g 8 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Aug. i, 1894. 
of Algeria, to the Mayors and other officials of his 
district, informing them that the Government are 
anxious to place cheap quinine within the reach of 
all colonists, "who Erenow often compelled " (the 
circulars say) " to pay for that remedy at the rate 
of a franc per gramme. The Algiriau Government 
are thercfora prepared to supply any commune 
wiih tuiphate of quinine to be retailed to ccn_ 
Burners who are able to pay at the rate ti 
085 it. per 10 grammes;, or about 2s Id per cz. 
and distributed gratuitously to indigent appli- 
cants. In every case where it can be shown tbat 
75 per cent, of the quinine applied for has been 
given awuy to the poor the department will only 
charge half-price, or about Is. per oz . for the next 
batch of quinine ordered. M. Bogelot asserts that 
the circulars are illegal, inasmuch as tbey run 
counter to Act 25 of the Law of 21 Germinal of 
the year XL, which is still the pharmacy law 
of the Republio, and which prohibits any persons 
other than pharmaoists from preparing, selling, or 
distributing medicaments. "If the authorities," 
says M. Bogelot, with muoh force, want to dis- 
tribute oheap quinine to the million, why not 
employ pharmaoiBts as agents, and allow them a 
commission on the sale of the drug V— Chemist 
and Druggist. 
BRAZILIAN COFFEE DUTIES. 
Ihe Brazilian Government has deoided H at the 
export duty on coffee now being levied by the Govern- 
ment, ibail iu future be wholly collcctel in gold 
which will increase tbe benefit to the Government 
about three times. This will doubtless be dono by 
Act of Congrssf, and it ia believed no difficulty in 
carrying the measure will be experienced. Goffee 
represents fully one-half tbe exports from Brazil, 
and in the new year it is estimate! tbat the ex- 
portable surplus of that article alone will amount 
in sterling value to between £25,000,000 and 
£30,000,000.— Amtrican Grocer. 
INDIAN AND CEYLON TEA. 
The question of water accounts, it is said, for the 
slow progress made in tbe Indian trade with the 
United States and Canada, and, possibly, also with 
Russia, whereas Ceylon tea, maDy years behind India 
in point of time, is making headway more rapidly. 
That the export will expand as years go on seems 
probable ; but, fo far, neither the Continent nor 
America have appreciated even the finest Indian tea 
and the task of educating them to take it in pre- 
ference to the China article seeme, a difficult one. 
Although Ceylon tea is sometimes treated as an in- 
terest separate from that of India, or even as an- 
tagonistic, it ia rot really the case as far as this 
market is conoerned ; for the trade iu the two growths 
moves on parallel lines, and whatever affeots the 
value of the one eventuallj reacts on the other, They 
really meet each other in competition very much as 
teas from different parts of India do, ouii, together, 
they practically occupy the attention of tbe home 
trade to the exclusion of all others. 
The only conclusion which can be drawn from the 
statistics is one which ought to be eminently eatis- 
faotery, namely, tbe remarkable progress made by 
British-grown teas in publio favour, and the absence 
of anything approaching a glut in the market. We 
have not space to deal today with the dividends 
paid by ihe companies that are known in London ; 
but as a proof of the prosperity of tbe industry, we 
may add that out of a list of seventy companies 
winch we have before u<, there were only eight 
which foiled to pay dividends in 1893 — Financial 
News. 
FOOD SUPPLY : CH1LAW DISTRICT. 
The food of the people consists principally of 
rice, supplemented by fine grains, h>l. (both fr- eh 
and cured , cassava, plantain?, pumpkins, jak -fruit, 
A'c. Bread is more extcnaiveiy consumed than 
formerly. The greater portiou of the rice was 
imported, the quantity of locally grown paddy and 
hue grain being estimated Ly the headmen to have 
1 een only 43 730 bushels. Neithei i i a;o harvests 
was successful ; but the biadbieu's estimates are 
eitremely low. Tbe actual preduct waa, I believe 
about double the quantity given. This would have: 
sufficed to feed the whole population of the district 
sixty years ago, which was theu 13,575, while it is 
now 03,859. 
The yield of coconuts in the district during the 
year is estimated to have been 318,513,000 nuts, 
as against 320,734,800 in 1892. the productiveness 
of the trees having been affected by the drought; 
but the value was greater, tbe average price hciug 
R35 per 1,000 instead of from K25 to B30. The 
supply of fish was abundant.— Mr, Noytt' Adim 
tivu lieport. 
LAND IS NORTH BORNEO. 
The British North Borneo Company bas just leaned 
new land regulations of a muchjmore tre-neroos nature to 
holders than those hitherto in force. The raaiu point is 
that those who held laud — for which they had paid — 
were after twelve years liable to have some part taken 
bsck by the Company, ii a certain proportion had 
not been cultivated. T^ey now become virtually 
freeholders, for a 999 years' leane may be considered 
as equal to a freehold. In tbe c»se of those who 
received free grants they can now pay 20 cents an 
acre per annum, and retain land that was liable to 
forfeiture by their grant after twelve years. A 
feature of the new terms is that tbey sre irrevocable. 
— L. and C. Expreu. 
TEA PATENT. 
January 10th, 1893. Tea. Gilbert, W., 2, Mount 
Pleasant, Elm Strett. Gray's Inn Road, London. 
Tea combined apparatus for mixing, silting, and 
cutting. -The tea is charged into a series of oscil- 
lating hoppers tbe mouths of which sre opened or 
closed by a register plate movable between a pair 
of fixed plates. Fish-head vslves opposite the openings 
in the lower plate serve to adjust the rate of feed from 
each hopper. The tea falls from the hoppers onto t 
Eerie? of rotatiog discs by which it is thrown on 
the conical shelve*) passing finally into the receptacle. 
The sifting apparatus consists of a hopper aud aflat 
sieve operated by an eccentric. The outting apparatus 
consists of two boney-combed rollers rotating against 
a fixed knife. The combined apparatus is driven from 
one handle or pulley. — Patent Journal. 
Indian Tea Companies.— In the Home and 
Colonial Mail of June 22, is published the usual 
abstract compiled by Mr. Ernest Tye of retulls 
of the working in 1893 of 23 Indian Tea 
Companies, representing a total Capital of 
£2,435,936 and a planted area of 64,994 
Bcre3. The aggregate inoome from all sources had 
been £775,828 for the year, while the expenditure 
amounted to £613,136, leaving a net profit of 
£163,995. The dividends paid ranged from nil 
in the case of 4 Companies to 2§, 3J, 4, 5, 6, 7 
for others and then 10 per cent for the Dooars and 
Lebong Tea Companies respectively, to 10 J per oent 
by the Doom Dooma, 12£ per cent by the Brahma- 
pootra and highest of all 15 per cent by the 
Chandpore and Moabund Tea Companies respec- 
tively. It is to be noted that the figures for the 
income and expenditure of the Dooars Tea Com- 
pany are not furniEhed in the list and not 
therefore included ia the above totals. 
