October i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



.^31 



but the crop uow shipping is in a large measure a fail- 

 ure on many parts ot the property, the Autumn pickings 

 having amouutctl to a tew cwt. only, and the eutire yield 

 of tlie year will probably not exceed 3,900 cwt. 



Believing that the best care and attention have been 

 bestowed on the cultivation of tlie estate by the Com- 

 pany's Manager and his assistants, and knowing that outlay 

 on what should be productive cultivation has not been 

 spared, your directors can only attribute the shortcomings 

 of the two years imder reWew to the unfavourable seasons 

 which, while they have proved antagonistic to the matiu'- 

 iug of fruit from blossom, have developed the spores of 

 leaf-disease in a cruelly prolific manner. The latest advices 

 from the estate, however, report an abimdant show of 

 healthy wood, and good prospects tor spring crop iu 18S3; 

 and it is satisfactory to know that the trees shew no 

 sign of succunjbiug to the disease, but are generally 

 healthy and \'igorous. The planting of cinchona trees on 

 Spring Valley is being largely extended, and their growth 

 is reported to be very encouraging for the futm-e. Dur- 

 ing the current year bark is being scraped from some of 

 the earlier planted trees; and, year by year, increased 

 revenue may be looked for from this source. 



It will be noticed that a sum of £868 7s. 7d. appears 

 in the Balance Sheet as expended on the purchase and 

 shipment of wire tramways. These are iu course of erec- 

 tion. The transport of manure to the higher fields, so 

 essential to the upkeep of the property, has hitherto beeu 

 found impracticable, but by the suspended rope system, 

 as now to be extended and perfected, considerable accu- 

 mulations of manure from the main cattle establishment 

 will be distributed over a large area of the property. 



It is much to be regretted thsit the strong represent- 

 ations which have been made to Government in the Colony 

 and at home, on the necessity for granting railway facil- 

 ities to planters in the Ouvah cUstrict, have as yet been 

 made in vain. To this Company alone it may safely be 

 said that direct communication by rail to the shipping 

 port would ensure a sa\dng of several thousands of pounds 

 annually, and to the Government themselves, as owners 

 of the entire railway system of the colony, the advantage 

 of bringiug into it one of the most important sections 

 of the island's traffic ought to be self-evident. 



PROSPECTS FOR EX-CEYLON COLONISTS 



IN AUSTRALIA. 



Li answer to au enc^uiry made by us on behalf of a 

 Ceylon planter ^ith a little capital and a big family, a 

 gentleman of wide observation and commercial ex- 

 perience resident in Victoria, gives the following opuiion 

 as to the best opening in the Colonies. The inform- 

 ation may be of service to others who may be medit- 

 ating settlement in the far South on removal from de- 

 pressed, overcrowded Ceylon: — " My own idea is Victo- 

 ria or New Zealand will be the best jjlace for anyone with 

 limited means. What i.s the age of the sons, and what 

 kuid of work are they used to ? Probably the best em- 

 ployment in Victoria would be dauy farming, but this 

 is very laborious. Wheat growing is easier but risky, 

 but still a friend ot mine has just netted £2,000 oS 

 600 acres of land. Victoria has the advantage of a 

 good market, whicli none of the other colonies can 

 boast about. Tasmania I look upon as only suitable 

 to the miner and capitalist. New Zealand has good 

 climate and land, but a very bad market for her pro- 

 duce." Our correspoudeut promises to give fuller 

 particulars by next mail. 



liSDIAUUBBER PRODUCTION IN LRAZIL. 



