Dec.  i,  1892.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
389 
are  planted  6 ft.  by  6ft. apart,  or  1,210  to  the  acre ; 
5 ewt.  of  cry  ooffee  per  acre  for  a maiden  crop,  i.e., 
at  two  and-a-half  years  old,  is  considered  a good  crop, 
and  from  7 cwt.  to  10  cwfc.  per  acre  per  aunum  for 
the  following  four  seasons  is  thought  to  be  an  excel- 
lently paying  ciop.  I have  known  estates  or  portion 
of  estates,  yield  at  the  rate  of  1 ton  to  30  cwt.  per 
acre  in  a single  season,  but  such  are  altogether  excep- 
tional returns. 
In  Southern  India  the  trees  are  not  allowed  to  ex- 
ceed a height  of  3|  ft.  to  4 ft.;  but  according  to  Col. 
Maule’s  young  friend,  those  in  Madagascar  are  per- 
mitted to  a' tain  a height  of  from  8 ft.  to  10  ft.,  which 
of  course,  make3  a very  great  difference  in  the  matter 
of  orop. 
Whilst  engaged  in  coffee  planting  in  India,  and  at 
the  time  when  the  ooffee  leaf  disease  was  at  its  height, 
I had  sent  me  from  London  a wardian  case  of  young 
Liberian  ooffeo  plants  as  an  experiment,  thinking  it 
possible  that  they  might  resiss  the  disease;  but  in 
this  I was  disappointed.  When  planted  out  in  the 
spring  they  made  a good  start,  and  grew  well  through- 
out the  south-west  monsoon,  but  perished  from  the 
disease  during  the  ensuing  hot  season,  although  no  old 
trees  suffering  from  the  blight  grew  nearer  to  them 
than  a couple  of  mileB.  Assuming  Col.  Maude’s  in- 
formation to  be  correct,  I would  venture  to  give  this 
advice  to  thorn  of  our  countrymen  who  are  contemplat- 
ing  coffee  planting.  Go  not  to  India,  Java,  the  Brazils, 
or  CeyloD,  bnt  steer  a straight  course  for  the  Island  of 
Madagascar.*  J.  Lowniu. 
— Field,  Oct.  8. 
o 
A NEW  SELANGOR  COMPANY. 
Our  London  correspondent  writes  under  date  Oct. 
7 : The  Selangor  Coffee  Company,  Limited,  has  just 
been  registered  at  Somerset  House,  London,  with 
a capital  of  £15,000.  Its  objects  are:— To  purchase 
or  otherwise  acquire  any  lands  in  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments, and  to  cultivate,  manage,  and  develop  the 
same ; to  superintend  estate  and  properties  in  the 
Straits  Settlements,  and  generally  to  undertake  the 
business  of  estate  agent ; to  plant  grow,  and  produce 
coffee,  tea,  cinchona,  cocoa,  cardamoms  and  other 
natural  products  of  any  kind  in  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments, and  to  trade  and  deal  in  the  same ; to  work 
mines  or  quarries,  and  to  manufacture  or  otherwise 
deal  in  ores,  metals,  minerals,  oils,  precious  and 
other  stones,  or  products,  and  generally  to  carry  on 
the  business  of  mining  in  all  its  branches;  to  con- 
struct coffee  curing  mills,  tea  factories,  roads,  docks, 
wharves,  tramways,  ships,  barges,  &c. ; to  carry  on 
the  business  of  merchants,  exporters,  importers  com- 
mission agents,  shipping  agents,  shipowners,  engi- 
neers, insurance  and  advertising  agents.  The  liabi- 
lity of  the  members  is  limited.  The  first  subscribers 
are : — 
Henry  Kerr  Rutherford,  managing  director  Ceylon 
Tea  Plantations  Co.,  Mincing  Lane,  E.C. 
Wm.  Herbert  Anderson,  managing  director  new 
Dimbula  Co. 
Henry  Tod,  director  Ceylon  Tea  Plantations  Co. 
Alexander  Wm.  Martin,  stockbroker,  Thogmorton 
St.,  E.C. 
D.  A.  W.  Reid,  managing  director  of  the  National 
Bank  of  India. 
Prank  Watkin,  merchant,  City. 
Gustavus  Arthur  Talbot,  director  Ceylon  Tea  Plan- 
tations Co. 
The  qualification  of  a director  is  £100.  Messrs. 
Henry  Kerr  Rutherford  and  William  Herbert  Ander- 
son have  been  appointed  the  first  directors  of  the 
company.  The  registered  office  is  at  21,  Mincing 
Lane,  E.C. — A.  F\  Press. 
Government  Plantations  v.  Private  Enterprise. 
