b 



tie. 1, 18S6O 



tHE TROPICAL AGRICULTORfSt. 



4ii 



as he did in the case of cinchona, and in a small 

 way with cardamoms. 



It does not suit ray book, nor I think the book 

 of any one interested in tea planting to have doubts 

 thrown on the permanency of an industry to which 

 we are irretrievably committed : and I do not think 

 I am cutting my own throat in doing what I can 

 to disperse doubts, which many people make use 

 of to suit their own views. I commenced this letter 

 with the intention of criticizing the article iu the 

 Manual on Manuring, as it appeared to me that 

 the compiler. Col. Money, and Mr. Carter, had 

 fallen into the mistake of calculatiug the gross value 

 of the whole of the increased yield from the appli- 

 cation of costly manures as protit without deducting 

 the cost of manufacture, chests and transport, in 

 fact all rateable charges on the extra output, but 

 as this letter has spun out to an inordinate 

 length, I must postpone my remarks on the sub- 

 ject shie die, no doubt, to the great satisfaction of 

 your readers. This letter will, however, only be read 

 by the few who recognize the signature as that 

 of the writer of one you published in August 

 1883, in which, for reasons given in it, the con- 

 version of coffee estates into tea gardens was 

 strongly advocated and this is a seiiuence to it. — 

 Yours truly, ^- ^^ ^s 



TuE Aetifici.vi, Quinine Scuie.— A very 

 complete and amusing exposure of the Cresswell- 

 Hewett deception will be found on our back page 

 taken from the " British and Colonial Druggist." 

 It seems clear to us that Mr. C. Hewett bolted 

 to the Continent to escape being put to the test by 

 Dr. Burton and Messrs. Burroughs, Wellcome & Co., 

 in doing what he promised, namely, to turn out 2 lb. 

 of marketable medical quinine, — satisfactory to two 

 competent referees — at a rate not to exceed 4d 

 an ounce, besides a bye-product of some value ! 

 Cresswell-Hewett is evidently either a madman or 

 a rogue. 



Fiiuir TO England. — In reference to "Enquirer" 's 

 letter of -8th October, a correspondent reminds us 

 that in Tropical Agriculturist 1885-8G, page iiS, we 

 published a letter on the subject of sending oranges 

 to lingland— aboxof these to Norwich, sent through 

 the London and Colombo Forwarding Agency, 

 arriving in capital condition. We learn that another 

 lot of oranges went forward by the same agency a 

 short time ago, and we hope to hear the result very 

 shortly. We are told the object of wrapping such 

 fruit in tissue, or blotting paper is in the first 

 place to prevent them from touching each other, 

 as almost all fleshy fruits are apt to decay at the 

 point of contact, though they may not actually be 

 bruised ; in the second place to absorb any moisture 

 that may exude from the skin. All fruit confined 

 in boxes sweats to a certain degree and it is im- 

 portant to get rid of the moisture, if possible. 



Watei; Potnt.r ani> Tea Machinery. — With 

 reference no doubt to our remark on the suitable- 

 ness of electric motors for connecting machinery 

 in factories placed at suitable centres with water- 

 power at a distance, a correspondent sends us some 

 interesting information respecting a Darjiling factory. 

