Jan.  2,  1893.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
467 
8T«.d—  a rise  of  lT\d.  China  blaok  leaf  oongou 
has  also  risen  within  the  last  five  weeks  lTyl. 
The  only  danger  is,  China  exporters  in  spring 
making  oontraots  for  heavy  exports  of  China  cheap 
tea  to  London,  However,  we  may  ohoke  that 
movement  off  by  shipping  largely  in  the  first  three 
months  of  the  year. 
Pbice  of  Silver. — Mr.  Alfred  de  Rothschild  seems 
to  think  he  is  quite  solving  the  silver  difficulty  by 
calling  on  the  several  European  powers  to  make 
silver  a legal  tender  up  to  £5.  He  also  wishes 
the  European  Powers  to  oombine  to  buy  5 millions 
of  silver  annually  for  a period  of  five  years  at  no 
higher  a figure  than  43  penoe  per  lb.  What  a pity 
it  is  that  our  late  planting  member  of  Counoil  is 
not  available  for  this  Conference.  Why  does  not 
the  Chairman  of  the  Planters’  Association  write 
a circular  letter  to  the  Great  Powers  suggesting 
this  idea  ? 
Chicago  Exhibition. — Has  Mr.  Grinlinton  re- 
ceived a sufficient  quantity  of  tea  exhibits  from 
estates  yet  ? 
Weather  just  what  was  wanted.  Fine,  hot,  dry 
weather.  Cocao  will  ripen  and  tea  will  flush 
on  the  hills  in  good  style  if  this  weather  continues. 
The  Election  of  Mr.  Cleveland  to  the  offioe 
of  President  of  the  United  States  must  be  gratify- 
ing to  Fair  Traders.  No  doubt  the  McKinley  Bill 
will  now  be  muoh  modified,  with  the  result  of 
trade  between  Amerioa  and  England  resuming  its 
old  proportions  to  the  increase  of  goodwill  between 
the  two  greatest  nations  in  the  world.  I am  sure 
Ceylon  planters  will  not  grudge  plenty  of  our 
money  beiDg  spent  at  Chioago  now  that  they  know 
the  mother  oountry  is  no  longer  to  be  harassed 
by  one-sided  taxation  on  its  exports  to  America. 
The  American  Tea  Company  seems  to  have  fallen 
on  evil  times,  and  this  Budden  throwing  up  the 
spoDge  by  Messrs,  Wattson  & Farr  must  be 
disappointing  to  Messrs.  Grinlinton  and  Mitohell, 
who  so  strongly  advised  the  Ceylon  Planters’  Tea 
Company  to  intrust  their  funds  with  their  American 
correspondents. 
4. 
PLANTING  IN  BRITISH  CENTRAL  AFRICA. 
THE  PLANTERS’  ASSOCIATION  OF  BRITISH  CENTRAL  AFRICA — 
MAJOR  WISSMAN’S  EXPEDITION — THE  PACIFICATION  OF 
ARAB  CHIEFS— MESSRS.  A.  WHYTE  AND  LLOYD — SETTLE- 
MENT OF  LAND  CLAIMS — WANT  OF  COMMUNICATION  : 
A RAILWAY  WANTED — SCARCITY  OF  FRUIT  : A CHANCE 
FOR  A PHILANTHROPIC  CEYLON  PLANTER— BUSHGRASS — 
FLIES  AND  WILD  BEASTS — COFFEE  AND  COFFEE-BORER — 
THE  SANITARIUM  OF  B.  C.  A. — LOVELY  SCENERY. 
Milangi,  British  Central  Africa,  1st  Oct.  1892. 
A monster  meeting  was  held  at  Blantyre  lately  for 
the  purpose  of  forming  a Planters’  Association  to 
keep  our  Government  in  check,  and  represent  in  a 
body  our  grievances  to  the  British  Central  African 
Administration,  and  if  no  redress  is  obtaiued  to  peti- 
tion the  home  Government. 
We  have  twenty-four  planters  here,  at  least  that 
number  are  interested  in  planting,  and  it  is  expected 
all  will  be  enrolled  as  members  at  a meeting  to  be 
held  on  the  5th  inst. 
The  entrance  fee  is  to  be  £1  Is,  and  quarterly  sub- 
scription 5s.  I will  send  you  a copy  of  the  proceedings 
at  the  meeting  on  the  5th  inst- 
Major  Wissman’s  anti-slavery  expedition  is  at 
Misongwi  on  the  Zambesi  consisting  of  some  40 
Europeans  and  about  200  natives.  They  had  two 
steamers  with  them  in  sections,  one  for  Lake  Nyassa 
and  the  other  for  Tanganyika.  Smallpox  has  broken 
out  amongst  them,  but  every  precaution  is  been  taken 
to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  disease  by  segregation. 
It  is  expected  that  this  expedition  will  take  2 years 
to  meet  the  expedition  on  its  way  inland  from 
Jiagomayo,  They  ate  determined  to  punish  all  native 
chiefs  between  Tanganyika  and  the  coast  who  are 
concerned  in  the  massacre  of  some  39  Germans  lately. 
Mr.  Sharp,  Vice-Consul  (whose  usual  residence  is 
at  Blantyre),  has  been  sent  up  to  Lake  Nyassa  to 
try  and  use  his  influence  with  the  Arab  chiefs  in 
maintaining  peace,  as  they  are  again  assuming  a 
hostile  attitude,  so  much  so  that  the  manager  of  the 
African  Lakes  Company  has  telegraphed  home  that 
it  is  impossible  to  carry  on  trade. 
