Jan,  2,  1893.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
475 
sound  arguments,  although  the  water  does  not  seem 
to  give  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  undertaking 
the  same  prominence  as  its  advantages.  Our  corre- 
spondent tells  us  that  the  proposals  are  being  discussed 
with  muoh  interest  in  the  island.  The  ohief  features  may 
be  summarized  as  follows  : — The  total  share  oapital  is 
to  be  800,000f.,  of  which  200,000f.  (to  be  represented 
by  preference  shares)  are  estimated  to  be  required 
for  the  ereotion  of  the  factory,  with  plant  to  manu- 
facture quinine  and  other  cinohona  alkaloids,  oocaine, 
caffeine  (from  tea  refuse),  theobromine,  arraok,  ether, 
hydrochlorio  and  sulphuric  acids,  and  sulphate  of 
ammonia.  The  raw  materials  for  the  acids  are  ob- 
tainable in  the  island  at  very  little  cost,  and  arrack  is, 
of  oourse,  obtainable  very  cheaply  in  a sugar-growing 
country.  Petroleum  is  also  obtainable  cheaply,  as  it  has 
recently  been  found  in  many  parts  of  the  Dutch  colonies. 
All  other  chemicals  that  may  be  required  must  be 
bronght  from  Europe.  Another  400,00uf.  of  the  oapital 
is  to  be  subscribed  among  the  planters,  who  must 
either  pay  their  shares  in  cash  or  furnish  their  equiva- 
lent in  cinohona  for  manufacturing  purposes.  The 
output  of  eaoh  separate  bark  plantatiou  is  to  be  ascer- 
tained by  a commission,  and  no  planter  will  be 
allowed  to  supply  more  bark  than  his  proportionate 
share.  The  planters  are  to  be  repaid  for  their  bark 
as  soon  as  the  quinine  is  sold.  For  every  kilo  of 
quinine  sold  a sum  of  20  cents  is  to  be  placed  to 
the  credit  of  a fund  for  the  payment  of  interest  to 
the  holders  of  the  200,000f  in  preference  shares.  The 
faotory  is  to  be  managed  by  a Board  of  seven  mem- 
bers ; eleoted  from  among  the  shareholders.  The 
quinine  is  to  be  consigned  for  sale  to  two  ohief 
agents,  one  in  London  and  one  in  Hamburg.  The 
profits  of  the  factory  are  put  down  (on  paper;  at  17J 
per  cent  per  annum,  on  an  average  price  of  18f.  per 
kilo  (about  lOdper  oz.)  of  sulphate  of  quinine,  rising  to 
70  per  cent  per  annum  with  a quinine  prioe  of  24f.  per 
kilo  (or  about  Is  2d  per  oz.).— Chemist  and  Druggist, 
Nov.  12. 
« — - 
TEA-GROWING  AT  BATOUM. 
A representative  of  the  firm  of  K.  S.  Popoff,  well 
known  in  the  trade  in  China  teas  in  Russia,  has 
conoeived  the  idea  of  introducing  the  cultivation  of 
the  tea  plant  in  Russia.  With  this  object,  says  the 
Rvssie  Commerciale,  he  has  visited  the  Chinese  pro- 
vinces producing  the  better  kinds  of  tea,  and  has 
closely  studied  the  cultivation  of  the  shrub  and  the 
processes  oonnected  With  the  drying  and  the  pre- 
paration of  the  leaves.  After  an  attentive  examina- 
tion of  the  Russian  provinces  presenting  some  pros- 
pects of  sucoess  for  the  proposed  cultivation,  M. 
Popoff  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  district  of 
Batoum  was  the  most  suitable  spot  by  reason  of  the 
salubrity  of  the  climate,  and  of  the  warmth  and 
other  conditions  suitable  for  the  regular  growth  of 
this  plant.  It  is  said  that  the  plantations  will  shortly 
be  commenced,  and  the  wokmen  and  Chinese  foremen 
who  are  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  processes  to 
be  adopted  with  the  plant  and  the  manner  of  pre- 
paring the  leaves,  will  at  first  he  engaged.— A.  & C. 
Express,  Nov.  18th. 
NOTES  ON  PRODUCE  AND  FINANCE 
Indian  and  Ceylon  Tea  at  the  Chicago  Exhibition. 
— At  the  ordinary  general  meeting  of  the  Society  of 
Arts,  on  Wednesday,  Sir  Richard  Webster  referred 
to  the  British  exhibits  at  the  forthcoming  Chicago 
Exhibition.  CeyloD,  he  said,  would  have  one  or  more 
tea  houses  in  the  grounds  of  the  exhibition  for  the 
sale  of  Ceylon  tea.  As  regards  India,  while  he  deeply 
regretted  that  the  Government  of  India  did  not  see 
their  way  to  assist  actively  the  exhibition,  the  tea 
planters  would  be  well  represented,  and  there  would 
also  he  a collection  of  Indian  art: 
The  Ceylon  Planters’  Tea  Company  of  New 
York. — From  oopies  of  extraots  from  Amerioan  papers 
just  to  hand,  it  is  olear  that  Mr,  Elwool  May  is 
going  the  right  way  to  work  iu  order  to  popularise 
Ceylon  tea  in  America.  He  has  been  interviewed  by 
some  Press  representatives,  and  he  told  them  a few 
truths  about  tea.  He  has  persuaded  them  at  laBt, 
to  use  the  language  of  one  of  the  interviewers,  that 
“ ihe  worst  teas  in  the  world  are  fold  to  Americans. 
