March  r,  1893.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
579 
articular  specimen,  now  named  Geikielite,  was  found 
v Mr.  Pringle  to  differ  in  specific  gravity  and  other 
“ external  characters  ” from  any  known  mineral, 
and  it  was  consequently  handed  to  Mr.  Dick  for 
chemical  investigation. 
Among  the  store  of  pebbles  collected  by  Mr.  Bad- 
deley,  another  new  mineral  was  afterwards  recognised 
by  Mr.  L.  Fletcher,  and  this  (as  he  announces  in 
Nature  for  October  27)  proves  to  be  crystallised 
zirconia.  He  proposes  for  it  the  name  of  Baddeleyite, 
as  the  natural  occurrence  of  this  oxide  of  zirconium 
has  not  previously  been  noticed. 
CACAO-GROWING  AND  THEFTS. 
Jan.  29th,  1893. 
Dear  Sir,— Mr.  Chae.  Gibbon’s  letter,  like  Mr. 
Martin’s,  on  which  he  comments,  “ has  appeared 
none  to  soon,”  Probably  many  planters  in  other 
districts  have  wondered  how  many  years  would 
elapse  before  the  Malale  and  Wattegama  planters 
would  assert  their  right  to  obtain  justice.  Last 
year,  month  after  month,  cases  were  instituted  by 
them,  and  the  affable  Magistrate,  intent  on  obliging 
the  European  proseoutor,  regularly  sentenced  the 
accused  to  varying  terms  of  imprisonment  and  a 
certain  number  of  lashes,  but  the  latter  part  of 
the  eentenoe  was  never  inflicted.  The  Magistrate 
ought  to  have  known  (even  if  the  Matale  planters 
and  their  •proctors  did  not)  that  he  had  not  the 
power  to  prescribe  lashes  as  a cure  for  thefts  of 
ptsedial  produce. 
The  Kurunegala  planters  were  wiser  in  their 
generation  (perhaps  made  more  vindictive  by 
shorter  crops  and  malarial  fever),  and  they  agitated 
for  the  infliction  of  lashes  as  the  only  oure  for 
the  systematic  stealing  of  caoao.  After  a great 
deal  of  opposition,  from  quarters  where  it  should 
least  have  been  expected,  the  required  ordinance  was 
passed,  but  in  suoh  a manner  as  to  avoid  giving 
offence  to  thieves  and  receivers.  Passed  at  the 
end  of  a crop  whioh  might  have  been  a 
good  one  (the  European  grower  can  only  judge  by 
the  export  returns  1),  its  effeot  was  somewhat  modi- 
fied, and  it  was  found  neaessary  very  soon  to 
agitate  for  the  proclamation  of  the  ordinance 
in  the  Kurunegala  Distriot.  Without  this,  the 
ordinance  so  obligingly  passed  by  the  Legislative 
Council,  after  so  much  delay  and  deliberation,  was 
absolutely  null  and  void.  Stisnge  as  it  may  seem 
to  any  mind  whioh  cannot  properly  appreciate 
the  apparent  burlesque  of  a Crown  Colony’s 
laboured  legislation,  the  proclamation  of  this 
ordinance  wa3  opposed  with  considerable  vigour, 
but  since  the  provisions  of  the  ordinance  have 
been  putin  force,  cacao -stealing  in  Kurunegala  has 
been  reduoed  to  a minimum. 
Why  did  not  the  Matale  planters  ad  jpt  the  same 
course?  Do  they  know  of  any  method  of  circum- 
venting Janus,  the  jungle  prootor,  and  the  pestilen- 
tial parasites  of  a Minor  Court,  or  did  they  suppose 
the  Government  would  relent  and  refund  all 
deficiencies  on  their  crop  estimates  ? It  is  late 
in  the  day  for  the  merry  men  of  Matale  to 
oall  their  brother  planters  to  jjiu  them 
in  a orusade,  and  while  so  doing  to 
use  disparaging  remarks  1 
Mr.  Gibbon  runs  a preliminary  tilt  at  those  who 
sell  their  crop  locally  to  natives,  especially  those 
who  sell  at  their  store  doors,  and  he  argues  that 
the  orop  so  Bold  is  mixed  with  any  unfermented 
and  overfermented  rubbish  bought  from  estate  coolieB 
and  natives.  Is  the  ubiquitous  (or  iniquitous) 
Mojrman  such  an  asB?  I think  not*  And  as  to 
the  vouoherB  given  by  those  who  sell  ctop  locally, 
they  are  always  I suppose  dated  ; and  I cannot  see 
how  (if  they  are  ever  shown  to  the  polioe)  they 
can  be  used  a seoond  time.  But,  supposing  we 
all  give  up  selling  produoe  locally  as  your  corre- 
spondent suggests,  what  is  to  prevent  the  constant 
pilfering  of  estate  coolies  and  the  steady  traffic  in 
the  bazaars  ? 
