256 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 



[Oct. I, 1886. 



begun a planter 's life with much smaller capital, and 

 by the exercise of great self-denial, coupled with 

 special aptitude for the work, have met with fair 

 success. But such ai-e exceptions, and in these in- 

 stances the hour of succes^s has to be patiently 

 waited for beyond the ordinary period. On Indian 

 plantations, as elsewhere, young men are received as 

 assistants on payment of a premium, and may 

 eventually gain a living as managers. But without 

 capital it will be a living only, and the life is not to 

 be recommended. 



The calculations which have been given above have 

 special reference to Mysore, where, although the 

 conditions slightly vary according tc the positions of 

 estates, the supply and the price of labour are more 

 favourable to planters than in mo.st other districts. 

 The figures which follow refer to coffee estates in 

 Coorg, which is a British province Ijing to the south 

 of Muuzerabad iu Mysore, and is administered by a 

 Commissioner under a Chief Commissioner -namely, 

 the Resident at the Court of the Maharaja of Mysore. 

 The present Acting Chief Commissioner of Coorg. 

 Mr. C. E. R. Girdlestone, made a tour in that province 

 in January and February of this year, and inspected 

 a number of coffee estates, one of his objects being 

 to inquire into the state of the coffee cultivation, and 

 to ascertain whether local circumstances were such as 

 to justify a request for a reduction of assessment 

 which had been submitted to him by the Coorg 

 Planters' Association. 



The full assessment being R2 per acre, leviable 

 only after the twelfth year, the Association urged 

 that it should be reduced to one rupee for coffee in 

 full bearing, and to eight annas on the remainder of 

 the estate. The Chief Commissioner, iu declining to 

 comply with this request, pointed out that, while 

 the relief applied for would be hardly perceived by 

 .successful planters, it would not avail to retrieve the 

 fortunes of those who, for a variety of reasons, for 

 which the Government was not responsible, had failed 

 to make their estates remunerative. At the same time, 

 he admitted that the planters had some cause for 

 complaint in the state of the roads, ard he promised to 

 arrange that they should be placed in a proper condition. 

 The result of the Chief Commissioner's inspection of 

 coffee estates, both in North and South Coorg, tends 

 to confirm what has been said above^uamely, that 

 coffee may be relied upon to give a fair return for 

 capital liberally and judiciouslj' laid out. One estate 

 of '22i) acres is said to give in a good year .50 tons 

 of coffee, or 4^ cwt. per acre, and the average net 

 price last year was £62 a ton. The outlay was about 

 ri:?0,000 on the estate, or nearly RPO an acre, and if 

 to this l)e added curing and shipping charges, with 

 insurance at R80 per ton of crop, the result will be 

 li'24,000 or jE1,846 for expenditure, against £3,100 

 purchase-money, or a profit of £1,2.j4. Allowing for 

 slight differences in rates, these figures are in near 

 correspondence with those which fiave been quoted 

 for Mysore. 



In another estate of about 500 acres, the average yield 

 was 1.50 tons, or 6 cwt. per acre, and the net price 

 per ton about £6-5. The expenditure is not given but, 

 taking rates in proportion to those stated above the 

 profit must have been more than £.5000. A third 

 estate of 130 acres, yielded last year about 4i) tons, 

 or 7 cwt. per acre. Other estates are referred to as 

 flourishing especially some iu South Coorg, in what 

 is called the Bamboo District, but figures are not given. 

 The concluding remarks of the Chief Commissioner, 

 as coming from a disinterested observer after careful 

 local examination, deserve attention and are as app'ic- 

 ai)le to INIysore and other districts as to Coorg. Mr. 

 Girdieston says, " I am by no means singular in the 

 opinion that the success of the coff<'e industrj' depends, 

 humanly speaking, on refraining from extravagant 

 payments for Ian I already stocked, o;i avoiding loans 

 at high interest, on restricting the siz ; ot estites, 

 so as *o ensure close personal supervision, and on 

 economical and scientific managemeut. If these con- 

 ditions be observed there is a fair competence attain- 

 able by Euiopeau planters even though pri<;es .should 

 remain comparatively low.' 



