566 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST.  [March  i,  1893. 
a wider  net.  Mr.  Pryer  hopes,  at  the  eDd  of  the 
year,  to  have  1,000  »cre<  nnder  cultivation  with  hemp, 
Liberian  coffee,  sago  ,ugar,  coconut  and  various  exp,  ri- 
mental  crops.  He  believes  he  can  get  sufficient  labour 
at  reasonable  rates,  acd  he  has  the  unquestionable 
advantage  of  knowing  bow  to  manage  natives.  Alluvial 
gold  has  been  found  in  Darvel  B,y,  but  it  remains 
to  ascertain  the  va'ue  of  the  find.  The  ordinary  trade 
and  revenue  continue  to  grow  ; b 'r  land  sales  hav»4 
pran'i  aiiy  stopped,  figuring  for  £841  ouly,  against 
£39  942  in  the  previous  < ear.  As  n consequence  the 
accounts  of  the  Administration  for  1891  show  a deficit. 
A concession  has  been  granted  for  a ra  Iway,  which 
would  open  up  veluatle  territory;  but  the  time  is 
not  opportune  for  fi  ating  schemes  of  the  kind.  Tbe 
population  has  been  estimated  at  120,000.  Tbe 
frontier  between  British  XL  rtb  Borneo  and  Datch 
territory  has  been  settled,  and  agreed  to  by  the 
British  Goveri  ment  and  the  N.  tin  rlai  d„  Chambers. 
The  experiment  of  tobacoo-growing  in  Sarawak  has 
conclusively  f-n’e  *,  and  the  es  ate  has  been  close  I at 
a loss  of  §600,000.  The  yield  of  sago  is  increasing, 
jungle  pro  mos  is  abundant,  and  the  erudition  of  the 
country  generally,  prosperous.  The  total  value  of  the 
trade  in  1891  was  §5,000,000,  a i excess  of  $436  000 
OYer  the  previous  year.  Ten  thousand  tons  of  ooal 
W6re  turned  out  of  the  Sadnng  mines. 
Gold  lias  also  be  n found  in  the  native  State  of  Go-tie; 
othe'  wise  we  hear  little  of  Dutch  Borneo.  Trade  through- 
out Netherlands  India  generally  seems  to  have  been 
fairly  prosperous.  Finanoialr  quilibrium  has  been  restored 
be  ides  providing  for  the  expenditure  on  r-ilways  in 
Ja'a  and  Sumatra,  and  on  waterworks  at  Tanj  mg 
Priok.  D saffection  seems  to  have  disapptared,  and 
the  population  has  been  quiet.  Sugar  has  been  free 
from  di-ease.  A proposi  inn  to  tax  it  was  wi-ely 
rejected  by  the  Colonial  Minister.  The  Government 
policy  as  regards  coffee  appears  to  be  still  in  a state 
of  soluti  n ; but  the  tendency  is  evidently  towards 
more  libiral  payments  and  eventual  freedom.  The 
present  crop  is  estimated  at  694,000  piculs.  The  yield 
of  tobacco  in  Snm  :1rv  this  year  is  estimated  at  130,000 
bales. — L.  and  C.  Express. 
MAURITIUS. 
Port-Louis,  Jan.  10th. 
Sugar. — The  weather  and  the  crop.  The  present 
hot  and  rainy  season  is  very  favorable  to  the  planta- 
tion which  is  very  fine  all  over  the  Island. 
The  Crop  is  over  and  it  remains  only  to  manufacture 
inferior  syrups  from  the  turbine.  On  the  31st  Decem- 
ber last,  the  number  of  bags  received  in  town  wereless 
by  467,482,  compared  with  the  number  received  at  the 
same  corresponding  period  of  1991. 
Vanilla.— The  market  is  firm.  A few  small  lots 
were  sold  at  R20  to  R23  per  kil;  Vanillons  at  R8  to 
R10.  We  entirely  maintain  our  last  as  regards  the 
outturn  of  the  present  crop  which  will  not  exceed  8,000 
kilos.  We  quote  nominally  : — 
per  kilo. 
1st  quality  . . R.  20  to  23 1 ® Jg 
2nd  „ ■ . „ 18  „ 20  V g § 
Good  to  Middling  ..  „ 15  „ 16j 
Vanillons  . . ,,  1 ,,  10. 
Aloe  Fibre. — The  market  is  firm.  We  have  to  re- 
port the  sale  of  50  bales,  first  quality. 
The  following  quotations  are  nominal. 
1st  quality  . . R.  250  to  275  per  ton 
2nd  ,,  „ 175  „ 180 
Coffee. — Good  quality  have  advanced  owing  to  res- 
tricted importations  and  it  is  worth  today  R75  to  76 
per  50  kil.  Mixed  triage  qualities  are  nominal  at  R40 
to  54  per  50  kilos  according  to  quality.  Reunion  and 
Madagascar  are  wanting. — Merchants  and  Flanters 
Gazette. 
TEA  FROM  ASSAM. 
The  total  outturn  of  tea  from  ihe  Assam  Valley 
during  1892  has  been  44,617,676  pounds,  against 
,467,873  pounds  in  1891,  ora  deorease  of  4,849,697 
pounds. — Ik.  Times,  Jan,  9, 
[ LIBERIAN  COFFEE  AND  CACAO  CULTIVA- 
TION IN  NORTH-EAST  MATALE 
LOWCOUNTRT 
A LAND  GRANT  OF  OF  OVER  5,000  ACRES. 
