March i, 1889.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
581 
Eeturn shewing the Revenue and Expenditure, 
Imports and Exports and other information 
referring to British North Borneo for 
the undermentioned years. 
Year. Revenue Expenditure. Imports. Exports, 
(proper 1.*) (proper 2.t) 
1883 $">0,738 20 §278,862 ill §428,889 48 §159,127 2.'! 
1884 82,418 88 196,239 92 481.413 67 2ri2,758 57 
18S5 110,152 94 208,268 8 9 618,318 52 ' 401,640 97 
188tS 127,731 2:! 195,803 85 849,115 64 524,724 44 
1887 142.H87 20 180,639 64 959,021 76 585,267 Oft 
18881 160,000 00 190,000 00 1,150,000 00 600, 10 
18891 180,000 00 178.000 00 1,500,000 00 800,000 00 
Principal Products.- lleeswax, birdsuests (edible), blachan, 
brasaware, bricks, camphor, coconuts, coffee, dammar, tish 
Baited, fruits, gutta porcha, hide, india rubber, ivory, live- 
stock, old jars, pepper, rattans, rice and paddy, sago, 
seed pearls, sesik, tingeling, shurksnns, sliells— tortoise and 
others, tobacco, trepan;;, billiau, cedar and many varieties 
of otlier woods. 
Area in square miles.— 31,100. 
Population.— 150,000. Roughly estimated. 
1. * Exclusive of sums realised by land sales. 
2. t Exclusive of sums spent on permanent Public Works. 
3. i Estimated. 
Alex. Cook, Treasurer-General. 
The Treasury, Bandakan, 1st Jan. 1889. 
The amount received by the Land office during 
1888 is said to be $200, 000 and the lands sold during 
the year amount to 252,000 acres. The price of 
Land was raised on the 17th July to two Dollars 
per aero and was again raised on the 12th 
December to three Dollars' per acre. We gather 
from the prospectuses of the many companies 
that have been formed, that the price obtained 
for land at second hand has been about five 
dollars per acre. 
The number of tobacco Estates, large and small, 
planted during 1888 was six, and the number 
to be planted in 1880 is said to be sixteen. Mr. 
Christian's Siberian Coffee estate has been added 
to during the year and Mr. Lennard is now 
opening a Colfee estate on the Benkoka River 
above the lauuch limit and on very fine soil. 
The Eist Borneo Company are opening a pepper 
plantation on the Kinabalangan. 
INDIAN TEA IN AMERICA. 
An experienced tea planter sends us extracts, given 
below, from two of his letters, which were written in 
I hs;i from America. Ho sayg, " These extracts will show 
you that nil tho time I was in America I opposed 
the current attempts, and endeavoured to get a change 
mailt) oro too late. 
" Your correspondent'* (' P. P.') remarks I fully 
support, except so far as, in justice to myself, X 
wish 1 1 o > tract tho impression as to wh > is the ' origi- 
nator.' During tho Indian and Colonial Exhibition 
1 hiudel a syllabus of proposed operations to one 
reprcsMUtativo assessor, and subsequently by request 
to another. Uorothan one year after wards Mr. Allies 
comes upon tho Round with a similar scheme, 
but without any American experiences to . hack 
it. From the way the thing has been gone about 
bale, in London, there is only one issue ahead, un- 
less appearances deceive." 
In a provious communication, statements wen- 
made and opinions offered by your Correspondent On 
tho subject of the introduction of Indian teas into 
the United States nod Cauada, and these deductions 
uro tho outoomo nf practical investigation and suc- 
cess, and not the rumblings of theoretical or sanguine 
p s abilities. A perusal of pages 23.1 t> 2tjfJ ol ho 
•' Tea UyclopiodU " will OOnvej an idea of tho opinions 
Offend by brokers and Others '>n this si,'. ■ of tho 
Atlantic Che pith ol those Is, "that for Iudiun teas 
to become Universally popular in America, fioy must 
bo muafaetared |o imitate 'Japans' or teas nf tho 
' 1 >olo,ii: el vis. An •>;,ini, l || t > tli>< eon'.mrs i-, how- 
ovor, lu r.- advanced. Indian teas are perfectly able to 
take their own stand as sneli, an I mi.b r e.|ui»l 
oonditiou* mainttiu it, when ouce fairly obtained, 
but any intention which will destroy its identity as 
" Indian tea," will simply repeat the old story of 
deception. To avoid " shoddy" imitations of other 
teas will be the surest meins of establishing the 
reputation of " Indian " teas. Two years ago a large 
quantity of Xamaua tea was made " for the Amori- 
can market." as assimilating to the " Oolong" teas 
so much in use in the States. 
