THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Feb. 1, 1901. 
succeed well in Nyasaland, The plant at Lauder- 
dale ia now about five years old, about four feet 
high, with a diameter of about tiii ee feei . A cacao 
tree in its proper elimile .should be from six to 
eight feet in height with a spread of branches about 
five or six feet and in partial bearing at live year.s 
of age. For cacao Nyasaland has too greatexticuies 
of cold and heat to thrive well. During the winter 
months the tree looks wretched and sufl'er.s much 
from cold and during the dry season from Septem- 
ber to December the air appears too dry for the 
tree to flower freely or set any fruit. 
Cinchona being a drug tiie market can be 
flooded any day, and the price reduced to a non- 
paying level, 
Kubber. — It is long before tlie tree yields enough 
to pay and a cheap substitute is likely to be found 
■which will reduce the price. 
Vanilla and Pepper. — Although permanent occu- 
piers of the land the consumption is limited, and 
they for various reasons aie better suited to 
native gardens or small cultivators. 
For the reasons given above I select tea as the 
most suitable product other than coffee for the 
consideration of planters, as it ia in my opinion 
the best suited for European cultivation, being 
a permanent occupier of the land. Consumption 
is likely to keep pace with the production and tlic 
price cannot go below that which will yield a 
profit to the cultivator ; otherwise the production 
must be reduced, when the natural consequence 
of higher prices would ensue as it is consumed by 
the masses. 
The general opinion of planters whom I have 
met in B. 0. A. is that tea requires a heavier rain- 
fall than we have here. To dispel this idea, 
hovirever, 1 would point out that tea has a wider 
range of cultivation and can be grown under more 
varied conditions of climate than any other pro- 
duct. Further, tea is grown as far north as the 
Caucasus iti liussia and in Ivlatal, our near neigh- 
bour in the South, and in both countries the 
cultivation of the plant has passed the experi- 
mental stage. 
Natal where tea has been successfully grown 
has a similar rainfall to the drier jjarcs of Nyasa- 
land, viz., from 40 to 48 inches per annum. In 
winter the temperature is at 6 a.m. from 50 to 
56 degrees Fahr. and at 11 a.m. rises to 80 and 
84 degrees. In summer at sunrise 64 degrees to 
70 degrees are registered and at 11 a,n<. 92 to 
96 degrees, which is very similar to our own 
climate. Some of the Indian districts where 
tea pays well have a very limited rainfall and 
badly distributed, as there are four to five 
mouths during which no rain falls at all. 
From oUicial reports in the following tea dis- 
tricts the average for five years is as follows: — 
Dhubri, 70'37 ; Ganhabong 59 26 inches and Now- 
gong 77-68. 
The elevation at which tea can be grown is 
from sea level to 5,000 and 6,000 feet. At extreme 
elevations a comparatively dry climate is an 
advantage. 
A period of rest for tea such as some of the 
Indian districts. Natal and Nyasaland have during 
thecold season (three to four months), when prun- 
ing can be done, is considered beneficial, 
Experience of tropical agriculture in other coun- 
tries as well as here should lead one to the con- 
■ viction that Ji.C.A., judging from its soil and 
climate, is more suited lo be a tea than a coffee- 
producing country chiefly because there is a very 
Ijmited area fit for coffee growing. Coffee reijuires 
either primeval forest or very rich viigin soil to 
prove a jiayiiig investment, witli even greater 
advantages in che;iii land and labour than we 
possess Anysijjl in B.C. A. that would 
produce leaf may be reckoned good enough for 
tea. Tea does not suffer much from weeds and 
bad cultivation. I have known tea clearing.s aban- 
doned for a year or more and when cleaned up 
the tea seemed to have grown apace with the 
scrub and had only to be cut down and the flushes 
plucked as if nothing had happened to retard its 
growth. Indee 1 I see noihing to hinder Nyasa- 
land from taking a place amongst the tea-producing 
countries of the world. 
PRODUCE ~ANI) PLANriNG. 
Shareholdefs and Their Guievanc.ss. — We have 
received a letter from an Indian subscriber of many 
years standinp; who, iu calling attention to the apathy 
prevailing amon»at shaieliolders in tea companies, and 
advocatms< certain reforrna in the management of 
these concerns incidentally frames an indictment 
against the _agency system. His charges amount to 
this — viz., that owing to the apathy of shareholders 
who fail to attend meetings, those who have the 
financial control of tea companies are able to do as 
they please. He quotes an instance iu India where 
managing agents have charged cottraissiou upon 
gross expenditure, have .supplied stores which were 
not ordered, while drawing agency salaries and 
directors' fees. He asks how long shareholdera will be 
content lo suffer these ihings. So far as the apathy 
of shareholders is concerned, we may remark that 
when joint stock companies are pro,=perouo share- 
holders in them are usually indifferent about details, 
accepting their dividends as a matter of course and 
taking very little interest in the pi oceedings which led 
np to the profitable result and we fear, caring less. 
When times are bad they clamour for reforms, con'iemn 
the management and are generally on the rampage. 
Shareholders in tea companies are not exceptional in 
this respect as some directors can testify and they 
can cry out about over-capitalisation and false pro- 
mises with sufdcient empbasis to create an impres- 
sion. There are some things in connection with the 
tea enterprise which certainly need reforming. 
If we may judge by correspondence in the Indian 
and Ceylon newspapers the condition of the industry 
demands numerous reforms, but so far we have seen 
few practical suggestions on the subject. Amongst 
such reforms should certainly be included the efface- 
ment of all managing offici-ils who act in the manner 
described by our correspondent. But we presume 
that he does not imply that the abuse of the system 
in the particular instance he mentions is a good aud 
sufficient reason for promoting an agitation against 
managing agents generally or endeavouring to in- 
troduce a system which would mean the risk of (to 
use the expression of one of Mr. Kipling's heroes) a 
" blooming republic " in tea. Such conduct as that 
referred to by our correspondent is surely quite ex- 
ceptional. Asa rule tea companies are managed by 
those responsible with unusual care, attention, and 
integrity. If abuses have crept into the managerial 
system of any particular company conducted on 
the joint stock system, either in London or 
Calcutta, the shareholders have it in their power 
to look into them, and tbey are not backward in 
demanding investigation, especially when dividends 
are not forthcoming. Sharenolders in tea companies, 
we take it, are not specially lacking in common sense, 
and are as capable as any other body of shareholders 
of looking after their own interests. When they have 
quite settled amongst themselves the direction reform 
should take, their apathy will doubtless give way to 
a lively interest in the whole situation. They will 
then set themselves to earnestly consider the im- 
portance of those adverse factors so frequently referred 
to by experts, which are mainly responsible for glutted 
markets and the inevitable depreesioa which enaueg, 
