cuttings of the best vines are imported and acclimatised. 

 Just now experiments are being made with the Cochin 

 China grape, one of the most prolific in the world, and no 

 douht wo may yet see an American imitation of that rare 

 and costly kind known as Imperial Tokay. — Planter and, 

 Farmer, 



COCONUT CULTIVATION. 



In the whole range of tropical products there is not 

 one, perhaps, which shows such satisfactory results, on 

 paper, as the coconut, that is to say, if the investor can 

 afford to wait seven or eight years for the first return. 

 It is easy enough to demonstrate, as a writer in the last 

 week's Field* ioes with regard to coconut planting in Fiji, 

 that when the trees come into full bearing, the retin-u 

 upon the capital outlay is something enormous, or, at 

 all events, it ought to bo if every tree bore the number 

 of nuts annually with which it is credited in the pre- 

 liminary calculations, but whilst we call attention to the 

 facts and figures set forth by the correspondent alluded 

 to, we desire to preface them with a word of warning 

 to those who may be inclineil to think that they open 

 up a new El Dorado to tropical planters. Let us not bo 

 understood, however, to question his statemcmts as re- 

 gards Fiji, because we have no personal knowledge of 

 that colony, but very similarstatements were put forward 

 thirty or forty years ago respecting the coconut enter- 

 prize in Ceylon, with the result that a large amount of 

 capital was inve-ted in the creation, of estates in the 

 Batticaloa district on the east coast, and they turned out 

 very disappointing ventures. The land was considered ad- 

 mirably adapted for the purpose, and a moderate price 

 was paid for it, probably not more than £1 per acre, if 

 as much, labor was cheap, and there was no extravagant 

 expenditure in any department of the work, neverthe- 

 less it was found after ten or fifteen years that tlie 

 properties gave no a-lequate return, for the simple reason 

 that the trees did not bear as had been expected. The 

 proprietors were, for the most part, non-resident, and 

 their Ceylon agents having been requested to investigate 

 the matter, discovered that the yield averaged only from 

 two to ten nuts per tree per annum, instead of 2-5 to 

 40, which had been the estimate framed beforehand. 

 They found, moreover, that an average yield of five nuts 

 per tree about paid the expenses, these being very trifl- 

 ing, and of course those estates which gave ten nuts per 

 tree left a small margin of profit, whilst those giving 

 only two nuts per tree were a dead loss. No satisfact- 

 ory explanation was forthcoming as to why the crop 

 turned out so much less in all cases than had been 

 auticipatel, but there was the indisputable f.aot. The 

 Sinhalese have a saying that the coconut tree will only 

 bear, or, at all events, only bear well when it is within 

 sound of the human voice, which practically means no 



doubt, that trees scattered about native huts, and, con- 

 sequently, receiving constant attention and a certain 

 amount of fertilizing matter, do better than those planted 

 out iu big estates, and it follows that calculations based 

 upon the yield of the former are misleading when ap- 

 plied to the latter. In face of this experience of coco- 

 nut planting iu Oeylon, we cannot but recommend our 

 readers to be cautious how they embark iu the enter- 

 prise elsewhere. — Planters' Gazette, 



* See p.age 772 of T. ^.— Ed. 



THE SUPPLY OF TEA AND SUGAR. 



The present condition of the two commodities which 

 are so closely allied to the grocery trade is just now pe- 

 culiarly iuteresting. Of the former there is, accordingto 

 some of the prophets, a shortage iu the supply, but we do 

 not think that there is any fear ot a tea famine, for reasons 

 we gave in our last issue. Wo believe that the recent rise 

 of 50 per cent iu value is not justified by the situation. On 

 the other hand the visilile supply of sugar, according to 

 the latest dates, is nearly 1S",000 tons over that of last 

 year. The consequence being that raw sugar is today as 

 low as it was ever kuovvn. 



The world's consumption of sugar, particularly Europe 

 aud the Northern heuiisphi^re of this contiueut, has in- 

 creased enormously aud it was predicted some time ago 

 that the supply would, iu time, fail to keep pace with the 

 demand. When these prophesies were made it was not 

 expected that the consumption would increase to such di- 

 mensions in so short a time. Last year alone the con- 

 sumption of sugar iuthe United States increased 80,000,000 

 tons aud in Em-ope proportionately. But in spite of this 

 great increase the stocks are augmenting. 



The development of new sources of supply is the main 

 cause of cheap and abundant sugar. In Europe beet sugar 

 alone has increased from 1,860.917 tons in 1881-82 tD 

 2,240,000 tons (estimated) iu 1883-81. Not only has the 

 cultivation of beets increased, but the yield of sugar 

 through improved machinery has also added considerably 

 to the result. 



The development of the cane production too is also being 

 pushed in every part of the globe where it is at all likely 

 to bL3 profitable. We learn that sugar is being cultivated 

 to a profit in Northern Australia. This is to some extent 

 a surprize, for it was always balieved that tlie sugar cane 

 could not be successfully cultivated excepting in the trop- 

 ics. Of the recent experiment made by the sugar com- 

 pany of Sydney a writarsays : " I have been informed that 

 the return per acre in the Mackay district is 2^ tons and 

 in the Burdekiu district 3 tons. *' It is found," says the 

 same writer, '• that capitalists from Victoria and New South 

 Wales have secured all the best Ian 1, and that the sugar 

 brings about Sl-iO per ton for good refining. Laborers can 

 earn from S2 to S2 25 per day, and a large supply of the 

 raw material may be looked for from this quarter." 



From Queensland we also have encouraging reports of the 

 cultivation of the sugar cauj. Even from the Fiji Islands 

 we have the same stgry. These islands, which unlyashort 

 time ago were little heard of except as the habitation of a 

 race of cannibals, last year made their first export of sugar 

 on a large scale. One cargo alone was estimated at over ' 

 89^1,000 in value. English capital is being employed and a 

 great increase in the production is ahnost certain. Then 

 the islands of Borneo aud New Guinea, the two largest 

 islands of the Oceanic group, have yet to be heard from. 

 Therefore, a sugar famine, according to the present out- 

 look, appears to amount to an impossibility. 



A gratifying feature of the present coudition of the trade 

 is the satisfaction with which such old sugar producing 

 countries as Java view the situation. A correspondent to 

 the T}idia Mercury says : — 



" The sugar industry in Java runs no risk, as many ni.inu- 

 facturers have feared for a loug time. The production is 

 importantly increasing, and to the constant improvements 

 in culture and preparation, will be owing — I have not the 

 least doubt about it — that it will bo able to bear up aginst 

 the sister-industry, which continues so vigorously to extend 

 itself in Europe." 



This compares very favorably with the ridiculous cries we 

 hear from our Louisiana planters against free sugar. 



