Dec. j, 1894.] 
THE TROPICA!- AGRICULTURIST 
TEA COMPANY DEBENTURES. 
By the way, talking recently on the subject 
of Ceylon Tea Company's debentures generally, 
it was observed to me that most of them pay 
far too high a rate on these. Thus the Ceylon 
Tea Plantation Company recently sold its deben- 
ture to pay 7 per cent. Now, we are assured that 
it is possible, in all cases where the estate pro- 
perty is good and unencumbered, to get the 
money at four per cent without difficulty. In 
the case of the Ceylon Tea Plantation Company 
this latter rate would certainly have sufficed. It 
can only be presumed that in its case it was felt 
that the whole of the debentures would be taken 
up by shareholders, and that, therefore, it was only 
an instance of " robbing Peter to pay Paul." It 
seems to me, however, that the payment of an 
unnecessarily high rate for debentures is a course 
that it cannot be in most cases desirable to 
adopt. It weakens the position of the property 
in public estimation. — London Cor. 
Moisture 
Oil 
CRUSHED COTTON-SEED. 
(Prepared by Patented Process.) 
Copij of Analysis an I Rzport. 
Albuminous compounds (fresh-forming matters) 
Mucilage, sugar, and digestible carbo-hydrates 
(heat and fat producing compounds) 
Indigestible woody fibre (cellulose) 
Mineral nutters 
Containing nitrogen 
„ sand 
— Facts and Conjectures. 
9-55 
21-30 
22 37 
24-63 
6-85 
5 30 
100-00 
3-58 
•30 
DRUG REPORT. 
(From Chemist and Druyylst.) 
London, November 1st. 
Caffeine.— The manufacturers' quotations are quite 
nominal at present. Small second-hand lots have been 
sold this week at 12s Od, and afterwards at 14s per lb. ; 
citrate is quoted nominally at 13s per lb. A report 
is current today that 15s per lb has been paid for 
pure Caffeine and that since then a bid of ltis has been 
refused. 
Cinchona.— In accordance with the decision recently 
arrived at, there have been no cinchona auction in London 
this week. A consignment of 24 serous genuine hard flat 
wild Cahsaya bark has just arrived, and will be offered at 
next I liursday s drug auctions. 
Coca-lkavk.s.— Our stock has recently become a good 
deal smaller, a fair trade having taken place in this 
drug. Bolivian (Huanoco-leaves) good strong green mixed 
have been selling at Is 4d ; thin broken greenish Trux- 
illo at lod per lb. The exports of cocoa-leaves from 
Java amounted to 34 cases in July, and 30 cases in 
August last. 
Kola. -The rise has made a little further progress. 
I- our packages West Indian kolas were offered at Wednes- 
day^ drug-auctions, arid sold with good competition at 
}?Jv\ ! >el ' "\ " r «'"', "Old dry, and Is 4d per lb for fair 
qiu bty Small parcels of this drug are now frequently 
included 111 the weekly spice auctions 
hssEsrui. OILS. -Reports from Ceylon state that, owing 
to the extraordinary drought which prevails in the 
•hief cinnamoii-growing districts of the island, the crop 
of cinnamon for the coming year is likelv to be a total 
SmJS'-foSt 8 ft 8 *' S 0 *"** 5 ,lffect the Quotations CWoUfe 
Uri.Nl.x.K.-No business whatever is reported this week. 
' »;'! • "" ,, :" ,I ' , -, ,,L ' <l"ito possible to buv second- 
Hand German at 1 1 |.l per oz on the spot. 
KHITISM CENTRAL A ERICA AND COFFEE 
PLANTING, &c. 
The following fa the main portion of the re- 
port in the GlnsgawiHerdcld of an interview with 
Mr. Alex. Whyfce, formerly of Kandy, and so well- 
known in Ceylon : — 
The country is undulating, consisting of plains 
alternating with plateaus, which are at an elevation 
of from 3,003 to 4,000 feet above the level of the 
sea. On the plateaus the air is comparatively cool, 
and, naturally, these are the healthiest parts ; but, 
taking the country generally, Mr. Whyte cannot as 
yet pronounce it to be healthy for Europeans, many 
of whom are stricken with fever even when resident 
on the plateaus. In the low-lying lands, especially 
near the rivers, the climate is still more unhealthy. 
The prevalent disease is the malarial fever 
which is so common in Africa. Attacks of it are 
frequent, but as a rule recovery is speedy. Some- 
times, however, the disease assumes the virulent form 
of black-water fever, which often terminates fatally. 
The rainfall is not excessive, ranging from 60 to 70 
inches in the year, and the wet and the dry months are 
about equal in number. The soil, which is covered 
to a large extent with forest, but is also clothed 
with grass both on the plains and on the plateaus, 
ia so fertile that plants indigenous to different zones 
hive been grown alongside each other at Zomba, 
which is situated between Lake Shirwa and Lake 
Nyassa, and near the Upper Shire. Barley, oats, 
wheat, and English potatoes are growing equally 
well with Indian corn, bananas, and pine apples. 
Indeed, every kind of tropical and sub-tropical plant 
flourishes in this region. At present the principal 
products of the country are coffee and tobacco. The 
latter was cultivated by the natives long before the 
British settled in the land, and now Messrs. Buchanan 
Brothers are growing large quantities of it. Most of 
the tobacco raised by them has been sent in the 
raw leaf state to Mincing Lane, London, for sale, 
but during the past two years, aided by improved 
machinery, they have been manufacturing cheroots. 
For these there is a ready sale among the Europeans 
resident in the district, of whom there are about 
200, including traders, planters, and the officials 
of the Administration. Several boxes of the 
cheroots have been sent to this country, and they 
are very satisfactory alike as regards quality and 
make. Climate and soil seem to be well adapted to 
the growth of coffee. Messrs. Buchanan have now 
some thirty estates devoted to its culture, and they 
export the coffee in large quantities to London 
where it is sold as Shire Highland coffee, and is 
considered to have a fine aroma. Mr. Whyte has 
great faith in cocoa doing well in certain places, 
and he intends to take out a supply of young plants 
when he returns to Zomba early next year. The 
blue gum, or eucalyptus, and other Australian trees 
of that order which have been planted in the country 
adapt themselves well to the climate, the eucalyptus 
trees having grown 40 feet, or one-fifth of their 
maximum height, in the course of two and a half 
years. The odour of these trees is found to have a 
very beneficial effect on the health of the people 
who dwell in their vicinity, and they are being ex. 
tensively planted. India-rubber trees and shrubs 
are numerous in the forests, and their sap is 
one of the increasing exports from Central 
Africa. The leading traders in the country are 
the African Lakes Company, Messrs, Buchanan 
Brothers, and Mr. Sharrer. The chief impediment 
to the development of the territory in the mean- 
time is the difficulty of transporting goods. At 
present these are carried on the heads of negroes to 
the Shire River, whence they are conveyed in small 
river steamers to Chundi, the seaport of the territory 
which is situated at the mouth of the Zambesi. An 
improvement in the modes of transport is, however, 
being steadily effected. The African Lakes Company 
and others are putting more steamers on the Z.uhIh si 
and the Shire' Rivers; and Commissioner Johnston 
has entered into negotiations with a syndicate con- 
nected with the African Lakes Company, the object 
being to get a railway constructed so as, if possible, 
to form a connection between the Lower Shire and 
Lake Nyassa, a distance of about loO miles, or at 
any rate to lay a railway past the cataracts, which 
extend for some 70 miles between the Upper and the 
