98 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[Aug. 1, 1900. 
" raiatp,'* nre not snfficienUy well off, they Fay, 
to bear the initial exiiense of rfiocuring- it. 
The Helangor Coconut Oil C'onipany'.'! mill 
has bren in workintj order tlironghont the 
year This district does not supply suHifient copra 
to enable ihe lactovy to keep froinj^, but a 
certain amount i.s imported inlo Kuala Seiaii- 
fjor fioni Jei'atn, Bernani and Teluk Anson. 
I understand from tiie Mmager, Mr. K S Meikie, 
that iheie i.s a reiidy sale for tiie " poonac " — 
the refuse of tiie copra when ihe oil has been e.x- 
tracted — it is used for feeding horses, cattle and 
pigs, and is, i believe, exticmely nourisliing. 
Most of it is shipped to Anstialia, but a por- 
tion is sold locally .■■jid in Kuala Luni imr. 
Tiie oociniut beetle does not appear to do 
a great deal of harm, except in a few iilaces 
in this district, and ihc provisions of the 
Enactment for the preservation of coconut trees 
enables the District Otiicer to deal with cases 
reported where owners have taken no measures 
for checking '.he inioad or inciease of tlie beetles 
on their estates. — Administration Reports. 
NEGRI SEMBILAN. 
Pl.\nting in Stb-aits. 
Ih'om the Report for 1899 of Mr. E W Birch 
as Britisii Resident, we quote a few passages: — 
It is a pleasant duty to again report upon a year 
of great prosperity for the Negri Sorabilan and 
my only regret is that the Cottee Planters did 
not share in that prosperity. Some valuable 
estates were sold at prices which must prove 
remunerative to the purchasers unless the culti- 
vation of coffee is to be entirely abandoned, an 
eventuality whicli, in view of the ups and downs 
of the market for agricultural produce during 
the past twenty years, it is unnecessary to con- 
sider seriously. 1 am glad to state that the 
Coffee Curing Mill, wiiich I have long advocated, 
has been established at Port Dickson. The price 
of Tin fluctuated between £89 and £150 per ton, 
remaining for about three months at over .?80 
per pikul. The average price for the year works 
out at about $72 and to it may be attributed a 
great increase in the Revenue of the State, very 
appreciable profits to the Miners, immense re- 
turns to the Parmers and a large influx of 
Chinese labourers. Tlie Duty of Tin produced no 
no less a sum than 5f556,8.58, wliich is almost 
equal to the whole revenue of the State in 1897. 
Itexceeded my csDiruate by over §330,000. The 
value of Tin exported was more than four and 
a quarter millions of dollars. The most satis- 
factory feature, however, is that the output was 
57,300 pikuls, or 11,1.50 pikuls more than in 1898. 
<5> — 
GREEN TEA MANUFACTURE: 
PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE ON BRUNS- 
WICK ESTATE. 
(by the h. drummond deane system.) 
[Aliliough already published, it is well at this 
time, in repeat these instructions again. — Ed. T.A.] 
(I) Take tiie green leaf straigliC from the held 
and steam at once in Deane & Rao's Machine (a 
long narrow revolving box); full steam must be 
turned on for 5 niinuoes and then shut olT, the 
leaf is then kept in a steam box tor another 10 
minutes, the box kept revolving meanwhile, in 
ordei lhat each leaf may get the full benefit of 
the 1-1 earn. Die leaf is then examined, and if 
found plii'.lde (like slightly under withered leaf) it 
ifj t-.'keii oat and spread on tats to draiu ott'the 
superfluous water ; if the leaf is not found to be 
sufficiently pliable another 2 minutes in box 
sliould be allowed. Some time should be allowed 
for draining oil' the water. 
(II) A suitable quantity is then taken to the 
roller and rolleif for half an hour lightly, after 
being discharged, all lumps (of wUich a great 
many will be in evidence) must be carefully 
broken by hand, or it may be put into dryer for 
asiiort tune beiore going to roller. 
(III) Tiie roll is then taken to the drier and 
partially lired to rid it of excess of moisture, care 
being taken not to allow it to become crisp. 
(IV) It is then rolled again for one hour. 
Owing to the brittle quality of the leaf after it has 
been submitted to the steainiiie procefvs, it is not 
possible at any time to apply weight to it in rolling. 
After discharge from roller, the leaf must be 
again carefully broken by liand, 
(V) Then linal fired. This last operation must 
be thoroughly conijileted, care however being 
taken that temperature is not allowed too high 
(say D.D. Sirocco 210 degrees to 220 degrees 
should be the maximum), as the leaf very easily 
blisters, also a "toasted" flavour (which is ob- 
jectionable) may be imparted to the tea. Firing 
should be as brisk as possible, as it adds to the 
pungency of the tea, the points mentioned above 
being carefully observed. 
SIFTING PROCESS. 
The bulk is first passed through a 
No. 12 sieve and called young Hjson 
then ,, 10 „ ,, Hyson 
,, ,, 8 ,, ,, Hyson No. 2 
and what remains on top of No- 8 has to be broken 
through it. 
Dust from Young Hyson should be mixed with 
the lower grail es. 
There should not be more than from 10 to 12 per 
cent of dust altogether from the other grades, 
which is called " rwatiky," and is sometimes 
mixed with Hyson and Hyson No. 2. 
AMERICA'S NEW POSSESSIONS. 
ENORMOUS GROWTH OF AMERICAN TRADE. 
Here are figures showing how American exports 
to Cuba, Porto Itico, Hav/aii, and the Philippines 
have grown in three years : — 
Fiscal Cuba. Porto Rico. Hawaii. Philippinea. 
Years. Dollara. Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. 
1898 9,561,656 1,505,046 5,907,155 127,804 
1899 10,619,377 2,685,848 9,305,470 404,193 
*1900 25,000,000 3,6(0,000 14,500,000 2,500,000 
* May and June, 1900 ,estimated. 
— Sell's Commercial lntelJi(/ence, 
— ♦ 
Electric Light on a Perak Sugar Estate. 
— What is believed to be the first electric light- 
ing plant in Perak, was installed in Gedong 
Sugar Estate, Began Serai, a few days ago. It 
is working most satisfactorily. The above Estate, 
expects to receive very shortly, the inateriils for 
a factory of the latest type, the mill and crush- 
ing plant of which, will be the largest ever 
imported into the East, with a new type of 
evaporators and crystallizers, altogether capable 
of turning out about 40 tons of sugar daily. — 
Perak Pioneer, June 20. 
