February i, 1890.! THE TROPICAL A'GfRltm.TURI 8T- 
535 
34 strong under European leadership. This incident 
shows how far Ohinese presumption will go when 
they can raise the heel against authority with fancied 
impunity. 
A still more striking example of this too place ont 
the 22nd December, on the Amplas estate, where the 
coolies so went beyond bounds as to refuse to work 
unless three overseers were discharged. They so 
stiffly stood by their demands that all efforts to quiet 
them failed. Emboldened by the inactivity of the 
police on the spot, abonl 600 coolies set upon them 
with such violence that fire had to be opened on the 
raging multitude. Twenty-five of the latter fell, and 
the balance lost no time in seeking safety in flight. 
Most of them oame back soon and quietly resumed 
work. They were so cowed as to offer no resistance 
to the arrest of 21 of their ringleaders. 
In Assahan, tobacco cultivation has a splendid future 
before it. The Deli Courunt of the 28th December 
speaks hopefully of the prospects of that line of indus- 
try there. Large areas of land have been taken up and 
put under crop. The tobacco produced fetohes higher 
prices than that grown in Deli and Langdat. Last 
year's crop far exceeds that of 1888 both in quantity 
and quality. Eleven estates have been opened out with 
results so satisfactory that this year's crop if- expected to 
aggregate about three millions of Arasteid >m pounds. 
AsBahan presents a favourable field for platting en- 
terprise, owing to the soil not being so impoverished 
as in Deli, where fertilisers have now to be resorted 
to for counteracting exhaustion. 
+ _ 
SUMATRA TOBACCO. 
Amsterdam, Dec. 18th. — In one of my former 
letters some interesting figures were given re- 
garding the extension of the crop of Sumatra 
tobacco, whioh was in 1865, when the first lot 
arrived in Amsterdam, 189 bales, representing a 
value of f. 40,000, against an import in 1888 of 
more than 182,000 bales, value of about f. 35,500,000, 
which fully proves the development of the cultiva- 
tion and the enterprising spirit of the planters. 
However, some very favourable circumstances have 
contributed largely to this increase. The Sumatra 
leaf is very much liked for covers of cigars, and 
was soon introduced on all markets of Europe, 
especially in Germany and Austria. For some years 
Sumatra tobacco has attracted much attention for 
export to the United States of America, and of 
the 1888 crop about a quarter found buyers there 
whioh represents one-third of the value. For the 
American market only the large leaves are taken, 
which are consequently the most expensive parts 
of a parcel. With regard to the 1889 crop nothing 
can be said with oertainty, although the reports 
indicate that the quantity will probably not be 
smaller than that of the preceding year, as several 
new undertakings will ship their tobacco in 1890 
to Europe. The quality is expected to be lighter. 
The 1889 crop was sold, on the average, at very 
satisfactory prioes. — Cor., L. &• C, Express, Dec. 20. 
THE MOUNTAINS OF NEW GUINEA. 
Naturalists, aud among them horticulturists, have 
been anxiously awaiting the results of explorations in 
the interior of New Guinea; The vegetation of the 
coast regions and of the banks of the rivers, so far 
as travellers have yet penetrated, presents comparati- 
vely few novelties, being what might be expected in 
an island placed in that situation ; hut it might fairly 
be anticipated that the mountain vegetation would 
reveal transitions between the floras of Java, Borneo, 
aud even of the subtropical Himalaya and that of 
Australia. Possibly, even, some connection may yet 
be found between the vegetable population of the 
high lands of tropical Africa, of Madagascar, and of 
South America, especially the Chilian and Patagonian 
regions and that of New Guinea. The horticu! u urist 
may fairly anticipate new types of Orchids, Ferns, 
Nepenthes, Rhododendrons, Oy cads, Conifers, Melasto- 
mads, and other interesting families. The obstac'es 
in the way of reaching the mountains are very con- 
siderable, the difficulties of collection hardly less so, 
hence the following letter from Baron Sir Ferdinand 
von Mueller will be read with proportionate interest, 
and all naturalists will agree in the hope that the 
chief authority on the Australian flora may be enabled 
to continue his already extensive researches into the 
botany of Pupua, and weld them into a connected 
whole with those of Australia, and thus throw light 
ou many of the most important problems of botani- 
cal geography. The .iccuirence o" British genera and 
species on the moui ains of New Guinea, though it 
will not appear strange to the botanist, will doubt- 
less occasion surprise to many. We appened the 
Baron's interesting letter: — 
" The ascent of the Owen Stanley Ranges in New 
Guinea to their very summit, recently accomplished 
bj^Sir William Macgregor, demonstrates the occurrence, 
of an almost alpine vegetation between elevations of 
11,000 and 13,000 feet ; and, more than this, it ren- 
ders known for the first time an extraordinary and 
significant admixture of forms, some characteristic of 
the northern, others of the southern hemisphere. On 
the crest of the range above the limits of forests oc- 
cur, as we now learn, though so near to the equator, 
such mainly extratropical genera as Ranunculus, Hy- 
pericum, Arenaria, Patent ila, Rubus, Epilobium, Aster, 
Brigeron, Helichrysum, Senecio, Gentiana, Veronica, 
Euphrasia, Scirpus, Schcenus, Oarex, Agrostis, Aifa, 
Poa, and Festuca. Many of these approach in their 
affinity to forms familiar to us in Europe, a few 
even being identical with British species, and which 
reach in New Guinea seemly their most southern 
geographical limits. But on the other hand, many 
of these Papuan highland plants are of far southern 
type, such as Drimys, Drapetes, Donatia, Styphelia 
Phyllocladus, Libertia, Carpha, Dawsonia ; indeed 
some of the species are absolutely the same or con- 
generic with those of the Australian and New Zealand 
Alps. In the collection, which necessarily, during 
this first attempt at the exploration, could not be 
very rich in specific forms, Encese (of the gener- 
Rhoiiodendrons, Agapetes, and Vaccinium), are ra- 
ther prominent. Another remarkable fact now esta 
blished is the identity of several plants of the Owen 
Stanley Ranges with such as were described by 
Sir Joseph Hooker from Kinu Balu, in Northern 
Borneo where they were discovered by Sir Hugh 
Low at elevations of about 8000 feet — for in- 
stance, Drapetes ericoides and Drimys piperita. The 
four Conifers, gathered during Sir Will. Macgregor's 
expedition, consist of Araucaria Cunnijghami, a 
Podocarpus, a Phyllocladus, and what may possibly be 
a Libocedrus ; of the latter, however, no fruit was 
obtained, so far as the material before us allows to 
judge, the individuality in the alpine vegetation of 
New Guinea seems far less extensive than might 
have been supposed. The writer of these lines pointed 
out some years ago, in opposition to the views of 
distinguished naturalist, that, although the main 
characteristics of the Papuan flora in the lowlands 
and midlands might, notwithstanding the occurrence 
of Eucalypts aud phyllodineous Acacias be regarded 
as Malayan, yet it would not be accurate to ascribe 
the same general characteritics to the highland vege- 
tation as well, when Araucaria had already come with- 
in reach. The fact that the Papuan alpine flora 
contained so large a proportion of Australian elements, 
must lead to many far-reaching scientific generali- 
sations in other departments of science besides botany." 
A correspondent of the Daily News furnishes fur- 
ther particulars : — 
" You will no doubt have heard by wire that at 
last a man has stood upon the highest point of 
Mount Owen Stanley, that man being the new go- 
vernor, Sir W. Macgregor. He left here (Port Morse- 
by) with a fairly large party on April 20, aud. 
