THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Feb. i, 1894. 
5a6 
They claim to have ma'le myriads of fiiendB by 
being straightforward, hank, boueet, and a'teutive to 
the reqiiiretneDtfl of the trade. The r. pntation of 
their bluods is h'ghest in the market. 
Of coiirs", each a succegs could Lot wholly eecapo 
from the sneer of e'-vy, and the crooked devices of 
jealoosy. As Mr. Inglis has said, "our mntbods of 
advertising, our labels, get ap, ai d, our very pbrati o- 
logy have been alaviabiy copied or blasbingly pirated; 
bat we Btill prosper. Billy Tea still ker-ps the lead. 
The eale of all our recognised bleud^ ttill keepK in- 
cre>!iiag. Our aim is simply to maiLtiin our proup 
position as the leading t«a merobaota of Aaetralio 
by merit alone; and, if cur friends acd patrous will 
only oontiouo their confidence ia ns, we think we can 
point to our past career as a guer Ion of good faith for 
the future, aiid may look forward with ooutidence to 
a renewed period of aekive growth and proepciity, in 
which we hope every interest in these great Colonies 
may equally participate, and bo briag about spredily 
a glorious fnlfilment of the prayer ond piopbecy 
combined, which ie included in the national aupiri- 
tion, Advance Australia." — "The Famous Billy Tra 
Budget." 
A SOUTH OF INDIA PLANTING 
RETBOSPECT 1893. 
The past year will be a memorable one to 
Southern Indian Planters both tea and coffee — as 
having shewn greater activity than many of its pre- 
decessors, a greater inclination for discussion of 
their interests in the public Press, and last but not 
least, the " fait accompli" of a Planters' Conference 
at Bangalore. Ooffee crops. — 1892 was far from 
satisfactory and 1893 seems to have been a year 
that on the whole is satisfactory ; lower e'evation 
gardens promised well, but blights of kinds did 
their duty, and the early rains during blossom dis- 
appointed many a hope. Prices bave continued 
remunerative and a casual fluctuation of a shilling 
has hardly afieeted returns. Taking the district 
generally we believe that planters would admit a 
good general average year. We have visited the 
district, and as tho' in tea, nature has bestowtd her 
favors unequally, there is little to complin about. 
Parchment as a rule is heavy, which is a grand 
consideration. Early rains destroyed blossom, and 
late rains caused a certain amount of "rot" — but 
with a steady market, and a fairly steady exchanged 
gardens generally will vary from large profits to 
Eayins their way. Coffee generally has suffered 
:om blights, and black bug seems on the increase, 
but the damage it does to crops seem to be a 
disputed point amongst practical planters. " Heme- 
leia vestatrix " or the familiar leaf disease is 
favorably reported on, and should this dread disease 
gradually pass off, a more hopeful future is in the 
dim vista. Scientists lay it is carried on an at- 
mospheric wave — and we believe all fungoid 
diseases are of more or less of this character. 
Borer which has played such havoc is local — and 
requires more local investigation. Individual action 
: is bopeless with a caterpillar and moth pt st snch as 
■ thic. When as we hear gardens have faced the loss 
of 10 per cent of tbeir plants by uprooting and 
■ Imrninj, it ia time Government stepped in, and Mr. 
"L»WBon shoald apply, by the direction of Govern- 
ment, his keen acnmen like Dr. Trinoen in Oeylon, to 
fight the disease and prevent the decay of a valuable 
and thriving industry. 
The fall in the price of Cinchona bark, hai naturally 
closed this iucustry with the exception of Government 
Gardens. The value of the unit having reached such 
a figure as to scarcely pay the cost tif barking, pack- 
ing and shipping of any except bark extraordinarily 
ticb in alkaloids. 
