696 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[April I, 190L 
To the Editor. 
A RAILWAY FOR NYASSALAND, 
B. C. AFRICA. 
Jan. 12. 
Dear Sir, — I cover latest prospectus 
for the B.C. A. Kailway sent to me by Mr. 
T H Lloyd. It is supposed by those who 
know that some London capitalists will be 
got to take the matter up, and that we will 
get our Railway soon. The transport diffi- 
culties are really serious ; goods lie some- 
times a year or more at the river terminus 
for want of carriers to bring them upcountry. 
-Yours truly, 
Capital 
Permanent way constuction 
Rolling stock 
Revenue — Freights. 
1. Import, 4,650 tons at £4 
2. Export, 1,250 tons at £2 
Passengers — 
1. Europeans, 400 at £5 
2. Natives, 1,000 at 5s, 
Mails, subsidy 
Passengers' luggage 
H. B, 
£ 
250,000 
230,000 
20,000 
18,600 
2,500 
2,000 
250 
200 
100 
.f23,650 
Working Expenditure — 
Depveoiation, 10 per cent on i£20,000 
Insurance fee, iO per ceni; on capital 
Wages — 
Superintendent of line, Traffic 
Manager, 2 accountants, 3 
clerks, 4 drivers 
Native wages 
FUEL-^ 
20,000 yards at Is. 3d. 
Paints; oils, grease, iron, etc., for 
repairs to engines, trucks and 
permanent vpay 
2,000 
2,500 
3,000 
1,000 
1,00'J 
1,000 
£10,800 
Nett profits— £13,150 on £250,000 = 5-42 per cent, 
'h.B. — It is to be noted that the statistics of tonnage 
deals with dead weight only, the method in which the 
road ind river dues are collected. The Transport 
Companies have the option of charging by measure- 
ment. This makes a difference in their favour of 
more than one-third in the returns. The Railway 
Company would have a similar option. Allowing for 
this we have roughly £23,650 plus £7,000, i.e., £30,6.50 
total receipts, less expenses £10,50J. In other words, 
a profit of £20,150 instead of £13,150 or 8 per cent. 
CEYLON COCOA IN LONDON. 
Feb. 15. 
Dear Sir, — Cacao growers in Ceylon must be 
struck with tlie extremely high prices which are 
hoinf; paid for Ceylon cocoa. For several weeks 
past now, values, particularly for the finest, have 
beea gradually in the upward direction until 108s. 
6il per cwt has been realised. In the last sale, we 
would mention that for our friends we secured the 
record price of the sale notwithstanding the fact 
that there was better quality sold at .3-s or 4s per 
cwt. below our price. 
Looking into the near future we cannot hold out 
a very glowing prospect for cocoa ; as we cannot but 
•feel that, notwithstanding the fact that , takinig 
Cocoa as a whole, prices are lower than has been 
the case lor some time, yet the position is not al- 
together the same. There is no getting away from 
the fact that cocoa production is making rapid 
stridesand at the same time those who are constantly 
m communication with the leading cocoa manu- 
facturers ot the country know that the manu- 
facture of the prepared article ai.so is being greatly 
pushed and that consum))tion is going ahead. Sup- 
phes are now coming in freely and we fear that 
for me:li!im and common cocoa, especially common, 
w? sliall see lower prices ; we should not be, at all 
surprised to see native Ceylon, \\\v,>h is now in 
the neighbourhood of 72s, down to 64j or 65s per 
cwt. ^ 
Fine cocoa, as we have said above, will take care 
of Itself ; there is a keen demand for the fine pale 
break Ceylon cocoa. At the .sales on the 12th inst 
2,704 bags Ceylon were catalogued. 1,041 ba<rs 
found bu.vers small at 54s fjd to 69s 6d, common to 
fair dull 66s 6d to 75s, middling to <;ood 78s to 90s 6d 
hne963 to 102s 6d per cwt.— Yours faithfully 
p. p. JOBN HADDON & CO., G. F. A 
^S^^^U^IO^^ COCONUT OIL IN 
1900 .-OSCILLATIONS EXPLAINED 
Dear SiR,-Referring to your article in 
Saturday evenmgs Observer, the oscillations 
to which you refer are niorereasily explained 
than you appear to think. During the past 
year the Presidential Elections in America 
caused the usual disorganisation in trade and 
were the cause of that country takine less 
Coconut Oil than usual; but it^ is no" to be 
supposed that the figures givenin theChamber 
of Commerce Returns expressed the total 
qitanti ,y of Ceylon Coconut Oil taken bv 
America in 1900. As a matter of fact ver? 
large purchases of Ceylon Coconut Oil were 
made tn London last year bv American 
Snir?o?oS? it cheaper to buy in London 
As regards shipments to the Far East. 
Singapore has. now a large Copra mil 
of Its own, which supplies the demand which 
Ceylon used to meet. A little Coconut Oil 
not much'^^^ Penang from this port, but 
The Indian demand for Coconut Oil is a 
very steady one, and when the Ceylon exports 
to India are small it is well-known that 
Cochin h^'s made up the deficiency. Last 
year comparatively very little Cochin Oil 
went to Europe cr America, the bulk 
going to Indian ports, principally Calcutta. 
-Hoping these explanations may be of some 
use to you,— Yours truly, 
COCONUT OIL. 
TEA-PLUCKING AND THE MAKING 
OF GOOD TEA. 
„ ^ Colombo, March 15. 
Dear Sir,— I beg to quote the folio sving 
extract from Mr. Jas. Sinclair's letter which 
appeared in your issue of the 12th inst. •— 
"Exorcising from their minds some of the 
senseless cuckoo cries always rampant in 
Ceylon, such as ' tea is made in the fields ' 
which IS only the c;ise in the same sense as 
that porridge is made in the oat fields.' " 
. ^l^,®" ^ ^''■^ assistant on a tea estate 
in Dikoyai my " P.D." always impressed upon 
me the importance of carefully plucking the 
tea bushes in order that a good tea might 
