862 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [June i, 1888 
Before a i applicant can secure the land he wants in 
Du -ch Borneo, the Circumlocution Office has to be 
reckoned with. His application must go, first, to the 
Governor-General, who sends it to the local authorities. 
They consult the native headmen. The matter is then 
retemd to a mixed commission of natives and 
Europeans. They have to draw up a report. The 
latter, accompanied by explanatory documents, passes 
from one department to another, until it finally reaches 
the hands of the Governor-General. His Excellency 
then, should no difficulties arise, may grant the appli- 
cant's prayer. The applicant has, however, to go 
through other formalities before he can take possession. 
In British North Borneo, on the contrary, land may 
be had on terms which are simplicity itself, com- 
pared with these obstructive provisions. The Batavia 
Nieuvisblad accounts for the obstructiveness, by point- 
ing out that liberal measures taken by the Netherlands 
Indian Government have always failed to take effect, 
owing to the paralysing influence of the bureaucratic 
spirit. The one in question lies under the same dis- 
advantage. It is certain not to work in favour of 
settlement and planting enterprise. Under such 
an obstructive policy there is no probability of 
Netherlands Borneo proving to be a field for in- 
vestment at all comparable with British North Borneo. 
Sogar growei s in Java have decided upon holding a 
grand congress at Samarang, towards the end of this 
month. The object is to devise the best means of 
counteracting a disease called sereh which is spreading 
and working dire havoc among the standing crops of 
cane. Not only the indigenous but also the imported 
articles are stricken. Its prevalence means the loss 
of millions of guilders to the planting community. 
The Locomotief brings under notice the success 
achieved in East Java with an artificial manure from 
Glasgow, styled osammonite. " It has been found 
highly suitable for sugar cane. On no less than sixty 
estates, it gave the best of results. This manure com- 
mands attention more than ever now. The price comes 
to ten guilders per picul. These low figures and the 
satisfactory results attending its use will no doubt push 
on its sale considerably.* 
A Batavia paper points out a detrimental peculiarity 
of teak timber grown in Java. The standing trees 
are apt to get hollow in the stem. In that island, 
within whole reserves, trees which grow luxuriantly 
and look sound, have become hollow inside, and can 
supply at the utmost, only a few thick planks. A 
timber dealer at Batavia has found out a remedy to 
check the evil, which seems effective enough when 
applied to newly cut beams, immediate after they 
come to hand. Rubbing oil dregs well into the beams, 
and afterwards keeping them above ground on sup- 
ports, has been found to be the best mode of proce- 
dure. 
GOLD IN THE SOUTHEEN PROVINCE 
OF CEYLON. 
THE DEWURANGALA GOLD FIELD: 
Practical Information. 
(By a Special Correspondent — an Australian Qold- 
digyer.) 
22nd May. 
In your issue of 17th instant a correspondent, 
writing under the head of " Gold in the Southern 
Province," states that the arachchi who found the 
gold in Morawak Korale brought his finds, about 
4 lb., to Galle, and showed them to the Government 
Agent, the quantity named having been dug out 
of his gemming allotment of half an acre, but the 
gold alone would not pay, the gems pay expenses, 
the gold being profit. According to former reports 
the depth is only eight feet. 4 lb. =48 oz. gold 
* Can any reader tell us what the rnanuro really 
IS? If it «an be laid down in Java for ten guilders per 
j ici I 'J L38 lb. it can be sold in Ceylon for the same 
number of rupees and might pay as an application to 
lea '! — Ei>. 
at say £3 15s sterling per oz, which ia much 
under the value of virgin gold, comes to £180 ster- 
ling. Why that would not pay is a problem which 
would amuse an Australian miner, when told the 
depth was only eight feet. But let us look at it 
a little closer. If 48 oz. was found in nuggets, 
what about the line gold ? It is contrary to all 
experience to find gold in pieces, such as we hear 
of the arachchi having found, and not to find 
considerably more in fine gold. For every oz. in 
pieces over 1| dwt. or 2 dwts., I would expect to 
find at least 3 oz. in fine gold. But let us be very 
moderate, and say one oz. of fine gold for every 
oz. in pieces, this would give us % oz., which at 
£3 15s = £360 sterling. The fine gr>ld if not taken 
out must be there still. Another question comes up : 
how much of the half acre had been worked out 
at the time the whole of the 4 lb. was realized ? 
I suspect not more than the half of it. And yet 
it would not pay 1 The arachchi may be right 
however ; if a man does not know how to take it 
out, it won't pay though it be there in sufficient 
quantity. Your correspondent goes on to say : — 
" He adds that for many years they have, when gem- 
ming, come on what he now finds is gold, but 
threw it away under the impression that it was 
diyaratran." It requires an effort to believe that 
they threw away gold, but suppose there is no 
mistake in this statement, it would be interesting 
and important to know where they were working all 
these years: they could not have been digging much 
of that time in that half acre. Evidently the arach- 
chi has found out another gold field elsewhere. 
The whole thing gets very interesting ; surely the 
Government Agent will see to it forthwith. 
TEA MANUFACTURE : SIMPLEX PATENT 
TABLE. 
We ought to have called attention to the circular- 
advertisement issued with the Observer regarding 
Messrs. Law & Davidson's "Simplex Patent." 
The table of their rolling machine, to judge by 
the testimonials, seems to be specially approved, 
and, we believe, the patentees have a brisk and 
growing demand for permission to use it with 
other rollers. The improvement resulting from the 
application of the Simplex table to some of Jack- 
son's Rollers is very marked, both in the character 
of the roll, and the less time and less power 
required. 
♦ 
NETHERLANDS INDIA NEWS. 
(Translated for the Straits Times.) 
The Locomotief points out the rapid increase ist 
the value of estate property in Deli. An estate 
called Tuntungan has just changed hands for 
750,000 guilders. The value of the standing crop 
is not included in this amount. Only a tenth 
part of the estate lies waste. The acreage of land 
not yet brought under tillage shrinks rapidly in 
Deli. In Serdang all the available land upcountry, 
has been taken up. On the sea coast, selectors 
can still pick and choose, provided they go to work 
with sound judgment. Last year, no less than 37 
new estate concessions were granted in Serdang. 
The Government in Java have lent a hand to 
help the sugar planters. The latter are at their 
wits' end how to counteract a disease which under 
the name of " Sereh " has wrought dire havoc 
among the growing sugar cane crops there. The 
disease is spreading rapidly, and seems to be proof 
against remedies. The planters, too, have a hard 
battle to fight against falling prices. The Govern- 
ment aids them in the struggle for existence, by 
allowing the free carriage of sugar canes and plant 
cane on the State railways. 
