June  i,  1893.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
757 
Hooker — Flora  of  British  India,  vol.  iii. 
Crawfurd  -Dictionary  of  Indian  Islands,  p.  142  (1865). 
Simon’s  Tropical  Agriculturist. 
Kew  Bulletin,  1889,  p.  247. 
Van  Romburgh  — Korte  Berichten  uits  lands  Plan- 
tentuin  uitgaande  van  der  directum  dor  Inrich- 
ting  1891. 
Jagor—  Singapore,  Malacca  and  Java,  p.  61  (1866). 
Trimble — (Archives  fur  Pharmacie,  January,  1889), 
Analyses  of  Gambir. 
Tropcial  Agriculturist,  1885,  p.  204. 
^ 
INDIAN  TEA  CROP  IN  1893. 
(From  William  Moran  <£  Co.’s  Market  Report.) 
Calcutta,  April  19  th,  1893. 
Advi  es  from  the  districts  are  gc-nerally  favourable.  A 
few  hail-.torms  ate  reported,  tut  as  far  as  we  can  gather 
no  serious  clarnge  lies  resulted. 
A few  musters  have  conte  to  hand  which  shew  fair 
quality  for  early  mauufocture. 
We  have  been  favoured  by  the  General  Committee  of 
the  Indian  Tea  Association  with  the  following  tstimate  of 
the  crop  of  the  coming  serson  : — 
Original  Estimate  of  Crop  of  1893. 
lb. 
Assam 
Cachar 
8yibet 
Darjeeling 
Terai 
Dooers 
Chittagong 
Chota-Nagnore 
Dc'hra  Dun,  Kumaon  andKangra 
Private  and  Native  Gardens  ... 
50,326,320 
18,216,560 
20,387,680 
7,330  430 
3,427,200 
16,085,056 
1,008,000 
267,000 
4,500,000 
4,00o,0u0 
125,548,246 
heiug  11,861,363  lb.  over  the  actual  outturn  of  the 
crop  of  1892,  but  3j  million  lb.  less  than  original  esti- 
mate of  that  crop.  Estimating  shipments  to  the  Colonies 
and  other  Ports  with  local  consumption  at  9 millions, 
there  will  remain  about  llGy  million  lb.  for  export  to 
Great  Britain. 
— » 
TEA  FREIGHTS. 
As  has  been  already  announced  terms  have  been 
substantially  settled  between  the  Calcutta  Tea  Ship- 
pers and  the  Conference  Liners.  The  arrangement 
sanctioned  at  Tuesday’s  meeting  of  tea  shippers  is 
as  follows: — Agreement  to  be  for  three  years  cer- 
tain, terminating  at  i-he  end  of  that  period  on  six 
months’  notice  from  shippers  wishing  to  withdraw  ; 
failing  such  notice  the  agreement  to  continue  until 
six  months’  notice  is  given  on  either  side.  The  rate 
of  freight  to  be  15s  per  tOD,  as  customary,  above 
the  rate  for  wheat,  linseed,  and  jute  ruling  during 
the  previous  month,  subject  to  a return  of  5s  per 
ton  payable  as  heretofore  to  those  shippers  who  con- 
fine their  shipments  during  the  period  of  the  agree- 
ment exclusively  to  Conference  Liners.  The  mini- 
mum rate  to  be  35s  gross.  All  returns  to  be  payable 
up  to  the  termination  of  the  agreement.  All  rebates 
earned  up  to  31st  Jnly  1892  to  be  paid  in  full. — 
Pioneer,  April  15. 
- ■ — 
PLANTING  AND  THE  GERMAN  EAST  AFRICA 
COMPANY. 
RETURNED  FROM  EAST  AFRICA. 
Our  readers  will  doubtless  remember  the  attempt 
made  by  Mr.  Percy  Braine,  the  local  Agent  of  this 
Company,  some  time  ago,  to  obtain  Sinhalese 
labourers  to  work  on  the  company’s  estates  near 
Tanga.  The  project,  however,  had  to  be  abandoned, 
as  the  Government,  when  it  heard  of  the  matter, 
informed  Mr.  Braine  that  his  proceedings  were 
illegal.  In  view  of  these  circumstances,  the  following 
facts  which  we  have  gleaned  from  a young  gentle- 
man just  returned  from  East  Africa  with  whose 
health  the  place  did  not  agree,  may  not  he  uninterest- 
ing or  out  of  place. 