The cost of production of Namund teas is in itself 
a barrier, while no " Oolong" that your correspon- 
dent has tasted in this country, could ever be 
mistaken for Namunas either in aroma, flavour, or 
strength. Pair Indian planters to endeavour to 
imitate Japan, or other teas, in order to induce 
the public into a likiug for Indian teas, is an 
absurd anomaly, and can only lead to failure, as the 
interests of brokers and merchants in this country are 
too much centred in Japan and China for them to 
heartily co-operate in introducing an article whose supe- 
riority and excellence would eventually drive the product 
of those countries entirely out of the field, and bring 
certain ruin to them. 
Brokers and merchants may assist to introduce Indian 
teas as an auxiliary towards passing off the rubbish 
imported from China and Japan, but they will never 
assist to cut their own throats by sharpening the 
knife, or introducing a supplanter. The old familiar 
trick of mixing pure Indian teas with trash, is as well 
known here as in England, and more largely prac- 
tised ; and while merchants here will purchase suffi- 
cient for " mixing " purposes, they will never aid in 
establishing a substitute whose success will prove dis- 
astrous to them. It is only by Indian growers and 
owners combining and determining to establish their 
products by their own hands, that they will succeed, 
anil to do this they will have to do as others do in 
this country. If merchants or manufacturers in Europe 
want to push their goods forward to compete against 
others, they send their own agents out, choosing re- 
liable men, whose sole interests are those of their 
employers, and tea ownors will have to adopt a similar 
course, at least until a taste for Indian teas, pure and 
unmixed, is firmly imparted into the masses. Once 
thisobject isobtained the rest will follow, and merchants 
who now will buy sufficient for their own purposes, will 
then be obliged to meet the wants of the public. At 
present brokers and merchants rule the public taste, 
but it is possible and feasible to reverse this in 
course of timo by educating public taste independent 
of, and unaided by, these gentlemen, entirely on your 
owu me rits and by your own means. 
To illustrate and practically support these tenets, 
your indulgence is requested to a short account of 
operations demonstrating the same. Upwards of eighteen 
months since circumstances induced the writer to seek 
a home in America, and as a private persinal enterpriso 
it was determined to venture an aUempt to place 
Indian teas before Americans in a pure, simple state, 
at first on a small scale. Accordingly arrangements 
were made to purchase some hundreds of pounds of 
tea for diroot shipment to an American port. 
I recently recoived a letter of enquiry from Kuraaon 
(N.-W. P.) askiug if " Namoouahs" aro still in favour, 
what is their selling value, and if " Americans still 
want them, or have they taken to fermented teas?" 
For general information I reply — " Namunas still are 
wanted at American brokers' prices, not at planters' 
valuation though." If planter* are willing to mako 
Namunas at a loss to sell at 32 cents (say 10} annas* 
per pound to obligo Yankeo grocers and assist then 
to put some taste of toa into the rubbish importod 
from China as such, Namoonahs are still in favour. 
Tho Americans have n >t taken to drinking fermented 
teas because they cannot <jtt them, ami never will 
till Indian growers introduce and popular)/ ■ them by 
means totally different from anything yel attempted 
oti a ineroautilo sculo in America. I kuow one ex- 
Indian tea planter, who supplies no feu th u about 
20 different Agencies bore with pure A -sun teas- lie 
souds supplies to Mas, a hi- lu, Pennsylvania, Cali- 
fornia, Georgia, York State, New Jersy aud other 
placed, askiug no favours, giving uo inducements but 
purity, aud charging a price for every pound which 
