192 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST- fSEpr. 1, 1893. 
NOTES ON PRODUCE AND FINANCE. 
Tea 111 Sumatra —At tLe an e ing of tlie Bntisli 
Delhi aid Laugkal Tobacco Oompaoy, Liniit.tl, held 
on Friday, Mr. J. Berry Wtiilf, the ciiairriia'i 8iid 
that the con pauy bad Isttrly utilised a (ortiOD of 
theiif laige ebtate in rsislnfs other crops. "Th''clinate 
aud 60il are," taid Mr. White, " ndmirably mitcd 
fur all theso planle, the ouly doubt beii'g whether 
labourers can be procured at eiifficiontly low rates to 
grow the"e cropi remaijerntivcl)'. We, »t oourre, 
will feel out way very oauliourly. aud will ppend 
very Utile capital on thU departure until we have 
ascertained that we can |(rov; tho«e producla to a profit. 
We have commenced with lea. We got tome ot the 
choicest variety of tea seid from Uppor Ass«n),BnJ 
this has been planted out in r urseries orjd will f o ju 
bo transplanted <>u epccially §uitabl" la; d at L ng(;a, 
wh'ch, in my opiuioo, i^ far better adapted to the 
growth ot ten ttau for tcbscc?. Lititriau coffee already 
grows luxuriantly at Kimbotm, and when 'h" tea 
lias made a fair start tbi< will bo procS' ded with. 
Cocoa is a leaa hardy plant than eitbtr tea o. Li- 
berian coffee, and ne do iiA expect to comuieuco 
planting any until r cxt yenr. We have er'g*g< d n 
skilled assittint from Javn, and h»ve reoruited a 
number ot Javanese cojlies at moderately low rates 
of wages for the onliivation of the new prodacts." — 
H. and C. Mail, July 7. 
The Taee Question.— Oommenting on the tare 
qutstion, the Grocer eaye : — " We are not Eurpriccd 
to learn that many oomplainta have been made 
of the irregularities in the allowances for tarrs 
in acme Indian and Ceylon teas, for the im- 
porters have in recent years monaged bo EkilfuHy 
to arrange the weight of the wood and lead that any 
little overweight Irom this source has nearly disap- 
peared, and oonsequeutly the purchaser of a lew 
paokagsB has little or no competsalion for any 
short weight which may ariBe from an (xoeisive 
tare. Of oourEs in all oases the ROtual net contents 
of packages should be ascertained before any com- 
plaint IB made, as the coopering of a package in the 
bonded warehouse may add tj the grosa and tare 
without affeotiug the net weight, but we are satis- 
fied there have been good grounds for an alteration 
in the manner in which the tarts have been deter, 
mined, and it is comforting to what ex'ent greater 
care is to be exercised in fiilure. The Bubjeot of 
leaving lea on the warehouse floors for an uui.ecse- 
sary time after bulking is one we have previously 
drawn attention to, ard as Indian, and particularly 
Ceylon, teas deteriorate so rapidly, it is highly 
desirable that the exposure to air should be ae litiK 
as possible, for, as our readers know to their cost, 
they purchase from a sample peih^ps submitted to 
them soon after the tea has arrived in London, and 
they are the greatest losers if the tea is not properly 
protected when in the bonded warehouses." 
OiNCHONA, Coffee, and Tha.— From a report which 
is givea elsewhere it will be seen that the Wentworth 
Indian Estates Company, not content with its oper- 
ations in cinchona, is extending its cultivation of 
Liberian oofiee and tea. When everything else is 
doubtful try tea seems to be the idea prevailing, and 
so long as tea cultivation is not overdone there is 
something in it- — H, and G. Mail, July 21. 
