460 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Jan. i, 1895. 
pendent on abundant moisture ? The following is 
the table we refer to : — 
1893. 
1894. 
January 
3-81 
1-81 
February . . 
4-78 
•63 
March 
1176 
890 
May 
15'09 
B*43 
1023 
320 
June 
1269 
16-74 
July 
1013 
3-24 
August 
312 
242 
September . . 
1-44 
1-40 
October 
7-79 
11-44 
November . . 
5-83 
762 
December . . 
3-65 
100-32 
63-83 
VARIOUS PLANTING NOTES. 
Coconuts. — The crop of nuts now being 
gathered, we learn, is generally short, owing to 
the drought of September-October 1893. A very 
short crop, indeed, must, therefore, be due from 
June to October 1895, seeing the long and severe 
drought experienced this year between these 
months. It takes twelve months for the coconuts 
to mature from the small seed : these if formed 
during a drought usually drop of!. 
Coffee Lands in Eastern Java.— We direct 
the ^'attention of planting capitalists to the im- 
portant advertisement in the Obsercer from 
Mr. Lidgerwood of Soerabaya, Java. The estate 
and forest land offered for sale are situated, we 
understand, in the vicinity of the investments 
already made by Ceylon planters and others, 
among whom we may mention Messrs. Starey, 
Talbot and Fairweather. The fact of there 
being such pioneer investors may be a strong 
inducement with others to look to Eastern Java 
for coffee land. 
Ceylon Tea in America.— Mr. A. H. Thomp- 
son, Broker, has received from an old friend in 
New York, a series of Tea Sales' Catalogues (as 
arranged for the " Montgomery Rooms " so often 
referred to in our columns), together with sam- 
ples of Ceylon teas sold there. The prices are 
given in cents of a dollar (each cent equal to 
about |d) and the best Ceylon only fetched 18 
cents or 9d. Mr. Thompson has also got samples 
of the Indian and Formosa Ooloongs for compari- 
son, and these should be rather interesting at 
this time. The Ceylon delegate will give the 
subject his attention, doubtless, before he starts. 
Coconuts in Florida must flourish exceed- 
ingly if they yield as thus described : — 
The coconut blooms every 28 days, and each blos- 
som puts out a bunch of nuts that are ripe in about 
sis months, and will fill a barrel with the husk ou. 
Like hickory nuts, walnuts, &c, the nuts fall when 
ripe. As a rule, the coconut tree drops a nut nearly 
every day, or, at least, 200 a year. The blossoms 
com* out every 28 days, yet the coconuts from each 
blossoming ripen irregularly. We have trees here 
at Fort Myers ovei-30 years old, and have nuts on 
them in all stages, from the blossom to the ripe nuts. — 
Farmer and Fruit Grower. 
We believe, if carefully checked, 100 nuts would be 
about the annual crop per tree, even for a few trees 
carefully tended : 60 is a high rate for a large 
flourishing plantation. 
Coca-leap— Mr. E. A. Holloway, of Torquay, in- 
forms tis that the popularity of his "coca-leaf" 
preparations is increasing, and he sends us specimens 
of wine, elixir, and lozenges to enable us to judge 
why that is so. All the articles are good, and have 
that not unpleasant taste of the coca-leaf, which 
Borne people prefer to tea. As Mr. Holloway will 
send samples to any chemist in business, we gladly 
recommend them to take advantage of the opportunity. 
*-Chemist and Druggist, 
COTTON-OIL REFINING IN CHARLESTON, TEXAS. — An 
impoitnnt and successful industry w .to established in 
Charleston a few yearn a^o, when the Mutual Ke- 
nning Company commenced the refining of cotton- 
seed oil. The company was organized in 1891. 
Its plant is situated within the city limits 
on the line of the North -Eastern Kaikoad, and 
it has excellent facilities for handling its product. 
So far as the nature of the business permits, the re- 
finery has been in continuous operation since the 
time of its organisation, and the results of its work 
so far have been satisfactory to the stockholders. — 
Cheiiti.it and Ih-uyyist. 
Agave Americana. — The agave is used as an edible 
in Mexico, and Mr. Carnegy, of Oudh. recommended 
it for use in India in time of famine. Experiments 
were made at the request of the Government of the 
North-West Provinces and Oudh ; but the report of 
these was not satisfactory : " The result of the 
experiments made here was to show that bo important 
addition to the foodstuffs of the people in times of 
famine would be furnished by this plant. The 
difficulty in dealing with it is to get rid of the very 
disagreeable flavour that both the cabbage and the 
flower stalk have in this country.'' — I'uhlic. Opinion. 
The Officer Administering the Government 
directs that it be notified in the "Gazette" for the 
information of natives of the island, who may pro- 
pose to leave Jamaica, in search of employment, that 
the Government has received official intimation that 
West Indian labourers on the Northern Railway at 
Port Barrios, in the Republic of Guatemala, are sub- 
jected to gross ill-treatment, including flogging. La- 
bourers intending to emigrate to G uateniala, are 
therefore warned hereby, that they may expect to be 
exposed to ill-usage, and, that in" proceeding to the 
Republic in question, they do so at their own risk.— 
Jamaica Post. 
Tea. — The property of the Selim Tea Company 
was put up for auction by the debenture holders on 
Saturday, and realised R2,V>5,000. This Company was 
floated "in February 1884, and was noticed in the 
Pioneer of 25th November 1884, and what was then 
prognosticated has come true. The capital was 10 
lakhs, and there were 5 lakhs of debentures at 8 per 
cent. On the 31st December 1893 there was due the 
debenture holders for interest R112.946, and the debit 
balance at profit and loss was E19C,153. There was 
also due the National Bank of India R80.658. The 
result of the sale will be that the debenture holders 
will get about 50 per cent of their money. The pro- 
spectus represented that the dividends would be 10 
per cent. — Pioneer, Nov. 20. 
A Ceylon Planter in Sumatra. — A private letter 
has been received in Colombo from Mr. John Inch 
late of Matale, and now in Sumatra in the employ 
of the British Deli and Langkat Tobacco Co. Ld., 
in the course of which he says : — " I arrived here 
safely on the 22d after an interesting passage. So 
far I have been travelling about looking for suitable 
land, and hope to begin operations soon. The Company 
has five estates comprising 26,000 acres, so there is 
a lot of land to choose from. The staff consists of 
one chief manager, six managers, twenty-six assistants, 
three accountants, one engineer, and a surveyor. Of 
the foregoing eight are British, only four Germans, 
and the rest Dutch. I feel very strange, but doubt- 
less shall get accustomed to the change before long.' 1 
— "Times of Ceylon." 
Flowers and Fruit in Central Africa. — It is 
reported that Mr. Scott Elliot, who at the beginning 
of the year was engaged by the Royal Society to make 
a botanical exploration in Central Africa, reached 
his destination a few weeks ago. His first report shows 
that the flora over the whole of this region up to an 
altitude of 6,000 feet remains unchanged, and points 
to the probability that it extends similarly down to 
the Zambesi. The Euphorbia and Erythrina are the 
most common trees, and the variety of plants is like- 
wise somewhat limited, the principal being an 
Acanthus, a plant richly ornamented with red spikes 
of flowers and large prickly leaves. The Banama 
supplies the wants of the people, but coffee and 
tobacco, and all other tropical plants could be grown 
if properly cultivated;— Journal oj iftm'cKftwre, Nov, 1 ( 