Our  planting  friend  writes:— It  is  strange  that  the 
day  after  my  note  on  Mr.  E.  A.  Watson's  scheme 
for  Government  Plantations  appeared  in  your  columns, 
you  should  give  the  names  of  the  first  subscribers 
to  and  the  first  directors  of  “ The  Selangor  Coffee 
Company  Limited.”  A company  of  this  description 
* But  see  about  a reliable  labour  supply. — Ed.  T A. 
will  do  more  towards  opening  up  the  State  and 
bringing  it  to  the  fore  than  any  number  of  Govern- 
ment or  Government-propped  plantations.  All  success 
to  the  “Selangor  Coffee  Company  Limited.”  A 
bumper  and  no  heeltaps.  The  names  of  Rutherford, 
Anderson,  Tod  and  Talbot  are  a tower  of  strength, 
and  are  a sufficient  guarantee  that  whatever  is  under- 
taken will  be  done  thoroughly  and  done  well.  A 
further  good  omen  is  that  all  these  men  are  money- 
makers. Not  mo-ney-grulbers  ; but  money-waters  : for 
it  may  almost  be  said  that  everything  they  have 
touched  for  the  past  ten  years  or  so  has  turned  to 
gold.  There  is  abundant  evidence,  apart  from  the 
formation  of  the  Selangor  Coffee  Company,  that 
men  who  have  done  well  in  Ceylon  in  recent  years, 
are  now  beginning  to  think  that  the  mercury  of 
success  has  reached  its  highest  point;  and  “fresh 
fields  and  pastures  new”  are  eagerly  being  enquired 
for  by  those  who  wish  to  withdraw  their  money 
while  prices  are  at  their  highest.  To  this  end  the 
ubiquitous  Ceylou  planter  might  have  been  found  at 
any  time  during  the  past  few  months  prospecting  for 
land  in  Dutch  Indies,  in  French  Indies,  in  New 
Ze&lA.'J,  in  New  Hebrides,  in  British  North  Borneo, 
and  heaven  knows  where  besides.  The  opinion  of 
your  scribe  is  that  the  Malay  Peninsula  will  be  the 
first  point  of  attack  for  this  restless  and  pushing 
army ; and,  granted  a measure  of  success  to  the 
Selangor  Coffee  Company,  Limited,  capital  will  pour 
into  the  country  so  fast  as  the  country  can  take  it. 
— S.  F.  Press,  Nov.  5. 
BARK  AND  DRUG  REPORT. 
(From  the  Chemist  and  Druggist.) 
London,  Oct.  20. 
Cinchona. — At  Tuesday’s  fortnightly  auctions  a fairly 
large  quantity  of  bark  was  offered,  the  catalogues  com- 
prising : — 
Pkgs.  Pkgs. 
Ceylon  eiuehoDa 
884  of  which 
857  were 
East  Indian  cinchona 
297 
do 
239 
do 
Java  cinchona 
58 
do 
58 
do 
West  Atrican  cinchona 
235 
do 
235 
do 
South  American  (Calisaya) 
ciuchoua 
755 
do 
545 
do 
Cuprea  bark 
664 
do 
51 
do 
2,893 
1 
,985 
The  assortment  of  bark  was  a fairly  good  one ; red  barks, 
as  usual,  formed  the  great  bulk  of  the  Ceylon  supply, 
while  amoDg  East  Indian  barks  the  yellow  varieties 
predominated.  Competition  was  pretty  brisk  throughout 
the  sale3,  and  almost  the  entire  offerings  (not  counting 
Cuprea)  sold  at  an  average  advance  of  about  5 per  cent 
upon  the  pirevious  sales— the  unit  being  now  from  lid 
to  i|d  per  lb. 
The  following  were  the  approximate  quantities  purchased 
by  the  principal  buyers  :— 
Lbs. 
Agents  for  the  Mannheim  and  Amsterdam  works  159,184 
Messrs.  Howards  & sons  58,970 
Agents  for  the  Frankfort  o/M.  and  Stuttgart 
works  ....  41,720 
Agents  for  the  Brunswick  factory  ....  30,832 
Agents  for  the  American  and  Italian  works  ....  20.403 
Agents  for  the  Auerbach  woiks  ......  14,782 
Paris  works  ....  8,070 
Sundry  druggists,  &c.  ....  41,028 
Total  quantity  sold  378,649 
Bought  in  or  withdrawn  105,837 
Total  quantity  of  bark  offered  484,480 
REMINISCENCES  OF  A TRAVANCORE 
PLANTER. 
It  is  nearly  twenty-two  years  ago  since  I,  soated 
on  the  “ knife-board  ’’  of  a Loudon  'bus,  was  in- 
formed by  a sanguine  friend  the  delights  of  coffee 
plauting.  It  was,  theoretically,  a glorious  life  in  a 
splendid  climate,  and  with  a moderate  outlay  a 
bpeedy  fortune  was  a moral  oertainty.  Soon  after 
this  eventful  ’bus  ride  I retired  with  a gay  and 
jojons  heart  from  the  dreary  City  oflioe  in  which 
1 was  engaged  ; I borrowed  a “ Pope’s  Tamil  Hand- 
book ’’  and  studied  the  language ; purchased  books 
