May i, 1895. j 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
portion of finsr Broken Pekoes we would guard against 
the other extreme of too small and dusty a leaf. 
The results for 039 Estates which have sold 20,000 
lb. and over in London, are tabulated, and we 
quote again : — 
The highest average realised was Is 4|d per lb. by 
Ormidrle — only per lb. below that of 180I-3, fol- 
lowed by Is '2;]d per lb. for both St. Leonards and 
for Carlabeck. Any comparison of the St. Leonards' 
result with the previous year's is invidious, as this 
estate only commenced sending its teas to the London 
market in the Autumn of 18'Jo, when quality was 
finest and the market highest. 
Comparison of the results obtained in the differ- 
ent districts also furnishes conclusive evidence that 
the lower general average of the year was due to 
the lower rates obtaining for tea for "price." In the 
higher districts the results shew but little change, 
wheieas in the heavier yielding districts of low and 
mean elevation, substantial reductions in value had 
to be accepted. 
We now proceed to quote a few of the chief 
marks under each head : — 
Over 
;oo,ooo lb. 
Av. price per lb. 
About lb. 
1894. 
Diyagama 
II 
753,000 
10(1 
UJd 
K.A.W. 
.. UM 
510,0,:G 
8 Id 
fed 
bid 
G'alaha 
.. M 
068,000 
8}d 
Mariawatte (C'l'PC) 
.. M 
050,' '00 
7Jd 
7Jd 
200,000 ll> 
to :"0 1,00!) 11). 
Ueafold 
.. 11 
212,500 
Is Old 
Is Id 
Waverlcv (< Tl'C) 
.. 11 
312,000 
u|a 
Is 
Wallaha ICTPO) 
11 
349,000 
lid 
njd 
Great Western 
.. 11 
258;(100 
lid 
10(1 
l.e Vallou 
.. H.M 
234.0U0 
lid 
8i}d 
Hautevllle 
H 
433,000 
iojd 
Hid 
Kast Holyrood (CTJ 
<J) u 
2S3,Oi>0 
10'jfU 
10id 
Gleudevon (OBEC) 
H 
252,000 
ioi 
lUd 
Iuvery (S!TC) 
It 
202,000 
10:|d 
lOA-d 
1 00,0u0 to 200,000 11>. 
St. Leonards (ST Co. 
of (J) 
.. llil 
. 1SS.4 '0 
Is 2:d 
Is sjd 
Cioatfell 
H 
124,000 
is lia 
Is O.'.d 
Dessford 
H 
140,1)00 
is o;a 
Is l;d 
Tangakolly (CTPC) 
. II 
100.000 
11:J(1 
Hid 
Norwood (K.PKC) 
H 
101,000 
n:;d 
Is 0|d 
50,000 lb. 
In Kill. Hill) 11). 
( >rmidalo 
.. H 
53,500 
Is I'd 
Is 4jd 
lai'labeck 
H 
59,000 
Is 2;d 
Is 
Holmwood 
H 
94,500 
is ijd 
11 kl 
Silverkandy 
.. HH 
50,000 
Is Ifd 
lOJd 
Dambagastalawa 
.. H 
57,500 
82,000 
Is Id 
Hid 
Portswocul 
.. 1111 
is OJd 
Is 
Sumtvavalle 
H 
78,500 
is o;d 
lojd 
Iielliebedde 
.. H 
80,000 
llj'd 
is o J ,d 
20,0011 to .30,000 lb. 
Fleetwood 
u 
23,500 
Is 
Sid 
1'onrmagong 
.. 1111 
40,00 • 
11 Ul 
Is 0:| d 
Xhotulagalla 
11 
20,500 
Hid 
(j)asgow 
.. 11 
28,000 
llld 
lid 
lloll-rook 
11 
40,500 
IOI d 
VVe reserve the long detailed list for a Special 
Siijiplcment. In their "Estimated yield and aver- 
age price for different Ceylon Districts", Dim- 
Imla conn s first with 12-Ji million and the high 
average of LOd. Nuwara Eliya., Maturatfa and 
rdapussolawa having the same average tin- :i 
million, and BogawaiitaHwa also with . '5 million lb. 
showing 9§'d average ; Dikoya 5 million ami 
!)d average and so on down to Gallc with 290,000 
lb. forGAd: Inrespect of "Home Consumption," 
the figures for China, .Java, Sc.', have fallen 
from 10f),91'8>000 lb. in 18S4to 25, 805,000 in 1894; 
while India and ami ( V\ Ion liav'C risen from 
03,038,000 lb. to I88,53pj000 or 88 per cent of the 
total consumption. VVhat we have chiefly -to aim 
at now is to secure the same results in Austra- 
lasia ami America —and we believe they arc bound 
to conic ! 
