Aug. i, 1894.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
"3 
Vanilla Crop is just begiDniDg ; soma small 
lots have arrived in town for preparation. — Mada 
gascar News, June 9. 
Old Tubes. — In Upper Tookin material for ooffin 
boards, of whioh many are exported, is obtained 
from tree mines instead of fro:n ordinary living 
forests. The tree3 are a kind of pine, vtry pitohy 
and very durable, and they are found buried in a 
sandy soil at a depth of 7 to 25 ft. The trunks, 
some of them more than 3 ft. in diameter, are in 
good preservation. Such evidence as can be found 
indioates that the trees grew in a large forest and 
were buried at no very remote time oy an earth- 
quake or other similar oatastrophe. — Indian En- 
gineer. 
The Waste of Wateb Power.— While he was away 
Mr. Todman noticed that thera was an immense 
quantity of water running to waste in the Dimbula 
district, and he said that no doubt the same sort of 
thiDg weut on in other districts. "It seems to me", 
he remarked, '■ a great pity that factories in the near 
vioinity of suoh fine waterf ills Jo not use the power of 
electrical transmission instead of the steam-engines 
that at present exist — aud which are gradually denud- 
ing the country of forests. Firewood is terribly dear 
now on some estates and there is no need, with suoh 
plentiful water, to iucur tne expense. In the trans- 
mission of electrical power 75 per cent of the actual 
power obtained at the fall can be developed at the 
faotory, and, as the prime cost is nothing, it is prac- 
tically got for nothing bat interest on capital and 
depreciation of the plant — which is very little. Mr. 
Todman says it is probable that Mr. W. Sandys 
Thomas will shortly adopt electrioal transmission as 
a means of utilising the water on his estate at lindula, 
where there is a good fall. Mr. Thomas questioned 
him about the matter while he was up-country, and 
seemed favorably impressed with the idea. 
" Pioneers of the Colony." — It will be seen 
from the announcement in a special Supplement 
(iesued with the last issue) that we purpose interrup- 
ting this series of biographies and portraits in our 
monthly periodical — to be resumed (d.v.) at a later 
date. Already in the first series, we!have dealt with 
Sir Edward Barnes, g.o.b.; Major Skinner, c.m.g. ; 
A. M. Ferguson, cm g,; O, Elliott, m. d.; R. B. Tytler; 
Andrew Niool ; John Walker ; John Gavin ; 
Gabriel and Maurice Worms ; and Wm. Budd, 
senior ; and we have yet to give James Taylor of 
cinchona and tea fame ; Thomas Wood of Spring 
Valley as representing Uva ; and perhaps Alex- 
Brown, one of the earliest and staunchest sup- 
porters, of the Planters' Association. We have 
also portraits ready of Alex- Campbell White, one 
of our earliest and most extensive proprietary 
planters and G. H. K. Thwaites, whose oareer as 
Direotor of the Peradeniya and Hakgalla Gardens 
waB very closely identified with our Planting Enter- 
prise, more especially with the beginnings in 
oinohona and tea. But these we may reserve along 
with, we hope, among others, F. R. Sabonadiere, 
Capt. Payne Gallwey, Capt. John Keith Jolly, 
F. Hadden, W. B. Swan, John Brown, of En- 
gineering as well as Planting and Uva Com- 
pany fame, E. B. Downall, Wm. Grant, and 
others of looal fame in a bygone d*y, for 
a second series of Pioneers. The first volume — 
and a handsome if oharaateristio illustrated book, 
the separate collection should prove, — will thus 
oonsibt of either 13 or 14 biographies and portraits. 
We regret being unable hitherto to obtain photo- 
graph or portrait of Geo. Bird or Major Rogers to 
oollotype and wemust therefore in the cooond series, 
give biographioal notifies of them without portraits. 
— The Distriot Planting Gazetteer and Maps that 
are to follow should interest and edify every 
planter in the island as well as afford in- 
teresting reading to retired Colonists aud other 
friends of the Colony. 
