470 
THE TKOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Jan. 1 1901. 
tuated between Sgd and 3|d per pound. In 
view of the animated .condition of the cinna- 
mon ijaarket, there is abaoh-.tely no prospect of a 
return to the previous values. The shipments have 
been enormous, The aggregate for the first seven 
mouths of this year comes to not less than 900,672 
pounds, of which nearly one fourth has been acquired 
by our firm. The distiilatioQ of the finest quality 
of heavy, sweet, cinnamon oil is one of our specialities. 
CiTRONELLA OiL.— Since the publication of our 
Erevious Report, the value of this important article 
as suffered a further decline, and it would appear 
that the supply exceeds the consumption. The 
Btatiitics again show an important increase in 
the production Recent quot itious were a shade 
under ten pence, and vfere the lowest on record. 
This oil is largely employed for perfuming benzin 
and mineral oils, and it might also be found very 
useful for lac and oil paint. The Java variety of 
cijtronellu oil has found great favour, and in fact 
is fully entitled to be called the elite-quality. Its 
effect in the better qualities of soap is sinking, the 
natural explanation being its high content of geraniel 
and citronellal. 
Clove Oit,.— The information given in our last 
Report, as to the unsatisfactory result of the last 
clove hirvest in 2 inzibar and l-'embi, has sincebeen 
confirmed. The total yield is estimated at about 
50 000 bales, or say 3,000 tons, as compared with 
140,000 bales or 8,400 tons in 1898-99. The culti- 
vation of cloves is also undoubtedly influenced by 
the state of the labour market, which has gradually 
taken a very favourable turn since slavery was 
abolished on both islH,nds. At the present quota- 
tions cuhivation has become unremunerative, and 
it is bound to declioe still further, so as to 
harmonise with the consumption, for the lower 
values are simply due to the continued over- 
production and the piling up of non-realisable stocks 
ia Bombay, London and Holland. The latter, taken 
together, are so important, that it would require 
several bad harvests to equalise the surplus. 
RUBBER PLANTING IN SUMATRA. 
In answer to enquiry addressed to the St. 
Petersburg Company, the follovvins< letter has been 
received Ironi its president, dated in Prussia : — 
To THE India Rubbek World — Gentleman : The 
Russian-American India Rubber Company, of St. 
Petersburg, Russia, has sent me your favour of August 
20th, because it is not my company, but iiiyself 
who is going to mr.ke a trial on a large scale with 
Ficus elastica plantation in Sumatra, east coast, 
As all experiences are to be made, I am sorry 
not to be able t.) give you any further informa- 
tions for the moment, except tbat there will be 
planted about sixty thousand trees per annum, be- 
ginning from this year.— I remain, gentlemen, very 
truly yours, Feed. Krauskopf., 
President Russian-American India-rubber Co. 
Villa Hohenbuchen, bei Schlangenbad Wiesbaden, 
September 18th 1900. 
» 
TRAVEL IMPRESSIONS OF A JAVA 
PLANTER IN CEYLON. 
SOIL— VEGKTATION— PLANTING- 
C iCAU—CUFFEE -CINCHONA- 
TEA— COCONUT.S -RUBBER. 
Mr. .J. Bley writesin 2'eys?namiift as follows :— 
In journoying to Europe I stayed a fort- 
ni-'Vit' in Ceylon and Viad, tlianks to good 
introductions, the opportunity of seeing a 
pretty good number of the various cultures ; 
the time was too short however to periuifc 
of thorough studies. Ceylon is such an 
interesting island, that I can assure every 
colleague, that it is well worth the trouble 
to visit it. Travelling is everywhere united 
with expense ; if one has not the money to 
spare for the extra excursion, let him 
travel in the (very good) second class of the 
" Norddeutscher Lloyd " or of other good 
lines, instead of in the first : thereby one saves 
enough money for the trip. The objects 
worth seeing in Ceylon are situated com- 
paratively close together, the railway com- 
munication is good, and even without being 
introduced one sees much of interest ; it is 
only needful to be able to speak a couple of 
words of English. 
Country. — Ceylon has in the southern portion 
very few lowlands of importance for cultures, 
so that there is little land there suitable for 
rice, native su^ar-cane and sucii like cultures' 
Travelling by rail frvni Colombo to Kandy and 
the terminal .station, Bandarawela, one reaches 
pretty quickly a considerable lieiglit (6,300 feet) 
through difficult hill-couutry. One misses, how- 
ever, the volcanoes witii which in Java we are 
so well provided ; Adam's Peak alone has the 
same form, but does not appear to be of volcanic 
origin. One niight very well think this of the 
high lyin<; .'anatorium, Nuwara Ehya. The 
country and the kuid of soil are there very like 
the Dieng plateau The land also has something 
of the !o k of the Djainpang districts in the 
Preanger, only it is wilder and rockier. 
Tlie Soil of tlie districts that I saw consists 
almost everywhere of granite and quariz rocks 
with a very thin layer of poor earth above ; the 
estates near Nuwara Eliya form an exception to 
this. They cannot, liowever, be compared with 
our good Java soils. 
From the nature of the case it is not 
possible in such a short time to form a 
judgment of the Climate. I was there 
ia the dry monsoon ; according to the 
rain statistics the rainfall in the southern portion 
of Ceylon appears to be |)retty much the same 
as in Java; it seemed tome, however, that it is 
there hotter at an equal height. 
Land Tenure. — Ihe land is freehold; conse- 
quently there is no empliytensis or ground-tax 
paid for it, which has greatly facilitated the 
transition to other cultures. If anyone wishes to 
have waste-land, he applies for a piece ; it is in- 
spected by the Government and the forester, who 
fix a minimum price for it, for example /lO. 
When it has been mapped out by the surveyor, 
it is put up for sale and sold to the highest 
Wider. If this is another than the first appli- 
cant, then he must repay the cost of measurement, 
&c. Lands belonging in freehold to natives may 
also be bought.. 
The Vegetation is poorer than in Java ; it is 
striking that so little bamboo grows there ; that 
which is found there is almost entirely bamboo 
ampel and banJjoe petoeng ; * the native houses are 
con equently built of brushwood and mud. 
Woods are seen here and there, but no large 
trees, so that timber, wood for tea chests, &c., 
must be imported. Perhaps the Netherlands 
colonies might be able to find a market there for 
wood. Good pasture-land is also not readily 
available, so that guinea-grass and roenqioct peto 
cnqani or h'lldndjdnd % are planted. Singular 
* Banibusa fera auJ JJ. niyrociliata, B. aspera or B. 
gir/antochloa asjiera. 
t Mai. nmput, grass ; petoenqan I cannot explain, 
l I cannot explain this. 
