April t, 1886.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



735 



For 



Exported. 



lb. 

 107.7-23,000 



io;i.tis;i,0(Ki 



Ul.Gll.CXX) 

 years. 

 l.H->,000,000 



Retained for Home 

 Cousaniption. 



lb. 

 33,01 li.OOO 



H2,1J.S,(XI0 

 31,il6'>,00(l 



3-2,700,e()0 



31,300.000 



ISS^ 

 18S3 

 18K'2 

 .\verage for 10 

 1872 to IMSl 

 And from 



l.si;-2 to 1.S7-2 lOl.rtdO.OOO 

 (plication (i. — The home trade iu coffee has been, 

 midoubtcdly, shrinking. 



Qnestion 7. — The shrinking which has lasted for a 

 great number of years, reilly began in 1853. became 

 worse in 18l"i3, and continues much the same to this day. 

 Question 10. — The diminished consumption is to a 

 gi-eat extent to be traced to the legislation of 18.i3 

 and 1803 ou the subject of mixtures, the Treasury 

 having, in lSi>3, allowed the sale of niijiii cofee ami 

 chiioii/ if lahtlled " mixttiie," and m 1863 permitted 

 the sale of mired cofee muf cliicorif irithmrf tnn/ Inht I- 

 liiiij. The result was that consumption fell from an 

 average of 1 lb. IS oz. per head of population in 

 18.M to 1 lb. i oz. in 1S63, and to about 1.5 oz. 

 per head in 18S0. This shows, ou the population 

 of the last census of 1881, a diminished consump- 

 of coffee of over 11,000,000 lb. annually. 



Question 13.— The home consumption of coffee could 

 be improved by legislation. T]ie Ci(Stoms and I/iJaiul 

 fUvriiite Hill of 18S2 allows the preparation and sale 

 of aoy vegetable substance made in imitation of, or 

 for u.se as coffee or chicory on payment of an e-Xcise 

 duty istampi, giving thus almost unlimited scope for 

 the adulteration of coffee; either coffee ought not to 

 be alloweil to be sold mixed with other ingredients in 

 the same package, or, if the sale of a mixture is 

 permitted the proportions and names of the iiigredieutw 

 contained iu it should be stated on the package. 



Question 14. — \c) Theinereaee of direct steam com- 

 munication between several of the producing countrirs 

 and Continental ports has diverted to foreign ports 

 direct some of the supplies which used to come to 

 this cotmtiy to be re-exported afterwards. 



Question 14. — id.) The fall in prices during the List 

 few years would teud to stimulate consumption in this 

 country .Hud el.-iewhere. 



QuestiuD 14. — (li.\ Foreign competion is, no doubt, 

 stimulated by the lower charges ruling iu 

 .such markets as Hamburg. Havre, Antwerp, kc, 

 as compared with the charges of the docks and 

 wharves in London ; this tends to restrict the export 

 from this country, consumers abroad fiudiug, iu tliese 

 ttmpB of keen competition, that tbey can buy the same 

 (|aality of coffee cheaper in Hamburg, Havre, or Ant- 

 \»erp, tbanin London. 



Question. — H. — (/..) The differential duties and boun- 

 ties in France and Spain in favour of imi>ortation du'ect 

 from producing countries as against importation from 

 this country, have almost entirely stoppe<l the export 

 traih' in coffee from Etigland to those countries, except 

 for some particular kinds of coffee which French buyers 

 can only find in this market. 



tjueation 1 1. — ('.) The duty on coffee yields a very 

 small nt^'t revenue, and its abolition, with the removal 

 of the restrictions which it entails would be a very 

 great boon to the tradp. 



Signed on behalf of the Coffee and r.V)coa Trade Sec- 

 tion. H. PA.STKUB, Chairman. 



The Chamber of Commerce .foumal, Dec. .')th. 

 —'hm .Vt'trs. 



Stkalino Cocoa is OnRNAnA. — Complaints are 

 heard in Grenada of thefts of cocoa, and it is said 

 tliat the practice is due to the readiness with which 

 mall parcels can be disposed of to ready purchasers. 