A pamphlet, lately issued in Rio de Janeiro by 

 Seuhoi' Pimenta Bueno, calls attention to the great 

 importance of this pnduot, and the inflnonce it has 

 bad on the commerce ot Para, the value of whose 

 imports and exports has risen from iOi'S'^i!, 580 mils. 

 during the years 1819-1854, to.in 1874-1879, 108,702,634 



mils, or fully four times as much during the last five 



years, whilw the revenue of the city has incnast-d 



during the same period from 4,368,527,650 reis to 



17,8-5,895,567 reis, hnving during the five years pre. 



viou.sly, say fiom 18t9 to 1874, re>iched the 1 r.'esum 



of 21, -'45 591 032 reis. To show the proporti.uiate 



value of ii diarubber, as compared with other ■ xports, 



the ret:irn for 1879 80 apportions them as f..ll^.^v^ :— 



Indiarubber ... 12,242 500 mils. 



Castanhauuts ... 1,473,800 



Cocoa ... 1,032,500 ',', 



14,748,800 ,, 

 On the other hand, the total export from the tw.i 

 provinces ot Para and Amazonas during the same 

 period was 15,497,600 mds. , a striking proof of the 

 position held by indiarubber. It is further stated 

 that " the provinces of Para and the Amazonas import 

 sugar, cofl'e'', Indian corn, beans, and even niandioca 

 fl"ur !" Again, the v\riter of the pamjihlet st.ites tlat 

 indiarubber occupies the third place in the exports 

 of the Empire, alter coffee and sugar, and yet how 

 few of our readers are piobably aware of this fi.ct. 

 Para occupying the extreme northern limits of the 

 Empire, with its vast river, the Amaznn, flowing pa-t it. 



The writer shows how, owing to the dist motive 

 manner in which the indiai uhber trees are cut down 

 this valuable branch of industry is threatened v th 

 serious diminution, if not almost extinction, and nrgea 

 that means ought to be taki u to regulate the cultiv- 

 ation and supply of this viduable article, a conclusiou 

 in which most people must agree, who feel an iofeest 

 in Br.Tzil, as well as the great river which gives access 

 trom Para to the Andes, and whose bank.s are covered 

 with primeval forests, many as yet almost untrccldeu 

 by the foot of man. A great increase in the value ' 

 of the article is exhibited, that current being 3,lliO ' 

 reia per kilogram for fine quality, whereas in the year 

 1825 it was only worth 300 reis the kilogram. It iray 

 also be noticed that indiarubber contribute.^ 25 percent 

 ot its value to the gener.al and municipal taxes of Para. 



The naturalist Agassiz, iu his great work on Brazil, 

 devotes a large portion of it to the Amazon nnd its 

 productions, extracts from which will be found in cur 

 columns, and he makes especial mention of the atten- 

 tion he nceived from Seiihor Pin^enfc. Bueno duiiug 

 his visit to that region. — South American Journal, 



FIBRES AND FIBRE MACHINEE-Y. 



The Calcutta Enijlixhmaii summarizes infomiatiou 

 which has been published in the Calcutta Gazette re- 

 garding the cultivation of jute in the State of Louisi- 

 ana, and whicli is calculated seriously to afJ'ect the 

 cultivators of jute in India and the manufacturers 

 of the fibre iu Calcutta and Dunilee. Jute as well 

 as rameh (rhea gi'ass) seems succeeding well. The 

 Enijlixhinaii article states : — 



India has hitherto supplied juto to all manufaot. 

 uring countries. The importance nf jnte cultivation 

 to the cotton planter of the .Smthirn States of 

 America is very great. Jute bn ts imported at a 

 low rate of duty have, it is said, driven bogging 

 flax to the wall. In 1879 I he estimated yards of 

 baggiua used to cover the cottci crops of the year 

 was 33,000,000. Of this quantity 28 000, ,100 yards 

 were made of jute butts and "rjectious" and the 

 balance, 5 00 i, 000, of flax straw. Flax bai;ging, it 

 appears is not in favour as conip red with jnte butts 

 bagging a.? it is so dirty that it makes a ilitfcrence 

 in the price of the cotton. Sine; 1872, when Con- 

 gress took oil the duty on jute, it has been found 

 impossible at a paying r.ate to ii;,anufaeture baf,giug 

 for cottou iu the State of Minnesota; and thoustuids 