A CEMENT very much used at the present day in 

 China and Japan is made from rice. It is only 

 necessary to mix rice flour intimately with water 

 and gently simmer the mixture over a clear fire, 

 when it readily forms a delicate and durable cem- 

 ent. — A merlcan Grocer. 



Planting Gladioli.— In lifting a quantity of Gla- 

 diolus bulbs of various kinds lately, I came across 

 one of ihe largest 1 have ever yet seen, and all 

 were as plump and fresh as couUl" be desired ; those 

 that were lifted and replanted last season had for 

 the most part two large bulbs with the old decayed 

 one still under them, and others that had remained 

 undisturbed for three or four years had increased 

 into large clumps. The finest bulbs of all were on 

 a raised bed of rather poor soil, and although last 

 summer was excessively dry, and other plants on 

 this bed nearly scorched, the Gladioli produced very 

 fine spikes of bloom, and branched out into several 

 side spikes when the leaders were cut off. I may 

 remark that our soil is light and stony, and that 

 the Gladiolus grows freely in it without the aid of 

 manure. I feel sure that the bulbs are sounder and 

 less liable to disease if grown without gross stimul- 

 ants of any kind. — RiiraJ Australian. 



Rats. — Some years since (writes a correspondent 

 of the Queen) I took a house in Ireland which had 

 been untenanted for a considerable period ; but very 

 shortly after my arrival there it became infested 

 with rats. For a period I submitted to the nuisance, 

 merely allowing a terrier to visit the ground floor 

 during the night ; but the advent of an invalid 

 relative caused food to be taken upstairs, and the 

 vt-rmin soon follovifed, overcoming my patience. Find- 

 ing the rats behind the skirting " board, I had it 

 removed and a liberal coat of gas tar placed there, 

 and, seeking closely, I found the run leading from 

 below, into which I also caused some to be poured. 

 I found this effectually stopped their raid to the 

 upper storey, and then I determined to adopt the 

 same plan on the grouud floor, though, I had to 

 take down a dado in my dining-room and entrance- 

 ball. However, after this had been done, I neither 

 heard nor saw a rat in my house for the remainder 

 of my occupancy, which was about twenty months. 

 The gas tar should not be too thick, so as to re- 

 main soft for the longest period possible, as the 

 efficacy of the remedy depends on the feet and coat 

 of the animal becoming soiled on passing it. — Rural 

 AvstraUan. 



Thf Results of the last Indian Tea Season.— 

 ISIost of the leading Indian Tea Companies have now 

 presented their report for the past year, and a weekly 

 contemporary has compiled an interesting table 

 which exhibits at a glance the results accruing iu 

 regard to 25 of these as compared with those of 

 the preceding year. From this analysis, which will 

 be found at foot, it will be ob.served that although 

 season 1884 gave good results, 1885, or last season, 

 gave still better returns. Higher values were iu 

 most cases obtained for the teas of 188.5 — the highest 

 average price reahsed last season for the crop of 

 any garden in Assam, viz.. Is. ojd. per lb. was 

 scored by the .Ihanzie Tea Association. Among Cachar 

 gardens Borokai Company still bears the palm, the 

 average price olitained for that mark being Is. Gjfd. 

 per lb. The Darjeeling Company's average Is. 5|d. 

 per lb., is al.so a haU'lsome one. Larger dividends, 

 consequently, were paid to shareholders on the results 

 of 1885. In 1884, as will be seen, dividends ranged 

 from 1 to 15 per cent, per annum. In 188,"), how- 

 ever, thej' range fruin \.^ to 20 per cent, per annum, 

 and on'y four concerns out of twenty-five pay no 

 dividend, while in three of these profits were made, 

 although circuni.stance-i rendered a division of the 

 profits inadvisalile. It is somewliat surprising that 

 with such haiivl.-ome results tea is not a more 

 favourite investment among English Ca))italists. The 

 shares it is true, quoted on the .Stock Exchange, and 

 for this reason probably little is known among the 

 general public of the advantages of tea as an in- 

 vestment. — Pla nte >••«' Go zttte. 



