134 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Aug. 1, 1902. 
the Government is 2s for every quintal of rubber 
which is exported. During tlie same period six 
other concessions were granted under somewhat 
different conditions. One of the grants comprised 
4,942 acres and the others 1,235 acres each. These 
grants are divi(ied iuto plots called " estradas." 
Each " estrada" contains withiu its boundaries 150 
rubber trees. The royalties levied in this case are 
20 cents annually for each " estrada " and 20 cents 
for each hectare of land which the estradas cover. 
Here it may be mentioned that vast tracts of land, 
known as the Acre or^quiry teri itory, forming the 
hinterland to Peru from the 7 deg. to 12 deg. of 
south latitude, have quite recently been made over 
by Bolivia to a syndicate. The syndicate have been 
granted extensive powers, such as the right to ad- 
minister the territories in question and to organise 
an armed force. However, their chief object 
appears to be the extraction of rubber. The terri- 
tories thus placed in possession of the syndicate 
are vaguely described as being bounded on the 
north east by Brazil, on the west by Peru, and on 
the south by the Kiver Abuna and a line drawn 
from that river to the confluence of the Inanibari 
with the Madre de Dios. Matters are so far ad- 
vanced that a scientific commission sent out by 
the syndicate is already engaged in exploring a 
portion of that district. — JBoreign Office, Annual 
Series. 
CEYLON GREEN TEAS GRANT, 1901-1902. 
Memo showing number of lb. on which payment 
was made monthly during 1901 and 1902 respectively. 
FOKTSE YEAR 1902 
January ... .. 152,873 lb 
February .. ... 139,124 do 
March ... ... 170,050 do 
April 284,137 do 
May ... ... 293,671 do 
June .. 368,536 do 
1,414,391 lb 
10 SAME DATE 1901 A3 UNDEH. 
January ... 252,582 lb 
February ... il6,592 do 
March ... 105,644 do 
April ... 70,614 do 
May ... 24,438 do 
June ... 40,017 do 
609,887 lb— 804,504 increase 
JULY-DECEMBER 1901 AS UNDBB. 
July 163,967 lb 
August .. 177,079 do 
September .. 112,244 do 
October ... 205,137 do 
November ... 117,275 do 
December .. 186,411 do 
912,1131b 
Note.— In July 1901, 71 lb was added for a further 
claim miking the total for six months 912,113 and not 
912,042 lb as per previous statement. 
A. Philip. 
Kandy, 1st July, 1902. 
THE TEA TAX AND THE TEA TRADE 
NEW MARKETS AND GREEN TEAS. 
The storj of the tea tiade for the past season 
is not a very hopeful one on which to base opti- 
niistic forecasts of the future, and it is not 
surprising to find that Messrs. W J & H Thomp- 
son, in their annual review, have not been able 
to pump up over niuih enthusiasm over the outlook. 
We would gladly seethe tax on tea removed if 
it were poasible, but it seems a very poor policy 
to suggest that, because one industry is suffering 
from the oppression of a tax, others should be 
similarly burdened ; and tiiey fail in the first 
place, to prove that the tea tiade is oppressed in 
this manner, probably because they do not really 
feel sure themselves that such is the case. These 
gentlemen assert that the theory that the tax is 
paid wholly by consumers has broken down under 
the practical experience ot those engaged in trade; 
that every grower abroad, every shareholder at 
home, pays part of the sixpence levied here ; 
shippers of China and Japan teas have suffered 
from the 10 cents war tax in the United States, 
and traders all the world over are hampered by 
duties almost everywhere imposed, and to this 
they attribute the lower prices obtained. But, if 
the producer pays the tax, how is the following 
statement to be explained ? Opponents to this pet 
theory of the Protectionist, we are told, seem 
hardly to realise that when more of the buyers' 
capital is taken for payment of tax, less of it re- 
mains for purchase of tea, an argument which 
would appear to demolish the previous one entirely. 
The truth of the matter is that, although planters 
have now realised the folly of the reckless exten- 
sion indulged in in the past, and are endeavouring 
to counteract the evil results as much as possible 
by restricting their outturn, tliat outturn is still 
too large to be absorbed through existing channels, 
and the inexorable law of supply and demand is 
the sole cause of the present depression. As for 
the finding of new outlets, little progress has been 
made in the United States, chiefly, we believe, 
because our planters will not accept the sugges- 
tions so often made to them and go in for pro- 
ducing green tea instead of black, Indian teas 
shipped to that market have grown gradually less 
and less, and although the quantity of Ceylon 
tea has risen, the gain has not been in proportion 
to the loss in Indian, and considering the oppor- 
tunity afi'orded by the interruption to the China 
trade, cannot be regarded as at all satisfactory. 
The outlook for India for the immediate future at 
least, is disappoiriting. Once more an Indian in- 
dustry seems destined to share the fate of so many 
others that have preceded it — flourishing and full 
of promise for a time, and then glut or decay. — 
Investors' Review, June 28, 
GOLD-MINING ON THE NILGIRIS. 
AN APPLICATION TO PROSPECT. 
Mr. J C C Herklots, proprietor of Benhope 
Estate on the Nilgiris, has applied to Government 
for a gold prospecting license for about 40 acres 
ot land. The application comprises private lands, 
as well as Government reserved forests, and is 
over a mile in length and 300 feet in width. 
The District Officer, to whom the application 
was referred, considered that any slight derange- 
ment of the soil might) occasion landslips. Mr 
C M Mullaly, the Acting Collector of the Nilgiris, 
considered that the application was of consider- 
able importance for several reasons, viz, (1) Indi- 
cations existed of a reef running in the block, 
and the object ot the application was to obtain 
a sufficient length to induce a leading firm, (Messrs 
Taylor & Co.) to take up the work of prospecting. 
While duly safegarding other interests, every 
encouragement should, he thought, be given to 
honit fide prospectors for gold. (2) Safety of the 
Railway and the two Ghaut roads. (3) Beauty 
of the landscape and preservation of the forest. 
Tiie Board of Beveoue upheld the Collector's 
