96 
THE  TROPIDAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[August  i,  1892. 
TEA  SELLING  COMPANIES. 
Under  the  title  of  the  Star  Tea  Company,  Limited, 
a company  has  been  registered  with  a capital  of 
£80,000  in  £1  shares,  to  acquire  the  businesses  of  tea 
merchants,  grocers,  Italian  warehousemen,  wine  and 
spirit  merchants,  druggists,  and  cafe  and  hotel 
proprietors  now  carried  on  by  Joseph  Cadman  at 
various  places  throughout  England  and  Wales,  under 
the  style  of  the  Star  Tea  Company,  in  accordance 
with  an  agreement,  made  April  9th,  between  Joseph 
Cadman  of  the  one  part  and  Harry  Webster,  on  behalf 
of  this  company,  of  the  other  part,  and  to  develop 
and  extend  such  businesses  in  such  manner  as  the  com- 
pany may  see  fit.  The  first  subscribers  (one  share 
each)  are  : — J.  Cadman,  157,  Commercial  Street,  E.  ; 
P.  Cadman,  28,  Adelaide  Crescent,  Hove  ; E.  S.  Cad- 
man 28,  Adelaide  Crescent,  Hove ; A.  Cadman  28, 
Adelaide  Crescent,  Hove ; E.  Cadman,  28,  Adelaide 
Crescent,  Hoes ; F.  R.  Spofforth,  59,  Board- 
hurst  Gardens,  Hampstead  ; A.  W.  Cadman,  90,  Wig- 
more  Street,  W. ; J.  A.  Beider,  4,  Regent’s  Park 
Terrace,  N.W. 
The  prospectus  has  been  issued  of  S.  Davis,  Sons 
and  Goodbody,  Limited,  tea  merchants,  LAndon, 
Dublin  and  Belfast,  with  a share  capital  of  £70,000, 
divided  into  4,000  six  per  cent  cumulative  preference 
shares  of  £10  each  (£40,000)  and  3,000  ordinary 
shares  ©f  £10  each  (£30,000).  The  company  has  been 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  and  working 
as  one  concern  (a)  the  wholesale  tea  business  hitherto 
carried  on  by  Messrs.  S.  Davis  and  Sons,  Limited, 
at  11,  Rood  Lane,  London,  and  17  and  18,  High 
Street,  Dublin,  and  (b}  that  of  Messrs.  Francis  Good- 
body  &Co.,9  Mincing  Lane,  London,  and  41,  Victoria 
Street,  Belfast,  who'esale  tea  merchants. — H.  and 
C.  Mail,  June  3. 
PRODUCE  OF  THE  COCONUT,  AREKA, 
KITUL  AND  PALMYRA  PALMS 
EXPORTED  FROM  CEYLON. 
Premising  that  the  quantity  of  the  pro  duos  of 
the  coconut  palm  exported  from  Ceylon,  although 
very  considerable,  is  far  less  than  that  locally 
consumed,  the  proportion  being  likely  to  be  lessened 
from  the  effect  of  the  heavy  tax  on  kerosene  oil, 
by  the  people  again  resorting  to  coconut  oil  as  an 
illuminant,  it  may  be  interesting,  with  reference 
to  proposals  to  levy  an  export  duty,  to  see  what 
the  quantity  and  value  of  articles  derived  from  the 
most  economically  valuable  of  all  the  palm  tribe 
were  in  1891.  The  figures  are,  for 
Coconut  oil 
Coirfibre 
„ manufactured 
„ rope 
„ yarn 
Copra  (dried  kernels) 
Poonact(oil  cake) 
426.689  cwt. 
38,888 
67 
10,904 
100.690 
68,907 
184,949 
Coconu  s,  384  bags  and  No.  7,421,000 
Coconut  shells,  7,099  packages 
Cadjans  210  „ 
Arrack  101,378  gallons 
Coconut  laths  and  rafters,  No.  586 
R5, 309, 000 
291.000 
7,000 
136.000 
604.000 
921.000 
559.000 
288.000 
60,000 
47 
103,000 
150 
Total  value  R8, 278, 197 
A fraction  of  the  “palm  ” sugar  exported  was,  prob- 
ably, the  produce  of  the  coconut  palm,  but  the  value  of 
this  article  and  the  husks  (R4)  may  be  disregarded. 
Taking  the  round  number  of  R8,280,000  as  the 
value  of  oooonut  produoe  exported,  a duty  of  1 per 
cent  on  this  sum  would  realize  a revenue  of 
B82.800.  If  the  duty  were  levied  at  the  rate  of 
2£  per  cent  the  amount  collected  would  beR207,000. 
