480 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



COPRA IN BRITISH SOLOMON ISLANDS 



THE RESIDENT COMMISSIONER, B. S. I. 

 IN COLOMBO. 

 We had the pleasure of a visit today from 

 Mr. Chas. Morris Woodford, the Resident Com- 

 missioner of the British Solomon Islands, who 

 is a passenger by the " Otranto," returning to 

 his post after a holiday in England. Mr. Wood- 

 ford's charge consists of the southern islands 

 of the group, viz., Shortland Island, Choiseul, 

 Isabel, New Georgia, Guadalcanal Malaita, 

 San Christoval, Bellona, and Rennell Islands, 

 together with Ougtong-Java, and other smaller 

 islands in the vicinity of the main group, and 

 all lying between the 1\ and 13th degrees of 

 south latitude, and the 150th and 163rd degrees 

 of east longitude. Trade and industry are gra- 

 dully developing in these out-of-the-way islands 

 where many of the natives are still said to be 

 Head Hunters and Cannibals. There have long 

 been a few traders, mostly of British nationality, 

 resident in the islands ; these have recently 

 increased largely in number, and in the extent of 

 their operations. Lever Bros., and more lately, 

 Burn, Philps, & Co. have recently undertaken 



COCONUT PLANTING ON A LARGE SCALE, 



and have introduced many white men for the 

 superintendence of labour. The principal articles 

 of trade are copra, pearl shell, and tortoise 

 shell. Mr. Woodford has his headquarters at 

 Tulagi, a small island between Guadalcanar 

 and Malaita, where there is a Customs House 

 and Post Office. There is a fairly regular steam 

 communication with Sydney, New South Wales. 

 Mr. Woodford thinks there is a future before 

 these islands especially in the Copra industry. 

 Since the advent of European enterprise and 

 capital, due largely to Mr. Woodford's own 

 efforts and recommendations we believe, some 

 12,000 acres of coconuts have been planted and 

 the work of planting continues There are con- 

 siderable areas covered with coconuts in the 

 hands of natives which were not scientifically 

 planted. The climate is very wet ; consequently 



SON DRYING IS NOT FAVOURED BY THE NATIVES 



who smoke their copra, with the result that it 

 frequently sweats afterwards. The Copra is 

 collected by the traders who go round in small 

 ships purchasing it. It is afterwards sold in 

 the open market in Sydney. Tho European 

 planters do things on a more up to-date scale. 

 Sun drying is adopted when possible and drying 

 kilns have been erected. Though Copra is the 

 principal industry of these islands, and an ex- 

 panding one with a bright future before it, rub- 

 ber is not neglected ; and when Mr. Woodford left 

 for home, some ;400 acres had been already 

 planted. Labour is not too plentiful, Melanesians 

 mostly being employed in agricultural work. 



Mr. Woodford is a young and vigorous offi- 

 cial who has already given about 



26 YEARS SERVICE TO THE CROWN IN THE 

 REMOTE OUTPOSTS OF EMPIRE, 



having previously served in Fiji, as Consul 

 in Samoa, and Deputy Commissioner for 

 the West Pacific. We wish him a safe 

 voyage back to his island home and trust he 

 may have the satisfaction of seeing the trade 

 and industry of his little Kingdom rapidly 

 expand still further under his administration. 



THE WORLD'S GOCOA. 



Production and Consumption. 

 The following particulars of the production 

 and consumption of cocoa in the years 1906-8 

 are extracted from the " Gordian," the German 

 paper dealing with the cocoa trade: — 

 Cocoa Crop of the World. 



Countries. 1906- 1907. 



[Kilog. =2-204 lb.] Kilogs. Kilogs. 



