838 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [June 1,1887. 



may be, degenerate into aged, coarse and melancholy 

 caricatures of the young and delicate vegetables 

 which would appear on our tables, but for this 

 deplorable s>stem or sacrificing qci.ility to weight. 

 We hope that the attentiou which is being drawn to 

 the unsatisfactory nature of this pleasant and whole- 

 some article of food, so necessary in a climate like 

 ours, will lead to good results, although it will need 

 some little energy and skill to overcome the obstacles 

 which lie on the way of a practical solution of the 

 difficulty. 



Considerable sitccess has rewarded the trials which 

 were made both in Peuang and Singapore of European 

 fruits and vegetables ; asparagus, gri:'en peas, lettuces, 

 tomatoes, turnips, carrots, leeks, pot-herbs, &c., have 

 turned out well, the superior elevation attainable in 

 Penang of course giving our sister settlement a great 

 advantage in these experiment.s. The peaches, apples, 

 and vegetables exhibited at the recent flower stiow, 

 were very pleasant to look upon, and it is somewhat 

 surpisiug that such a fine display did not attract 

 more general attention, especially as the excellent 

 condition in which these delicacies were shown go far 

 to prove that Singapore tables might be easily sup- 

 plied from Penang Hill. 



The P.otanic and Experimental Gardens will be in- 

 complete until they possess a small but well arranged 

 Economic Museum specially designed for the produce 

 of this colony, and the plan adopted by many other 

 colonial gardens, might well be imitated here. Nothing 

 could be more convenient than to have the museum 

 in the gardens so that the plant and its manufac- 

 tured product might be compared on the spot. Thus 

 the gambier plant having been examined, a few minutes' 

 walk should bring the person interested to the museum, 

 where he might be left to inspect the different kinds 

 of bale and cube gambier at his leisure. In such a 

 building the visitor, after having admired the full, 

 well grown, clustering berries of the pepper vine in 

 the open air, would see a specimen of Singapore " sun- 

 dried," the ideal pepper, than which nothing can be 

 finer, being far superior to anything that comes from 

 Cochin China, Siam, or the West Coast ; this being 

 a most desirable commodity, in the nature of things 

 here below, non-existent in our market ; then besides 

 the usual " smoked " sorts, there should be good large 

 sample of the stewed, smoked, fermented, upripe 

 pepper, which loses in weight to the extent of 15 per 

 cent by steamer shipment to London. This particular 

 kind is becoming too well known in our market and 

 is much appreciated by the Chinese sellers thereof, 

 but with the European buyers transactions in such a 

 quality are apt to e^id like the marriage service, that 

 is to say, in " amazement." 



In such a way an Economic Museum could be made 

 to fulfil its real functions, and the establishment 

 could not be in better hands than those of the 

 Superintendent of the Forest Department, who, be- 

 sides having considerable knowledge of the subjects 

 to be deilt with, seems to possess the very useful 

 qualification of producing excellent results with the 

 means at his disposal. — Straits Times. 



ESTATE COMPANIES FOR CEYLON. 



There are few residents in Ceylon who have 

 not at some period found it a difiicult matter to 

 invest small sums of money. The purchase of estates, 

 or even of a share in an estate, requires a very con- 

 siderable amount of capital. There are in Ceylon, and 

 most tropical countries dependent upon agricultural or 

 planting industries, few or no opportunities for small 

 investments. This is a more serious matter for the 

 poorer members of the community than appears at 

 first sight, as it is opposed to tho-e habits of thrift 

 and frugality which go far to enrich any country. 



If we look back for some ten or fifteen years to 

 those days when .salaries were high, and remember 

 how few estate superintendents, dependent upon their 

 own ("xernons, really savi'd money, how many there 

 were who lived up to the last rupee of thir income, 

 it may occur to us to consider why this was the 



case, why there was such general extravagence, not 

 Confined to planters onl}', but to all other classes of 

 the c. immunity. There is but one reison to give — 

 the difficulty of investing savings. In those piping 

 days of prosperity, when A, who had no capital, saw 

 his neighbour B. who had two or three thousand 

 pounds, buy a block of land in one of the new dis- 

 tricts and double his capital year after year, poor A. 

 felt himself unable to participate in the good things 

 going. Ho grew despondent 'at first, then reckless, 

 and probably ended by having a burst of extravagance, 

 scattering his savings with the prodigality of an 

 Aus+ idian dis-ger. When there is no other outlet for 

 smah capitalists than the deposit receipt accounts in 

 a Bank, is it to ba wondered that few are centent 

 with this one form of investment and have the 

 patience to wait till old age to save sufficient to keep 

 them from want ? .Just consider how much greater 

 interest A would have in his work could he from 

 time to time invest his hundred rupees in business 

 he understood ; how he would strain himself to in- 

 crease his funds and look out for fresh opportunities 

 for investment ! 



One has not to look far for a remedy for the ex- 

 isting state of matters. There is an excellent old 

 saying " Union is strength," and, were the capitalists 

 of Ceylon, both small and great, to bear this in mind, 

 the prosperity of the colony might be raised to a pitch 

 such as it has never yet attained. 



Tropical agriculture, as we all have too good cause 

 to know, is subject tO great vicissitudes ; so is mining. 

 When a mine is opened in one of the Australasian 

 colonies it is seldom worked at the undivided risk 

 of one individual. When the scheme is matured it 

 becomes a company. The chances of a large fortune 

 may be less for the original proprietor, but the chances 

 of great loss or ruin are proportionately diminished. 

 The prosperity of our Australasian Colonies is greatly 

 owing to the facilities for investment afforded by 

 companies, the original capital of which is subscribed 

 for in shares of from £1 to £10 each. This gives 

 the small capitalist a chance, and minimizes the risk of 

 the richer investor. These companies are not formed 

 for mining investments only : banks, saw mills, manu- 

 factories, shops, &c., are among the number. 



I cannot help thinking that were more estates 

 turned into companies in Ceylon it would have a 

 great influence in re-establishing the prosperity of 

 the colony. Large companies are not required ; small 

 companies, with capitals of from £5,000 to £20,000, 

 are. At first these would have to be commenced in 

 Ceylon itself, but they would soon attract capital from 

 England. At the present time, were any good tea 

 estates to be offered as limited liability companies, I 

 believe London capital would not be wanting. But 

 the greatest benefit such companies might confer 

 upon Ceylon would probably arise from the opportunity 

 it would give to small investors ; they would utilize 

 what is now the idle capital of the island, the savings 

 of members of the Civil Service, mercantile and 

 planting communities, &c. But the advantage of 

 forming estates into companies would not be coufined 

 to the utilization of capital only, an equally strong 

 argument in favor of such a system of working would 

 be in the diminution of risk. It is well known how 

 variable the returns are from adjacent estates. On 

 estate would jjay handsomely while the next estate 

 would seldom give a crop ; this I have noticed in 

 different cultivations ^iu widely separated countries. 

 Were estates cultivated by a co-operative system 

 the loss of the bad estate would not fall alone on 

 some unlucky investors, but would be borne by others 

 as well, and the consequences lessened. By not put ling 

 all the "eggs" in "one basket" planting would 

 become a much safer investment. Instead of each 

 individual who wished to cultivate cacao, cinchona, 

 tea, spices or coconuts having to open up clearings 

 for the same, in different parts of the country, would 

 it not be more to his advantage to be able to buy 

 shares in estates cultivating the product he fancied ? 

 The special cultivation would be on a larger 

 scale and most likely under better management than 

 the single investor, on a small scale, could afford. 



