418 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Dec. 1, 1900. 
THE TUTICORIN PEARL FISHERY. 
The preliminary arraiis;eiiients for holding the 
pearl fishery off the coast of Tuticorin were made 
by Captain Baker, the Superintendent of Pearl 
Fisheries, Tuticorin; but as he was suddenly taken 
ill. Captain James the Port Officer, Negapatam, 
was deputed to carry out the work. The fishery 
commenced on the 12th March last and lasted 
until the 23th idem, when it had to be closed as 
the divers were unwilling to continue the .fishery 
owing chiefly to the immature condition ot the 
oysters and the lew prices realised by their sale. 
Though the revenue derived by Government during 
the fishery was more than sufficient to cover the 
expenses of, working, the net profit (Rll, 033) says 
the Madras Board of Revenue, fell much below 
the estimated income (R93,000) and the fishery 
cannot be said to have been on the whole a 
success. It proved disastrous to the pooier 
folk — the boatmen and the divers who are 
reported to have realised hardly enough 
money co provide daily food for themselves 
and their families. It began badly by a com- 
bination among the merchants to keep down prices 
and when it became an undeniable fact that the 
oysters were immature and had a very ftw pearls, 
a' panic set in so that for days together there 
were no sales of the Government share of the 
oysters, and the boatmen and divers had to sell 
their shares for what they could get. Captain 
James attributes these results to the commence- 
ment of the fisli«ry, a year too early. He estimates 
that the oysters were only four years old. and 
that they were too young to be fished. A sam- 
ple of 5,000 oysters was opened by him during 
the fishery and the pearls extracted from them 
were valued by a dealer at K17-4 6 only, that 
is at the rate of R3-7-3 per thousand. 
The valuat'on reported by Mr. Baker in 
respect of the sample of 8,500 oysters 
lifted in October last was RlO-2 per 
thousand, but, whatever the reason, the event 
has proved that that estimate was considerably 
over the mark. Having regard to the fact that 
valuation by experts is the chief practical guide 
for deciding whether or not a fishery should be 
iield in a particular year, the Board considers 
that the method of estimation and appraising the 
pearls should be placed on a sounder footing. 
The question of the possibility of a further 
fishery next year is cot dealt with either by 
Captain James or the Collector. As a large 
stock of oysters appears to have been left on the 
bank, the Board considers tlikt a sample should 
be lifted early in October or "November next 
and a Report submitted on their condition in 
view to decide whether there are any prospects 
of a more successful fishery in 1901. It appears 
that some of the boatmen and divers of Tuti- 
corin were at feud with the Jadi Talaivan and 
that their obstructive attitude contributed partly 
to the poor results of the last fishery. Mr, 
Bedford, the Collector, suggests that a system of 
rewards and punishments would be of use in 
dealing with a temporary panic such as that which 
took place on the present occasion, by enabling 
Government to exercise more control over the 
divers and boatmen. He proposes to consider the 
question at the time of holding the next fishery 
and his views will be awaited. The Board regrets 
to have to record the death of Captain James, 
who took much interest in and did much hard 
work in connection with the recent fishery. Mr, 
iJedford considers that the strain and worry in- 
cidental to the task must have told greatly on 
his constitution. The Government has approved 
the Board's proposals and shares its repret at the 
death of Captain Ja,mes.— Madras Mail, Nov. 2. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Castilloa Rubber. -We direct attention 
to the letter with which Major Wyllie has 
favored us. Perhaps Mr. Willis may be able 
to settle the question raised as to the varieties 
of "Castilloa" rubber now in Ceylon. 
Tea for Caffeink.— In his report for 1899, the 
principal chemist of the Government Laboratory 
at Bombay states that 2% samples of tea, repre- 
senting 3, 322 packages, were found to be mixed with 
sand and others substances, and were refused 
admission for home coiisnmptiou. Tea which can- 
not be passe l for use as a beverage is mixed in bond, 
with assafoetida and lime, and used for manufac- 
turing caffeine.— C7/ie97iis^ and Druggist, Oct. 27. 
Dutch East Indies.— Tea Trade.— The Moni. 
teur Officiel du Commerce points out that the fall 
in the prices of coffee in the consuming markets 
has caused increased activity in tea cultivation 
in Java, ^\ithin the space of nine years the 
exportation of Java tea to Amsterdam only has 
more than trebled : in 1891 it was 20,639 cases 
(a case generally containing 40 kilos.), ana in 
1899 it was 69,320 cases. At Amsterdam the 
prices of tea in 1899 shoived the following 
fluctuations : — 
Highest price. Lowest price. 
Florins. Floring. 
Flowery Pekoe „. 1,52 o.8l 
Orange Pekoe ... G.60 oisO 
Broken Orange Pekoe 0.51 0.38 
Pekoe Souchong ... 0.41 o!25 
Souchong ... 0.88 o!a9 
A Fruit Paradise is Southern Arabia or Felix 
Yemen, as described by Mr. Zwemer in a book 
just published. We quote from a review in the 
Spectator : — 
"The day after leaving Mabek brought 
na to the beginning of the happy valleys of 
Yemen, very diiferent from the torrid coast. A 
country where the orange, lemon, quince, grape, 
mango, plam, apricot, peach, apple, pomegranate, fig, 
date, plaintain and mnlberry, each yield their fruitOm 
season ; where wheat, barley, maize, millet and coffee 
are staple products, and where there is a glorious 
profusion of wild flowers— called 'grass' by the un- 
poetic camel-drivers. A land whose mountains lift 
up their heads over 9,000 feet, terraced from chilly 
top to warm valley with agricultural amphitheatres, 
irrigated by a thousand rills and rivulets, some of 
them perennial, flowing along artificial channels, or 
leaping down the rocks in miniature falls. A land 
where the oriole hangs her nests on the dark acacia, 
the wild d; ves hide in clefts of the rock and the 
chameleon sports his colonrs by the wayside under 
the tall flowering cactus. Such is Yemen." 
" The road from Ibb to Yerim has perhaps the 
finest scerery of any part of Yemen ; never have I 
seen more picturesque mountains and valleys, 
green with verdure, and bright with blossoms,— 
scabiosa, bluebells, lorget-me not, golden rod, 
four-o'clocks and a large oleander trees. The 
cacti plants were in full bloom and measured 
twenty feet against the mountain passes. Two 
thousand feet below one could hear tie sound o| 
the water rushing along the wady bedi' 
