Jvtv x, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
57 
To the Editor of the " Ceylon Observer,' 1 '' 
COFFEE-PLANTING IN CENTRAL AFRICA: 
A CHANCE FOR PIONEERS WITH THE 
OLD STAPLE. 
Edinburgh, 18th May 1887. 
Dear Sir, — I enclose you a newspaper cutting [ 
on coffee planting in Central Africa, from which 1 
is would seem that the world is not used up yet | 
at pessimists affirm it to be. From all we have 
heard and read of the interior of the dark contin- 
ent, land to any extent with suitable climate is ■ 
there in perfection for the cultivation of all \ 
tropical products ; labour also must be plentiful, 
lie only question being : Are life and property 
safe ? I suspect not, until some civilized nation [ 
occupies a supreme position. All this will doubtless 
come in time, probably not in our days. 
In the meantime, however, it is well worth con- 
sideration by our young, strong, and healthy planters 
with some capital at command, whether it would 
not be better to proceed to Central Africa than to 
struggle on where they are with exhausted soil worn 
out, and, in many cases, diseased coffee trees. 
It will be there, as it was in Ceylon, the first 
at it will get the best land in the best localities, 
with this difference in their favour, that they will 
have experience and so avoid the errors by which 
Bo many were originally ruined in Ceylon. — Yours 
truly, P. D. MILLIE. 
Coffee Planting in Central Afbica. 
The New York Sun says: — "For several years two 
little stunted coffee-plants led a wretched existence in 
the Botanical Gardens, Edinburgh. They would not 
thrive in spite of all that the gardener could do. One 
day a happy thought struck the curator. He heard 
that the African Lakes Company had put three steam- 
boats on Lake Nyassa and the river Shire, and was 
about to start some coffee plantations in Africa. The 
curator asked the Company to give his poor little plants 
a chance to live in the highlands of the Shire. So they 
were taken away, and transplanted to the deep rich 
soil of Mount Zomba. Too much happiness or some- 
thing or other killed one of the little plants. The 
other took on a new lease of life. It struck its roots 
deep into the red earth. Its leaves drank in the con- 
genial air of the African highlands, and at last it burst j 
into berries. The fruit was fine, and it was all care- | 
fully saved for seed. A while ago photographs were 
exhibited in Edinburgh of plantations filled with heavy- 
laden coffee trees. They were the gardeus of the 
Buchanan Brothers, of Mount Zomba, and samples of 
their coffee have been priced at a high figure in the 
London markets. Every coffee tree on this plantation 
is directly traceable to the puny little plant that could j 
hardly keep life in Edinburgh. It is said that 100,000 
trees claim direct descent from this little shrub." It 
appears that there are some grains of fact in the fore- [ 
going statement of the Yankee journalist. About 
seven years ago Mr. Lindsay, curator of the Edinburgh 
Botanic Gardens, gave a case of different kinds of 
plants, including one or two coffee plants, all thriving 
and healthy, to Mr. John Duncan, who was connected 
with the Church of Scotland Mission to Central Africa. 
It was found that the coffee plaut throve in the mission 
in »n extraordinary fashion, and there was not the 
slightest appearance of the disease which in the shape 
of a fungus attacked the coffee plant in Ceylon, and 
practically stopped its cultivation there. Ultimately 
the cotl'eo planting in Ceutrul Africa passed into the 
hands of the African Lakes Company, who have repeat- 
edly brouRht quantities of coffee, said to be of very 
high quality, into the British market. From the case 
ol plants given lo these missionaries by the curator of 
Edinburgh Botanic Gardeus there may yet spring im- 
portant results, and the 41 Dark Continent " may 
become a great coffee-producing field. 
TEA FOR GLASGOW. 
Glasgow, Juno 2nd, 1887. 
Dear Sir,— I enclose you some papers and marked 
paragraph of a scheme which I am the organizer. 
Perhaps, as it interests your port and island, you 
will re-insert the paragraph.— Yours truly, 
A. E. MUIRHEAD. 
The Importation of Tea to Glasgow. A New Ship- 
ing Industry. — The general public will 110 doubt be 
surprised to learu that hitherto there has been no 
direct importation of tea to Glasgow from tea-grow- 
ing countries. It seems that the three lines of steamers 
which are owned and loaded at Glasgow, and which 
run to Calcutta, mostly load in Calcutta for London, 
almost nothing comiug direct to Glasgow. The Lon- 
don monopoly in tea at least is, we believe, likely to 
be soon a thing of the past, a new venture in the 
shape of the shipment of tea direct from Calcutta to 
Glasgow having just been made on a small scale. The 
success of the venture was at once assured, but the 
chief difficulty in the way is the formation of a large 
market. A practical effort has been made by the 
importers to overcome this difficulty, for a firm of 
merchants have opened a warehouse in Charlotte Lane, 
whereby tea can be brought at once into the con- 
sumers' hands from the Customs' bonds. The saving 
this will effect is of course, apparent. At the present 
moment the rates of freight between London and 
Glasgow are almost as great as between Glasgow and 
Calcutta, so that by the direct importation of tea from 
Calcutta the additional freightage rate from the Metro- 
polis will be saved. Under the present system the 
tea trade is done through London, where all the tea 
is landed, warehoused in bond, &c, and then sold 
in lots to Glasgow where it is forwarded from bond. 
Under the new system, not only will freightage from 
London to Glasgow be saved, but also the charges of 
middlemen, such, as Loudon merchants, brokers, and 
so on. The undertaking deserves the full support of 
the public. — Glasgow Evening News, 4th May 1887. 
Commercial News on 'Change. — We understand that 
arrangements have been made under which Indian Tea 
is now being shipped from Calcutta to Glasgow on 
through Bill of Lading. Several lots have already ar- 
rived in the "Asia," "Britannia," "Nubia,', and "Hes- 
peria," and others are en route- Hitherto, as is well 
known, Tea for Glasgow has been first landed in Lon- 
don and filtered through the hands of the London 
brokers. By the new arrangement Tea is landed in 
Glasgow at 50s per ton over the Calcutta price, which 
is about Jd per lb. — Glasgow Herald, 22ud April 1887. 
AN ENEMY IN THE GARDEN. 
Kattiaratan, Pallai, 5th June 1887. 
Dear Sir, — In the accompanying match-box you 
will find a curious-looking little insect which has 
lately been proving very destructive to some of the 
ornamental crotons belonging to one of my neighbours. 
His modus operandi is to make a clean, deep 
incision round the stem, causing it to break off in 
the course of a day or two, when it lias almost 
the appearance of having been cut with a knife. 
Oleanders, bulloek's-heart and custard-apple 1 
are also subject to similar visitations from this 
ruthless little destroyer, and I have put into the 
box containing the insect a small portion of the 
stem of a bullock's-hcart plant on which he has 
been at work. 
Can your entomological referee kindly tell me 
the name of the little " varmint," and suggest 
some means whereby his ravages in the flower- 
garden might be checked ?— Youra faithfully, 
H. G. MADDOCK. 
