44Q 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [November i, 188 
The Indiaeubbee Industry in Mozambique seems 
to be developing rapidly. In 1873 only £443 worth 
of India-rubber passed through the Custom House. 
In 1876 it reached the value of £22,198, and last year, 
according to figures given by Mr. Consul O'Neill, it 
exceeded £50,000. It would seem, however, to have 
reached its climax until communications with the 
interior are properly opened up, the careless cutting 
of the trees by the natives having resulted in the 
destruction of enormous tracts of india-rubber forest. 
— Echo. 
Coolies in Jamaica. — Some 400 coolies, adults and 
children left by the ship "Syria," Captain Blaker, 
for Calcutta on Monday last. We learn that some 
£6,000 were taken away in Bills, and nearly as much 
in gold coins, and a considerable quantity of jewellery. 
From the Government Savings Bank three men with- 
drew the sum of £1,200, and several others took 
little fortunes in the shape of gold coins as well as 
Bills. Truly the West Indies are lands more propiti- 
ous of blessings to the East Indian foreigner than 
to their own sons. Jamaica is a land dropping with milk 
and honey for the coolie labourer. — Gall's News Letter. 
An Agricultural Department in Japan. — The 
institution of an Agricultural Department by the 
Japanese Government is announced. The matters sub- 
mitted to it for consideration by the assembly of 
local officials charged with the development of agri- 
culture in their respective provinces are reported to 
be — (1) revision of the methods employed in pre- 
paring agricultural statistics ; (2) exchange of seeds 
between the different prefectures, and their transport ; 
(3) supply of manure ; (4) establishment of a society 
for investigating fishery affairs, and the protection of 
marine productions, fish, seaweeds, &c. ; (5) subject 
of rewards granted for meritorious services calculated 
to improve agriculture. — London Times. 
Wynaad Planting and Mining Association.— At 
a committee meeting held on the 14th September, a 
communication from the Government of Madras and 
Collector of Malabar was read, the order from the 
Madras Government being as follows : — " As recom- 
mended by the District Officers of Malabar, the 
Governor in Council resolves to sanction the exten- 
sion of the Coffee Stealing Act to the low land tracts 
traversed by the coffee in transit to the coast. The 
Government, however, consider that it will be suffici- 
ent to apply the act in the main roads from Wynaad 
to the coast. The Collector will accordingly report, 
at an early date, if this is not enough ; and what 
roads should be specified in the notification." This 
was recorded with great satisfaction, and it was re- 
solved that the Honorary Secretary address the Col- 
lector of Malabar praying that the act may be extended 
throughout the whole of the district and that a re- 
cognised form of pass be made obligatory ; the said 
form to bear a revenue stamp of one anna and to be 
procurable at all Cutcheries and Post Offices. The 
rest of the business related to telegraphic communica- 
tion, repair of roads used by the gold-mining com- 
panies, and sale of arrack. It was resolved that the 
annual meeting should beheld on 5th Oct. 
Date Coffee. — We see the Ceylon planters are 
beginning to cry out against the so-called Date Coffee, 
and no wonder ; but if people prefer ground Date 
stones to ground Coffee seeds, as they say they do, 
we do not see that Government can interfere further 
than to insist upon things being called by their 
right names. Date stones, as we believe, contain not 
an atom of the peculiar alkaloid on which the value 
of Coffee as food depends. One enthusiast — or is he 
a wag? — fired by the success of the Date Coffee, 
proposes to grind the Orange pips, which are as plenti- 
ful as Blackberries in Spain, into "Orange Pekoe"! 
— Gardeners' Chronicle. 
Palm Sugar.— It is not to be supposed that the 
price of coconut oil will always remain as low at it ia 
at present, and we hope and believe that there will 
soon be an improvement, but as a similar depression 
in the oil trade may at any time happen again, it 
mighe be worth while to try if part of the produce 
of the coconut tree cannot be profitably converted 
into sugar. Perhaps it would not pay, but the same 
thing used to be said about beet root sugar, and yet 
the beet root is now largely cultivated in France for 
the purpose of sugar making. It is not, therefore, 
unlikely that if as much attention were given to the 
manufacture of palm sugar as has been given to that 
of beet sugar, similar success might be attained. In- 
deed it used to be said that sugar could never be 
profitably made in this country from the cane, and 
yet it has been done, and still continues to be done 
at Baddegama, near Galle. In the Kalutara district, 
coconut trees are grown more for toddy than for nuts. 
Most of this is used for making arrack, and some 
for conversion into vinegar, but a considerable quantity 
of it is made into jaggery, which is the only kind 
of sugar in common use among the poorer classes 
in this country. The farms in France are generally 
of small size, and the French farmers have not much 
capital, but they do manage to grow beet root and 
make sugar of it by having sugar factories conducted 
on the co-opeiative system. Considerable quantities 
of palmyra jaggery are sometimes exported from the 
Madras Presidency to England for making refined 
sugar, and we do not see why cannot jaggery — and 
kitool and palmyra jaggery too for that matter — 
should not be exported from Ceylon for the same 
purpose. Most of the sugar now consumed is made 
from the cane, put palm sugar is probably of mora- 
ancient use than any other kind. — C. Messenger. 
Gold on the Nilgibis. — Assays of Nilgiri quartz 
quartz were made by Mr. F. Claudet, Assayer to the 
Bank of England. 
The best result was.. 2 
and...l 
The worst result was... 
dwts. grs. 
12 12 gold. \ a 3 
12 0 silver, f 2 £ 
10 gold. ( £ g. 
9 silver. ) ^ 
The other three assays were made by Messrs. John- 
son Matthey & Co., Assayers to the Bank of England,, 
and H. M. Mint :— 
ozs. dwts. 
The best result was. ..3 5 gold. ) a -5 
do. ...1 10 silver. ( Z § 
The worst result was... 0-250 gold, t g §• 
do. ...0-100 silver. ) 
Mr. C. Harvey saw some of the quartz from these 
hills in England, and said thai it was some of the best 
stone he had seen from India. I have been shewa 
the results of panning pounded quartz, and of sand 
in the rivers, near these reefs, and also in one case 
of the surface soil, on a very reefy looking bit, con- 
tiguous to a reef ; and the results, judging from what 
I have seen in otber places, were simply splendid ia 
every instance. I have also been shewn several very 
fine specimens of gold that were taken from these 
hill reefs. With the immense natural advantages that 
tbere are on these hills, in point of climate, water, 
position, and local labor, it is a wonder that the 
investing public have not been induced to turn their 
attention to these parts, or that our wealthy Austra- 
lian cousins have not paid us a visit. When once 
this new industry is started up here, — and surely 
some one will be enterprizing enough to try it soon, 
however slow they may be in getting results in the 
Wynaad, — it will give a tremendous impetus to every 
branch of work up here, and it would not be long 
before we had the train running up to Coonoor, with 
or without the help of Government. — Cor. Madras Mail. 
