ioi THE TROPICAL 
TEA, COFFEE AND CACAO. 
It requires either a philosopher era cyuic to extract 
humour out of a serioua situ itiou. and p erhapa our 
oorrespoadcQt, "A simyletoa," wUo v/ritos to us on 
the subject of a commuuioatios vve published last 
week claims to ba either oae or the other. We 
admit that the suggestiou for 
IMPROVING THE POSITION OF TEA 
growera put forward in onr la^t week's issue reads 
like a fairy tale or a jest, but we believe it was seat 
to us as a serious couttibutiou, aud we printed it. 
So many theories have biea offered for the con- 
Bideration of members of thittea industry of late 
that it would have been unfair to deprive our corre- 
spondent of publicity aud the chance of competing 
with his neighbours. The idea that tea garden pro- 
prietors aud their friends would, or could, subscribe 
the sura mentioned by our correspondent for the 
purpose indicated la, we allow, indicative of a sanguine 
temperament, but there is something refreshing about 
pare, unalloyed optimism, and as a sample of the real 
thing in that line our contributor's communication 
deserved publicity. We therefore leave to others the 
task of criticising a project which is bold, if nothing 
else, in its conception, and on that score deserves in 
recognition in some form. 
COFFEE PXuANTEKS 
will not, we imagine, drop a tributary tear over 
the woea of chicory growers, who are memorialis- 
ing the Government about their troubles, but 
they may be interested in some particulars of this 
product which frequently masquerades as coffee. 
The memorial sets forth that between the year of its 
introduction in 1840 and the year i860 and growth 
aud cultivation of chicory root in Yorkshire and 
ueighbouiiug counties was not only an important 
item of agriculture, but was asource-of considerable 
profit to the former. The quantity grown in England 
was then about equal to the quantity imported from 
abroad. In the year 1860, however, a Customs duty 
of 6s per cwt was placed on imported chicory, and 
an excise duty ot 33 per cwt on home-grown chicory ; 
and in the year 1863 these duties wore increased to 
26s 6d and 21s 9d per cwt respectively ; and in the 
year 1864 the excise duty on English chicory was 
iurther increased to 243 3d, but no increase was made 
on foreign-grown chicory. The memorial states that 
aa a result of such duties, during the period from 
1860 to 1872 the importation of foreign chicory largely 
increased and the growth of English chicory 
dimnished, and stood iu the relation of four tons of 
the former to one ton of the laitei-. The memorial 
further points out that chicory is the only dutiable 
article grown in this country (the registration of wheat 
being confined to imports only), and that in the year 
1901 the whole of the quantity of English chicory 
on which duty was paid was 89 tons, and that the 
revenue obtained therefrom is small and costly to 
collect. It is further urged that the reduction of the 
home excise duty of §d per lb on present returns 
shows a loss of £412 only. This, it is argued, would 
do much to revive the industry and help to restore 
the prosperity formerly enjoyed. 
On the subject of the import of chocolate and cocoa 
into Egypt, the " iVIouUeut Offioiel du Commerce," 
Bays : "The import of 
CHOCOI/ATE AND COCOA 
into Egypt is relatively restricted for a country which 
QOmbers nearly ten millions of inhabitants; it amounts 
in fact only to 104,000 kg., which is an iusignifiomt 
quantity per head. Egypt possesses no chocolate 
factories, although sugar is very cheap there. This is, 
no doubt, due to the small consumption. It is clear 
that the ^ab does not patronise either cocoa or choco- 
AGRICULTURISTS [Jan. i, 1903, 
late, consequently the buyers are only Europeans. 
Among the importing coautries France occupies the 
tii'st place with 50, (JUG kg , next comes Italy with 
22,000 kg., and then England with 19,000 kg. 
VVhenoe arises this abstention, this repug- 
nance, to an article which is a frt,voarite with every- 
body gencrtiily ? vVe have tried to find oat, aud tue 
statement is thdt choooiate is only ' d imaged coffee." 
Wedo uottiiiuk that all Arabs aieofthe same opinion, 
but rather think tlKit ihair aversion arises from ihe 
circoimtauce that their confectionery is spsoially pre- 
pared to please their taste, contaiaing almonds, nuts, 
&c. ; they have also 'loukoums," a kind of delicate 
pastry maae ^ith starch and perfumed with suudry 
essences, These sweets, which are sold very cheap, are 
more within reach of their means than the chocoutes, 
the qaalities of which, even the uiost inferior, are by 
far dearer than their best productions. '—/? ajid 0 
Mail, Nov, 21. 
The cost of producing them is not a heavy one, so- 
ihat there is every reason to anticipate that the 
licw discovery will lead to a sensibie dimiuacion iu, 
tiie price ot tlie lonneriy precious stones. The- 
rub;es are obtained by a new jirocess, in which the, 
blow-pipe plays an imporiaut part, and the stones 
are both beautilul aud of a goodly sizd. The 
specimen siiowu at the meeting of the Academy 
was much admired by the savants. — Daih/ Mail, 
iSov. 12. 
*- 
KUIiBER AT MANAOS. 
New rubber fields have been discovered on Jurua, 
but the tree does not appear to be the Uevea, answer- 
ing more nearly to the description which the India 
Rubber World has given of the Mexican Castilloa. 
Ihe rubber obtained is said to be weak— te to break 
easily on tension, but the captain of one of the river 
steamers informs me that the sernainbn (coarse) is 
excellent ana even better than that obiaiued from the 
Heijea. I hope to visit the new rabbet fields in 
October and to send you a fuller description ot the 
same. 
Soma of last year's product of Upriver rubber was of 
rather poor quality, which, in the opinion of some, 
. was due perhaps to the fact that the floods last season 
were lass extensive than usual aud rapidly subsided. 
It is held hare that the longer the rubber fields are 
under water in any year, the betier will be the 
quality of the rubber and the greater the amount 
obtained. If there is anything in his theory it may 
he thit ths irrigation of plantations mvy prove 
desirable where the same species of rubber is culti- 
vated. — India Rubber World, Nov. I. 
COTTON-GROWING IN EGYPT. 
The Egyptian cotton crop this season is expected 
to be a very large one, and it is estimated that 
it will be about 6,500,000 cantars, one cantar 
equalling about 991b,, but the quality has been 
greatly damaged by fogs and rain. There has 
been a noticeable falliiig-off during the last few 
years in the quality of Mount Affifa cotton, but 
some of the cultivators are givi:!g great atteutioa 
to the improvement of the cotton aud to a more 
careful selection of sowing seed. The total ex- 
portsof cotton seed for the ^ear ending December 
31, 1901, were 393,804 ton.s, as against 378,702 in 
1900 and 379,285 tons in 1899, Seed-crushiu^j iu 
Egypt continues active, aud a new mill of thirty- 
two presses has, according to the annu il report 
of the British Chamber of Commeice of Egypt, 
been erected at Kafr Zayat. — Zanzibar GazettCy 