 Ihis looks very much like offering a premium for 

 theft, anil some people might bedispcied to say that 

 the hnyer was as bad as the thief. It is hoped the 

 (iovernment will take the earliest opportunity of 

 hgi.slating on the matter, since, during the frecpicnt 

 visit."! nf His Excellency the Governor to the counry, 

 he must have become cognisant of the great evil 

 complained of. — Colonien and India, 



A Tea Puvn-tek who has just visited the Straits 

 Settlements, iSrc., says: — "We saw some of the 

 plantations in Johore, where there was a grand 

 Hush ready for picking, in Christmas week. Thev 

 grow tea, coffee, pepper, indigo and — everything". 

 The Sultan's people are nio.st attentive to visitors, 

 as he wishes to encourage settlers. There are 

 thousands of miles of good tea land available. A 

 good many Ceylon planters have already gone 

 there, and have either got or purchased grants, 

 The climate is fair, neither very hot nor very wet, 

 but nevei cold." — Madnis, Mail. 



Thk Wonderful stories told of grain which had 

 been made to grow after having lain dormant for 

 thousands of years in the hands of mummies, do 

 not seem to have any foundation in fact. Mr. H. 

 K. Parks states in the Journal of Scieiia- that he 

 has investigated all the cases he can find, and 

 shows that there is not a single authenticated in- 

 stance of corn found in a mummy having been grown. 

 Some of the seeds found in mummies have germ- 

 inated, but as they produced plants — oats, for 

 instance — not known to the Arabs of three thou- 

 sand years ago, it seems evident that they were 

 systematically put in the hands of the mummies 

 by the avaricious Arabs of modern days. — American 

 Grocer. [This seems to be the truth of the matter 

 as regards mummy wheat. But there seems no 

 doubt that seeds buried in the earth retain their 

 vitality for ages. — Ed.] 



Suo.vR IN Fui is not the thing of promise 

 it was a short while back. A correspondent says : 

 —"Planters still say they cannot make the cultiv- 

 ation pay with present rates ruling. The largest 

 mill on the Xavua and the plantations ■ coiniected 

 with it have lately come to grief and were sold. The 

 labourers, over 500, were all removed. This is bad 

 for the Navua in particular and sugar planting in 

 general, as such a collap.se will frighten other 

 capitalists. On the other hand, two or three new 

 mills have been erected : one ou Mango, an island 

 to windward, owned by a Melbourne Co., and 

 managed by a brother of Mr. Borron in Ceylon ; 

 another on an island to the north of Vitu Levu, 

 owned by the new New Zealand Sugar Betining 

 Co. The sugar made is of firstrate qudlity, and it 

 is to he hoped all these mills liare a pro.sperous 

 future before them. If sugar cultivation turns out 

 unprofitable, it will almost be a deathblow to Fiji. 

 —Planter and Farmer. 



Tea-Planting on Old Cofff.e Estates. — A 



planter from a district north of Kandy writes : 



" is flourishing, and I hope it will 



turn out well, but it's a fearful uphill game planting 

 abandoned estates. We put some 200 acres under 

 seed at stake ; but what with black grub and other 

 insects eating the young plants down, it is dis. 

 heartening work, and I lost a large percentage in this 

 way, all is not plain sailing ! I am glad to say. 

 however, that they are shooting up again and again 

 above ground ; really the young tea plant is 

 wonderful in its tenacity considering all it 

 stands. Here I allowed weeds to grow, after 

 spending a lot of money in getting the place 

 clean. I found that where plenty of weeds, were, the 

 plants were safe and growing well ; grub does not 

 I confine himself to tlie young tea plant, but will take to 

 eating weeds as much as tea. I employed hoys 

 with very great success catching them, andcveiyonp 

 they caught was a plant saved, .so therefore it paid 

 us well. I would not plant seed at stake again in 

 abandoned coffee land. I burnt off another TTi 

 acres yesterday, and this will give me elose on .'iOO 

 acres. As much as any man can well look after 

 when our troubles of pests are over. Come along 

 up and see thia fine old district," 



