Jan. i, 1895.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
several centres where they would likely to be kept 
carefully. Our average over all parts of the High- 
lands I should say, was 55 inches ; last year however, 
or rather last wet season was higher, but the rains 
this year appear to be rather delayed, and rain is 
badly wanted. We have had a plague of locusts, a 
thing not known for 16 years, and it is to 
be hoped will not be known for another 16 years. 
They however have done very little damage to the 
coffee, but may cause a famine next year, and most 
of the " older heads " expect one and are buying 
up food from the people who shortly may be starv- 
ing. This is the African nigger all over. He lives 
in the present " and cares not what the next day 
may bring forth." What food he has left, he makes 
native beer of and gets happily drunk with his wife 
and children. As long as he has a small piece of 
clolh to cover his nakedness, and a handfull of 
Indian corn per diem, he is happy. He is not un- 
like, in some parts of the country, the Vedda. On 
one occasion in company with Mr. Brown, we tried 
a new road up the Mlangi plateau, and came on 
people who were not a whit behind the Vedda and 
who bolted on our approach yelling out " wah, 
wah," leaving their miserable huts and a few 
miserable fowls at our tender mercies, only two 
were left behind, an old woman and a young 
boy who were rolling over and over with pains 
in their stomachs, a double sedlitsz powder 
into each, however, had the same effect as Beecham's 
Pills on the "Arab Chief" spoken of by Burnaby, 
on his ride to Khiva. 
Mr. Carson has come here at a bad time to see 
the country. It is very dreary looking, annually the 
grass is burnt by the natives. (In fact I have seen 
lightning set it on fire), and now everything is 
brown and ugly, the locusts not having improved 
the scenery. 
I have not long returned from surveying the 
Cataract region of the Shire. (59i miles). I had a 
lovely time down there but on leaving for here the 
malaria I got, came out in the terribly cold 
climate that was experienced when I came up and I have 
hardly got over it yet. The whole length of the 
Falls is simply wonderful, and I had the pleasure 
of discovering some new falls and cataracts, and of 
being the first white man since Livingstone to have 
passed up the whole way. It was most interesting work, 
not a single " reach " of the river was dull, any amount 
of hippopotamuses and crocodiles and fair buck shoot- 
ing on the banks, but I had little time for sport, food 
was the only object and I find that hippo meat is 
the best in this section of Africa unless some 
body who can, kill a bullock. I'm always round 
them clamouring for 2 or 3 hundred pounds of it. 
I am a Town Councillor of the new and rising 
Town of Blantyre ! "We are trying to make a con- 
stitution, but like everything else, something or some- 
body stops the way. — October 23rd 1894, — I have 
accepted the Government Surveyorship again but my 
partner is allowed to go on with the outside work, 
which means all private work; I sticking to the 
Government certificates etc. I shall have to go down 
to a pretty warm climate shortly. I hear it is 113' 
in tho shade, but I prefer warmth to cold. 
PROSECUTION UNDER THE TRADE 
MARKS ORDINANCE. 
THE ACCUSED CONVICTED. 
MILLER VS. VYAMUN PULLEY. 
Judgment was delivered recently by Mr. Grenier in 
the case in which the accused was charged with selling 
spurious cigars purporting them to be " Spencers' 
Bcaconsfields." At the trial Mr. Advocate Dornhovst 
specially authorised appeared for the prosecution with 
Mr. Dias, Crown Counsel. Mr. Bawa instructed by Mr. 
Narayanasamy appeared for the accused. The witnes- 
ses examined wero M easrs. Spicer of Miller & Co. Short 
of Spencer iv Co. IngUton and Don Nicholas, Mr, Gie- 
nur stated that after carefully considering the pro- 
M'hticm which was a novel one and the first 
under the Ordinance, he was of opiniou that the 
accused had committed a serious offence. The accused 
had sold inferior cigars made either by himself or by 
others, under a certain trade mark which belonged 
to Messrs. Spencer & Co. which practically amounted 
to stealing another's trade mark. That the whole 
case depended on the evidence of Don Nicholas who 
stated that he asked for Spencer's Beaconsfields 
when he was given the box produced, and 
the accused was present and received the money 
by which he made himself punishable under the Or- 
dinance. The expert evidence in the case proved 
that the cigars sold were much inferior to Spencer's 
cigars. The accused was therefore convicted of the 
charge laid against, him and he was sentenced to pay 
a fine of two hundred rupees. He was further ordered 
to pay the costs incurred for the prosecution of the 
case. 
The accused filed an appeal against his conviction. 
DRUG REPORT. 
(From Chemist and Druggist.) 
London, November 29. 
Caffeine. — Quiet, and tending slightly easier, although 
19s per lb is siill asked for it on the spot. Very little 
business has been transacted in the drug this week. The 
American market is described as follows under date of 
November 17th : — " This is still something of a puzzle to 
the trade. The price has appreciated considerably since 
our last, 10 lb having sold- at $7 75, §8 being p:\id for 
5 lb. In Philadelphia it is reported that small lots of 
1 or 2 lb can be had at §6"50 to $6'75, though in the 
face of this there are orders in New York from that city 
at higher limits. Although there is a scarcity, it appears 
that some consumers who have been taking goods on 
contract are willing to sell small lots at the high prices 
ruling, trusting to replace later at a lower figure. Higher 
price s are looked for, and some stock is, without doubt, 
being held out of the market in anticipation of a further 
advance." It is stated that the British caffeine makers 
are at present using common grades of tea as raw ma- 
terial in the place of the sweepings. 
Cocaine. — On Monday last the price of Hydrochlorate 
of cocaine was raised by the German manufacturers from 
16s to 17s per oz for parcels of at least 100 oz. The de- 
mand for cocaine is said to be very good, while the 
supply of the crude material is falling off. All the 
crude cocaine in Hamburg is said to have been cleared. 
One of the German makers who had lately been in the 
habit of under-selling his colleages, has now entered the 
convention. 
Kola. — At Wednesday's price sales 2 packages of good 
but rather small West Indian seeds realised the fairly high 
price of Is tid per lb. 
TEA "TABLOIDS." 
Messrs. Burroughs, Welcome, and Co., the well- 
known firm of manufacturing chemists, of Holborn- 
viaduct, have introduced a novelty in the tea trade in 
the shape of compressed tea tabloids. Mr. John 
Roger, who is taking charge of the department for 
the manufacture of tabloids, has been for many years 
a tea planter in Ceylon ; and he informed our repre- 
sentative that when he first started planting tea in 
that country in the year 1SS0 the total export was only 
100,000 lb., whereas now it reaches the enormous 
quantity of 90 millions of pounds. So great an in- 
crease could not have been effected in so short a 
space of time had it not been that the coffee planters 
experienced such bad times that they were obliged to 
give up their gardens, and the ground prepared for 
coffee was taken up by tea planters, who were thus 
saved the expense, trouble, and delay of preparing 
ground, making roads, and so forth. Mr. Roger says 
that the increased demand for tea has had the effect 
of inducing the planters to use many parts of the 
plant that were formerly not considered good enough. 
In the early days of tea planting only the very small- 
est leaves, the buds, and tops of the plant were used ; 
but now it has been found profitable to pluck a 
greater number of leaves, including even some of the 
largest and thickest. 
By the process of preparing the leaf prior to com- 
pression the injurious portion of the tea is rejected, 
and only that which has boon properly prepared is 
