January i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



541 



AGEICULTUKE IN MADRAS. 



The Saidapet Farm under present management continues 

 to justify its existence. A valuable experiment was made 

 vnih arrowroot, 7,500 lb. of tubers having been produced 

 per acre. As these tubers yield ll'i per cent of arrow- 

 root, the produce per acre was OSTJ lb. of ilour — not 

 1,875 lb, as stated in the report. The value of tlii.s proves 

 arrowroot to be a suitable crop for Madras, although, 

 the demand being extremely limited, this tuber will not 

 readily become a popular article of cultivation. The cattle 

 and sheep breeding experiments continue to give satisfac- 

 tion ; the produce of the imported stock from Aden is 

 particularly valuable, the cows yielding large quantities of 

 milk, au important article of food to au Indian family. 



Cinchona continues to thrive, and pays handsomely in the 

 Nilgiri hills. The returns for 1879-80 were as follows ; — 



Receipts E. 4,89731 13 



Charges „ 1,56,708 13 10 



Profit... „ 3,33,022 15 2 

 The figures, since the commencement of the industry 

 in IStJO, are: — 



Receipts K. 15,99,626 5 6 



Charges „ 18,67,476 11 6 



Loss ... „ 2,67,850 G 

 This sum of charges includes interest, so that next year 

 will probably seo the Goverument repaid all its advances. 

 The industry being thus established in the province, and 

 proved to be an eminently profitable one, the time seems 

 to have arrived when it should be handed over to private 

 enterprise. It was at one time feared that the materially 

 increased production, caused by the cultivation of this 

 bark iu India, woidd teud to lower the market value of 

 the produce. This has not been the case, as is shown 

 by the average receipts realised by the sale of the bark 

 from these jjlantations :— 



Average 

 lb. sold. price. 



E. A. P. 

 1875-76 ... 65,170 18 



1876-77 ... 103,341 I 10 8 



1877-78 ... 138,sn8 3 13 5 



1878-79 ... 114,320 2 9 5 



1879-80 ... 179,299 3 



1880-81 ... 243,245 2 8 



Average ... 2 8 3 

 Coffee cultivation is not a growing industry, nor could 

 we expect it to be so, in the face of the almost stationary 

 consumption. The consumption per head is practically the 

 1 same today as it was forty years ago,* and any increase 

 in deliveries is due entirely to the normal increase of po- 

 I piilation. The exports of coffee during 1880-81 were 

 [ 38,814,960 lb., valued at Rl.51,97,350 equalling 163 per cent 

 ; of the total exports of the province. This is both a 

 I smaller quantity and a lower value than were exported 

 several years ago. In 1875-76, the relative figures were 

 12.691,712 lb. and EI,66,11,100. The cultivation of cotton 

 .sLi-ms also to be on the decline, the total quantity ex- 

 ported having been considerably less than usual. The 

 quantity consumed locally may be assumed as constaut. 

 The number of looms cvned by the natives themselves 

 \Mis 252,990, and although these may not have been work- 

 ing all the year through, they must have consumed a 

 considerable (juantity of cotton. 



Let us look now f<ir a moment at the material condi- 

 tion of the agriculturist, as .shown by the cattle and farm 

 iuipleraents iu bis possession. This may not be a thorough 

 t'st, but it is one which contains, in fair measure, the 

 . nieut.! of accuracy. The following table shows the live 

 lid dead stock possessed by the cultivator, and is reck- 

 unid at so many per 100 acres under cultivation: — 

 Buffaloes ... ... .„ (>"0I 



Bullocks ... ... ,.. 15'14 



Cows ... .. ... 13-32 



Goats ... ... ... 13-29 



I Horses and Ponies ... ... ... -jg 



Sheep ... ... ... 18-T9 



Carts ... ... ... 1-35 



Ploughs ... ... ... 8-93 



*Only in regard to Britain.— Ed. 



