a nut a, 1888.J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
Slaves in Buazil. — According to the Jornal's 
investigations, there are now only 201 slaves 
in Brazil owned and registered by religious orders, 
and 11 by religious brotherhoods. Nearly all of 
these [203] are held in the province of Maranhao. — 
Rio News. 
Coconuts in Fiji.-- I have lately had occa- 
sion to traverse this island in various directions, 
and the coconut trees aro looking splendid. I 
novor saw such a crop of nuts as the trees are 
boaring at present, and, always provided there be 
no hurricane, there will be a large quantity of 
copra made. — Cor., Fiji Times, Feb. (ith. 
Cinchona Cultivation in Ceylon. — The Hon. 
Secretary of the Udapussellawa Planters' Associ- 
ation, in sending us information respecting his 
district for the Directory, expresses the opinion 
that there must certainly be three million cinchona 
trees in Udapussellawa alone, without counting the 
Nuwara Eliya estates 1 Well done Udapussellawa: 
if proprietors can only hold on long enough, there 
ought to be good returns for them by-and-bye. 
Ceylon Tea at Hojie. — A Ceylon proprietor, 
writing from London by last mail, says : — " I have 
just been told by a traveller to a large teahouse 
that with rogard to Ceylon tea, more half-chests 
are wanted containing about 50 to 60 lb., that in 
fact alt might be sent home in half-chests. Grocers 
generally keep 3 or 4 varieties of tea, and whole 
ohests deteriorate before they oan be U3ed up ; 
hence the demand for half-chests, and this points 
specially to Ceylon tea, which has inferior keep- 
ing powers to Indian and China. China tea now- 
a-davs is packed nlmoet universally in half-chests." 
Tobacco. — The Chancellor of the Exchequer will 
probably bo startled by the proposal of the secre- 
tary of the Royal Botantic Society that he should 
allow tobacco to be grown and manufactured in 
England froe of duty for rive years. It is Mr. 
Sowerby's opinion, founded on nearly 50 years' 
experience of tobacco culture in the society's gar- 
den, that a taste would in that time be developed 
for the home-grown weed, just as a taste has 
been created for Indian tea, which a few years 
ago people would not drink. What does Mr. 
Goschen say to it ? — Globe. 
Cacao Cultivation iu the Dumbara Valley 
has, we learn, been much benefited by irrigation, 
so muoh so that it is anticipated Mr. Vollar may 
fully utilizo the ltajawella waterworks originally 
orected by Mr. Tytler with reference to his coffee. 
This rominds us of the admirable laud presented 
below Kalawowa, with the opportunity of irriga- 
tion, for cacao or even tea, as well as paddy, 
cultivation. All throe would pay well doubtless, 
and Government would probably give easy terms 
to a pioneering Company taking up 1,000 acres 
ond cultivating at once 100 acres, say, with each 
produot. 
T«a Shops are thus noticed in the N. W. 
Provinces and Oudli Agricultural Report for Sept. 
1887 : — The elTorts made to popularise consumption 
of tea are Undoubtedly giving good results. The 
Imp lirst opened in Cawnpore under salaried man- 
agement did not do well. A eommitteo of nativo 
gentlemen then took the matter in hand ; the 
furniture was made over to them together with a 
sum of 1U0, and with this small beginning it 
appears tho shop wos maintained and muoh resortod 
to throughout tho last cold soation. In Luoknow, 
uIhd. the shop originally startoil is now successfully 
managed by a committee, and, besides, a large 
number of private shops ha\' beet) opened which 
appear to do a very good busiuoss, Two native 
gentlemen of good standing havo obtained sanction 
to an advance of R2,000 in the manner of talc&vi 
for trading in tea. 
Influence of Ihkioation Watkh on Cijjuik 
and Rainfall. — We quote the following paragraph 
as bearing on our remarks with reference to the 
probable inrluonco of the restored Kalawowa tank 
on the arid climate of the district. We boliove 
that in modifying climate it will be marked, and 
that, though to a much more limited extent, it 
will favourably affoct absolute rainfall : — 
A correspondent in tho Christian College Mautfaine, 
says : — "The carrying out of the Periyar project will 
give an opportunity of making a very valuable series 
of observations on the effect of irrigation on rainfall. 
The parts of Madura which are to receive a supply 
of water from the Periyar arc at presont hut 
scantily provided with water during a great portion 
of the year, and the rainfall is comparatively small. 
When the irrigation project is completed more than 
100,000 acres will be supplied with a large quantity 
of water, and the local evaporation will bo greatly 
increased. This may well have an influence on 
the rainfall of the surrounding districts, and it 
would be worth while to take some pains to obtain 
an accurate series of observations at selected stations 
before and after the completion of the projeot. 
Some stations already exist, but probably not 
enough, and as a period of some five or six years 
(at the least) will elapse before the water of the 
Periyar can reach Madura, there is still time to 
supply any deficiency in this respect. We venture, 
therefore, to call the attontion of the Meteorological 
Reporter to Government to this matter. 
"The Mighty Mahsefr," about which and 
the sport it has afforded him the Hon. Mr. H. S. 
Thomas of Madras is so enthusiastic, is treated 
by a local writer who claims to be a F. Z. S. L., 
after an irreverent fashion which, we suspect, would 
rather surprise the author of " The Hod in 
India." The niahseer in India was pronounced by 
the Zoological Fellow's friend " G." to be for 
angling purposes a fraud, and similar testimony is 
borne to the unsatisfactory tendencies of the 
"Cooriah" in Ceylon. The large fish refused to 
be lured by fly or bait. Neither the Indian " G.' - 
nor the Ceylon F. Z. S. can have ever met Mr. 
Thomas, or apparently his book recording a long 
series of successes and the moans by which they 
were attained. To us the principal question in the 
discussion is the quality of the mahseer as human 
food, his alleged unwholesomeness at certain seasons, 
and, if he is poisonous, the reason or reasons why. 
The gratification of the sporting instincts of the few 
is, after all, a secondary matter to securing a 
plentiful supply of wholesome fish food for the 
people. If both ends oan be simultaneously secured 
good and well. The zoologist doubts the perma- 
nent naturalization of trout, even in our hill streams, 
and ho advises tho introduction from the rivers of 
Jamaica of a fish, which he believes to bo a species 
of trout, although it is called " the mountain 
mullet." Wo are told of it :— 
"There uudoubtcdly is in Jamaica a species of fish, 
delicious for the table, that will take the By, ni l 
that would iu every way auswor our reqoirumenW, 
aud would bo general from tho low-ooantry to our 
highest mountain streams." 
This is just tho speoies of lish wc want for our 
freshwater*, and wo should think Mr. Nock must 
know something of tho Jamaioa " mountain mullet " 
and be tho moans of its introduction to Ceylon, 
unless it should turn out as in the ca-ie of the 
mahseer that wo havo the tish surreptituni 
sailing under folso colours.— Siuce writing this, * 
have an interesting letter from " Kotmalieganga,' 
Which ioo aud our uote to it. 