The Tea Output in Natal. — The tea report 
for the current Beason supplied by Mr. Drummond, of 
Kearsooy, (aee page 119) if, says the Mercury, 
h'ghly satisfactory, The output from Kearsney alone 
totals 450,000 lb. and the total output for the Colony 
is calculated to reaoh the original estimate of 
690,000 1b. This is a substantial increase on last 
year's output, and as two new faotories will be 
eetablished next September it ia very likely th»t 
next year the increase will be even greater. As Mr. 
Drummond points out, however, there is a much 
more important thing to ooijsider than a mere increase 
of quantity. Improved quality is the greatest of all 
desiderata and to this end every effort should bo 
made. Quantity is a useless aim if the quality is 
inferior, and if the improvement in the output is 
gained at the expense of quality, so far from the 
tea industry progressing it will assnredly go back 
and finally be run out of the market by the superior 
quality of the imported article. This cannot be too 
strongly impressed upon our planters, and they 
will be wise if they banish from their minds all 
idea of the present protection they enjoy and work to 
improve the quality of their teas as conscientiously 
as they would if the imported artiole were free of duty. 
Coffee in Central Africa : Pulpers sent out 
by Gordon & Co. — The interest taken in the future 
of Central Africa by your readers will not be lessened 
by the aotive part taken by your late Governor in 
the House of Peers, in disoussing the East African 
railway projeot.* Feeling this to be the case I 
have plaoed myself in communication with Messrs. 
John Gordon & Co., coffee merchants, who, I 
learn, have forwarded pulpers to the Blantyre Mission, 
and other parties looatsd in the great Central plateau 
a'ong which the African Lakes Trading Company of 
Glasglow is carrying on operations. This firm of 
engineers gladly informed me of all they knew in re- 
gard to coffee-planting operations in that as well as 
i'i other parts of the world, for the senior partner is 
brother to Wm. Gordon — formerly of Berradewella, 
iuMatale — with whom I made a vojage to London in 
1850-1, under the care of Captain Linton, so that 
1 needed but little introduction to the firm. Yes, 
they replied in answer to my enquiry they had 
shipped a number of pulpers to the Afrioan Lakes 
territory ; but they were unable to give me any 
information as to the number of ooffee planta- 
tions under cultivation. With regard to the age 
of the oldest coffee under European supervision, the 
first patch of coffee opened experimentally is now 
fully a dozen years old. It was planted by a member 
of the Blantyre Mission, mainly in orJer to supply 
their own wants, as coffee was better calculated to 
enable them to resist attacks of fever than tea ; but as 
a matter of fact fever was scarcely known in the 
Lakes distriot, though there had been cases in other 
localities during the rainy season. They had no in- 
formation as to the yield of coffee in the Blantyre dis- 
trict ; but it should be very liberal now that a regular 
system of cultivation of the bushe' was being oarried on 
both there and in the adjacent districts. There did not 
appear to be any want of labour on the estates. Of 
course the question of transport was a serious matter 
over such a long distanoe ; but the Shiie river had 
cow cargo steamers on it, and beyond that roads bad 
been cut, i,e , fairly passable tracks for porters, but 
not for vebioles. The state of things compelled them 
to make their machine oastiDg3of small size eapable 
of be ng carried by one or two porter?. In reply 
to my enquiry whether any peeling machinery had 
been forwarded to the Lakes country, I was informtd 
that none had as yet gone, all the crop being carried 
to the ooast in the parchment, as it would he riskiug 
damage to the coffee beans to send them ou eueh a 
long and uncer'aiu jouiney without the protection 
of the skin. There is a good deal of business done 
in London in cleaning Central Afric»n coffee for 
the market, and the artiole now commands upwards 
of a hundred shillings por owt. for ordinary samples. 
— Local " Times." 
* East and Central Africa— Uganda and Blantyre 
ara very wido apart.— Ed. T,A. 
