Aug. 2, 1886.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



^5 



Coffee Crops in Coorg. — Mercara, '21st June — The 

 prospects in Coorg for next coffee croii are jDoor 

 and I doubt if it will be much over half the last. 

 Bain in South Coorg fell early but the result have 

 not been satisfactory. In North Coorg it fell late 

 but after the blossom came out showers damaged 

 it. So altogether planters have made up their minds 

 to make the best of it by practising economy as 

 far as consistent with fair cultivation. 



The Market Value of Tea Property in 

 India. —In the Report of the Dooars Tea Company 

 the astonishing fact is mentioned that an estate con- 

 sisting ot 2,200 acres of excellent tea land, 400 acres 

 of which were under tea of the best quality, had 

 been offered to the Company for £(5,000, or little 

 more than £2 10s per acre ! As mere forest land, 

 the place would be cheap at this rate. The place 

 must surely be unhealthy and the labour supply 

 difficult to keep up. 



Quinine Production. — We learn from a home 

 contemporary that " there are now seventeen quinine 

 factories in the world — six in Germany, four in 

 America, three in France, two in Italy, and two 

 in England. The annual production amounts 

 to about 2,250,000 ounces." We believe this must 

 be under the mark. As regards " Dutch Quinine," 

 the Chemist and Dntfiglst states : — 



'• The shareholders of the Amsterdam Quinine Works 

 met on Ajiril 30th last to consider the position of the 

 company, and to hear the annual statenieatreferrring 

 to the course of the business in 1885. The accounts 

 show an absolute loss of over 40 per cent of the paid- 

 up capital ; and under these circumstances the share- 

 holders were asked to decide as to the coutinuatiou 

 or winding-up of the concern. No decision was arrived 

 at, and the meeting adjourned pending the result 

 of certain negotiations now being carried on by the 

 board of directors.'' 

 From the Britislt 'Trade Journal we quote : — 



"Several Amsterdam firms have petitioned the Dutch 

 Minister for the Colonies in favour of increasing the 

 number of Government auctions of cinchona bark from 

 two to eight per annum, in order that Amsterdam may 

 be better able to compete with foreign markets where 

 regular sales are held." 



A Ceylonese Student at Cirencester. — It is 

 interesting to learn of the progress of Mr. Drieberg, 

 junior, of Colombo, at the Royal College, Ciren- 

 cester. He entered there in September last, after 

 taking his B. A. degree at Calcutta, where he was 

 a student both at the General Assembly, and Pre- 

 sidencye College. Mr. Drieberg intends taking the 

 full coursd at Cirencester of 2J years, and also 

 the diploma of the Royal Agricultural College, 

 London. From the " Class and Prize list and 

 Diplomas for the Spring Session 188() " (at Ciren- 

 cester) we learn : — 



The following deserve - Honourable Mention : 

 —(Qualifying marks 2,250), Drieberg, 2,279; Agri- 

 culture. —600 Marks, Class 1 B., 7 Drieberg, 498 ; 

 Farm Journal, Class 1 B., Drieberg, Highly Com- 

 mended; Class 1 B.— Mineral, 6 Drieberg 4.59 ; Chemical 

 Manipulation, Drieberg, Very Highly Commended ; 

 Book-keeping 300 marks. Class 1 B., 4 Drieberg, 282 ; 

 Class 1 B.— Pneumatics, 1 Drieberg, (Hon. Cert.), 

 291 ; Class 1 B., 8 Drieberg, * 237 ; Class 1 B.— 

 Mensuration, 9 Drieberg, 222. Veterinary Medicine 

 and Surgery. — 300 Marks, Class 1 B., 8 Drieberg, 217 ; 

 Practical work at the Veterinary Ho.spital and 

 Hospital Journal. Class 1 B., Drieberg, Commended. 

 The following have passed the Preliminary Examin- 

 ations for the Diploma of Membership in their re- 

 spective Classes in order of Merit : — Class 1, Drieberg. 



