38a 
COFFEE PLANTING IN NORTH BORNEO. 
We have pleasure in calling attention to the 
interesting letter (see farther on) sent to us by Mr. 
W. B. Pryer (who is, we be'ieve, H. M. Consular 
Agent at Sandakan), and which gives our reader! 
the result of personal observation and expe- 
rience in refernnoe to planting operations there, 
The facts and figures afforded, certainty tell very 
strnnpthly io favour of North Borneo and to balance 
its greatnr distance from Europ an market?, ihrre 
is the more settled state of the countrb and better 
Government than can be found in some other of the 
now s^t'lements wbiah are springing up as plant- 
ing rivals. Our only wond-r is that with the 
reuins mentioned by Mr. Pryer, there has not 
been " u rush into coff>e" in North Borneo— more 
especially when our correspondent obj cts to our 
warning (based on Ceylon experience) that pi inters 
should wait thr-e years before taking a orop from 
their otffee bushep. in order to give the young 
trees pufficient time to ira'n'e. We can quite 
understand, however, that under speeibUy f ivourable 
circumstances of growth, due to rich virgin soil 
and a good climate, this precaution may not be 
necessary ; and, therefore, we hav* the prospect 
before planters of coffee in North Borneo of 
reaping a first harvest after thi second year — 
a very great encouragement, in the case of tropical 
cultivation. Here, then, is a new and desirable 
opening for those of our "creepers" (assistants 
learning planting in Ceylon) who. after their 
period of training is over, o«n cotiramd a little 
oapital. Let them take their training, exDerienoe 
Bnd oapital to Sanlnkan, North B roe. Luid is 
granted on the most favourable terms and cheap 
jHbour is available — what more is required? Only, 
before leaving Oeyhn. let these young Assistants 
get the needful prac'iral acquaintance tfitb, the 
planting, cultivation and preparation of coffee and 
caoao — and not oonfino their attention to our staple 
tea, of which about enough is already pi inted. 
TEA IN JAPAN. 
The Tea trade has not bren brisk, but this is 
more due to the pauoity of the stock than to lack 
of demand, as buyers pick up all the good parcels 
of leaf that come to hand at recent figures. — 
Japan Mail, Sept. 22 
DRUG REPOKT. 
(From Chemist and Drug/jut.) 
London, Oct. 4th. 
Caffeine. — The manufacturers' prices— «s foreshadowed 
in our last rep ri — have be n advnrjced. The extent of the 
rise is a out 2a per lb., jure caffeine being now quoted, 
according to q antity, at f om ye 6d to 9j 9d, citrate at 
fr. m 8s 6d to us ad per lb. 
Cinchona — The cinchona-bark shipments from Java 
during the first month of the new season (Jul)) have been 
as under : — 
1894 18 3 1*92 1891 1890 
Amst. Ainst- Ainst. Amst. Ainst. 
lb. lb. lb. lb. lb. 
Govt. Plan- 
tation 8^,538 96,172 10,1 2 60,990 1 2,487 
Priva'e Plan- 
tation 573.S67 €92,168 268,932 1,103,173 373,055 
T. tal 657,105 788,610 279,094 1,164,161 38-/12 
There has been another arrival of flat Bolivian Cali- 
saya whi h will be > ffered for sa'e at the next druj;- 
auctiona. 
COCOA-BTJTTEH.— At ih" miction on Tuesday 600 5-cwt. 
C»B6i cf C»dbur>'s cocoa-b' tier so'd at 13d to IJfd per lb. 
and in Holland to to. is of Vm Houtfn's brand realised 
72c. per h-lf-kiD, whi h is cqujl to about Kid per lb. in 
London, 
CcBEBa — TI.e Amsterdam market r- mains very flat. : fc 
bales have chmeed band* lately a' from fuc to M» it-qual 
to 3<a 6d to 4*a pr cwt 1 ae. or ing to qnallty. 
