190 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [August i, 1881. 
can understand and which has been in use since 
its introduction from America. It appeared to me 
ludicrous to see the Auctioneer at Mincing Lane — 
an Englishman in the Capital of his native country 
— selling off the South American product as "bark" 
and tben afterwards on turning over the leaf saying 
" Chinchona, yes, East Indian Chinchona," thus dis- 
posing of the same article under two names. 
In conclusion I trust that these observations may meet 
with the approval of the Government. 
AUSTRALIAN FRUIT FOR ENGLAND. 
The fac-. that ripe strawberries grown in Australia 
can be easily brought home in a steamer's ice-cham- 
ber appears to have drawn the attention of Colonial 
fruit-growers to English market. It is generjlly 
admitted that "soft fruits" cannot satisfactorily stand 
the length of the passage and the heat of the 
tropics ; but apples, pears, oranges, and walnuts, 
and even grapes, may fairly be expected to do 
so. A recent consignment of apples failed to realise 
a sufficient price to pay the freight ; but the freight 
was unduly high and the fruit arrived at a time 
when the market was glutted with Cauadian pro- 
duce. Several cases of grapes have been landed in 
excellent condition ; and there would appear to be no 
reason why, if care is given to the gathering and proper 
packing of the fruit, grapes of the best quality should 
not be placed in Covent Garden towards the close of 
winter, and compete favourably with our hothouse 
produce, whiLt the best Tasmanian pears would not 
fail to lower the price of a guinea the half-dozen com- 
monly asked for Jersey fruit in spring. Both grapes 
and pears would pay better than oranges, but the 
latter fruit will unquestionably stand the passage best. 
The packing of the fruit is the, main point, but it must 
be carefully gathered when free from dew, and packed 
when not heated by the sun. The air should not be 
entirely excluded from the fruit, and the use of dry 
sea-weed is recommended for lining the cases ; while 
if each pear, apple, or orange is separately wrapped in 
tissue paper its condition will be materially improved. 
These fruits should be packed ripe; but grapes should 
be left to mature on the passage. Tasmanian jams are 
now to be bought in London shops ; with the fast 
Eteamers now running, many of them provided with ice 
chambers, we see no reason why a little care and ex- 
perience should not result in Australian fruit being 
placed in the English market in sufficiently good con- 
dition to ensure a remunerative return to the exporter. 
—Colonies and India. 
THE POSITION OF COFFEE PLANTING 
IN CEYLON. 
Ceylon has of late been pissing through a severe 
commercial crisis, the end of which has not yet been 
reached. The signs of depression are more or less 
apparent throughout the island. Even the Moormen 
at Galle, by way of laying emphasis on the wealth of 
Ceylon in pearls and sapphires, speak of the coffee 
ent rprise as quite played out. In the principal towns, 
more particularly in those situated in the coffee dis- 
tricts, and dependent on the planting interest, the 
complaint is the same. Shop-keepers can do little more 
than subsist, and thai too in some cases only by shut- 
ting up half their premises. On all plantations retrench- 
ment is the order of the day. Expenditure on manure, 
buildings, machinery, and labour is conducted with the 
Btricfi st regard to economy. Salaries have been reduced 
to the lowest limit, and, wherever possible, Eurasian 
and Native conductors have been substituted for Euro- 
pean superintendents. The public revenues also suffer, 
for not only do economy in manuring and small crops 
mean diminished railway receipts, but the" keen 
competition, which a few years ago raised the 
price of Government laud, and brought such handsome 
sums to the coffer/j of the State no longer existing 
there is a sensible falling off in the public receipts for 
laud sales. In this connexion it should not be forgotteD, 
however that even had the prospects of coffee continued 
as bright as they were some years ago, the amount 
annually realized by Government on account of the 
sale of land could not have gone on undiminished, the 
best laud in the most suitable situations having already 
be<m exhausted. Altogether, the outlook whether from 
the point of view of private enterprise or from that 
of public p _ o?perity, has for the last two years been 
far from satisfactory. This gloomy state of things 
was the other day brought home in a very disagree- 
able manner to the planting community by the Earl 
of Kimb rley, who declined to accede to a memorial 
on the subject of railway extension on the grounds of 
a falling off in revenue, general depression in trade, 
leaf disease in coffee, and the uncertain prospects of 
tea, cinchona, cacao, and other new products. 
While it would be useless to attempt to ignore the 
severe strain which the Colony has experienced during 
the past year or two, it would, as we shall try to 
show in a future issue, be a grave error to assume 
that the extreme pessimist view of the situation is the 
truth, the whole truth and nothing but the 
truth. The real state of the case will be found 
to lie sorn -where between this and the extreme 
optimist view of the colonists themselves, who 
are pardonably inclined to paint every enterprise in 
the island in couleur de rose. For the present it will 
be sufficient to survu-y tbe principal causes that hav* 
led to the present unsatisfactory condition of things. 
Foremost among these must be mentioned the com- 
merci d depression which has been experienced through- 
out tbe world during the past few years, and which 
has affected Ceylon in common with other centres of 
commerce and industry. Nor must the relatively low 
price of coffee in the London market be left out of 
account in trying to explain the existing depression. 
For, though the prices that have ranged since coffee 
fell would be in ordinary e'reamstances fairly remu- 
nerative, they are not so intbecase of estates purchased 
almost at double their normal value. Now it is only 
too true that, when the coffee mania was at its height 
and the competition brisk, estates were bought aud 
(forked at a cost which would never have been incurred 
except on the supposition of a continuance of good crops 
aud high prices. A mistake like this at starting 
must have proved the ruin of not a few promising 
ventures, even had leaf disease and other causes not 
intervened to reduce the number of cwts. per acre. 
To mike good the actual fall of about one-fifth in the 
price of coffee in the London market would require an 
increase of more than one-fifth in the out-turn of crop : 
a compensation with which unfortunately the coffee 
planter has not a3 a rule been blessed. The reck- 
less speculation in cjffee estates which marked 
the years immediately preceding the present period 
of depression, is the almost invariable fore-runner 
of commercial disaster. And as is usually the case in 
such circumstances, not the speculators themselves 
but those with whose money they have been operat- 
ing, are the principal sufferers. The proprietor who 
has heavily mortgaged his estate, can sometimes look 
with comparative equanimity on leaf disease, short 
crops, and low prices ; not so the mortgagee, who 
foresees that he will soon have a worthless estate 
upon his bands. 
The rise which has taken place in the price of 
forest land in consequence of competition has proved 
a valuable addition to the revenues of the Colony, 
without in any material degree endangering the safety 
of the coffee enterprise as a profitable investment. 
In 1848 the average price realized per acre was about 
Rs. 3, As. 12 ; in 1863, Rs. 26 ; in 1877. Rs. 30, As. 12 ; 
