652 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [April 2, 1888. 
amongst the ooffee, besides 2,895 acres specially 
cultivated with this product. The large reserves 
of forest and other lard attaohed to the estates, 
namely 68,994 acres against 12,156 acres opened, 
shows that Travancore cannot be troubled with 
the fuel difficulty, while for tea the rainfall of 
from 100 to 200 inches is all that could be 
desired, and we are told that labour is fully cheaper 
than the average in Ceylon. There is therefore great 
encouragement for the Travancore tea planter to per- 
severe and do justice to his fields, while a little 
later on, when the area cultivated is in full bear- 
ing, we must ask the members of the Travancore 
Association to support the Ceylon Tea Fund in order 
to aid in devloping new markets for our joint staple. 
TRAVANCORE PLANTERS' ASSOCIATION. 
Minutes of proceedings of the aanual meeting of 
Travancore Planters' Association held at Trevandrum 
on the 15th February 1888. Present: — Messrs. J. 
Cox, Chairman ;. J. Fraser, D. G. Cameron, R. Miller, 
D. Moncur, H. Inglis, E. 0. Ohisholm, J. E. Fowler 
(Honorary Secretary, Kannan Devan P. A.), W. Cox, 
and J. S. Valentine, Honorary Secretary. 
The Sec ret ah y read notice calling the meeting and 
the Report for the year. 
The Chairman in reviewing the chief events of 
the past year, referred briefly to the movements for 
the better that had set in. Coffee estimates hid io 
most instances been exceeded, while, prices, although 
not so high as some months ago, continued good. Cin- 
chona also showed an improvement. The most satis- 
factory part to members of the Association was the 
position Travancore tea was taking in the market ; 
reports received from London brokers spoke in 
high terms of the shipments already gone forward, 
and what was more to the point prices realized were 
in many instances better than was looked for. Ex- 
perience was showing that in yield and quality, Travan- 
core was not in future to be behind. The liberal 
spirit of the present Government of His Highness 
the Maha Raja was doing much to revive prosperity 
on the hills. Statistics made up to end of June last 
showed the area under tea, coffee, and cinchona on 
the hills to be as follows : — 
pus jsajo j 
T-> ^ t~i 
2 31 
pnni 93JJO0 
jo ' aaqiunj^ 
HBJIIIBH 
CAM 
The total area cultivated shows a decline since the 
days when coffee alone was looked to, but looking to 
the fact that there was still a large area suitable for 
tea, and that we possessed a plentiful supply of cheap 
labor and the now assured success of tea cultivation 
there was good cause to look for a return of con- 
fidence, and consequently a flow of capital into the 
country. — At the close of his address tbe Chairman 
paid a kindly tribute to the memory of t^e late George 
Mackay of Glen Brittle estate, and in doing so referred 
to his many sterling qualities and genial disposition ; he 
was valued by all who knew him, native and European, 
as the upright true gentleman he was. 
COFFEE, 
SUGAR AND SLAVERY IN 
BRAZIL. — No IV. 
WET WEATHER AND COFFEE FALLING — THE BUMPER CROP 
OF 1888-9 — CENTRAL SUGAR FACTORY SYSTEM AND 
SUGAR PROSPECTS. 
The weather during the last four weeks has been 
showery, which has pleased all sorts of agncultmrists 
unless those who may have been short-handed 
amongst the coffee and sugar planters. In any 
year, wet or dry, a good deal of the Brazilian 
coffee crop has to be picked off the ground ; and 
when the October rains continue so long, as they 
have done this year, the latter part of the coffee 
crop, which mty not have been picked before the 
beginning of November, is of an inferior quality. 
If the bean happens to fall amongst weeds, it soon 
germinates, and even where it is cleanly swept 
under the tree, before crop picking, which all good 
planters see to ; the drop-dropping of rain from 
the branches mixes enough fine earth to adhere 
to the side of the fallen berry, as eiLher to dis- 
colour the bean inside or to make it sprout. 
I have already mentioned that the crop for 1888-9 
is to be a bumper. All over Brazil, with this ex- 
pectation, consumers are relying on the large stocks 
keeping the price in regular form until the new 
crop come in, which will commence about July 
18«8. Stocks in Rio and Santos continue almost 
the same. Sales have been more active and 
entries have been heavier, so that the quan- 
tity generally remaining for sale in each port, 
Santos and Rio, ranges, off and on, about 350,000 
sacks of 60 kilos each. Holders here are begin- 
ning to loosen the grasp held so long, and begin- 
ning to see that the current short crop of coffee 
in Brazil is not to influence the markets in con- 
suming countries to the extent they anticipated. 
You must have noticed a fall in prices. The 
long spell of showery weather has rather been 
against the cane planter. He had long a splendid 
run of dry weather for cutting and transporting to 
the mill. From beginning of June to the middle of 
October, there was little rain, and the cart-roads on 
the estates were hard like macadam. The weather 
being cool the cane could wait a few days without 
harm before being crushed, and a good outturn of 
sugar from the cane was obtained. During these 
four months those who were full-handed had very 
little left out in the field when the weather broke. 
Vtry lew of the planters were full-handed, and 
although the wet weather for the last six weeks 
has been most seasonable for all growing crops 
without exception, growling is loud and continued 
amongst those who have stuck to the old system 
of growing their own cane and turning it into sugar 
or rum on their own estates. 
This is notably a year where the Central Sugar 
Factory System is seen in all its valuable advantages. 
The cane grower, who so!d to the Central Factory 
this season, could, during these dry months, concentr- 
ate all his labour force on the work of cane cutting 
