68 4 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [ArklL i, 1895. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Central Province, March 14. 
Ceylon Tea Companies. — There can be no doubt 
that these have good times before them if exchange 
keeps under Is 2d, and prices don't go below bd per 
lb. Considering the many Companies that have been 
floated locally, there are only one or two that are 
not prosperous. Even these Companies are honestly 
and economically managed by their Agents 
and Diectors. There is no skhimshanking — to 
use a slang term. No one can help bad seasons, 
and I have never heard a word against the homi 
1id.es of Directors or Agents. From the article you 
quoted from the Spectator, the home Companies might 
take a leaf out ot our book. 
Company Reserves. — The accompanying cutting I 
think is worthy of insertion in your columns 
as it may interest shareholders of tea com- 
panies here who may have Directors planting 
their reserves in coconut property. What is the 
income of a Coconut estate proprietor per acre in a 
good district ? Multiply that by seven, and that 
should be the value of the coconut property.* It is 
on that basis Tea Companies' holdings are valued : — 
An " INQUIRED " in the Englishman expresses his indig- 
nation that- on receiving the Report of a Tea Company 
in which he is interested he finds an entry recording a 
transaction in jute shares ; he maintains that he invented 
his money in tea and not in jute. As a matter of fact, 
the Tea Company is probably in such a good condition 
as to have a reserve fund for investment, and the 
shareholder ought hardly to grumble if the directors see 
a good thing in jute. A bank shareholder might with 
almost equal justice grumble at seeing an account of 
Government Securities in the Hank's Bal nice-sheet ; he 
invested his money in banking not in Government paper ! 
^Madras Times, Jan. 30. 
Rains are very partial. In districts where they 
have had showers the flush is coming on well and 
all hands are busy. 
What has come over Cacao prices ? 00s per cwt. 
is a terrible drop. 1 am told, that the Ceyion and 
Java stocks which are slunipt together in Wiloon 
fcimithett's circular have very little Java included. 
The stocks mostly consist of poor Ceylon cocoa, 
Which mere is a difficulty in disposing of, when 
there is 60 much good stuff in stock ot other countries. 
Whatever is the reason ol our poor prices, may it 
soon vanish, even though it may make our Ceylon 
thieves mole eager to possess it. 
THE INDUSTRIES OF TONQUTN. 
The principal articles of trade of the province of 
Niuh-Binh are rice, cotton, silk, and mats, in the 
exports, and wood, rattan, and salted fish, in the 
imports. The Journal de la Chamhre de Commute, 
tie Constantinople says that the province produces a 
large quantity of cotton, a portion of which is prepared 
ana woven by the inhabitants, and the remainder 
purchased by the Chinese, and forwarded to Nam-Dinh, 
where it takes the Haiphong and Hong Kong route. 
A more important article of export at ordinary times 
is rice, and this trade is also in the hands of Chinese. 
Twice a year, at harvest time, the price of rice falls 
The growers are ail obliged to sell almost before the 
harvest is finished in order to pay the taxes and 
other liabilities, and to procure the necessaries of 
life, and it is only with great difficulty that they 
manage to keep sufficient rice for their personal needs. 
Then the reserves are gradually exhausted, and prices 
increase gradually until the new crop is harvested, 
It thus becomes necessary to have recourse to foreign 
imports of rice, which are heavily burdened with 
customs duties and other charges, including those of 
transport and manipulation. There exists in the pro- 
vince of Ninh Biuh only a few industries worthy of 
the name. In a few villages there are rude looms 
for weaving silk and cotton. At Phat-Diem and on 
the banks of the neighbouring streams there are 
places in which sampans and junks of plaited bamboo 
are turned out, and these are made of extreme 
lightness combined with great resisting power. They 
* Oh 1 Nonsense. The lule for Coconuls o ght 
certainly to be more liberalthan for Tea.— Ed. l.A, 
are capable, when of sufficient dimension, of carrying 
very heavy cargoes. In the cunton of Dong-Hai, 
which is adjacent to that of Kim-Sou. the inhabitants 
make mats of rush, with a white ground and designs 
of red flowers. These mats enjoy a very high re- 
putation on account of their solidity and workman- 
ship. A factory has recently been established by a 
Chinese company at Phat-Dn-m for the prodi.c'.ian of 
fine mats with varied designs and of brilliant 
colours, to be used as floor coverings and also for 
walls. This establishment, whnh wag started in 
December, 188;t, has at prest-ut in its employ fifteen 
Chinese and one hundred and four native workmen. 
The manager has recently applied for two huudied 
more Aunamite workmen, which is a proof of the 
development and prosperity of the industry. Mats 
made according to patterns sent from Hong K< ng 
are almost all forwarded to that place, where they 
are sold as local productions. Their usual price at 
Phat-Diein is eight dollars per roll of 40 metres with 
a width of i>0 centimetres. 
LEAD-COATED TEA-CHESTS. 
TO THE KDITOK OK THK "WKSTKKN Mill. ' 
Sik, — I was much pleased to read " Lead-Flate's " 
letter in Thursday s " Western Mail," and certainly 
think with him that something could be done by our 
tin-plate manufacturers to open up what would be 
practically a new industry, without further outlay on 
their part, a6 their existing machinery is well adapted 
for the making of tea-chests. It is not by any means 
a new idea the packing of tea in metal cases", as the 
first parcels of Ceylon tea shipped to this country were 
so packed ; but there were several objections to their 
general use which might be very easily overcome. 
Therefore, Mr. Editor, I would suggest your bringing 
your brainy men " again to the fore, and giving a prize, 
to which I have no doubt owners of tin-works would 
willingly subscribe, for a box that would meet the fol- 
lowing requirements : — Firstly, the boxes to be so made 
that they could be shipped from this country fiat, 
and easily opened upon reaching their destination ; 
Secondly, the lid or cover so arranged that it could 
aq quickly seemed and re-opened at will without 
damage to the box or lid. The metal cases that 
have ueen tried were so made that to open them 
meant a great deal of harm to the cases and they 
were not so easily re-coopered as the lead-lined 
wooden boxes. This caused a great deal of annoy- 
ance to the bonded stores warehousemen whenever 
it was necessary to open a boa to draw bulk samples 
for the trade ; besides, the cases became useless to 
our laige blending and packet tea merchants for 
re-packing purposes, competition in the tea trade 
being so keen at the present day as to compel mer- 
chants to re-pack their teas in the original tea boxes. 
Metal tea cases would, therefore, find favour with 
the merchant and grocer. With the one the large 
item of cost for coopering boxes under the present 
system would be done away with, and the other 
could make use of the chests as bins for storage 
purposes. Four sizes should be made, viz., to hold 
about 20 lb., 40 lb.. 601b., 100 lb. of tea.— I am, Ac, 
E. B. NASH. 
Merthyr. 
THE AGRICULTURE OF HONDURAS. 
The agricultural products of the Republic of 
Honduras, most of which are capable of considerable 
extension, are tobacco, sugar, maize, wheat, coffee, 
potatoes, indigo, cocoa, bananas, indiarnbber, and 
pita (the fibrous pioduct of the agave tree), used by 
the native population in the manufacture of ham- 
mocks, ifcc. In former times the forests constituted 
the principal agricultural wealth, lumber consisting 
chiefly of its world-renowned mahogany, being exported 
on a large scale to the United States and Europe, 
but the industry has not flourished of late years, 
owing to want of enterprise. Her Majesty's Consul- 
General at Guatemala says, that an endless variety 
of fruit trees is found in the Republic, most of which 
are indigenous to the soil, and form, in addition tg 