TEA PLANTIKG PUPILS IN CEYLON, 
To the Editor "The Field," 
Sir, — As so many young fellows come out here as 
pupils to learn tea planting, without having the 
faintest idea of tl.c sort of life or prospects before 
them, I venture to send you a few remarks on the 
subject, which you may see fit to publish for the 
benefit of intending "creepers," as the pupils are 
termed out here. These consist of two classes: those 
who have a certain amount of capital to invest, and 
those who have not. The prospects of the former are 
good J a year's training (generally costing, j^remium, 
poara, and lodging, about ;£200) should qnalif)^ bim , 
provided he throws himself icio hiB work, to iiiADi.ge 
— under the advice of an expei euced visiting agent 
— a small property of his own, in which case a good 
start in life is assured him ; and I believe tea is 
now considered to be as safe and profitable an invest- 
ment as any in the ( olouies, though I am personally 
far too inexperienced to give any opinion on this 
subject. 
Planting is undoub'edly a healthy, open air life, 
up-country the climate is all that coulu be desired, 
and living is, of course, far cheaper than at home. 
At the same time there is heaps of work to be done, 
consisting almost entirely of accompanying and 
looking after the Tamil coolies in the <ield. 
Youngsters embarking for the Spicy le'e will do 
well to bear thii in miud. 
Now a word to those of the second class who axe 
tliinking of coming out here, JJon't ! At least, do not 
take the step without thoroughly tbiukiog it over. 
For a }ouug man without capital or interest in the 
island the prospects are at present very poor. 'Jb« 
island is at present quite overstocked with premium- 
paying pupils seeking employment, and the cry is 
" Still they come." Most of "the billets are in ' the 
gift of C ompanies, who. of course, generally have their 
own men; and when the "creeper " obtains the 
desired billet, it is only to find that the work is hard 
and the pay is small. Assistant's salaries vary from 
83 rupees to 150 rupees or so a month, aud when, after 
years of work, the "creeper " becomes a full-blown 
superintendent, he wiil probably never get more than 
3.(JU0 rupees or 4,IX)0 rupees a year at the outside; 
and, though the vanishing value of the rupee may 
benefit the proprietor, the paid superintendent 
certainly suffers by it. 
I'eyloi), June 6. YorNG Pl4Kteb. 
— J'ield, London, 
LIGHTNING UN TEA, 
A Ceylon paper mentioos that on the Eummit 
of a hill in the Kdani Valley, GO tea buabes were 
killed by lightning, and it ie furth< r of opinion 
that this is the first oocai-ion on which suoh a 
oiroumttance has happened. In Cacbar, though 
euch occurrences are not frequent, many inttai ces 
are lecorded, especially on plantations situated 
immedibtoly under the Northern hills. Nutwanpore 
factory being particularly liable to these vieitations, 
owing r o doubt to the quantity of iron in the 
soil. — Jndian Flanten' Gazette. [Wo have eiuoe 
heerd of a case in Doloebage some years ago. 
—Ed. T.A.\ 
THE ALERBACH QUININE-FACTORY. 
A rumour obtained currency on Chance this week, 
and Fpr<^ad with gieat rapidity nm -ng the holders ot 
quinine, that the Auerbarh Qainine-faclory was in 
liquidation and would give up msnnfacturing. Tl i* 
report is entirely inBCCurate. All that has fiappened 
is that the faciurv in quefiticn ia being re-conveited 
from n limiicii company iuto a private concen , a 
change wb c'i w.ll enable the proprietors to dispen-e 
with CLTtai'j formalities regarding the publication ' f 
periodical accounts prescribed by the law in the case 
of complies. The firm, however, propose to make 
quite a> much quinine in the future as they have dene 
io the past. — Chemist and Druggist, July 28th. 

The Befusb Sticks of the sugar oane can be 
utiliEed in making paper, and a contemporary 
expressed natural astonishment that in face of the 
present large production of sugar, which reeultE in 
the constant depreciation in value of this product 
and per contra of the incieaeing use of paper, this 
industry has rot been developed on a practical basis, 
so as to enable the tugar planters to get a better 
return from their plantations. The mechanical 
and ohemical manipulation required in this industiy 
is, we believe, of the simplest character, which 
only makes its neglect the more remarkable. — 
Invention. 