It  msy  be  well  to  see  what  the  quantity  and  value 
of  the  exported  produce  of  our  other  palms  are. 
The  produce  of  the  artka  palm  is,  like  that  of 
the  coconut,  oonsumed  locally  to  a very  large  ex- 
tent, the  narcotic  nuts  at  any  rate  ; but  the  export 
is  considerable.  Last  year  the  figures  were 
Arecanuts— 25  packages  and  99,206  cwt.  R906.963. 
At  1 per  cent  the  revenue  from  this  article  would 
be  R9,069 ; at  2J  per  cent  R22.672. 
The  kitul  palm  yields  a very  large  portion  of  the 
sugar  consumed  by  the  natives  of  CeyloD,  but  we 
do  not  think  any  of  it  is  exported.  The  fibre, 
used  chiefly  as  a substitute  for  bristles,  is,  however, 
of  nome  mark  in  our  exports  : — 
Kitul  fibre,  2,100  cwt.  ..  ..  R67.092 
„ rope  2 „ . . . . 15 
,,  laths  and  rafters,  No.  550  . . 90 
Total  value  . . R67.197 
At  1 per  cent  the  collection  would  be  K671:  at 
2J,  R1.677.  The  produce  of  the  palmyra  palm 
exported  has  fallen  off,  from  gradual  destruction  of 
the  valuable  trees,  we  fear.  The  exports  in  1891 
were : — 
Palmyra  laths  and  rafters,  No.  177,602  R44.306 
,,  sugar  and  jaggery*'  cwt.  3,325  R11.846 
Total  value  . . R56.152 
At  1 per  cent  this  value  would  yield  B561 ; at  2£  per 
cent  R1.402.  The  valuable  leaves  of  the  grandest  of 
all  our  palms  do  not  figure  in  our  exports,  either  as 
olas  or  as  leaves  prepared  for  writing  on ; but 
we  cannot  doubt  that  they  contribute  somewhat  to 
the  222  packages  of  “mats,  bags  and  baskets’’ 
valued  at  Ri,114  exported  last  year.  The  aggre- 
gate value  of  the  products  of  the  four  palms  which 
are  named  in  the  export  returns  is  thus  made  up: — 
Products  of  the  coconut  palm 
„ areka  „ 
, , kitul  „ 
» palmyra  „ 
R8, 278, 000 
907,000 
67.000 
56.000 
Total  value  of  palm  produce  exported  . . R9, 308, 000 
or  somewhat  over  £600,000,  at  R15  to  the  pound. 
The  value  of  the  products  locally  consumed  must 
be  at  least  twice  that  sum. 
A Cobbespondent  writes  : — “ Coffee  in  Wynaad 
looks  worth  £200  an  acre,  but  there  is  such  a mass 
of  leaf  that  the  puzzle  is  to  find  one  berry — a 
cursed  puzzle  that  will  probably  continue  to  puz- 
zle us  at  crop  time.”  We  hope  not. — Madras 
Times. 
We  hear  from  British  New  Guinea  that  Sir 
William  MacGregor  hss  over  20,000  coffee  trees 
planted  for  his  Government.  Last  season  he  _got 
some  tribes  to  plant  over  300  for  each  man.  Two 
tribes  putin  10,000  nuts  and,  in  addition,  established 
a village  police.  As  to  the  other  side  of  the  picture 
his  Honor  the  Administrator  has  had  to  encounter 
sad  disappointments  in  relapses,  distrust,  savagery, 
cannibalism,  and  such  like  drawbacks.  But  it  must 
be  remembered  that  New  Guinea  has  been  shunned 
by  all  the  world  until  now  and  has  been  left  out 
of  the  current  of  progress.  It  is  evident,  however, 
that  it  will  become  into  line  if  patience  be  but 
exercised.  Within  the  last  few  years  scores  and 
scores  of  thousands  of  natives  have  laid  aside  their 
arms.  Our  oid  friend  evidently  is  of  opinion  that 
Providence  does  not  desire  that  either  lands  or 
hands  shall  be  permitted  to  remain  idle  and  he  is 
using  every  exertion  to  utilise  both  under  his  system 
of  Government.  His  life  is  not  being  wasted  ; but 
be  must  be  drawing  heavy  drafts  on  the  strength 
by  the  maintainence  of  which  only  can  it  be  sus- 
tained.— Fiji  Times,  April  20th. 
* The  heading  in  the  Customs  returns  is,  “ Sugar : 
palm  and  jaggery,”  but  we  feel  certain  that  all  but 
a fraction  is  palmyra  jaggery. 
