696 
thl  tropical  agriculturist. 
[May  1,  1893. 
satisfaction  with  our  present  standard  are  not  far 
to  seek.  Our  course  of  exchange  with  home  keeps 
very  steady  and  has  done  so  for  years.  Our  impor- 
ters, when  ordering  their  goods  from  Europe,  do 
not  require  to  trouble  themselves  with  conjectures 
as  to  how  exchange  will  fluctuate  between  the  time 
they  order  their  supplies  and  the  date  when  they 
will  be  drawn  upon  for  cost  of  same.  The  export 
merchant,  too,  sells  his  produce  for  forward  delivery 
without  requiring  to  rack  his  brains  with  regard  to  rates 
of  exchange,  which  he  is  likely  to  get  when  selling 
his  drafts  against  cost  of  his  produce.  I assure  you, 
sir,  you  are  welcome  to  your  silver  standard  so  long 
as  you  leave  us  with  our  gold  one.  One  disadvan- 
tage to  newly  arrived  British  here  which  you  have 
not  enumerated  is  want  of  knowledge  of  the  Dutch 
language.  Absence  of  this  knowledge  to  a British 
planter  (specially  in  the  interior  of  Java,  where  but 
little  English  is  spoken)  is  certainly  a great  disadvan- 
tage. However,  in  this  respect,  an  experienced  Dutch 
tea  planter  with  no  knowledge  of  English  would  be 
equally  at  a disadvantage  in  Ceylon  as  an  English 
planter  of  experience  in  Java  with  no  knowledge 
of  Dutch.  A non-Dutch  speaking  English  planter, 
if  starting  in  Java,  would  require  a mentor  in  the 
shape  of  an  English-speaking  Dutch  coffee  planter 
associated  with  him  during  the  first  few  years  of 
his  Java  life. 
I don't  intend  to  enter  here  into  a long 
“puff”  as  to  what  coffee  in  Java  can  do.  If  any  of 
your  readers,  however,  are  interested  in  knowing 
what  Java  coffee  has  done,  let  me  advise  them  to 
procure  and  study  the  book  published  annually  by 
Mr.  J.  H.  de  Bussy,  Amsterdam,  entitled  “ Hand- 
book von  Cultum  en  Handelsondememingen  in 
Nedelansch  India.”  The  book  is  well  worth  perusal. 
Before  I close,  let  me  give  you  the  experience  of 
one  of  our  young  lands  in  East  Java.  It  was  started 
in  1887,  and,  at  end  of  1889,  350  bouws  were  under 
coffee.  In  1891  the  dividend  declared  was  13  per  cent, 
and  in  1892  82  per  cent,  or  95  per  cent  within  two 
years.  If  I tell  of  older  lands  which  paid  dividends 
of  over  300  per  cent,  I shall  probably  not  be  believed 
by  your  readers.  However,  to  all  sceptics  about  coffee 
cultivation  in  Java,  I can  only  say  “ come  and  see 
four  yourself.”  I think  most  strangers  who  have 
visited  this  part  of  the  world  will  confirm  my  state- 
ment that  Dutch  planters  are  most  hospitable,  and 
will  gladly  give  an  enquiring  brother  planter,  albeit 
he  comes  from  another  land,  all  the  information  and 
statistics  at  their  command. 
Mind  you,  I do  not  say  that  all  the  tickets  in  the 
Java  coffee  lottery  grain  Prizes.  I think,  however, 
it  will  be  found  that  the  prizes  outnumber  the  blanks. 
The  first  two  or  three  years  of  coffee  planting  on 
a new  land  are  hard  and  anxious  ones,  no  matter 
in  what  part  of  the  world  that  laud  be.  i feel  sure, 
however,  that,  taking  both  advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages into  account,  Java  coffee  planting  will  hold 
its  own  against  coffee  cultivation  in  any  part  of  the 
world,  whether  north  or  south  of  the  equator. 
Sourabaya,  March  9th.  Lochabek. 
— Local  “Times.” 
FOREST  PRODUCTS  OP  BRITISH  GUIANA. 
In  1890,  the  exports  of  timber  from  British  Guiana 
amounted  to  332,098  cubic  feet,  valued  at  110,000 
dollars,  and,  in  1891,  to  312,801  cubic  feet,  valued 
at  96,330  dollars.  The  United  States  Consul  at 
Demer’ara  says  that  this  industry  could  be  developed 
to  almost  any  extent,  if  the  difficulty  of  the  rapids 
were  overcome,  so  that  timber  could  be  easily  brought 
down  from  the  interior.  At  present,  little  or  nothing 
can  be  done  beyond  the  repids,.  so  that  only  a very 
small  portion  of  the  country  can  be  profitably  worked. 
