October i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



3°3 



the wise though mysterious will of a Fu'st Cause. 

 Accumulated adversities may Ije as much for our 

 good as they uudouljtedly were in the case of Job 

 (N.B. — Tliat Satan was jiermitfed to be the instru- 

 . ment of the trial), and prosperity may, as in that 

 case, return when, in deepest humility, we cease to 

 question and rebel. So much for the supernatural 

 element in the argument. As to the natural, we 

 most keenly appreciate the evil efifects of want of 

 shelter, and on the property in which we are interested 

 we took pains to leave belts. But in the most com- 

 plete shelter of such belts cofl'ee bushes and cinchona 

 trees have died oft' after a very trying fashion ; while 

 now the very trees we planted for shelter are turn- 

 ing out sources of mischief ! Tlie scriptures recognize 

 the possibility which we dare not contest that God 

 may have a controversy with a people or a land 

 and may visit for disciplinary purposes with mildew, 

 blight and "abnormal" seasons. Those who believe 

 this are not all ignorant fanatics, but persons who 

 reconcile their creed witli the most intense study of 

 the nature and tendency of secondary causes. 



giving 



THE VALUE OF CINCHONA TREES. 

 We call attention to the letter of our correspond- 

 ent " S. T. R." ou page 311, in order to say that our 

 latest revised estimate of the value of Cinchona will 

 be found in the introduction to our " Ilaudbook and 

 Directory for 1882," page 31, where, after 

 information as to returns, we add : — 



It is exceedingly difficult to fix on even an approx- 

 imate value for Cinchona plantations, but as of some 

 interest, even if inapplicable in most cases practically, 

 we give the following : — 



Ajtproximate Value of Cinchona Trees in the Hill 

 Districts of Ceylon.* 

 Description: 

 C Succimira.f C. Officinalis. 

 (^Red Bark.) (Crown Bark.) 



Age. 

 Years 



C. Calisaya 

 LeiJgeriana. 

 Per Tree. Per Tree. (Yellow Bark.) 



Per Tree. 



R. R. B. 



2 ... 1 ... 1 ... U 



4 ... 3 ... 3 ... 4" 



6 ... 6 ... 7 ... 8 



8 ... 10 ... ]2 ... 15 



10 ... 15 ... 18 ... 22 



Officinalis will stand closer planting than succirubra, 

 and the price obtained per Ih. for the bark is very 

 much greater, but tbn yi..ld ot bark is much less, so 

 equaiizini; the value of the irces up to a certain .ige 

 We merely offer these figures as a basis of cahulation. 

 The need of caution in estimitin;,' the v.alue mmt be 

 recoi;nised when it is remembered how cinchona plants 

 die out prematurely— to f iich an extent that a maximum 

 loss of 90 per cent has been reported. Even after thn e 

 years, a liberal allowance fi.r probable losses must be 

 made. At four jears of age the tree, if cut down, lias a 

 good marketanle value, provided an averaiie growth has 

 been made, and perhaps therefore our figure may be 

 deemed too low by proprietors of flourishing irers of this 



* A cinchona planter, who has seen these figures, writes 

 that he would halve our returns, "for, while a single tree by 

 itself may prove of this value, whai with dyine out and li.-re 

 and tliere dwarfed specimens and larg'e patches wherp 

 cinchona icill not come on, any area of 500 acres would prove 

 the ti uth of this suggestion " ; but our friend overl oUs 

 the tact that our valuation is per tree, not per acre. 



t We are reminded ihat the (Jfficinalis-.Succirubra hybrid 

 {I'ubescens) woald be about 50 per cent more valuable than 

 Sncoirubra. 



age. It is impossible lo give a scale applicable to all cir- 

 cumstances. Our column for Ledgeriana is entirely 

 conjectural : few or no results being available to shotv 

 the value of trees of this kind grown in Ceylon. 



MAJOR FERGUSSON IN INDIA : 

 COOLY LABOUR FOR NORTHERN AUSTRALIA. 



" Cooly labour for the Northern Territory " is the 

 title of an instructive paper recently presented to the 

 Parliament of South Australia. It contains Major 

 Fergusson's report on his mission to negotiate with 

 the Government of India for coolie emigration, and 

 narriitcs many facts bearing upon the subject, incid- 

 entally mentioning also the steps taken by the Govern- 

 ment of our own colony in dealing with this quea- 

 tion. 



Major Fergus.son describes his visit to the Demerara 

 Emigration Depot near Calcutta, in company with Dr. 

 Grant, the Protector of Emigrants for the Government 

 of India. He saw a party of 500 coolies just returned 

 from Demerara, and close by another large party 

 about to embark for the same place. The returned 

 emigrants he describes as looking liealthy, b.ippy, and 

 prosperous, their children fat and very unlike native 

 children in India. In reply to his questions they 

 agreed that British Guiana was very a good place, and 

 that they had been well treated .aboard ship. They 

 had brought back an average of two hundred rupees 

 a head. Ihosa about to embark looked as a rule mis- 

 erable half-starved wretches, chiefly from the Oude 

 and the north-west provinces, from Benares, Patna, and 

 Allahabad, and a few from Delhi. The conditions of 

 their engagement were read over to them, and they 

 were afterwards called up singly and asked whether 

 they understood the conditions, and went voluntarily. 

 Two made rather doubtful .answers, and were kept 

 back for further examination. Major Fergusson .after- 

 wards, in company with IVIr. Firth, the Emigration 

 Agent for Demerara and Natal, paid a visit to the 

 ship from which the return coolies had landed. The 

 doctor of the ship informed him that the death-rate did 

 not exceed three or four per voy.age, and that the 

 coolies were quiet and orderly. The huts provided 

 for the coolies whilst awaiting emliarkatiou are long 

 thatched buildings, the sides of which were formed 

 of a eort of native mat, held upright by light bamboos 

 or of mud, after the fashion of the " wattle-and-dab" 

 of Australia. The whole cost of the depot, capable 

 of holding 1,200 coolies, was about £200. This is 

 situated on the banks of the Hooghly, not more than 

 two miles from the terminus of the ?n,ain line of rail- 

 way from Bombay and the Puujaub. Sir A.shley Eden, 

 Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, with whom Major 

 Fergusson had an interview, is most favourable to 

 coolie emigration, and he recommcids their shipment 

 at Madras, as the mortality would be much less than 

 among the Bengal coolies, perhaps because they live 

 better; besides which there would be less trouble in 

 rationing them, as they eat meat and have fewer 

 caste prejudices. This advice correspondents with that 

 given bv Mr. Hepburn, a coflee planter in Mysore, 

 who was a fellow passenger with Major Fergusson in 

 the rome. 



During his stay in India Major Fergusson was sum- 

 moned to the Council Chamber, where the Governor- 

 General. in-Council was engaged in the discussion of 

 the Soutli Australian Bill. The nature of the questions 

 put to him on that occasion give additional proof of 

 the almost paternal care of the Government for the 

 coolies. I hey were anxi'us that the Protector of 

 Immigrants in the Northe-n Territory should be a 

 man in every way qualified for the post, and even 

 contt-mplated offering to piy him It was pointed out 

 that the Govrrnmeut of South Australia would pro- 

 bably agree to this, and would cveu be willing that 



