August i, 1881.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
215 
present loss is wisely incurred if only it will lead to 
future profit, we believe that great things might be 
accomplished within one-tenth of the time, and. with 
only a tithe of the loss which desultory effort will 
require. — Melbourne Argus. 
SAIGON. 
A Report by Consul Tremlctt on the Trade, Com- 
merce, and Navigation of Saigon and Cochin-China 
for the year 1880 appears in a Blue-book which has 
just beeu published. 
Crop of 1881 :— Reports from the interior to the end 
of November, from all' districts, were published, and 
were not so favourable as was expected, about half 
only announcing the crop as satisfactory ; later accounts 
do not alter the impression, and there seems to be 
an indisposition to giving a decided opinion of any sort. 
Gamboge. — Rather more than usual came to market, 
but still only a small quantity— 400 piculs. 
Cardamom*. — This valuable article is receiving more 
attention, nnd the production lias been quintupled — 
1,350 piculs. 
Pepper. — The trade has fallen off sadly during the 
last twelve months— only 3,000 piculs having appeared, 
against double the quantity for some years past. 
Cotton also shows a remarkable decrease, no doubt 
owing to the unfavourable weather in the early days 
the year ; only (>,8S'2 pieuls were exported against 
an average of '25,000. 
Sugar. — The efforts by Europeans seems to result 
in a drain of all available resources and a final collapse. 
Silk.— The export, if not the production (in French 
Cochin-China), is fast increasing ; the more frequent 
opportunities of communicating with Tong King favours 
the trade, and 660 piculs passed through our hands 
— no great amount, but more than double that of 
late years. 
As to Agriculture, the' following remarks and facts 
are interesting : — 
The usual donations were granted several enter- 
prisers from the fund set apart for that purpose, 
principally to the sugar plantation at Laean, which 
fcceived 15,000 fr. ; pepper plantation at Thudaumot, 
'2,500 fr. ; pepper plantation at Phu-quoc, 15,000 fr. 
The sugar plantation of the Nouvelle Esperance 
has beeu wc 
d'J, 100 at ai 
probably wit 
of three yea 
the whole ; t 
tiquo possibl 
extending this branch of agriculti 
The Sooieto Agricolc, which sta 
in this colony and Cambodia, is, 1 1 
An exhibtiion of products au 
held during March, and medals di 
gold, 81) silver, 1 1 1 bronze ; 
manufactures was surprising, eml 
different arVcles, as orange wine, 
erystalised sugars, chocolate, coi 
fruits, arrowroot, flour, silk fa 
embroideries, eorda; 
the whole property realised 
November 18. The purchaser, 
to ascertain the actual result 
rowing, is cutting and crushing 
will be the most valuable cri- 
le advisability of continuing or 
plantations 
^ wound np. 
ictures \va9 
as under- 
cty of the 
uob widely 
;itc 
fabrics, cotton stuffs, 
bricks, and tiles, ngricul- 
tur.il imvl' incuts, and jewellery in profusion. 
Coffee, -I do not hear any very satisfactory accounts 
about this plant, though a little of i'hu-quoc growth 
beeu on sale. 
A NEW CEYLON INDUSTRY: JUTE. 
Mr. Elliott is good enough to inform us :— 
" About jute — I was some months ago atChilawaud 
my attention was attracted by seeing a cart load 
of what appeared to ho a curious sort of straw. On 
enquiring, I was told it was used for making the 
twine used by fishermen. Not knowing what it was I 
brought down a couple of bundles and sho«ed Mr. Win. 
Ferguson a specimen, who at once recognized it as the 
jute plant. 1 send you these bundles. I was told the 
plants grow plentifully in the Fitigal Korale of the 
Chilaw district— just north of the Maha Oya. One of the 
Mudaliyars could, I should say, give better information." 
The bundles in question appear to contain a very 
promising sample of jute, the stalks being well grown 
and nearly four feet long. We shall endeavour to 
get a mercantile opinion of their value, failing which, 
it must be airanged to send samples of the Chilaw 
jute to Dundee for report. 
THE GOLD-BEARING DISTRICTS OF 
SOUTHERN INDIA. 
To the Editor of the Melbourne A rgus. 
Sir, — Having visited the Dcvalah gold-mines some 
three and a half years ago, I am not surprised at the 
accounts now published of the success of the first 
large experiment in quartz crushing. As 1 was the 
first Indian editor who had gone to see the operations 
of the Alpha Mining Company, Mr. Minchin, Mr. Ryan, 
and the other directors were present to receive me, 
show me over the works, and afford full information 
regarding their operations and their success so far. At 
parting they presented me with a piece of gold-bear- 
ing quartz, computed to contain about two guineas' 
worth of the precious metal. The fractured surface of 
this specimen was covered with specks of gold, quite 
obvious to the naked eye, while a magnifying-glasa 
brought out the real richness of the stone. As 1 have 
handed the specimen to Mr. Cosmo Newbery, who 
has kindly promised to report on its character 
and value, those having interest in the sub- 
ject can see the quartz, and when the pressure of 
his engagements in connexion with the Exhibition 
awards is lightened, I have no doubt Mr. Newbery 
will confirm my opinion a* to the promising character 
of the stone. As the means of the original Alpha Com- 
pany were limited, they had not been able to run a 
shaft much below the surface, so that the quartz which 
they were crushing had still a large portion of pyrites 
in its composition, and had patches of a rusty brown 
colour, such as I have seen on some of the specimens of 
Mr. 
uaad 
pub- 
in to 
ig of 
lixed 
face. 
IYkak. — Mr. II. S. Deane writes: — " I am at present 
preparing for the Straits Government a general map 
)f Perok, Penang, Province Wcllealoy No. 1, nnd I hope ! 
10011 to send ymi a copy. Evidently the Government of : 
.ho Straits mean to avoid the how-uot-to-do-it policy 
0 Opening up their lamia available for plantations. 
tional Exhibition. Having read the rep 
Kiug, of the Indian Geological Survey, on 1 
quartz reef, and seen for myself, I forme 
lished the conclusion, u hich I have never se 
qualify, that deep shafts would lead to th 
stone exceptionally rich in ore and much 
with pyrites than the quariz ou or near t 
Tho results already obtained seem to justify the 
opinions I had formed, and there can be little 
doubt that thero is a great future for Southern 
aud South-western India as a gold-yielding region. 
It has beeu that to a certain extent from far- hack 
antiquity. It was interesting to see the surface of 
tho out-cropping quartz dotted with pot holes, some 
of them probably thousands of years old, in which the 
natives of Malabar had. since tho time of Solomon, 
ami probably long before the era of the monarch in 
whose time silver was not accounted of, because gold 
was so abundant, conducted their simple crushing 
operations. Granted ti at the Ophir of the Hebrew 
scriptures was not a particular country hut a region, 
there seems little reason to doubt that the Malabar, 
