40 
THE TROPICAL ACIRICULTaPJST. 
[July 1, 1899. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
TE.vCar.TiVATiON .vndM.vrket.— An experi- 
enced planter wiMta^ :— " I see your evening 
cont3nu)ui'ai'y in one of his leaderettes 
write; that onr old tea bu.she.s are 
more wo isiiive to changes of weather than 
young. Weil, that is quite 0])posed to the 
general opinion. When the bushes hfi'-e their 
tap roots v/eli down the trees are less sen- 
sitive to such changes than in the young 
st;ite of growth. The Coloniho market is 
very .sensitive to .adver.se circunistfi.nces. Let 
the London market go down Jd, it will go 
dovm three cents. A scarcity of freight is 
also m ule an ex;cuse of buyers siov/ing off 
Except for Au-itra,lia and direct shipm-^nts 
to Continent, tiie Colombo market is not to be 
relied on." 
Preservation of Hubbbr Trre.s in T(Ib 
Congo Freis State.— Tue G-JVdnunenD of Mie 
Congo Fi'cj ritaU?, vith die objeet of preventing 
the tlueitenoii de -bmctio i of tlie injiarublidr tives 
in that c.)uati'y h is pi-om ilgateil a .leci'oe by wiiich 
it is provided that for every ton o; rabb jr yieldcil 
annually, there .*liall hi planted not le.^s tli:i,.i 150 
trees. A bureau of cjutrol of rubber fore-its is 
created, aud is charge I vvith the euf irciuient of 
the decree of 1832, which prohibits the gicheiiiii; 
of rabb.ji' iu arsy oiiier mode thaii throut^.i incisions 
inthebxrk. Infractions of thi^ new decree, which 
beirs d ite of Janu iry .5th, 18i)9, ar^ panis!iab!e by 
a fine up to 10,000 francs (£400) or im^risonmant. 
Employers and directors of corporations are held 
personally responsible for the acts of their sub- 
ordinates. Guile 1)0 jks for tiie ciilcivation of 
rubber are turnidied by the District Coninii^.sioners 
on request, ail agricultural, inspactori will be 
place 1 teniporiirily at the service ()^ priviite osvners. 
— Jowiia'' oftIiaSo:ietij of ArU, Mayo. 
.KuBBER IN British New Guinea.— In the 
discussion on Sir VVni. MacGretior's paper before 
the K. C. Ins itu .e, Mr. H. A. Wiekha n said :- 
With regard to ths r^s^:-rce3 of tha Possession, I 
miy msntion th\t for thirty years I h iva liai expe- 
rience in tropical w)rk, and I m ist state, even with 
so little tiiBJ at my disposal, ihxt, in my opiaiou, 
thsmiit p.-omi.iin; proiact likily to hoof comai'jr- 
cial vaiue f:-oin New Gaiaea india-rubber, pariii- 
cularly of th3 Para variety. In this I speak advisedly 
besa'ise so far back a? the 'YO's, under tiie iniciative of 
Sir Joseph llo ke ■, I int.'odiioed this variety for tha 
Government of ladia with sitisf ictory results la 
fact ns'irly all tropical products are capable of being 
grown in the Pjssejsioa of British NewGjinea. In 
na trcpi'-al coantry w'th w'lica I am acquainted have 
I seen so mi.ny variet e? of sugai«cane, an.l so many 
indig m lu? V irietie J of b inma. Tobaaco of very fiaa 
quality is gLOwn, and th 're is a native ginger super- 
ior to any grown even in the Western tropics. Tiie 
cotton, also, is very fine, and thsre are some fibre 
plants of excellent quility. These things iadioatj 
the natare of the cou itry and th? clim ate and its 
more promis!'';: prospeative sources of revenu3. 
Especially wjuld I most strongly urge th)seinad- 
ministi aiion tootfer every possible facility mid indace- 
meat for the introdu.;lioa of the //cJi-e.y (o: Para) in- 
diarubbjr, wiiich coald now be readily brO'igli; down 
by short pusiigj through uniioraily wirm ia.itudej. 
