358 
THF TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [November i, 1889. 
first crop smaller than might be expected under or- 
dinary circumstances. It is no wonder that two com- 
panies, fiuding these obstacles insurmountable, gave 
it up. They have, however, learned experience sure 
to be valuable in subsequent efforts. The planters in 
question point out that Marudu Bay does answer re- 
quirements judging from the results gained on the 
Kanow Estate, the only one which has been carried 
on long enough upon a large scale. The tobacco 
grown there has been favourably received in the Eu- 
ropean market. 
PLANTING IN WYNAAD. 
The Weather — Coffee — and Cinchona. 
I do not usually begin with the weather, but we are 
just now enduring such an extraordinary variety of 
it, that it has become an all-absorbiug topic of thought 
and conversation. Imagine the worst burst of all the 
monsoon in the middle of October ! After more than 
a hundred days' consecutive rain, we rejoiced in a 
fortnight's sunshine. But this has been followed by 
a tremendous burst of from three to five inches a day, 
and towards the head of the Ghauts this amount must 
be doubled. The rain is accompanied by fierce gusts 
of wind, and altogether it is far more like July than 
October. Needless to say, the effect of so much 
wet is very disastrous, crop is falling off terribly, and leaf 
rust and leaf rot are rampant. No work can be done. 
The coolies do not even go through the pretence of 
coming out for roll-call. The weeds are growing as 
only such vile things do. The crop is naturally very 
backward, it being impossible for the berries to ripen 
in their constantly sodden condition. Most of us plea, 
santly anticipated a fairly decent crop, but, with the 
fates thus against us, we really cannot venture to make 
an estimate. This seems doubly hard with the coffee 
market in such a splendidly promising condition. In 
spite of these troubles, however, planters are tolerably 
cheerful as regards coffee, though those engaged in 
barking cinchona are hardly happy, for it is quite im- 
possible to dry it in the present state of the atmos- 
phere; and talking of cinchona, a more hopeful pros- 
pect in the market is the latest good news that we 
have received, this pleasure being considerably 
mitigated by the fact that a large amount of the 
succirubra in the district is dying out, and has 
to be immediately coppiced "to save its life." 
There is no apparent cause for this. With great 
suddenness whole fields die out. But it is generally 
supposed that the roots have reached foil not suited 
to the plant, and that this has produced sach desolat- 
ing results. The ledgeriana does not seem to be so 
effected, but most spleudid fields of succi. are trans- 
formed into bare poles. I believe that in the Oheram- 
baddy district, the cinchona has so far shown no 
signs of this mystnrious and most unwelcome disease. 
We are becoming unpleasantly aw»re of the fact that 
preparations are being made for coffee robbery on an 
extensive scale this year. Th j re is absolutely no coffee 
to be had in the country at present, and large con- 
tracts for it are being arranged tor with every possessor 
of half a dozen trees. Such contracts can, of course, 
only be fulfilled at the expense of the large estates, 
and unfortunately our Police force is quite inefficient 
in numbers ; Col. Chrystia was up last week inquiring 
into the matter, but it is evident that unless con- 
siderably more than the usual amount of energy and 
vigilance is exerted in the Police d. partrnent, we must 
b" very heavy losers duriug the coming crop .season. 
The " Settlement " has caused great woe and desolation 
amongst small native land hoioers. It fact, we hear 
tliat it has ruiued so many of them that a great 
number of their old employe-i, the Puuiahs, will be 
without work, and ready for any amount of coffee- 
stealing mischief to occupy their idle hands. — Cor., 
Madras Times, Oct. 21st. 
A PALL AGAIN IN CINCHONA BARK : 
THE NEED OF A SYNDICATE. 
[Commitnicated.) 
The fall in cinchona to l£d again is a surprise 
to most people just when a rise was expected. 
Can anyone have telegraphed home what appeared 
in the local " Times," that the endeavour to 
form a Syndicate had been abandoned, I wonder ? 
It looks much like it, for I hear that a message has 
come to one firm asking " What about the Syndi- 
cate ? " On inquiry I hear that the promoters 
are awaiting replies from Java and India, and 
the Syndicate will deal now at any time with all 
who will send their cinchona to it. The neces- 
sity for the Syndicate is pretty well established 
by the fall in the market telegraphed today, 
brought about by some sinister influences. 
PROSPECT FOR OUR GEMMING ENTER- 
PRISE. 
According to the letter of our London Corres- 
pondent received by the present mail, there appears 
to be every prospect now that our advocacy of steps 
being taken by British c pitalists to develop the 
wealth in gems of our island, may receive practical 
and early fruition. Although full details, and any 
mention of names in association with this promised 
result, are still withheld, we can gather enough 
from what has been written to satisfy us that the 
arguments which we and others have advanced 
have had the effect intended of directing the atten- 
tion of home capitalists to the subject and of 
assuring them that there exista a profitable field 
for investment in this long-practised but little 
developed local industry. We confess ourselves 
to be rather surprised at the scale on which it is 
intended, apparently, to commence operations. A 
capital of half-a-million sterling— that being the 
amount mentioned to our Correspondent as con- 
templated — is rather a large order for which to 
seek public credit ; but there is the precedent set 
in the Burma Rubies Company, and doubtless those 
who are promoting the matter at home are the 
best able to judge of what may be the wisest course 
to pursue. Certainly the announcement of such a 
capital must be likely to invest the undertaking 
with an appearance of imperial importance, and if 
the names likely to be associated in making 
the demand for its subscription should prove 
to be of the weight and influence it has been 
stated to our Correspondent they are possessed 
of, the invitation to subscribe may meet with as 
ready a response as was given to that which re- 
sulted so successfully in the case of the Burma 
Company taken up by Messrs. Rothschild. 
Of course we must discount the anticipations 
held out, by the qualifying fact that the influential 
support promised is held dependent upon the 
character of the Report to be made by an expert 
of high qualifications, whom, we are told, we may 
expect ere long to see arrive among us com- 
missioned to undertake a thorough preliminary 
examination of the whole subject. We should 
have had little faith in what we have previously 
written with respect to our gemming fields if we 
entertained serious doubt that the result to that 
examination will be a Report of a character 
likely to be attractive to investors, though 
we can hardly conjecture beforehand what ste r is 
will be taken by the expert mentioned in 
order to satisfy himself of the practicability and 
probable result of the search for gems on the 
evidently enormous scale contemplated. To be 
efficient, there in no doubt that the preliminary 
operations will have to be of a costly character; 
but we are told that the necessary funds — and 
these to a very large amount — have been guaranteed 
by a Syndicate already formed, and that their 
negotiations with an expert of celebrity to come 
out here and direct the expenditure, were 
expected to be favourably concluded in about one 