Brazil 2\135,000' 24,52H,000 



23,4!6,897 19,670,571 



24,619(560 24,193,980 



12,983,467 18,611,430 



14 312,992 10,151,374 



12,8ri4.609 13,471,090 



9,738,961 10,451,498 

 4,931,530 4,612,100 

 2,107,905 2,350,000 

 2,5(19 622 4,699,559 

 1,367,977 1,966,336 



2,505,6 8 2,218,741 



1,849,847 1,800,153 

 1,557,864 2,433,856 



1,480,568 1,625,274 

 1,262,090 1,387,219 

 3,271,969 1,713,830 

 716,200 750,000 

 402,429 548/26 

 572,948 590,633 

 176,243 277,884 

 1,000,000 1,000,000 



Ecuador 

 San Thom6 

 Trinidad 

 Santo Domingo 

 Venezuela 

 British West Africa 

 Grenada 

 Hayti 

 Ceylon 



German Colonies 

 Jamaica 



Dutch East Indies 

 Fernando Po 

 Surinam 

 French Colonies 

 Cuba 



Saint Lucia 

 Belgian Congo 

 Dominica 

 Costa Rica 

 Other Countries 



19C8, 

 Kilogs. 

 32,95(1,(00 

 32.119,110 

 28,560,3110 

 21,737,070 

 19,005,071 

 16,303,196 

 14.256,634 

 5,108,245 

 3,150,000 

 2,836,215 

 2,737,529 

 2,694,381 

 2,538 841 

 2,267,159 

 1,699,236 

 1.500,000 

 862,631 

 700,000 

 612,000 

 498,821 

 340,375 

 l,0CO,00O 



Total 148,794,289 149,057,054 193,482,814 



Cocoa Consumption of the World. 



Countries. 



United States 



Germany 



United Kingdom 



France 



Netherlands 



Spain 



Switzerland 

 Belgium 



Austria-Hungary 



Russia 



Italy 



Denmark 



Canada 



Sweden 



Australia 



Norway 



Portugal 



Finland 



Other Countries 



1906. 

 Ki logs. 

 37,948,675 

 35,260,500 

 20,i3i,040 

 23,403,800 

 11,224,000 

 5,636,821 

 6,466,900 

 3,861,686 

 3.312,800 

 2,670,940 

 1,385,000 

 1,190,000 

 1,035,182 

 1,057.218 

 386,497 

 580.043 

 14 r >,604 

 86,252 

 1,000,0TO 



1907. 

 Kilogs. 

 37,526,505 

 34,516,400 

 20,159,472 

 23,180,300 

 12,219,249 

 5,628,239 

 7,124,200 

 3,253,1)67 

 3,471,700 

 •',473,380 

 1,455,500 

 1,225,000 

 1,115,957 

 698,455 

 400,000 

 524,713 

 150,000 

 103,804 

 1,000,000 



1908. 

 Kilogs. 

 42,615,293 

 34,351,900 

 21,051,520 

 20,444,500 

 15,821,000 

 6.580,113 

 5,820,500 

 4,654,081 

 3,707,300 

 2,588,060 

 1.432,600 

 1,200,000 

 1,077,034 

 974,000 

 500,000 

 466,959 

 171,672 

 S5, 04 

 1,200,000 



Total 1,56,783,858 156,223,841 164,641,936 



The stocks of cocoa remaining on hand at the 

 end of the years 1906, 1907 and 1908, were 

 estimated at 52,345,058 kilogs., 45,204,647 

 kilogs. and 78,488,009 kilogs. respectively.— 

 Board of Trade Journal, Sept. 30. 



RESIGNATION OF DR. TREUB. 



Of Buitenzorg Gardens, Java. 

 Amsterdam, Sept. 29.— Mr. Lovink, Director- 

 General of Agriculture in Holland, has been 

 appointed Director of the Department of Agri- 

 culture in Netherlands India, and will retire 

 from his present position Nov. 1st. Mr. Lo- 

 vink will be the successor or Dr. Treub at 

 Buitenzorg, whose resignation is much regretted, 

 but who is fortunately replaced by a first-class 

 man. The new functionary will leave in the 

 middle of November by the ss. " Rembrandt," 

 together with the Governor-General Mr. Iden- 

 burg."— L. and C, Express. 