Mr.  A.  Whyte  has  been  laid  up  at  Zomba  with 
congestion  of  the  lungs,— the  first  illness  he  has  had 
since  he  came  here,  he  seems  fever-proof,  I am  glad 
he  is  now  better  for  a more  useful  man  the  Adminis- 
tration does  not  possess. 
A Mr.  Lloyd,  who  was  once  surveying  in  Ceylon,  has 
turned  up  here  and  is  employed  by  the  B.  C.  A. 
Administration.  I 've  not  seen  him,  but  expect  he 
will  be  round  our  way  soon  on  duty  and  hope  to 
have  the  pleasure  of  a chat  about  dear  old  Ceylon, 
although,  I am  told,  he  left  the  island  before  my  time. 
The  Commissioner  is  on  a tour  trying  to  settle 
land  claims.  One  gentleman  who  had  10,000  acres  has 
had  to  accept  a title  for  2,000  or  stop  work,  as  Mr. 
H.  H.  Johnstone  told  him,  should  he  not  agree  to 
his  proposal  he  would  put  his  veto  on  him  and 
prevent  him  clearing  another  acre  I at  the  same 
time  saying  an  appeal  to  the  Foreign  Secretary  was 
useless,  and  if  he  wished  to  take  it  before  the  Privy 
Council  he  would  make  the  delay  vexations  and 
expensive  probably  costing  £500  before  a final  settle- 
ment is  arrived  at.  So  what  can  do  ? We  have  Mr. 
Rhodes’s  little  brother  here,  against  whom  it  is  useless 
to  appeal.  So  you  see  how  the  law  is  meted  out  to  us 
here.  We  can  only  grin  and  bear  it  and  hope  the 
Liberal  Government  will  give  us  a change,  for  it  is 
sadly  needed. 
The  Shire  river  has  almost  run  dry  : only  small 
canoes  can  come  up  to  Chilomo  and  nearly  every- 
body is  out  of  the  current  coin  of  the  country  calico. 
The  same  thing  happened  last  year,  and  nothing  will 
satisfy  us  but  a railway,  which  might  be  cheaply 
made  as  the  country  is  easy  and  slightly  undulating 
to  the  coast, — in  fact  so  much  so  that  I was  seriously 
thinking  of  spouting  coffee  down  to  the  Zambezi  or 
Shire.  I suppose  lots  of  old  coffee  spouting  could  be 
bought  for  a trifle  in  Ceylon  now,  as  well  as  coffee 
pulpers  for  that  matter.  Postage  to  as  well  as  from 
here  seems  not  to  be  depended  upon,  for  I have  not  re- 
ceived “All  About  Tobacco”  and  the  “Planters’  Manual” 
you  advise  me  as  having  posted  now  nearly  a year 
ago.  I wrote  to  the  Vice-Consul  at  Quilimane  to  find 
out  if  they  were  at  the  post  office,  but  it  seems  not. 
There  is  a great  want  of  fruit  in  this  country. 
There  is  nothing  here  except  the  plantain.  By  way  of 
fruit  it  would  be  a boon  and  a blessing  to  man  in 
Africa  if  some  philanthropic  Ceylon  planter  were  to 
send  a parcel  of  seed  of  mandarin  oranges,  bread- 
fruit, jak,  soursop,  custardapple,  jambu,  rose- 
apple,  bullock’s  heart,  mangosteen  and  any  other 
fruits  common  to  Ceylon  and  the  East.  They 
are  plentiful  enough  in  the  Colombo  market 
all  the  year  round.  I would  send  in  return 
Landolphia  Florida  and  Bogota  rubber,  and  bush 
grass  seed.  The  whole  country  is  overrun  by  a large 
variety  of  bush  grass.  It  grows  up  every  year  to  about 
6 to  8 feet,  dries  during  the  dry  season  and  is  burned 
off ; it  thrives  even  under  a dense  cover  of  forest, 
some  of  them  cattle  and  goats  fatten  on  but  some 
are  poisonous  and  they  don’t  touch.  For  some  cattle 
got  down  a year  ago  from  the  Lake  Nyassa  are  doing 
well  I mean  to  train  them  as  tavalams  to  send  away 
coffee.  By  the  way  this  can  only  be  done  for  about 
20  miles  of  the  way  to  the  river  as  tsetse  fly  abounds 
beyond  that  limit,  in  proof  of  which  Mr.  Johnstone 
lost  all  his  horses  brought  from  the  Cape,  except 
one  which  is  now  at  Blantyre.  Our  usual  mode  of 
travelling  here  is  on  foot  or  in  a machela  or  dandy, 
a hammook  slung  on  a bamboo.  One  gets  about 
8 to  10  men  to  a long  journey  and  they  take  it  in 
turns  two  at  a time  and  get  along  at  a fairly  good 
pace  about  4 miles  per  hour.  By  the  bye  I had  a 
donkey  here  but  he  was  killed  by  a leopard  in  broad 
daylight  within  60  yards  of  a .house.  I set  a trap 
gun  and  shot  him,  also  another  one  the  following 
night  who  cams  and  had  a look  at  his  brother’s  handi' 
1 * : £ ~ 