Ashori tiiuisiu;e, paisi thr mgh t'-ie S »ai: S jttle- 
monta, I sa.v t,y 'ei in th ; s)-.iou 1 a id thi -.l gj,i3.--i,ti jnj 
from my ori inils from the valley of th ^ Am i,z in, 
look ng thoi'-i ighly Will and at h j n;. and lo;d;JwIth 
ripe Bead. Th j C'ltsH' loa of Mexico and Ho \ iur i-, aal 
%he C'eara a,n'\ tn^ /''is ■li rubbsrs wjald hid suitible 
localitieti. but w'lyus-j other th in the best as now to bs 
obtained ? 
General Tea and Investment Companv, 
Limited.— Ke.iistereu on May 2, by R l^lews, 24, 
Koo l-'ane, B.C., with a capital of £10,000 in £1 
s lare^ (o.OOO si.K pjrcjrit. cumulative preference.) 
Oljject, CO a',T[nirc, sell, ari'l deal in the simres, 
stocks, and securities of tea and other coinpaniep, 
Table A mainly applies. — Fiiiamial Ne.ws. 
Cinnamon Sale.s in London.— The auction 
sale of cinnamon, which took place in Loudon, 
resulted as follows :— 
Q'l-s.atity offered .. .. 8. tO bales. 
Q tantity sold . . . . 700 b d 
The tone for cinnamon is good and the demand 
is also good. Cianaijion of an ordinary 
quality is from. id. told, per lb. higher. Fine 
cinnamon and fines!; qualities are from Id. 
to 2d. per lb. higher. 
"Tea makinu v.'iXiiouT Withering Koom" 
courts, uiifortunaieiy, a iittie too late in the 
hlsojry of he Seyloa tea enterprise, when nearly 
every s.state Ins its we'l-found Factory. Pity 
Mr. D.ividson's patent was not realizeil ten years 
ago I It is p linteil out, howevin-, that leaf bought 
at Kadugannawa at six cants a lb. might, 
during the resent, ii t weather, be well withered 
before it reachid Colombo. We are .shortly, 
however, to take aJvan'.ag^ of Mr. Macguire's 
otfjr to in.speet the rnichinery and the wh.>le 
procjss of tea-making at th ; .Siroco Works. 
ScARcrry of Rubber.— As may be iuiagined, 
the universal dem imi for cycles has caused a 
simila" demand on rublier in its raw state with the 
r jsiilc that t!ie e.-cp vit of tlii< material from the Gold 
Co ist has beco uiso valuable to the country that 
the Government is paying special attention to its 
gri)Wth and cultivation. Hitherto the natives, 
in their eagerness to collect as much rubber 
milk as possible, have been in the habit of 
c itting down the trees, instead of only gasinng 
them, so in order to prevent this waste only 
those natives holding licences from the Govern- 
ment will in future bs allowed to work — 
Pastimes. 
Tea Manufacture in the Caucasus —The 
Russian Official 31essenf/cr gives some interest- 
ing details of the attenipts that are to be 
made in the Caucasus to develop the local 
tea industry. A tea factory has been started 
by the authorities near Batoum. and inafhinery 
of the latest type, as used in India and Ceyion, 
has been ordered from London. The paper 
states that Russians piefer Cliine.se teas to 
those from IndLa and C-oyion, and aecordiniriy 
every effort is bo he made to produce an articie 
as mu3h like the former as possible. With tiiis 
view exjierts hive been invited fnnn Central 
Ciiina to assist and advise the local grower. 
Tea?— OR Manure ?— A well-known Cd- 
lombo buyer sends "A specimen of fine (! !) 
tea plucking, which is certainly a credit to 
the estate concerned." "This choice lot," 
he remarks, " is to be offered in next sale and 
is certain to be boitght by natives and even- 
tually hawked in our harbour under some 
such description as ' specially selected pure 
Ciylon t^\.' It cevt itn'.y is tea, brtt it ought 
never to have leit the bush, or, if plu cked, it 
should have besn buried as manure. Where is 
the H 'alth OHi -sr ? The tea may fetch 3 to 10 
C3n-!;s p n- lb. It requires an expert (in m;mure) 
to va'ue su;h stutf." For ourselves we may 
say we have never seen such coarse-plucked 
half -fired rubbish. 