These figures speak volumes for the poverty of the pc)- 

 ple. Madras, too, is the most advanced proviucu in agri- 

 cultural matters. Here are four carts for every three 

 hundred acres. Even if manure was available iu unlimited 

 quantity, it would be a physical impossibility to have it 

 distributed. Then, there are but U ploughs for eacli 100 

 acres, or 1 plough for every 11 acres — manifestly too 

 small a proportion. The draught-cattle are in fair pro- 

 portion to the number of ploughs kept, the buffaloes and 

 bullocks numbering 2-37 to each plough. From all these 

 figm-es, we deduce the inference that what is wanted lu-re 

 is better cultivation, and that depends entirely on a better 

 breed of cattle, for no number of new patents in tlie 

 shape of improved ploughs will ever benefit the farmer 

 one iota, until he has a better breed of draught-cattle. 

 Deeper cultivation will do more to improve the position 

 of agriculture iu India than plenty of manure, even if that 

 were available ; and it will thus be seen that the great 

 want is better cattle. — Indian Agriculturist. 



SUGAE IN INDIA. 



An interesting paper on the above, among other subjects, 

 by Jlr. James Mylne, of Sbahabad, Beheea, Bengal, was 

 lately read before the Society of Arts, of which the follouiug 

 paragraph contains a much abridged abstract : — Mr. Mvlne 

 regards the Sugar-cane in India as a high-olass product, 

 on which, however, owing to the rude way employed to 

 extract the juice and otherwise prepare it for market, 

 au enormous loss takes place annually. The mode of culti- 

 vation is of the most primitive description, and contrary 

 to aU notions in the "West Indies, where the cane is cultivated 

 in a relatively more scientific manner. As an explanation 

 of the origin and retention of this wasteful mode of cultiva- 

 tion, it would seem that not very many years ago Jaggery 

 was worth only its weight in rice, and each person therefore 

 only grew, in a rough-and-ready manner, sufficient for the 

 wants of his family. Since, however, railways have been 

 opened into the interior, the area of cane grown and 

 the value of the sugar has largely increased. The total 

 yearly production in India is now believed by Mr Mylne, 

 on official documents which he quotes in detail, to amount 

 to about 5,000,000 tons, or 51 lb. per head of the population. 

 This does not include the produce of the date palm, which 

 is largely grown ; and the estimate shows that the guess 

 of an Indian production of 1,500,000 tons a year, hazarded 

 iu the Produce Markets' Reviexv on partial official returns 

 for a small part of the peninsula, and regarded at the 

 time as extravagant, was far under the reality; T)ie average 

 amount of sugar consumed per head in the XJnited Kingdom 

 is about 63 lb. ; and in India the midtUe classes, such as 

 clerks, &c., eat far more Sugar than we do ; indeed, the 

 Bengalis may be said more or less to lunch off sugar. 

 As regards the area of cane under cultivation, Mr. Mylne 

 thinks it is evident that the production could be easily 

 doubled, but any increase in the area grown would tend 

 to further reduce the present low prices, imless a pro- 

 portionate increase in the population took place, or hirge 

 exports followed. Contrasting the amount grown and the 

 value of the sugar produced by Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, 

 British Guiana, and Mauritius, it would appear that the 

 five million tons grown in India would only realise about 

 40 millions sterling, whereas if the quality were equal to 

 the sugar produced in the "West Indies and Mauritius, it 

 would bo worth 126 milHons sterling. The average price 

 of jaggery in India for the last five years — during which 

 period the quality of the sugar, mainly, of course, in Mr. 

 Mylne's own district, has been much improved hv the 

 use of the Beheea cane mill, as supplied by his tirm — 

 is only about 7s. Sjd. per cwt., or a little more than 

 one-tlurd of the value of Colonial sugars. There is no 

 doubt that the enormous difference in value could be re- 

 duced iu some considerable measure, firstly, by more careful 

 attention to the planting of the cane; secondly, by im, 

 proved means for extracting the cane juice ; and, tliinlly- 

 by proper treatment of the juice after extraction. The 

 Beheea mill supplied by Mr. Mylne's firm is apparently 

 well adapted to improve upon the relatively rude methods 

 used by the ryots, without upsetting their prejudices. 



The fact that Mr. Mylne estimates the ]>roduction of 

 sugar in India at 5,000,000 tons is important, as hitherto 

 that hns been supposed to be about the weight of the 



