Nov. 1, 1900,] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
medicine in this clicap yjirt readily-obtainable foi'ui. 
Coming to the financial part of the business, 
we find that the net profit on the operations of 
the estates amounted to lt30,822, which is re- 
presented by stock valued at cost price ; but, 
takin.a; the stock of quinine at market value 
(Is. 7d. per oz.), the profit would have been 
R154,631. Mr. Standen estimates that the total 
cost of manufacturing the 10,188 lb. of quinine 
sulphate was R129,390 3a 9p., or R12 11a. 2p. per 
lb. and, taking the value of the rupee at nominally 
Is. 3d., this works out at 1.5s. per lb., or about 
llrfd. per oz. Since the commencement of the 
operations of the Madras Cinchona Department 
the charges have amounted fo R33,19,101, and the 
receipts to R4(J,91,278, so that there has been an 
excess of revenue over expenditure of R7, 75,177 ; 
while, after allowing for interest on receipts and 
charges, the net surplus to the eni of last year 
was nearly 1-4 lakhs of rupees.— Chemist and 
Dmggist, Sept. 22. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Java Ql'iN'iNE.— The shipments from Java for 
Jnne were live cases only. From July 1st to .June 
30th (twelve niontlis) the shipment have t)"en : — ■ 
1899-1900 1898-99 1897-96 
Cases ... 1,352 1.619 458 
The following are the dates fixed for the rei'^ainder 
oftlie qninine-auctions to beheld in Batavia tliis 
year.— Oct. 31 (4,000 kilos.), Nov. 28 (4,000 
"kilo?.), and December 19th (3,200 \i\\o!i.]— Plant- 
ing Opinion, Oct. 6. 
The Cauvery Scheme : American Tender 
Accepted. — The Mysore Government have at 
length finally settled all the points that were at 
is.sue between themselve-s and the Government of 
iMadras relative to the water of the Cauvery 
Falls, and tliey have accepted the tender (£140,941) 
of the General Electric Company of the Ur.ited 
States, who have undertaken to complete within 
twenty months the installation of the plant re- 
quired at Sivasainurlram to generate 5,000 horse- 
power and to ti ansmit it a distance of ninety miles 
to a central station on the Kolar Gold Fields. 
Arrangements are being made with the various 
gold-iiiining companies now at work on the Fields 
for the distribution of the electricity from the 
central station, and for the installation of motors 
to work the machines now driven by steam.— 
Pioneer, Oct, 1. 
Vanilla in the Society ISLANDS.--The quan- 
tity of vanilla exported from the Society Islands 
during the past year has been greater thayi at 
any previous period in the history of this Island, 
the figures beinq; 130,113 lb. in 1899, as against: 
75,740 lb. in 1897, and 92,137 lb. in 1898. Its 
price, liowever, has sensibly decreased since 1897, 
itor, whilst in that year, it realised on the local 
market as rnucli as an average of 9-;. 4d. per lb,, 
it fetched only part, to foreign markets being 
overstocked, bat i)rincipally, to the indifferent 
manner in which a great pcn-tion of tlie Tahiti 
vanilla is prepared ifor shipment by the Chinese 
merchants who, in order to remit to San Fran- 
cisco and other iilaces against goods receivsd or 
ordered, bny up the green beans (often imnia,ture) 
which they casually and imperfectly dry, cure, 
and pack, whei-eby much of tiie aroma is lost. It 
may be said, however, that Tahiti vanilla pro- 
pi-rly treated before sliipment, gener.ally finds a 
fair market, although it cannot compote in 
quality with that from Bourbon, Seychelles, Fiji, 
q,nd the West IxuMes.— Planting Opinion. 
Rubber on the Buixmo-Chinese Frontier. 
—The enormous rise which has taken place in 
the price of Indian-rubber is siimulating the 
trade in this article on the North-East frontier of 
Burma. The Kachins, however, have to go even 
further afield to get it. The township ofiicer at 
Kaming reports tliat they continue to cut the 
roots of the trees, but that the conipetition among 
the Chinese rubber merchants is' so keen that 
none of them will risk their status among the 
Kachin sellers by reporting specilie cases. The 
practice account.s, no doul)!-, for the fact tiiat tfie 
output from the fore.-ts within British jurisdic- 
tion in this area has fallen off to some extent of 
\a.te.~Indian Witness: 
The Date Palm in North- West Australia.— 
The Woods and Forests Department has sent 
to the resident magistrate.s along the North- 
West coast, and the wardens of the goldfields 
north of the Murchison, parcels of seeds of the date 
palm, for experimental sowing. M.any of the.^e offici ils 
are taking great interest in this effort to introdnce 
the date palm, and have caused the seed supplied ■ to 
be sown in various suitable spots throughout their 
districts. The warden of the Pilbarra goldfield, in 
particular, has paid close attention to this matter, and 
has promised to distribute a farther supply of seerl to 
travellers and others for sowing at pools, soaks, etc., 
all over his goldfield. The date palm comm'=ince;-i to 
bear fruit ia tropical and snb tropical Eastern 
Australia at the age of eight years, and survives 
through years oi drought. It would, iu time, prove a 
great boon to prospectors and others in the interior of 
the continent, and every effort should made not only to 
establish it in this colony, but to protect the plants 
as soon as they appear.— Pt'r^/i, Morning Hfrald, 
Sepe. 27. 
Indian and Ceylon Tea Companies.— 
Says the latest H. and C. Mail :— 
Mr. Seton's table, showing the results of the 
working of forty-five Indian tea companies during 
the season 1899 has been favourably commented 
upon by nearly all the financial papers. The 
average profit per pound was 1.74d, as compared 
with 1.43d in 1898 ; the average ratio of expenses 
to receipts, which have improved to 79 from 84 
percent, and the average profit on capital, viz., 
6.-59 against 5.56 per cent, are considered good 
evideiice that the industry is now on a more 
steady financial basis, and not so liable as formerly 
to .suffer from severe fluctuations. 
This shows that 1899 was, on the whole, a 
better year than 1898 for Indian Tea Com- 
panies. From the tables given by our Lon- 
don contemporary we quote total results 
as follows :— 
S4 Ceylon Tea Companies. 
Capital Acres Crop 1898 Crop 1899 Reserve 
Total. Total. Total lb. Total lb. Total £. 
2,739,574 83,741 26,464,471 27,-595,111 224,113 
Working capital Balance forward Debns. amount 
Total £. Total £. Total ii. 
237.202 49,894 559,295 
And again :— : ■ . 
4.5 INDIAN TEA COMPANTES. ' ' ' 
Total Lands. Total mature. Tot;il young 
Acres. Acres. Planls. 
Acres. 
451,465 121,226 22,183 _ 
Average cost, per a^re R43 ; per lb. 6'GO 
pence ; profit per lb. l-74d. receipts per lb. 
8 34 pence ; ratio of expenses to receipts 79 
per cent., profit on capital 6-69 per cent. ; 
average dividend 5-64 p.c. ; Total Reserve 
£569,1.53 or 7T4 p.c. on capital. 
