742 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[June  i,  1893. 
BORNEO  TOBACCO. 
We  are  told  by  a friend  writing  to  us  from  England 
that  cigars  reoeived  from  Borneo  and  looally 
manufactured  there  from  leaf  produced  in  the 
country,  are  finding  muoh  appreciation  with  home 
smokers.  Dealers  who  may  be  supposed  to  be 
judges  of  what  constitutes  a good  “ smoke  ” 
stroDgly  recommend  these  to  their  customers 
and  they  also  declare  the  tobacco  to  be 
second  only  in  every  desirable  attribute  to  that 
obtained  from  Havana.  Our  correspondent  adds 
hiB  own  testimony  in  support  of  this  professional 
verdiot,  and  states  that,  price  especially  being 
considered,  he  bas  never  yet  obtained  any  cigars 
whioh  have  afforded  him  greater  satisfaction  in 
every  reBpeot  than  do  these  cigars  from  Borneo. 
Our  own  experience  of  failure  in  Ceylon  is  but  of 
too  recent  occurrence  not  to  make  us  feel  some- 
what envious  of  the  reputation.  Borneo  now 
seems  likely  to  aohieve  in  England.  It  is  one 
whioh  may  tend  towards  stimulating  progress  in 
that  settlement  and  to  reversing,  to  some  extent, 
the  adverse  opinions  of  late  current  as  to  its  future 
prospeots.  We  are  told  that  the  cigars  upon  whioh 
has  been  founded  the  judgment  referred  to,  were 
purchased  of  the  Civil  Service  Stores,  whioh  have 
just  reported  a large  and  increasing  sale  for  the 
various  brands  kept  by  them.  These  are  sold 
at  the  Stores  at  a very  moderate  prioe,  8s  9d  for 
boxes  containing  50  oigars,  or  little  more  than 
twopenoe  each.  They  are  said  to  be  exceedingly 
Well  made,  and  to  so  closely  resemble  in  appear- 
ance the  coveted  oigars  from  Havana  that  they 
could  not  be  distinguished  from  these  by  any 
passer-by,  and  we  learn  that  this  is  regarded  by 
smokers  as  a great  desideratum.  The  statement 
is  also  made  that  large  quantities  of  tobacoo 
leaf  are  sent  from  Sumatra  and  Manilla— the 
latter  island  more  especially — to  Havana  for 
the  purpose  of  oovering  the  cigars  manufactured 
there, — it  being  the  fact,  as  we  are  told,  that 
the  native  leaf  of  the  last-mentioned  place  is 
Bo  full  of  rib  and  fibre  that  it  does  not  afford 
the  smooth  and  sightly  surface  desired  by  smokers. 
A ribbed  outer  oovering,  also,  is  said  to  tend 
to  muoh  inequality  in  burning,  and  probably 
much  of  the  high  oost  of  Havana  oigars 
iB  due  to  the  labour  necessary  for  extracting 
this  rib  and  fibre  from  the  tobacco  used 
for  the  interior  of  them.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  one  shipment  of  Dumbara  tobacoo  some  years 
ago,  was  thought  so  suitable  for  outside  coverings, 
that  it  fetched  a high  prioe  in  Amsterdam  and 
sent  Deli  planters  to  explore  the  island  for  land 
With  a result  whioh  they  and  the  local  Tobaooo 
Company  have  reason  to  regret.  But  we  should 
like  to  know  whether  the  Ceylon-grown  tobacco, 
Which  has  in  later  years  been  so  thoroughly 
experimented  with,  had  lost  the  smoothness  re- 
ferred to,  and  was  possessed  of  the  disability  of 
rib  and  fibre ; and  if  so,  whether  any  (at- 
tempt was  made  to  get  rid  of  it  before  using 
it  in  the  looal  manufacture  of  oigars,  or 
to  import  a Sumatra  leaf  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  a finished  external  appearance,  We 
believe  Mr.  Ingleton  does  use  carefully  secleoted 
foreign,  as  well  as  Ceylon,  grown  leaf  for  his 
Wrappers,  and  there  can  be  no  question  of  the 
importance  of  oare  in  the  finish.  For,  apart  from 
appearance,  it  is  certain  that  no  oigars  can  give 
satisfaction  if  their  burning  is  likely  to  be 
variable,  and  we  hear  that  nothing  is  more  likely 
to  oause  this  latter  annoyanoe  than  coarseness 
or  roughness  in  the  leaf  in  whioh  the  internal 
.packing  is  rolled.  If  Havana  has  to  resort 
to  importation  to  overcome  this  difficulty,  with 
regard  to  its  own  growth,  there  could  be  no 
reason  why  the  same  thing  should  not  be  done 
by  the  makers  of  Eastern  oigars.  In  any  case, 
it  is  satisfactory  to  know  that  the  Tobacoo  and 
Cigar  industry  of  Borneo  appears  to  be  h»  a fair 
way  of  achieving  success  for  what  is  now,  appar- 
ently, to  be  its  most  important  cultivation.  On 
this  we  heartily  congratulate  the  planters  of 
the  island,  who  have  up  till  now  had  to 
struggle  against  so  many  difficulties,  as  also  the 
shareholders  who  have  invested  in  the  oapital 
of  the  several  Companies  working  there,  without, 
as  yet,  having  received  the  least  return  for  their 
money.  There  is  much  need  for  encouragement 
in  North  Borneo,  and  this  news  of  the  popularity 
in  London  of  its  cigars,  may  cheer  the  des- 
pondent. 
