August i, 1881.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
191 
in 1877 the average reached its maximum, bein<i Es. 43, 
As. *6. It was only a little lower in 1878, being 
Rs. 43; but sank to Rs. 27 in 1879. The above are 
merely the average prices realized for Crown lauds of 
all kinds throughout the country, and give little idea 
of the prices which good forest land suitable for 
coffee could command. Prices ranging from Rs. 80 
to Rs. 150 were not uncommon. Iu 1873 a lot was 
sold at Rs. 180. The highest known prices were 
Rs. 248, Rs. 245, and Rs. 242. paid in 1875, 
187G and 1879 respectively. Planters of. experience 
Sfty that land purchased even at this high ligure 
can be made to pay ; but it leaves a very small 
margin for the possible contingencies of short crops 
and low prices; Exclusive of the purchase price 
of the land, it costs from Es. 250 to Es. 300, 
or even Re. 400, to bring an estate into bearing, 
For the first year or two after this, the utmost 
to be expected is that it shall pay the interest on 
;hc capital; aud provide a. surplus which year after 
year will bear a larger proportion to ihe expenses of 
working. Estates brought into bearing at a total ex- 
penditure (including the original cost of the laud) of 
from E300 to R40Q per acre, have in ordinary eir- 
| cirmstances been able to clear themselves in a few 
I years, and afterwards to yield a handsome profit. 
I But it has yet to be proved that, except in exception- 
I ally favourable situations, these estates which have 
I cost from E450 to EG00 per acre before they have 
I yielded crop, will in the long run turn out a finan- 
| cial success. It is not, however, the high price paid 
I for forest land that has imperilled the coffee industry, 
I but Ihe reckless way in which estates in full bear- 
ng changed hands. The average value of such e-lates 
I may be set down at from E500 to E600 an acre. 
I Yet it was no uncommon thing for sales to be affected 
I at prices ranging as high as 111,000. To make an 
I estate pay at this ligure. two things are absolutely 
I nocesarry : — a succession of good crops, and the niaiu- 
I| tenance of high prices. Were it a-ked how shrewd men, 
I like the Ceylon planters, could have made such miscnlcu- 
I lations, the answer is, that the g<-uuiue planting com- 
I munity was invaded by a host of outsiders, chiefly 
tons of wealthy men at home, who, looking upon the 
I coffee enterprise as a veritable "Eldorado" embarked 
iu speculations with a recklessness inspired by full 
pockets and an empty experience. To this may be 
added, the almost unlimited means of borrowing which, 
as the Oriental Bank shares testify, has been freely 
made use of both by private individuals and Companies. 
The same reckless spirit showed itself iu the extra- 
I vagant manner in which estates were managed. Ac- 
I cording as it is economically or uuecouomieally con- 
I ducted, the expense of clearing an estate and bring- 
I ing it into bearing will vary from R250 to 400 per 
I acre. In the matter of buildings, machinery, and 
I labour, the expenditure has seldom very far exceeded 
I the boundaries of a wise economy. But no incon- 
siderable saving iniulit have been ell'ected in the matter 
1 of supervising agency. The institution known as the 
I visiting agency is a e >stly one : much too costly for 
I the good that' results from it. There are occasions 
I when the report of an independent eye-witness is 
■ extrem«ly viluable. But on estates uuder managers 
H of tried probity and experience, it docsseem " a waste- 
I fill and ridiculous excess'' to have i> visiting agent 
I on n large salary, whose function it is to forward bi- 
i monthly reports to the proprietor*. If the manager 
1 is trustworthy and competent, the visit. ug agent is 
II not needed; if untrustworthy and ineompeteut, the 
I' hurried survey once in two months, which the visiting 
I Agent can make, will not suffice to keep things straight. 
I The visiting agent has in fact grown up out of tlio 
I I syst-ni of working on borrowed capital. Banks and 
private individual's who advance money for the pur- 
I chase and working of estates, like to have an inde- 
pendent agent who shall keep them informed as to the 
state of matters, aud exercise, it may be, direct con- 
trol over the working of the property. In whatever 
way he has originated, the visiting agent has now 
become a recognized institution in the planting in- 
dustry, whose iullueuci is enormous. Money being 
advanced or withheld at Ids discretion, a good report 
is the next best thing to a good crop. Another item 
of expenditure on which a prudent economy has not 
been always exercised is that lor manuring. The 
mistake of allowing the cattle to graze on the 
patena, or grass land during the day, thus losing a 
large portion of valuable manure, is now carefully 
guarded against. But much money has been, and is 
being wasted in the application of artificial manures, 
which can be profitably applied only when preceded 
by au analysis of the. different soils. Thousands of 
rupees are frequently .spent in manuring without pro- 
ducing any result whatever. — Machos Mall. 
FOSSIL GUM MINES. 
In his report on his recent journey into the Dar- 
es-Salaam district, iu East Africa, Dr. Kirk records 
the existence of what may almost be called mines of 
fossil gum copal, which are largely worked by the 
natives, who extract therefrom large quantities of 
this valuable material. These deposits of semi-fossil 
gum exist in small patches, as if they had been pro- 
duced by isolated trees, and the natives often sink a 
number of test holes before they "bottom'' on a 
deposit worth working. These buried stores of gum, 
or rather resin, are similar to the deposits of fossil 
kauri gum, which arc found in New Zealand, the 
curious fact in both eases being that trees now ex- 
iting yield the same kind of resinous substance. Dr. 
Kirk says the gum is found in red sandy soil, but he 
does not tell us how deep the deposits are found, 
nor whether they have been covered by alluvial de- 
posit, by volcanic agency, or by any other means : 
but he makes th 
underground guui is 1 
same species of tree 
which now yields an 
ference between the t 
aud a chemical or m< 
The copal tree grows 1 
aud is by no means 
even more abundant 
ridge. It was not sei 
the geological formati. 
rocks of the interior l 
observation that the 
dly the produce of the 
exists in these jungles, 
the sea-coast, but is 
)tid the first coast- 
r, at Kidunda, where 
aud 1 he old limestone 
.—Colonics ami India, 
LANTANA, A NEW VEGETABLE PEST IN 
AUSTRALIA. 
In an article which appeared in our columns towards 
the close of last autumn, we drew attention to the 
fact that, favoured as the Australian Colonies aro in 
the matter of climate, the vr.rwth of weeds is pro- 
moted by those conditions Which arc so favourable 
for the growth of saleable produce, Karim rs have 
cause for grumbling in Australia as well as in I'n Jand. 
In England the main causes are successive wet sea- 
sons, and the fact that othei countries em place their 
produce on the Euglish market; at a lower limine than 
the English producer can nijeept and yet haw a pr. lit. 
In Australia farmers complain that droughts are too 
common, and the meaio of conveyance are not suffici- 
ent to -fake their produce to market. In addition 
to these drawbacks, they are plagued with locus' s, 
marsupials, and rabbits, ami w ith Bathurjl burr, thistle, 
prickly pear, and sweetbriar. To this list the ' 
appears likely to have to be added. The lanUuia is 
a shrub resembling a gigantic raspberry hu»b, bo»r« 
ing s.'cds which are much relished by birds, whi.li 