THE  COMPANY’S  ESTATES, 
said  our  informant,  are  from  50  to  60  miles  from  the 
coast.  They  have  opened  out  only  two  estates  at  pre- 
rent — one  of  which  (the  one  I was  on)  was  planted  with 
coffee,  and  a sprinkling  of  tea,  the  other  being  also  a 
thriving  coffee  plantation.  The  first  is  about  250  notes 
in  extent  and  is  under  the  management  and  control  of 
Mr.  W.  H.  Cowley,  the  other  being  managed  by  a 
German.  These  is  no  proper  load  to  the  estates  at 
prtsent— no  line  of  march — only  a little  path  bordered 
by  jungle  and  forest.  It  took  ns  about  a month  to 
travel  from  the  coast  to  the  estate,  which  is  named 
‘Derema’  after  the  river  wh'oh  rises  in  it  and  later 
joins  the  River  Zegi.  We  had  suffered  considerably 
trom  the  scarcity  of  good  water  during  the  journey, 
but  when  we  got  to  the  estate  we  found  an  abundance 
of  pure  drinkable  water.  The  labourers  on  the  Estate 
were  all 
CHINESE  AND  JAVANESE, 
about  150  in  number,  with  an  cauai  number  on  the 
adjoining  plantation.  But  somehow,  I don’t  exactly 
know  why,  attempts  were  beiug  made,  as  we  learnt, 
to  procure  labourers  from  Ceylon — Sinhalese  labourers 
then,  one  day,  we  heard  that  the  plan  had  been  pre- 
vented  by  the  Ceylon  Government.  There  were 
originally  eight  of  ns  Ceylonese  there — out  sickness 
compelled  some  to  retum.There  are  now  only  five  there 
— 2 Tamils,  1 Malay  and  2 Sinha'ese. ' It  seems  hard  at 
first  to  believe  that  though  the  water  is  pure  and 
drinkable. 
THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  ESTATE  IS  BAD. 
There  are  many  swampa  round  about,  and  thick 
black  forests  through  whioh  the  sun  never  pene- 
trates, and  from  underneath  rise  the  demons  of 
malaria,  and  fell  vapours,  the  attacks  of  which  none 
can  long  withstand.  Mr.  Cowley  keeps  his  health 
splendidly — though  this  is  accounted  for,  by  the  fact 
that  he  has  been,  if  I mistake  not,  iu  several  malarial 
districts  here  in  Ceylon.  I believe  our  Sinha- 
lese labourers,  had  they  gone  there,  would  have 
been  compelled  to  return — almost  all  of  them — 
with  a year,  at  most.  The  attacks  of  fever  are  some- 
thing unbearable  and  carry  one  off  within  eight  to 
ten  days.  To  add  to  the  hardship,  there  is  a scarcity 
of  good  and  nutritive  food,  and  what  little 
there  was,  we  had  to  cook  ourselves,  as  our 
African  servants  were  woefully  ignorant  in  the  culinary- 
art— and  didn’t  even  understand  how  to  fry  an  egg  I 
THE  WORK  ON  THE  ESTATES 
is  still  in  its  infancy,  and  with  the  malaria-proof 
Chinese  and  Javanese,  the  Estates  will  thrive  and 
flourish  and  be  a source  ol  wealth  to  the  company, 
in  time.  But  as  I said  before,  the  Sinhalese  labourer 
cannot  stand  the  fever.  It  is  malaria  par  excellence, 
and  even  some  few  of  the  Chinese,  with  their  tough 
and  siuevvy  frames,  suocumbed  to  it.  The  worst  part 
of  it  is  that  there  is  no  proper  medical  attendance 
in  cases  of  sickness,  as  there  is  on  our  Estates.  Onoe 
you’re  in  for  malaria  there,  it  is  a toss  np  between 
life  aud  death,  what  with  the  incompetant  dispenser 
(Doctor  he  called  himself  !)  to  attend  to  our  phy- 
sical ills. 
AN  ENCOUNTER  WITH  A LION. 
It  is  not  an  every-day  experience,  to  come  within 
twelve  feet  of  a real,  live,  growling  African  lion, 
bnt  such  was  what  I actually  experienced  one  day, 
having  ventured  a little  too  far  away  from  the  Estate, 
— and  without  my  gun,  too!  Talk  of  Lord  Randolph 
Churchill  ! Why,  his  oase  was  child’s  play  compared 
to  mine  ! I was  walking  leisurely  along  admiring  the 
mighty  forest  trees,  when  all  of  a sudden  my  eyes 
beheld,  about  twelve  feet  away  from  me,  underneath 
a bush,  a shaggy  maned  king  of  the  forest.  I trem- 
bled like  an  aspen  leaf,  but  kept  looking  st  him 
fixedly,  and  retiring  slowly  sep  by  step.  When  I 
had  gone  a considerable  distance  in  this  manner,  I 
plunged  into  some  brushwood  and  fled  for  life,  reach- 
ing the  Estate  in  safety.  The  dreaded  beast  had  not 
pursued  me,  or  even  risen  from  his  lair — perhaps  he 
was  after  a good  meal!  Whatever  may  have  been 
the  cause  of  my  deliverance,  1 shall  always  regard 
it  aa  providential, 