 He refers to the gardens of the Tukvar Tea Com- 

 pany and states that the power for driving ample 

 machinery for a large tea factory is provided by 

 a turbine situated at the level of the river nearly 

 1,500 feet below the level of the factory, the power 

 is carried up the hill by wire-ropes running round 

 pulleys about a chain apart. The factory is a 

 large one and is one of the Show places in Dar- 

 jiling. Mr. Curtis is a practical Engineer. The 

 machinery works well, as several Ceylon resideuts 



wbo bave seen the |>1^$§ can i9§\iif, 



The Lungla Tka Company, Limited, is registered 

 with a capital of £40,000 divided into 4,000 shares of 

 £10 each, with power to increase. The object is to ac- 

 quire and take over as from January 1st, 1880, from 

 the present proprietors, the tea gardens, plantations, 

 factories, land and property, situate in the district of 

 Sylhet, iu British India, known as the Lungla Tea Est- 

 ate, aud all the manufactured tea and all the tea-leaf 

 and other produce thereof respectively, aud all the 

 houses, erections, buildings, machinery, iniplenieuts, 

 utensils, elephants, live and dead stock, and all other 

 property of whatever kind thereunto belonging at the 

 price of £36,000 to be paid to the said proprietors in 

 3,000 shares iu tliis company, on which the sinu of £10 

 shall be credited on each share as paid ; and also to ac- 

 quire such other tea gardens, plantations and property 

 as shall be convenient for the purposes of the company, 

 and to carry on the business of planting and cultivating 

 the tea plant and the manufacture aud sale of tea. 

 The first subscribers are :—M. Fox, railway contractor, 

 of Catherine Tlace, Bath ; Major-General T. B. Har- 

 rison, Blackhoath Park, S. E. ; H. A, Harrison, Judge, 

 B. c. s., Blackheatli Park, S. E. ; 0. A. Goodrich, tea 

 merchant, Dtshwood House, E. C. ; A. R. Mcintosh, 

 merchant, 47, Qucensboro' Terrace, Bayswatcr ; G. 

 Seton, merchant, 34, Old Broad Street ; J. Sanderson, 

 solicitor, 40 Queen Victoria Street, E. C. The numlier 

 of directors shall not exceed five, and shall not b '■ less 

 than two, and the (lualifioatiou of each shall be the hold- 

 ing of £1,000 of the nominal share capital of the com- 

 pany. The followiutr are to be the first directors, liz : — 

 Michael Fox, B anfill Harrison, Frederick Bailey, El. 

 mund Theodore lioberts, and Charles Alfred Goodrich, 

 Mr. Fox being chairman. — limes of India., Cor. — London, 

 October 21st. 



Cinchona Culture in Be.azil. — The Bio 

 JN'cH-.s- states: — During the Senate session of the 20th 

 instant Senator Taunay took occasion to call attention 

 to the question of cinchona cultivation, and asked the 

 government for information regarding the Bcrreira 

 cinchona plantation. He referred to the efforts em- 

 ployed by the British and Dutch governments to en- 

 courage this industry, and the advantages which the 

 state might derive from its cultivation. Senator 

 Dantas took up the same subject aud stated that the 

 cultivation of cinchona was begun in the country in 

 1868, and that the experiment had giveu good results. 

 In entire accord with the preceding speaker, he 

 thought that the Government ought to encourage its 

 cultivation on a large scale. There can be no doubt 

 whatever as to the good results of such an industry 

 provided it is intelligently carried on and it is not 

 handicapped by export taxes. So far as it can 

 legitimately do so the government will certainlj^ do 

 wisely to encourage this and all other new industries, 

 for the country needs a greater diversity of product- 

 tions. But how is this to be done ? And is it not a 

 sad commentary on the state of affairs that no in- 

 dustry can be started without government aid and 

 encouragement ? Must we believe that the Brazilian 

 people have come to that pass where no industry can hn 

 initi.ited and no enterprise carried on without such 

 help? And what future is therefor a country so 

 helpless as tliis Y Instead of trying to secure aid and 

 encouragement for this or that special industry, bow- 

 ever advantageous it maybe, we are inclined to think 

 that the first duty of the government is that of arous- 

 ing the people to think and act for themselves. In- 

 dustry should be made less dependent upon the public 

 treasury, and more upon individual enterprise. In- 

 stead of confining their whole attention to cotfee and 

 sugar cultivation, why should not tlie idantcrs ex- 

 ercise their own good judgment aud undertake the 

 production of other staples ? The state may very 

 properly obtain information for them, and miy even 

 carry on experimental farms, like this ciichona plant- 

 ation at Barreira, but beyond this is the domain of 

 private industry into which the state should not enter. 

 The minister of agriculture should furnish all the 

 required information in regard to this exi);rimen5, 

 which should be published, but we do not see that 

 anything further should be done. The people should 

 be made to feel that the matter js wlioily ia theiv 