In  suggesting  a “Cacao  Growers’  Association” 
your  correspondent  has  forgotten  that  we  should  have 
to  reokon  with  the  native  owners  of  small  gardens, 
the  corner-stone  of  every  receiver’s  business.  These 
gardens  areofoourse  unregistered  as  "estates, "they  are 
mostly  hidden  from  the  publio  view,  and  the  crop 
they  give  are  probably  very  good.  The  district 
receiver  is  their  storekeeper  and  forwarding  agent. 
I agree  entirely  with  your  correspondent  that 
“ lashes  should  be  given  to  ooolies  and  receivers 
when  oonvicteu,”  but  the  difficulty  is  to  obtain 
a conviotion,  as  the  law  is  entirely  in  favour  of 
the  thieves.  I am  glad  to  say  I do  not  know  the 
originator  of  an  ordinance  which  presumed  that 
all  thieves  were  colour-blind  or  preferred  unripe 
fruit:  if  a humorist,  he  has  the  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  most  cf  those  who  trusted  to  him 
have  had  a bitter  experience. 
As  regards  remedial  measures,  I do  not  think  that 
Messrs.  Barber,  Martin  and  Gibbon  go  far  enough. 
After  the  exposure  of  the  existing  state  of  affairs, 
it  is  only  natural  to  conclude  that  the  local  head- 
men and  the  police  are  in  partnership;  if  the 
police  are  ignorant  of  the  receivers’  doings,  they 
were  better  dead.  The  remedies  I suggest  are:  - 
(1)  All  native  buyerB  of  cacao,  coffee  and  carda- 
moms, and  their  houses  should  be  registered  and 
licensed  : their  dealings  duly  entered  in  books 
opeu  to  inspection  ; (2)  No  healman  should 
be  allowed  to  own,  or  have  any  interest  in,  any 
such  boutique  ; (3)  No  cacao,  coffee  or  carda- 
moms should  be  aocepted  at  any  railway  station 
except  under  a registered  mark  and  (4)  ; every 
headman  should  be  held  responsible  for  the  sup- 
pression of  thefts  in  his  distriot.  Later  on,  when 
the  police  have  been  reformed,  as  was  promised 
some  years  ago,  it  might  be  possible  to  sanation 
the  search  of  suspected  boutiques  and  houses  by  a 
constable,  on  information,  without  the  farce  of  the 
planter’s  going  to  Court  and  publishing  his  sus- 
picions to  the  whole  distriot ; and  other  more  ra- 
tional modes  of  procedure  might  be  adopted,  but 
as  I share  your  correspondent’s  dread  of  printer’s 
ink,  I abstain  from  further  suggestions. — Yours 
faithfully,  A KURUNEGALA  PLANTER. 
LIBERIAN  COFFEE  IN  TRAVANCORE. 
Encouraging  Prospects. 
Jan.  29. 
Dear  Sir, — “ Experto  Crede  ” in  his  letter  to  you 
of  11th  inst.  says  of  Liberian  ooffee  : — “ It  gets  leaf- 
disease  of  oourse,  and  bug ; but  it  is  very  hard  to 
kill.”  My  experience  here — I am  happy  to  Bay — is 
very  different.  My  old  coffee  is  11J  years  of  age, 
and  was  raised  from  selected  seed  from  Ceylon. 
It  is  true  the  trees  get  leaf-disease,  some  badly, 
but  the  majority,  however,  suffer  but  little — “ bug” 
it  is  quite  free  from.  Crops  have  been  good  for 
some  years,  and  I think  your  correspondent  would  be 
more  successful  if  he  did  not  advooato  ” No  topping, 
no  pruning.” 
Plants  now  2§  years  old,  grown  from  selected  seed 
from  my  own  trees,  topped  at  an  average  of  5 feet 
have  on  them  today  a splendid  blossom,  and  the 
plants  appear  to  be  vigorous  enough  to  oarry  the 
orop  (supposing  the  blossom  all  sets).  These  plants 
have  never  had  a real  dose  of  leaf  disease,  and  1 
attribute  their  healthiness  to  the  oareful  ieleotion 
of  the  seed  they  were  grown  from  — Yours  &o., 
VENTURE-TRAVANCORE- 