English  breakfast  tea  is  a name  invented  to  humbug 
with ; there  is  no  such  tea.  Amerioan  teas  are 
weighted  and  coloured ; some  of  them  steeped,  and 
the  leaves  1 manufactured  ’ over  again.”  The  com- 
pany publishes  a list  of  its  agents  throughout  the 
United  States,  and  its  advertisements  are  very  muoh 
to  the  point. 
The  Tea  Trade  of  Dantzic. — The  trade  of  Dantzic 
during  1891  was  anything  but  flourishing.  The  rea- 
son for  the  diminution  of  the  import  of  tea  to 
nearly  half  of  the  quantity  was  the  small  demand, 
owing  to  the  large  stocks  of  the  preceding  year  ; 
further,  the  low  exchange  of  roubles  and  the  bad 
harvest  and  its  consequences  in  Russia.  Besides, 
China  tea,  which  was  formerly  largely  imported  via 
Konigsberg,  was  last  year  mestly  forwarded  via 
Odessa  or  there  consigned.  The  bad  experience 
of  the  last  year,  however,  which  Russian  tea  mer- 
chants had  to  suffer  induces  the  hope  that,  as  for- 
merly, this  article  will  find  its  way  via  Konigsberg, 
and  so  enable  Russian  merchants  to  cover  their 
requirements  of  those  qualities  which  they  want  in 
course  of  the  year  at  the  London  and  Konigsberg 
markets. 
A New  Variety  of  Sugar  Cane. — According  to 
the /few  Bulletin  a new  variety  of  sugar-oane  is  stated 
to  have  been  discovered  in  the  Upper  Niger  region 
of  Central  Afrioa.  It  is  described  as  “ a giant  variety 
possessing  great  saooharine  richness,  and  oapable  of 
being  readily  reproduced  from  seed,  which  in  this 
variety  is  well  developed.”  Several  enquiries  have  al- 
ready been  addressed  to  Kew  in  regard  to  this  cane, 
and  it  may  be  well  to  state  at  onoe  that  there  are 
grounds  for  believing  that  the  plant  mentioned  ie  not  a 
sugar-cane  at  all,  but  the  ordinary  Guinea  oorn  or 
sorghum  ( Sorghum  vulgare),  which  is  widely  distri- 
buted over  Africa.  This  plant,  it  is  well  known, 
yields  a useful  syrup,  and  strenuous  efforts  are  being 
made  in  the  United  States  at  the  present  time  to 
extract  a granulated  sugar  from  it.  Should  the  Niger 
plant  prove  to  possess  any  special  merits  as  a sorghum, 
we  shall,  no  doubt,  hear  more  about  it.  It  can  have, 
however,  little  or  no  interest  to  the  tropieal  sugar 
planter.—//,  and  C.  Mail,  Nov.  18. 
THE  CEYLON  PLANTING  ENTERPRISE  : 
OPINION  OF  EXPERIENCED  PLANTERS  ON 
THE  SITUATION  AND  PROSPECTS. 
We  are  muoh  indebted  to  a number  of  gentle- 
men who  have  been  kind  enough  to  write  to  us 
from  different  districts,  and  who,  besides  conveying 
their  good  wishes  on  our  resumption  of  the 
editorial  chair,  convey  valuable  information  in 
reference  to  the  all-important  Tea  Industry.  We 
quote  as  follows : and  first  from  Uva,  we  have 
the  following  interesting  though  pungent  report : — 
I am  very  glad  you  have  returned  to  Ceylon  and 
hope  you  have  benefited  by  the  change,  I suppose  I 
may  say  holiday,  although  you  seem  to  haye  been  very 
busy  in  our  interests. 
The  Coffee  crop  in  Haputale  will  be  short  this  year, 
due  chiefly  to  showery  weather  at  the  time  we  should 
have  had  dry.  Coffee  still  goes  on ; but  if  things  go  bad 
as  at  present,  it  is  only  a matter  of  a very  few  years. 
I do  not  think  bug  does  such  extreme  damage  as  it  did 
(I  have  known  one  attack  kill  out  strong  coffee)  ; still 
it  helps  to  weakening  the  tree,  thus  preventing  blossom 
from  setting,  and  it  also  causes  crop  in  all  stages  to  fall 
off  prematurely.  Leaf-disease  is  as  bad  as  ever.  It  may 
be  that  the  attack  is  lighter  one  season,  but  it  makes 
up  for  it  the  next.  Leaf-disease  (unaided  by  bug) 
can  be  fought  to  a certain  extent  by  cultivation. 
Bug  cannot,  to  my  knowledge,  be  checked  by  any 
paying  means  in  our  power. 
Tea  will  require  help  like  everything  else?  I do  not 
think  that  manure  will  pay  on  a very  large  acreage 
