300 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Nov. 1, 1900. 
he considers, c:\n be served from Peradeuiya ; the 
latter by a refoimed Agricultural School to be cou- 
tinued under the Department of Public Instruction. 
Oiu- objection to this coui-se is that it would not 
secure the personal interest, attention and respon- 
sibility of the Piovinoial and District revenue oliioers 
and their headmen, without which we are hopeless 
of any real permanent progress being made lu the 
impiovement of native ngtimlUxre.— Editor, Troincal 
A(jricidturi^t.\ 
THE FIRST PUBLIC SALE OP 
GREEN TEA IN COLOMBO. 
into 
the 
in- 
FULL PRICES REALISED. 
FINE GREF.N TEAS FROM A KALUT.i.UA E3TATE. 
At the public sale of tea. on 10th Oct. last an event 
which is certainly worth noting took place. It; was the 
first auction at which green teas were sold in Colombj. 
and the result must surely be regarded as eminently 
satisfactory. Two estates invoices were offered— one 
of high-grown tea and the other of liw grown— and 
there was, curiously enough, very little difference in the 
prices paid for each. The breaks were divided 
Young Hyson, Hyson No. 1, and Hyson No. '2, and 
following were the prices paid for the high grown 
voice, sold by Messrs. Foibes & vValker:— 
LIBOOKELLIE GRKAT TEAS 
l.blf> lb3... Young Hy30U..52 cts. 
1,260 lbs.. Hyson No. 1..42 cts. 
3,920 lb5..Uyson No. '2. .37 cts. 
These prices must be considered good, though Laboo- 
kellie, being an estate at a considerable elevation, is 
accustomed" to get' excellent prices for its teas; and 
no doubt, when the Superintendent has had more 
experience in the manufacture of green teas, he will 
turn out a very much better simple than even these. 
The second estate offering green teas, was Arapola- 
kauda, the property of the E istern Produce and Estates 
Co. in Kalutara, and, inasmuch as the prices paid for 
its invoice of green teas w.is almost as good as that 
given for Libookellio, green teas, the Superintendent 
of the estate who made the tea has to be congratu- 
lated on the result. As the estite referreil to offered 
an invoice of* black teas in the same sale, wa are 
able to make a very effectual compaiison, of the prices 
realised for the cue and for the other. They compare 
as follows ; — 
Arapolakanda 
Green Teas 
lbs. cts. 
1,710 Young Hyson.. 50 I 
1,360 Hyson No. 1 . .41 
852 Hyson No. 2 ..37 I 
Black Teas 
lbs. cts. 
3,780 Broken Pekoe. .39 
2,400 Pekoe ..34 
540 Pekoe Souchong " 
We think our readers will agree with us that this 
result is one cf which all of us in Ceylon can heartily 
con-i-atuUte ourselves. It clearly demonstrates that 
even leaf from Ceylon low-country estates can be 
made into excellent green tea, and that prices can be 
paid in the open market as high as, if not higher 
than, those commanded by black teas. 
We may state that some of this teas were purchased 
by Mr. Tokmakoff to be sent to Russia ; others we 
believe are destined for Canada. , , ^ 
We may say that the leaf of the Arapolakande tea 
hid a better appearence thnn the other, whilst its liquor 
was more pungent and had more of the true green tea 
flivour which is the more remarkable as it is a low- 
Country tea, and it was thought that leaf from such 
8<tatescould not be made into the best green tea.— Local 
• Jimes." 
llUBBEll IN IIHODESTA. 
Wc have received an interesting little pamphlet 
upon I he rubber iii(lu.stry in the British South 
Africa Company's territories. The writer is Mr. 
Philip I'Vltlclon (li'll, oiK^ of (he directors of the 
Chartered Uomiiaiiy, and although tlie informa- 
tion at tl)0 (li.^po.sa'l <}t the writer is admittedly 
imperfect, he gives facts which clearly show that 
there is an extensive field for tlie development of 
the rubber trade in the extensive territory con- 
trolled, by the Chartered Company. 
In the introductory notice Mr. Gell has arrived 
at certain conclusions which lie briefly stat es under 
eight headings, whicli are as follow: (1) 
All the rubber should contribute to tlie revenue; 
(2) all wild rubber should be regarded as a 
capital asset of the company ; (3) immediate legis- 
lation is necessary to regulate tlie industry and 
protect it from extirpation ; (4) no monopoly 
should be granted, althoush outsiders wishing to 
collect rubber must obtain the local licence ; (5) 
the duty of, say, 3d per lb. should be levied upon 
all traded rubber ; (()) all licences to be available 
only within the district specified ; (7) a depart- 
ment of forestry should be established; (8) en- 
couragement should be given to the investment 
of capital in the systematic cultivation of rubber. 
In t!ie course of tiie pamphlet the writer deals 
with the sources of rubber, extensive tracts of 
north-east and north-west Rhodesia producing 
natural rubber of high commercial standing, 
whilst it is indigenous in abundance in tlie sou- 
thern part of the country. The native methods 
of extraction are, as usual, very destructive and 
the methods of preparation faulty, but it is believed 
tliat the various I'ubber species can be introduced 
and cultivated, and the rubber latex coll°,cted 
under proper management. 
The chief indigenous rubber belongs to the 
Landolphia species, which flourishes in theMweru 
districts. 
Dealing with the regulations enforced in other 
countries, he says that in the Congo State the 
industry is largely worked by the Government. 
Concessions for extracting rubber within fixed 
areas and for limited periods are also granted, 
but the lessees a;e bound to plant a certain num- 
ber of new trees each year, bearing a fixed pro- 
portion to the weight of rubber extracted. 
Amongst other restrictions the felling of rubber 
trees is forbidden, and for the infringement of 
this and other regulations, penaltie.'? of from lOOf. 
to lO.OOOf. and imprisonment may be imposed, em- 
ployers, directors of companies and State agents 
being liable for the payment of fines incurred by 
their servants. Export duties on rubber are fixed 
at 10 per cent, by treaty with France and Portugal. 
There is apparently tin additional duty of 50 
centimes per kilo, fixed in February, 1898, and a 
fee of £200 is charged for every licence to establish 
an India-rubber warehouse. Natives who hold 
licences to collect rubber apparently have tlie op- 
tion of compounding for their fees by paying one- 
fifth of the rubber collected to the State. 
In Lourengo Marques a monopoly of the produc- 
tion and ti'ade in rubber for twenty-five j-ears has 
been granted over the unoccupied State lands. 
The concessionaires pay a rent of 200,000 reis 
(equal to £44 7s lid) per annum, and under- 
take to plant 20,000 trees in two years. They 
further pay a duty of 50 reis (equal to 2'65d ) per 
kilo, for seven years ; rising to 75 reis (equal to 
4d) per kilo, for the remaining eighteen years. 
They are exempt from all other imposts. They 
have the option of retaining the land at the same 
rent at the expiration of the monopoly, which, 
however, does not restrain the cultivation of 
rubber on private property and its export by pri- 
vate persons. 
The Mozambique Company forbids any indivi- 
dual to purchase rubber from natives, or to ex- 
tract it through agents, without a special annual 
licence, extending only from February 1st to 
August 31st, which costs £3 per annum. 30 reis 
(equal to 1.6d) per kilo, must be paid before rubber 
can leave the district in which it is collected, and 
a receipt for the tax must always accompany th« 
goods. Every person purchasing rubber or cQllect- 