To tea planters the year has not been entirely 
,8fttaafaQ ory. Prices have receded from the opening 
lOf t^ market, and tboagh the statistical position ig 
iBtrot)g, a^d China export» continue to decrease, prices 
.excip* for teas with point and character have been 
uneatlefaoiory. Tea at the pr^nt time ia beooming 
(uch an important fuctor in Sonihem ludia thi«t t* 
8«caie the attention of Mineing Lane, pUnt^ra canoo' 
be l03 particular in what they place on the m»rket 
It has been pr^iveJ to demonstration that with an 
average oalturn such as Hill gardens geot rally 
produce, 6d to 7d caii hardly pay. W'yutal with iti 
fiircing climate and higher outturn run afford ti t'ke 
liberties, but Hill plai t^jion looking over the (a«t 
feason's averages most realize that if the local 
market fuiled ihem atd tbey were dependent on 
London — the teas at present produced would be dis- 
tinctly uDremaL,erative. 
Tb« slow progre^s of the Nilgiri Railway haa been 
a source of r>-gret to all iuterc-ted in the ezpansiou 
of the planting iodastry on these bilU — and we hope 
to see more activity during the eoeuiLg jear. Tue 
railway as at pretent projected will i uly be of usetoa 
small portion of the plantioK commuoily, anvl we 
hope before long to hear of »n anuouuci-ment of its 
ez'eusiou to Outy, and on to Gadalor, th-nee snn- 
oecting os with the tua'n arterial ayalem of railwstt 
in India via Mysore— ai d then abould the UW Uoa'bi 
Railway beconi>- an accomplished fact, the pot-i ion 
of planters of Bontbern Indii with regard lo transport 
would be fecond to none in any otb' r part < f India. 
Altogether notwitliManding blights and an abnormal 
season the past year must be I'^okt-d upon as 
f.ctory, a d with capital, en»-rgy, and intelligent 
inlerett in cultivation, a reuewalof form«*r year" of 
prosperity may be anticipated down South — .Vi/<MVt 
iS'mj, Dec.23 
OOFFEE PROSPECTS IN BRAZIL JAVA 
AND GUATEMALA. 
(Prom James Cook 6r Co 'i Monthly Detpalch, 
December 22od.) 
On the Ist December there was a further re> 
dnction of I2,0U0 tons in th - stocks in Europe and 
of 1,000 tons in the United States compared with 
the previous month. The arrivals, owing to the 
smallness of the present Brazil crops, mark now 
some important falling off being for the first eleven 
months, in Europe and the States together, 646,160 
tons, against <;79,6t)0 in 1892. Deliveries in the 
States for the same period shew a decrease of over 
30,000 tons. 
Throughout this month business generally has 
been extremely dull, and very poor deliveries for 
the current month must be expected. The Revolu- 
tion in Brazil not only continues, but has as- 
sumed serious proportions, and it has now become 
dangerous to make shipments, if not almost im- 
possible. The quality of the coffee now coming 
into Bio and Santos consists to a great extent of 
Cafe das Aguaa. Advices from various authorities 
state that the present Brazil crops havs been over- 
estimated, and the general figures of the new crops are 
reduced to about 7 to 7* millions of bags. The 
Commissarios give 3 miUions as the next probable 
yield of Rio. The latest accounts from Java still 
give hopes of a crop of about 1,250,000 piculs, of 
which a large proportion for private acconnt, and 
it is thought that the first arrivals may be received 
in Holland as early as April. 
From last advices to hand regarding the Guate- 
mala crop, it is stated that it will not be so abun- 
dant as was anticipated. There was an extraordi- 
nary rainfall in some districts since the early part 
of April, and the bean, in consequence, shews 
signs of shrivelling as the result of excessive mois- 
ture and insuf&cient sunshine. It is estimated, how- 
ever, that the crop will reach about 420,0' '0 bags, 
which will shew a slight excess over last year's 
production, and it is stated thait the want of saffi- 
cieat labour has interfered marerially with the deve- 
lopment of the coffee industry in Guatemala. 
Eabbi Shipments. — The Eanri Gum export from 
New Zealand last year Bmoonted to 8,705 tons 
valued at 5i7,678/, Most of this goes to Ameribm 
— Chemist and Druggist, 
