July i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



67 



law, often commit. There have been flagrant instances 

 of this in Assam— that far-off corner of our Imperial 

 dependency, devoted to the consumption of opium, 

 the cultivation of tea, and the growth of that ^ in- 

 teresting, if worthless and expensive cereal, viz. official 

 wild aaU—VnAl region which stands " facile prinoeps" 

 in the virulence of its mosquitoes, the drowsiness of 

 its Public Works Department, and the marvrllous ren- 

 derings of the law, provoked by the maddening 

 irritation of ihc Theaicultural red rag. This 

 province is commonly supposed to be regarded 

 by the Supremo Government in the light of 

 a useful penal settlement for the banishment of 

 certain troublesome ofhcials, whose eccentricities, 

 would not be tolerated in a more civilized region. This 

 supposition is the more tenable since it is on a par with 

 the fostering care and sympathetic consideration which 

 the tea industry has at all times— tliough undeservedly 

 — enjoyed at the hands of the paternal Governmfut. 



Truly the Assam planter has much to be thankful 

 for ! Struggling to maintain the existence of a fickle 

 and precarious industry, often poorly paid and geneially 

 unable to obtain more than the bare necessaries of life ; 

 oppressed by mosquitoes, and an adverse climate ; 

 worried by agents, superiors, subordinates, and last, 

 but not least, by the unspeakalde oooly ; deprived in 

 many cases of ladies' society; cut oflf fiom the ordinary 

 enjoyments of a social life; and denied the justice, 

 which in England, and wherever else England's Queen 

 holds sway, ho would not ask in vaiu. This is the ci-own- 

 ing punishment for his presumption in going to Assam, 

 and so securing their banishment from Bengal of the 

 officials before alluded to— who, but for him, would 

 have had to be provided for in other remote corners 

 Were they might 



" Blush unseen 



And waste their sweetness on the desert au-." 

 We gladl.v admit some districts in Assam have reason 

 for self-congiatulation upon the abdity of their Govern- 

 ment officials, but notable instances of a very opposite 

 character are hy no means uncommon. We have seen 

 dire confusion in the nmks of BamUt-dom eB'ectod by 

 the ailvent to a district (whose Deputy Commissioner 

 appeared to imagine that a knowledge of law was 

 quite superfluous, and that every utterance of his 

 own sweet will was ipso facto law) of a planter who 

 had formerly s rved her Majesty in a magisterial capac- 

 ity, and had taken the trouble to study tlie law while 

 engaged in its administration. —Madra.i Times. 



BRIGHTENING PROSPECTS FOR COFFEE 



COFFEE TRADE IN THE UNITED 



STATES IN 18S1. 



The following condensed summary of the cofl'ee trade of 

 the United States for the calendar year 1881, compared with 

 previous years, is from the columns of the New York 

 Skipiiiiiy List of January 21st : — 



GENERAL STATEMENT. 



Receipts in the United States in 1881 ... 

 Add stock January 1st, ISSl 



Total supply 

 Deduct exports by sea and shipments 

 inland to Canada in 1881 



Total 

 Bags, etc. tons. 

 3,615,649 205.354 

 417,902 19,353 



4,033,651 224,707 



313,192 21,238 



Deduct stock January 1st, 1882.. 



Taken for consumption in 1881 .. 

 Taken for consumption in 1880 .. 



Increase in 1881 



3,720,359 203,469 

 368,293 18,172 



3,352,066 185,2117 

 3,102,338 169,416 



249,728 15,881 



Receipts in United States in 1880 

 Add stock, January 1st, 1880 . . . 



Total supply 



Deduct exports in 1880 



And stock, January 1st, 1881 



Taken for consumption iu ISSO ... 



■Weighing 



Consumption of 1879 



Decrease in 1880 



Receipts in Uuited States in 1879 

 Add stock, January 1st, 1879 ... 



Total supply 



Deduct exports in 1879 



And stock, January 1st, 1880 ... 



Taken for consumption in 1879... 



"Weighing ... ... 



Consumption of 1878 



Increase in 1S79 



Pkgs. 



3,297,029 

 404.490 



36,869 



It would appear from the above figures that the 

 cottsumpHon of cofl'ee in the United States from 1878 

 to 1881 has been : — 



In 1878 



„ 1879 



,, 1880 



,, 1881 



.. 14-2,372 tons. 



.. 179241 ,, 



.. 169,416 ,, 



.. 185,297 „ 



The increase in 1879 over 1878 was 36,869 tons ; 

 then came a decrease in IS80 of 9,825 tons compared 

 with 1879, but 1881 shewed an increase of 15,881 

 tons over 1880. The average for the four years 

 would be 170,000 tons ; but, as the figures for 1878 

 were so much lower tliaji those of the succeedmg 

 years, a better average will be obtained from the 

 past tlu-ee years. This is 178,000 tons, or 3,560,000 

 cwt. But, as the increase of 188) over 1878 is no 

 less than 43,000 tons, or at the average of about 11,000 

 tons per annum, and as the population is increas- 

 ing at such an enormous rate, we feel justified in 

 estimating the consumption of 1882 at a fioine 

 closely approaching 200,000 tons, or 4,000,000 cwt. 

 If the increased consumption of coffee follows the 

 proportion of increase to the population, we may 

 venture to predict the following figures ; — 



215,000 tons. 

 235,000 „ 

 260,000 „ 

 290,000 „ 

 325.000 „ 



U. S. consumption of coffee 1883 



,, )j ji 1884 



,, ,, ,, 1885 



,, „ „ 1S86 



,. 1887 



or 6,500,000 cwt., equal to the present Brazil crop, 

 which is not likely to be largely increased. The 

 consumption of coffee, present and prospective, in the 

 great 'Western Republic, is the keystone of hope for 

 the coffee cuterprize. If emigration from Europe 

 continues at the present rate to the United States, 

 our estimates of consumption will probably be 

 largely exceeded. 



