344 
THE TEOPICAL 
AGEICULTUEIST. jNov. 1, 1899. 
Probably this letter may lead to the planters in 
Geyion, &c., taking acme definite action in the matter. 
As explained in the Spanish prospectus, the original 
idea was to form an Association principally for pro- 
paganda purposes, to impress upon the public the 
peculiar merits of coffee and to instruct thtm how 
to prepare it. It was suggested that this institution 
should be supported by a small levy, voluntarily, 
or legally, imposed upon each bag of coffee exported. 
Upon going into the matter more closely, how- 
ever, 1 soon perceived that this plan was encumberci 
by so many practical difficulties that to carry it 
out to a satisfactory issue would be almost impossible. 
These I have alluded to at length in my pamphlet. 
Amongst them .1 may mention the delay which 
would necessarily have to take place before all the 
coffee-producing countries of the world could be got 
to agree to the assessment ; the impracticability of 
arriving at a general agreement as to its amount, 
the difficulty of its collection and of being able to 
estimate in advance the amount of revenue likely to 
be derived from it ; the danger of official interference 
in the management, and many others, which will 
immediately occur to business men. 
It became evident that the Association could only 
succeed if founded upon a commercial basis. 
Fortunately it will be easy to do this under the 
conditions which now exist, and are likely to pre- 
vail for some long time to come in the coffee 
markets cf the world. It is well known that the 
retail prices have not yet fallen in any degree 
proportionate to those which rule in wholesale 
quotations ; also that ccffee is sold largely adulterated 
in most European countries. From these circum- 
stances it results that there is a spendid profit to 
be made by any Association, or Company, which 
will take up the business of coffee-roasting on 
scieutifio principles upon a large scale, whilst by 
the issue of coffee, guaranteed pure, at moderate 
prices, all adulterations could be driven irom the 
market, whereby consumption of coffee will be 
greatly increased. I have gone carefully into this 
matter, and have made elaborate calculations as to 
the profits, which rre most alluring. My estimates 
have been verified by people who have had great 
experience, and it is probable that, whether the 
Elanters give their support or not, there will soon 
e eeveral large roasting factories established in 
England, using the machinery which I have discovered 
to be the best, as by it a great saving is made in 
the process. 
It will be much better, however, if these factories 
are owned and controlled by an Association of 
producers. If started by commercial speculators, 
the interest of the proprietors will be to keep the 
wholesale prices of coffee as low as possible, whereas 
the producers, having a wider view, could devote 
some of the profits to propaganda, which would 
ultimately lead to a more general consumption of 
coffee. 
If I find that there is a real interest taken in 
this business I shall have much pleasure in publish- 
ing the full detailed prospectus in English. The 
plan at present is to form a Company with 
a capital of £60,000 in shares of £1. each. 
There is another important function which an 
association of coffee-producers could perform, to the 
great advantage of its shareholders, namely that of 
acting as their commercial agent ; -as the consignee 
of their coffee and the supplier of their stores, I 
have perceived this ever since I arrived at the con- 
clusion as to the best plan of organising the com- 
pany ; but I have not sought to emphasise the 
point as I hoped and desired that I would have the 
support of merchants on this side in my efforts for 
its promotion; As, however, these gentlemen have 
now shown themselves to be either apathetic or 
covertly hostile to the scheme, tbero is now no 
object in keeping it dark, especially in a letter 
addressed to planters. Many of your readers must 
know from experience that their European corres- 
spondents do not always take the pains they ought 
jij order to eeciire the best prices for produce con- 
signed to them. In too many cases it is simply 
handed over to a broker to be " slaughtered," at 
any price it will fetch. A co-operative association 
of planters however, formed upon the lines I have 
set forth, would hhve its own large body of con- 
sumers which it would reach directly and many 
ii termeoiate commissions and expense would be saved. 
Besides this, all the profits now derived by mer- 
chants frcm sale commissions or purchase of sup- 
plies would come into the treasury of the associa- 
tion and back into the pockets of the planters 
themselves in the shape of dividends. I hope the 
considerations I have mentitned will be sufficient 
to lead the planters of your district to take an active 
interest in the scheme. — I am, yours &c., 
JOHN SAMSON, 
Joint Editor and Director, South American Journal. 
MOSQUITOS-SPECIES ANOPHELES AND 
CULEX. 
London, Oct. 3. 
Sir,— The readers of your paper may like to 
make search for mosquitos, and they ■will have 
no difficulty in finding a good selection and so 
be able to ascertain if there are any of the 
Anopheles species among them or if thej' are all 
of the Culex species. 
The detail of work performed on the AVest 
Coast of Africa is now published and the reports 
sent home are so simple and practical that I 
make free to quote a few remarks from them. 
When the mosquito is found on the wall you 
have to note if his body, with the tail, is parallel 
with the wall ; if so this species is the Culex 
and does not carry the germ of malaria ; whereas 
if a mosquito can be found with the head point- 
ing into the wall and the legs sustaining the 
body in this position and vertical to the wall, 
that is to say the body projecting at right angles 
from the place on which the insect is resting, 
then it belongs to the Anopheles -variety audit 
should be carefullj- destroyed and a note taken 
of its existence. 
The report gives particulars as to where the 
Anopheles variety is to be found. The Anopheles 
is a puddle-breeding mosquito : it requires puddles 
to bi-eed in, but puddles of a certain kind; hence the 
importance of the subject. They were found in 
shallow roadside puddles containing water weed 
in the middle of the town ; then some in a tub. 
The principal sources yet discovered consist of 
little pools lying in small flat areas in the towns : 
here the larvae are in large numbers and are 
evidently in presence of the conditions most suit- 
able to their existence. Although search has 
been made, as yet very few puddles have been 
discovered to yield this larvae. 
The whole report is most interesting reading 
and no doubt it will soon be in the hands of the 
public. — I remain. Yours truly, 
THOS. CHEISTY, f.l.s. 
TANNING BARK. 
Oct. 20, 
Dear Sir,— In your comments on " Ouv 
Import and Export trade " in the Ohserver 
of 14th Inst., you refer to the bark suji plied 
by me to Colombo tanners as that of acacia 
dealbata ; and as the same note appears in the 
1898-99 Directory, I write to put you right on 
the subject. Acacia decurrens is the variety 
I cirltivate for bark (and fuel). The bark of ac- 
acia dealbata is very poor in tannic acid as 
reference to your copy of Maidan's "Wattles 
and Wattle Barks " will show you. In a 
few years' time " acacia bark " should appear 
in a list of Ceylon exports as I sell large 
quantities of seed every year. Southern 
India is also taking it up. — ^ours faithf ulv, 
A J. KELLOW.' 