Essential Oii> — Oil of l»mor,era»" fair oatlva fcrairV 
effert at lid per oi., ditto ettro-ella a* fl p-r or 
The n»w I tali m enaeot al ols «r* rot l^ioa- anr4<4 
yet, bu' owioe to the advance Id th» eachaare h'eh>-r 
prl bt are asked for lemon, orange, and bergamui 
oil*. 
QuIkike. — At the end of Wat week tha q Mm -market 
waa very active, »N»llt 7" / a.- hi, i Serosal • n'k 
Mline at fr<.ii, i ..1 f, IM p-r ot. on toe ap t. Sine* 
tii' i. do ui.ii.<--a has be*n r*p rtet. and there are u»w 
sel|ere, but no buyirs. at I d | t>i i .-, 
NOTES FROM SKLANftOR. 
( RY A CbyLOKBSE ) 
Since the British occupation of the Ma'ava Pea- 
insula the immigration of Ceylone<>e to tbia part 
of the globe baa been very •trairjy. At present there 
are more than a thousand aoola employed in differ, 
ent walk* of life, Of thi* number the Jnffneie form the 
majority. They are employed as extractor*, surveyors 
Niation-mastera, clftka, nvera**r», dispensers, dressers 
&C The number of Sinhalese though few atill aur- 
j i-.-c- that of the Oe> lou Eurasian*. Th* cultivating, 
of ce ffee ia carried on to a greaUrr xtent tban hitherto 
and manv acrea of jungle land are being bong hi, 
cleared and utilized for the planting of Litwrian 
ctiffee. The fmc'ion of laying tbe foundation atone 
of a Liu. 'dim' Temple came off las' mouth and it 
was performed by Mr*. Spooner, the wife of our worthy 
Slate Engineer, at tbe request of the .Sinhalese 
Buddl.iata in the presence of a (arte gathering. 
Mr. Treacher, our British Resident, was ettertained 
at dinner by the leading Chinese on bia departure 
boms with his family. Mr- Rodger, 'he Acting 
Government Secretary, ia acting for bim. Mr. and 
.Mr-. Spooner arts in the Northern part of India 
where they went for a change and will be baek 
shortly. H. E. tiie Governor paid three via<ts to 
Selansor. the last in connection with tbe opening of 
tbe Kuala Kubu Section of tbe railway and tb*. lay- 
ing of tbe foundation stone of the New OoverLment 
Office. 
ELEPHANTS THAT WORK. 
The display of trained animals, broken for show 
purposes, cannot offer the slightest comparison in 
interest to the trained elephant one sees in the 
city of Mouliuein, British Burmah. The most absorb- 
ingly entertaining feature of the novel eight- is the 
paradoxically industrial character which the work 
of these huge Indian pachyderms aeaumefi. It 
hardly seems possible that the work of a saw-mill, 
usually done by human hands, could be accom- 
plished through the medium of the elephant's trunk 
and the elephant's sagacity ; nevertheless, it is a 
fact that the Trawadi Steamshp Company uses seme 
40 to ">0 elephants in the operation of its saw-mills at 
Moulirrein. and the teakwood so largely entering 
into the consrtuction of ships is here made ready for 
the hands of the artisan. A gentleman, lately re- 
turned from a tour of the East, gives an interest- 
ing account of the manner in which the mills are 
operated. The logs are chopped in the interior 
and floated several hundred miles do/m the -Sal- 
win River to the milL which is situated on the 
banks of the stream at Moulmein. Hero the i logs 
are formed into a boom, and henceforth the work 
of . transporting is done by the elephants. The bodm 
is very similar to those seen in the lumbering^dis- 
tricts of Wisconsin and Michigan, but instead of- 
tha sight of men, brightly garbed in red and blue,', 
running from log to log, and moving, them with 
long steel-pointed poles, we see great ponderous; 
elephants wading and swimming among the teak 
longs, and pushing them towards the shore. The. 
logs are not sawn directly from the water, . but 
are first seasoned; and thra elephants not only bringt 
the logs from the water to tho land,. but also stack them 
in huge piles, convey them to the mill, saw theui,' 
and afterwards pile the lumber. Of course, each 
elephant performs only certain parts of the worjj 