ANNUAL  TEA  REPORTS  OF  LONDON 
' BROKERS. 
In  a special  Supplement  to  last  issue  of  the  Tropical 
Agriculturist , we  plaoed  the  interesting  and  valuable 
Annual  Reports  of  Messrs.  Geo.  White  & Co.  and 
Wilson,  Smithett  & Co.,  Tea  Brokers,  for  1892.  We 
gave  both  nearly  in  full  and  we  trust  exaotly  as  re- 
ceived, save  that  errors  pointed  out  by  the  Broker 
compilers,  have  been  corrected  by  us,  as  also  others 
discovered  by  local  planters  and  ourselves,  more 
particularly  in  reference  to  the  elevation  of  certain 
plantations.  We  must  confess,  however,  that  a 
number  of  names  inoluded  in  Messrs.  Wilson, 
Smithott  & Co.’s  list  are  unfamiliar  to  us,  notwith- 
standing all  the  information  collected  for  our 
Directory  and  we  shall  be  glad  to  have,  as  early  as 
possible,  particulars  of  the  following  places  to 
embody  in  our  Distriot  lists  : — 
1.  Valamaly 
2.  Elaagapitiya 
3.  Dinastow 
11.  Kelso 
12.  Amawatura 
13.  Sumtravalle 
4.  Devanella  & Deemally  14.  Sapitiyagodde 
5.  Braintree  15.  C’Galla 
6.  Come  Away  16.  Lokamanda 
7.  Amgalla  17.  Saidewatta 
8.  Gona  18.  Akuresea 
9.  Ambragalla  19.  M.  K.  Oya 
10.  Matara  Oya  20.  Fairfield 
[It  is  possible  that  Eome  of  these  may  be  in  our 
Directory  list  under  diffierent  names  ?] 
Turning  now  to  Messrs.  Geo.  White  & Co.’s  very 
interesting  Report,  we  are  arrested  by  the  explan- 
ations ofered  as  to  the  low  prices  of  tea  prevalent  for 
some  time  back.  These  are:  large  deliveries  previous 
to  the  close  of  the  year ; recent  depression  in  trade  ; 
and  as  we  ventured  to  anticipate  ourselves,  an  ex- 
pectation that  the  duty  on  tea  might  be  lowered 
again  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer — perhaps 
from  4d  to  2d  per  lb.  The  reference  to  Ceylons, 
and  the  soarcity  of  fine  teas,  reads  to  us  just  now 
like  a bit  of  satire,  in  view  of  the  small  encourage- 
ment ofiered  in  the  Lane  all  this  year  to  send  home 
fine  Ceylon  teas. 
It  is  interesting  to  see  that  the  quantity  of  Ceylon 
tea  re-exported  from  the  United  Kingdom  last  year 
was  8,448,000  or  within  314,000  lb.  of  the  quantity 
of  Indian  so  distributed,  and  still  more  satis- 
factory this  trade  in  the  case  of  Ceylon  shows 
an  increase  of  1,341,000  lb.  over  that  for  1891.  But 
one  fact  that  arrests  attention  in  the  statistics 
afforded,  is  that  while  Indian  and  Ceylon  teas 
have  so  largely  ousted  “Chinas”  in  the  home 
market,  yet  in  regard  to  the  re-export  trade  from 
Ujoadon,  China  has  still  the  great  advantage— the 
ekport  of  the  latter  tea  being  three  times  that 
of  the  former  last  year.  This  means,  of  course, 
that  China  still  commands  the  Continental  maiket 
so  far  as  the  London  export  trade  is  concerned ; 
but  surely  there  is  room  tor  a great  obaoge  here 