Another  product  of  the  forest  is  ballata,  a kind  of 
gutta-percha,  which  was  exported  in  1890  to  the 
amount  of  226,809  pounds.  Shingles,  firewood,  and 
charcoal  are  also  exported  to  a small  extent,  princi- 
pally to  Barbados.  The  forests  embrace  a great  many 
species  of  trees.  The  varieties  of  timber  are,  as  a 
result,  numerous  in  colour — from  dark  red  to  almost 
pure  white — and,  in  specific  gravity,  from  nearly 
double  that  of  water  to  less  than  half  that  of  the 
standard  liquid.  The  principal  building  woods  are 
green  heart,  mora,  and  wallaba.  The  first  is  a most 
valuable  wood,  being  classed  with  teak,  either  one  of 
which  maybe  exclusively  used  in  shipbuilding,  while 
its  durable  qualities  are  placed  on  a level  with  oak, 
only  teak  coming  before  it.  It  is  heavy,  very  close 
grained,  grey,  with  a greenish  cast,  and  may  be 
obtained  50  or  more  feet  in  length.  Under  water  and 
in  the  tropics  it  is  superior  to  all  other  woods,  house 
frames,  made  of  green  heart  which  are  100  years 
old,  having  been  found  still  unperforated  by  worms. 
The  mora  is  not  so  close-grained  as  green  heart, 
but  it  is  almost  equally  durable.  Its  colour  is  reddish, 
and  it  may  be  obtained  in  as  large  dimensions  as 
green  heart.  Wallaba  is  a dark  red  wood,  with  an 
unpleasant  odour  when  new,  very  durable,  but  not 
obtainable  in  such  large  sized  logs  as  those  referred 
to  above.  Being  easily  split,  it  is  commonly  used 
for  making  shingles,  palings,  cask  and  vat  staves,  &c. 
On  account  of  its  colour  and  smell,  it  cannot  be 
used  for  rum  puncheons,  but,  after  a little  use, 
water  makes  no  impression  upon  it.  Other  timbers 
are  particularly  suited  for  special  purposes,  such  as 
that  of  the  bullet  tree,  which  was  formerly  considered 
the  only  timber  fit  to  be  used  for  the  arms  and 
shafts  of  windmills.  The  silverbally  is  light,  and 
suitable  for  boat  building,  from  its  containing  a 
bitter  element  obnoxious  to  worms  and  barnacles. 
As  to  the  woods  suitable  for  furniture,  these,  it  is 
said,  will  no  doubt  be  better  appreciated  in  other 
parts  of  the  world,  when  they  are  known  a little 
better  tnan  at  present.  The  native  cedar  ( cedrela ), 
which  is  quite  different  from  the  timber  of  trees  of 
the  pine  family,  is  very  useful  for  wardrobes  and 
cabinets,  where  its  scent  tends  to  keep  away  insects. 
Mahogany  is  not  native  to  the  colony,  but  the  wood 
called  Guiana  mahogany  is  that  of  the  carapa, 
commonly  known  as  crab  wood.  It  is  not  so  dark 
in  colour  or  so  hard  in  texture  as  mahogany,  and, 
being  more  easily  worked,  is  used  for  all  kinds  of 
furniture.  Letterwood  is  one  of  the  prettiest,  but,  as 
the  peculiar  dark  marks  are  only  found  in  the  heart, 
only  small  logs  can  be  obtained,  rarely  exceeding  six 
inchess  in  diameter.  Purple  heart  is  unique,  being 
of  a pretty  violet  colour,  when  fresh  or  new,  which, 
however,  turns  to  a dark  brown  after  being  worked 
up.  There  are  many  different  varieties  of  furniture 
woods  produced  in  British  Guiana,  and  a list, 
enumerating  63  distinct  kinds,  was  prepared  for  the 
Paris  Exhibition  of  1878.  In  the  various  woods  every 
colour  known  is  represented,  from  almost  black, 
through  browns  and  reds  to  deep  and  pale  yellow, 
to  almost  white.  They  are,  however,  curiously  free 
from  irregular  veining  and  knots,  the  marks  being 
almost  uniform  and  in  parallel  lines,  but  they  are 
not  wanting  in  beauty.  For  panelling,  nothing  can 
excel  the  nearly  black  wamara,  contrasted  with  the 
pale  green  heart  or  the  lighter  and  more  easily 
worked  simarupa,  which  is  almost  white.  At  present, 
the  demand  is  so  limited  that  many  of  the  fancy 
woods  are  difficult  to  procure,  the  woodcutters 
looking  only  for  such  timber  as  they  know  will 
command  a market.  If,  however,  says  Uonsul  Carrol 
a market  were  opened,  these  could  be  collected  as 
easily  as  green  heart,  mora,  and  wallaba  are  at 
present. — Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts. 
^ 
The  use  of  tea  is  yearly  increasing  at  Venice.  The 
inferior  qualities  of  Russian  teas  sold  by  many  re- 
tailers at  high  prices  cannot  compare  with  the  finest 
China,  India,  and  Ceylon  teas  now  supplied  direct 
to  customers  here,  at  very  moderate  prices,  by  the 
United  Kingdom  Tea  Company,  Limited,  of  London. 
— British  Vice-Consul  at  Venice,  January  4th,  1893. — 
British  Trade  Journal. 
Elephant  Tusks.— It  is  difficult  to  obtain  from 
an  elephant’s  tusk  a perfect  slab  of  ivory  more 
than  six  inches  in  diameter,  as  the  upper  6nd  of 
the  tusk,  which  is  the  thickest,  is  hollow,  and  the 
material  is  coarser  than  that  in  the  solid  part  of 
the  tusk.  Every  part  of  the  tusk  is  put  to  use. 
Even  the  chips  and  sawdust  are  converted  into 
ivory  blaok  by  burning.—  Echo,  March  17, 