LtHEA l'ir.KK. -We {Iiu/itut Engineer) have re- 
ceived from the Midlands spinning Company, of 
Long Eaton, Derbyshire, samples of their pre- 
paration of lthc.i or Ramie Eibre, and of fabrics 
made with it. 'I'd one who has seen the Lihea 
plant it seems marvellous how the beautifully 
Silky jams wo have before us can be produced. 
COFFEE PLANTING AND HEALTH IN 
BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA: 
N Y ASS ALAN D — AN D ITS FIRST "COFFEE 
COMPANY " FROM CEYLON. 
"We owe an apology to Mr. J. H>. Carson of 
Haputale whose letter appeared in our yesterday's 
issue, for delaying to notice its contents and 
especially the request that we should give our 
readers some idea of the contents of the Report 
recently issued by Commissioner Johnston, C.B. , 
on the British Central African territory under 
his charge. Our responsibility is the greater, be- 
cause we believe we have received the only copies 
of the said Report (issued by the Foreign Cilice) 
which have as yet reached Ceylon, ami because 
it is not only comprehensive in all that should 
be looked for in an ollicial document covering 
an experience of several years, but is also full 
of information of special interest to our planting 
community. Our excuse for the delay is 
that we have had special work in hand 
while absent from our desk, aud that latterly 
we have desired to review the Report 
simultaneously with a volume (kindly placed 
at our disposal by a friend) on British Central 
Africa by Mr. John Buchanan, C.M.G., the very 
first pioneer of coffee in that territory. Both 
the book and Report have now been carefully 
read over and marked by us ; but we must delay a 
full review, in order at once to meet the re- 
quirement of Mi'. Carson and others that we 
should publish wdiat Mr. Johnston lias to say 
about "coffee" and "health" as the very latest 
authoritative utterances -on the subject. We may, 
however, premise that while the whole territory 
dealt with in this Report is equal to 220,000 
square miles (or eight Geylons), but with a scattered 
population of not more than 21 million (of whom less 
than 240 are Europeans), the coffee planting 
lands as yet taken up, is confined to two or at 
most three divisions, situated in what we should 
certainly consider to be the healthiest portion 
of the country. Moreover, distinctly favourable 
as we are to the success of the Ceylon Coffee 
Company which has arisen out of the special 
enter prize of Mr. Carson in visiting and 
taking up land in Central Africa, we 
would further refer back to the letter and 
meteorological returns of Mr. James Moir, 
recently reviewed by us ; because .Mr. Moir's 
estate of Lauderdale is located in that same 
Mlanje district in which the new Company's land 
is situated. Waving all further preface, let us, 
however, at once reprint Verbatim Mr. Johnston's 
deliverance on "Coffee" with its carefully 
guarded, if not indeed, rather perplexing refer- 
ences on one or two points : — 
A portion of British Central Africa has come into 
prominence lately from the introduction and culti- 
vation of coffee. Undoubtedly, the fact may now be 
regarded as proved that the greater part of British Cen- 
tral Africa is admirably adapted by soil and climate to 
the cultivation of coffee, which indeed might very 
well become universal, for while the ordinary 
form of coffoe does not flourish well below 
an altitude of 1,800 feet, the large Liberian 
coffee prospers only at lower altitudes in the hot 
plains. It would almost seem as though the welfare 
of this Protectorate will be first founded on its coffee 
plantations, and the fact should lie recorded for nil 
time that this great boon is owed to the energy 
and enterprise of Mr. John Buchnnan, c.m.o. Mr. 
Buchanan first came to Central Africa as a horti- 
culturist attached to the Church of Scotland Mission. 
Ho brought with him a small coffee plant f:om the 
Edinburgh Botanical Gardens. This was carefully 