We  think  it  must  be  nearly  two  years  since  we 
were  enabled  to  report  that  M'Ssre.  Wm  Gow 
and  E.  Gordon  Reev  s (both  of  the  K lebobka  dis- 
trict) were  in  treaty  with  Government  for  a largo 
grant  of  land  in  the  lowooumry  north-east  of 
the  Laggals  range.  We  cordially  support  d the 
apuhoation  at  the  time  and  urged  Government  to 
afford  the  enterprise  g applicants  every  encourage- 
ment, iheir  ofjeot  being  to  give  a fair  trial  to  euoh 
products  ae  L berian  C ffee  and  Cacao.  Mr.  Gow 
discussed  the  propped  of  the  enterprise  very  freely 
with  us  in  London  and  he  was  sanguine  of  success 
both  in  a planting  and  financial  sense.  It  is 
satisfactory  now  io  learn  that  the  grant  has  been 
officially  conceded  and  that  it  coveis  a lease  of  no 
less  than  5,014  acres  alongside  and  west  of  afioe 
deep  Btream,  the  Kaluganga,  which  falls  into  the 
Ambanganga  about  15  miles  due  east  of  Nalanda 
restbouse.  One  condition  is  that  500  acres  of  the 
block  should  be  brought  into  cultivat  on  within  the 
first  five  years,  and  from  the  favourable  reports 
passed  on  the  land,  among  others  by  Mr.  Wm. 
Mackenzie,  there  can  be  little  doubt  of  this  con' 
dition  being  fuffi  led.  Along  with  the  two 
gentlemen  already  named,  Messrs.  Buchanan  ai.d 
Fraz  r are  now  associated  in  the  grant,  and 
all  are  determined  to  spare  no  pains  to  ' make 
this  promising  plantation  a sucoess.  Mr  Gor- 
don Reeves  is  naiurally  the  one  who  knows 
most  about  the  location,  climate  and  outlet,  and  on 
these  points  he  writes  to  us  as  lollows:  — 
“ The  rainfall  has  been  ascertain,  d,  having  been 
carefully  recorded  since  1st  Match  1891  and  is  arnp'e 
fairly  well  distributed.  I am  now  drawing  up  a com- 
parative statement  showing  rainfalls  of  such  car  ao 
stations  as  Ka],wella,  Warriapola  and  D a EiF,  a s 
compared  with  our  Pallegama.  Tbe  more  that  pLlie. 
gama  is  looked  into  the  better  will  it  appear.  The 
result,  will,  I expect  p’ease  you.  Tin  Kaluga,  gt  valley 
was  some  1,6  0 years  gone  by,  a most  fertile  well 
cultivated  centre:  as  is  a'ill  io  he  seen  in  the 
remains  of  great  wo-ks  and  broad  flats  of  old  rice 
lands  now  much  frequented  by  the  beau'iful  na- 
£ ha,  always  a sign  oi  ancient  human  habi  atiou. 
The  land  is  as  well  adapted  for  such  cultivat  on  as" 
cacao,  tobacco,  and  fibres  of  various  ki  da  as  any  I 
have  seen.  Tne  lay  of  the  land  and  tbe  depth  and 
richness  o'  the  soil  is,  so  to  say,  unrivalled  and  of  the 
rainfall  yon  shall  judge  bv  my  returns  which  aro  abso- 
lutely reliable.  We  have,  just  a«  Dumbara  hag,  our  spell 
of  very  dry  weather,  July  and  Angus' ; hut  that  oacao 
can  stand  a very  severe  drought  wber  - the  soil  is  gond 
has  been  amply  proved,  and  I will  certainly  tack  the 
Pallegama  soil  agarn-t  any  in  Dumbara  or  elsewhere: 
moreover  it  is  of  such  quality  the  land  of  suoh  even 
lay  that  a drought  would  be  of  less  danger  than  in  a 
more  exposed,  gravelly,  and  hilly  i-ituation.  We  are 
practically  on  the  fl>t;  and  on  alluvial  land  where 
ilnoght  would  take  a lo  g time  to  tell,  and  where 
roots  would  work  Very  deep,” 
We  supph  m nt  the  above  with  information  given 
by  Mr.  Reeves  in  a letter  to  our  evening  contem- 
porary as  follows: — 
‘‘The  rainfall  very  carefnllv  taken  for  about  three 
years,  proves  i,n  annual,  mean  f«U  between  100  and 
120  inohes.  Last  yeai ’s  fall  was  doubtless  as  everywhere 
else,  exceptionally  heavy,  and  am  unted  to  144£  inches  1 
Ot  the  ave'age  fall,  say  llOincte*,  abou  75  inches 
fell  during  November  to  April  inclusive,  in  tbe  N.  E. 
monsoon;  an  1 t'  e balance  of  30  to  35  inches  between 
Apdl  and  November.  We  receive  by  th«  lease  014 
acres,  an  I are  bound  to  cnl  ivate  10  per  cent,  dur- 
ing the  first  5 years  Our  particular  block  is  a long 
and  very  carefully  selected  atrip,  about  7 miles  x 1 
mile,  with  the  Kaluganga,  a large  deep  stream,  for 