Mr. Drieberg ought certainly to come out well- 

 bualified for practical work in Ceylon or any other 

 colony. 



* Has still to pass in identification of Fossils. 



Good for Coconut Oil.— Some comparative experi- 

 ments, conducted under the superintendence of the 

 Hydrographic department of the United States Navy, 

 as to the efficacy of oil in calming heavy seas, are 

 reported to have demonstrated that the use of 

 mineral oil for the purpose is not to be recommended, 

 but that the importance ot carrying a supply of 

 vegetable or auimal oil, to be used in emergencies, 

 cannot be over-estimeited.— Pharmaceutical Journal. ' 



Esparto feom Almeuia.— In consequence of the 

 increased use of wood-pulp in the manufacture of 

 paper, the export of Esparto from Almeria to Great 

 Britain has decreased, the amount shipped last year 

 being 12,000 tons and the average price £5 5s. per 

 ton free on board. From Oran and other African 

 ports large shipments of Esparto were, however, made. 

 — Gardeners^ Chronicle. 



Indian Labourers in Mjlvritius.— Commercial 

 Gazette discussing a question of thehvages, writes:— 

 By all means let men be paid the full current 

 value for their labour— but no more ; and, in the 

 purchase of that labour, the Director of the Botani- 

 cal Gardens, who is the best judge of its value, 

 should be left to decide what it is worth. We are 

 pleased to see that His Excellency the Governor 

 pledged the government to adopt the course here 

 pointed out. We cannot, however, agree with His 

 Excellency that a coolie drawing R240, or even 

 Rll)2 a year, can be correctly called a poor labourer. 

 Compared with an English, Scotch, or Irish la- 

 bourer we should call him a rich man. By prefer- 

 ence he elects to live upon a handful of rice ; 

 whilst his clothing consists of a pocket handker- 

 chief and a gunny bag. Shoes and stockings 

 he wears none, and his laundry expenses do not 

 amount to much. He has, or might have a res- 

 pectable deposit in the Savings Bank, or, if he 

 has not, he has most likely a respectable sum 

 buried under the mud floor of his hut. Our envy 

 was excited only the other day by the sight of 

 thirty good sovereigns worn as a neeklace by an 

 Indian lady whose clothes would have borne- 

 washing ! By all means let these people be paid 

 the full value of their labour whether that value 

 be high or low. But let us not talk of them as 

 "poor" people when their earnings are, relatively 

 speaking about three times the amount which 

 Europeans receive both for manual and brain work 



Kapok.— A short notice regarding the cotton, 

 known as "Kapok" in Java, appeared in the pro- 

 ceedings of the Horticultural Society of India for Nov. 

 last, since when Dr. Baumgarten of that place was 

 addressed on the subject as there seemed some 

 obscurity as to the name of the tree yielding it • 

 he writes as follows—" Enclosed, I send you seeds of 

 the Kapok tree, and some of the Kapok itself, though 

 the plant grows everywhere in India, especially in 

 Bengal. The quality of the cotton is much superior 

 here, though, and I attribute this to the greater 

 heat of our dry season. The Latin synonyms are 

 Gossampinus alba, Humboldt ; Bombax petandrum, 

 Limuvus- Eriodendrum anfractusum, iJecandoUe'. 

 The Kapok in only used to fill up mattresses, chicks,' 

 etc. So far as I am aware there is in the whole 

 of Java no Kapok plantation. In each village there 

 are some trees, the fruit of which is sold by the 

 natives for one rupee per thousand. When cleaned 

 the price is R30 to 50 per picul (i.e., 1.30 English 

 pounds) the price is now very high, but I don't 

 doubt it will rise more when the use is more known. 

 Several people here tried to make from the Kapok 

 tree a culture, but all attempts failed, the cause of 

 which must be sought in the enormous salaries." 

 [We learn that the Ceylon trade which had grown 

 to be of some importance to natives and others in 

 the Colombo and adjacent districts is in danger of 

 being superseded by the cheaper supplies which can b« 

 got from Madras, Bombay and Calcutta.— Ed.] 



