462 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [JAN. 1, 1901. 
SHORT-HORN SALES 
nf 1 hp North have heen much in evidence, and 
o,!i-fnnal prices have been agoing, the pur- 
^hfseis having been chiefly Foreigners, En- 
t^thmen and Colonials. The top average was 
Soured by Mr. Dutlrie, of Colynie, with 
A^n^- but even unknown breeders made 
^^^^ t: nf £50 and £60. Although the best 
S"l^®^f fnd the one that has carried the 
district, and the m ^^.^^ to the front 
''f™i;.prv sliow of beef -producing catt e 
f,v,f hasle'n heldin Britain' SinceMcCombie 
«rSS?^=^of&c^^ 
Tn every agricultural paper, as a matter of 
fit the greli:est number of articles and the 
l^'eatest a^uiount of space is taken up with 
the subject of 
DAIRYING. 
Mow there is no doubt about it that monev 
S m'vcle bydairy.farming, but neither easdy 
IS macie uy ^ j hears a great deal 
T\,F\'hf?oyl"of a diiTfarmerl life; the 
buckets fuU of frothy milk, and the mild- 
r nws Chewing the cud as they cheer- 
?,^llv gTvI up the lacteal fluid to their kind 
f ally give uy ^^^^^ another 
sir to are qSion, and one about which 
T have lately been cross-examining a dairy 
farmer -a man who has gone through the 
curriculum, from under-milkman to 
Sss of The milk buckets, and his views are 
T think likely to interest my readers. The 
I thinK, uKeij- dairyman's work 
r^^is Mlow -H 3-30; milks about 
dozen cows; washes himselt in icy-cokl 
a aozeu i.u>vo, , j. rneal bv the dim 
^f'UJ'fi^t of a c^^nTe drives off to 
religious ght oi a ^^^^^ 
town, a dista ce ot n ^^^^^^^^.g before 
^""^^^ Stock this being done in the dark 
^^^•^ tte winter time, unless when a 
duruig the winter ^^^^ 
^^'^ ^ S iust when most people are 
^hJ^^ft to break their fast, and then he 
about to »ieaK ^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^ 
proceeds to cut cn however, gives 
J?J?^^l^enty^o exercTs^ Then he has to milk 
inm plenty uj. the evening, teed them 
fnd'Srh^ o\V st;pper'^ that he has 
hours in which to clean himself, get ready 
fov next day's work and try to get some 
,?^nd no sooner has he fallen into a sound 
^YT th xn he W-s the usual morning call 
sleep than nea ^^^^^^ 
IT so^loVal'^e goes rolling on, not for 
tnis .louy hnt tor seven in every week, 
■^rdsrrtS: no onV should g.u4e the 
t^'nM.i h s profits, when the miserable 
dairy-m<>n " ^ 1'^"' , ' jg made known. I 
^am^o^'l^ ^hl^^Sy Lrmerin Britain who 
t '^Ks n i k in preference to keeping cows, 
■ ^"?«n 1 it lore I rolital)lc to do so ; and also 
f . , s the wor^^^ Soes on more 
SSy without the irritation connecetd 
Yfm a iot of dairy cows. 
COFFEE. CINCHONA AND CARDAMOM 
PLANTING IN SOUTH INDIA : 
THE KANAN DEVAN DISTKIUP. 
Sib —In your issue of October the 20tli, you re- 
piint'from the Investors' Review without com- 
ment an article on the " Kanan Devan Prortuce 
Company, Limited." I hold no brief for Sir John 
Muir or his Companies, have nothing to do with 
them in any way as a shaieliolder, or otherwise, 
and am as much disposed as anyl ody to criticise 
much of their action and poUcy. I have no doubt 
Sir .John Muir and his co-Directors can take care 
of themselves as regards Lliis attack Hud as clever- 
headed businessmen know what they are about. 
But the article in question is likely to harm the 
prospects of the Kanan Devan District generally, 
both as reg,\rds its credit and its position towards 
the Madras and Travaiicore Governments. For, 
although the Kanan Devan Produce Company 
own the greater part of the Kanan Devan Dis- 
trict there are some private owners as well liok - 
ing a considerable acreage of land, and, although 
not dependent on the Company, the outsiders 
future is, to a certain extent, bound up ^yltll its 
prosperity or otherwise, 'this is emphasised by 
the fact of there- being a Planters' Association 
in existence consisting of the Company s repre- 
sentatives and the outsiders, of -which I have 
the honour to be President, ^ „ 
Mv opportunities forjudging of the Company s 
prospects and properties are therefore consider- 
able and are augmented by the fact of my hav- 
ing been for nearly twenty years a resident plan- 
ter in the district. I am not prepared to take 
the pessimistic views of the writer of the article 
in question, and, in justice to the credit and 
wellave of the district, I trust you will allow me 
to state my reasons in your coluinns. 
The figures quoted in the !>rticle, and which 
are no doubt correct, are, ns they stand, mis- 
leadina; No statement of the age of the area 
opened is appended, and one would lie led to 
suppose Chat almost the whole of the acreage is 
unproductive. This is not the case, as operations 
by the Company were commenced in 1894. W liile 
the estates purchased, several of them at very 
low prices, date back many years previously, 
there are at present on these Hills and belong- 
ing to the Company 3,000 acres in mature bear- 
in^ and 2,000 acres in partial bearing ; i,m acres 
are immature. The reserve forest and grass iii 
this district is some 100,000 acres. The latter is 
ignored in the article ! In Assam, I believe, the 
Company hold between 2,000 and 3,000 acres of tea 
and some 7,500 acres of first class freehold forest. 
It should be recollected that a practically 
new and difficult district has been opened up 
and that enormous difficulties of transport have 
had to be and have been successfully overcome. 
Thus for instance, the capital outlay includes 
34 miles of cartroads with tramways, a wire 
ropeway from a ghaut of over 6,000 feet to the 
low-country and J cost of 10 miles of a cartroad 
in the low-country, the latter designed and built 
to take a light railway. , . , i.. 
But the benefits of this liberal initial outlay 
will hereafter be apparent in many ways quite 
apart from the fact that any more land opened 
in the future will be capable of being brought 
to bearing point at an expenditure of not more 
than £20 per acre. The estates have been care- 
fully blocked into large areas and well connected 
and traversed by good roads and will, therefore, 
be easy of management and superintendence. 
The number of factories required will be re- 
duced to a minimum. The cost of transport of 
tea and other produce down and estate require- 
ments up will be rendered as low as possible, 
and thus only will produce be able to compete 
with other districts, more favoured as regar^^ 
