548 
THE TEOPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[Fkb. 1, 1900. 
Per sample post; I seiul yon samples of San 
Peilro D'Abailie 119 bat^s Tiiiudad cocoa im- 
ported May 1898. L. It. C. 94 l)a^,'.s imported 
March 1898. [These can be seen at onr oHice. 
_Ed. T.A.] 
The L R C mark sold after the sale at 79/ and 
the San Pedro are held tor 80/. These cocoas have 
thus been here nearly tw oyears, and 1 send them 
to .show how well gooil .stronji; cocoa will keep, 
when well cured and pre[)arHd. Last year it 
seems was a very tryino- one with the three months 
bout of tropical heat that we had. 
I also send an article on "cocoa" I am imh- 
lishing this week in tiie " Confectioner's Union,'' 
the trade Journal of chocolate makers and con- 
fectioners. 
HAROLD HAMEL SMITH. 
London, E, G. Jan. l-2th. 
ON CACAO— AND THE DISEASE. 
.Tan. 25 
Sib, — As there has been so much written 
lately in the columns of the daily papei's, on 
subjects tha.t are scarcely of any value to 
planters, such as "DoTealsettle onTrees,"&c., 
I think it strange that jnore important sub- 
jects, such as the cacao disease, was left se- 
verely alone. During the time Mr. Carruthei's 
was with us, we heard pretty often, but lately 
there has been absolute silence. It is because 
we are all so busy fighting the disease tliat we 
have no time to' argue, or wliat ? I for one 
am working hard to eradicate the disease 
which has affected my charge, and would be 
glad to hear what my fellow-iilanters have to 
say on the subject. It would do us all and the 
country at large a vast amount of good, to 
thus ventilate the subject through the me- 
dium of the press, who I have no doubt 
would help us to the last. 
Some cacao estate superintendents are 
shaving off the diseased parts and cutting 
into the wood, till the black threads are 
taken out, and then left bare ; others apply 
coal tar, margosa oil, lime, carbolic mixtures, 
&c., both on the diseased part, and on the 
shaved part. And again some places (v/hich 
I think is the wisest plan) are cutting all 
trees in the least affected, right out, level 
with the ground, and burning tliem imme- 
diately. Tlie disease seems to be very in- 
fectious, for I find it nearly always bad near 
pits where the cacao husk has been buried, 
although they have been well dusted with 
lime before being covered with earth. 
Trees should be examined, round the stem 
first, for if the disease has affected the bark 
right round, there is no use, I say, of 
letting that tree remain. Whereas if you 
were to shave cdl the diseased ; art off seeing 
that the tree looks healthy (like some are 
doing), in the hope that it will recover, I 
am qtdte certain their hopes will never 
be realised. I say this from some experi- 
ence, in marking the trees so treated, for I 
nearly always found that thev were quite dead 
within four to six Aveeks from the time they 
were last seen to. The above is only a means 
of further spreading the disease. Some 
planters are trying the latter course and 1 
am sure it is only penny-wise but pound- 
foolish ; in trying to save' a few trees they 
are oidy giving it time to spread nmch worse. 
There is no doubtaboutit.thatmany of our best 
tea ar(!sstc suffering very severely from the 
disease, although we hear so little about it 
I know of one place where 250 acres of cacao 
have l^een quite wiped out. And from our 
experience we now know that it affects only 
the red variety ; and on very rare occasions 
does it affect the Forastero. You can see 
trees side by side, yet the red is diseased 
badly, and the Forastero looking quite 
healthy. 
A few years ago, some of our best cacao 
men went in for only the red variety, and 
would not hear of having the Forastero, 
the argument being that the red-fetched 
better prices. Thej^ never, for one moment, 
thought of the hardiness of the growth and 
other prospects at the time. I fancy they 
are pretty sick now that they ever plan- 
ted it. 
For obvious reasons, it would not do for 
me to sign my name, but I enclose my card. 
I would be glad of correspondence from men 
similarly ]3laced, as it would )je of the 
utmost value to have such an important 
subject, at the present moment, discussed. 
—Yours, etc., CACAO PLANTER. 
The Prospects of Tea Pl.\ntkks.— Says the 
Investors' Guardian, Jan. 6 : When tlie sun rose 
on January 1st, 1899, he found the Indian tea 
trade in an unha^ipy condition, 1893 had closed 
with little or no husines.s being done in shares, and 
prices were sympathetically low. In the early 
part of 1899, however, it was widely believed that 
the crop would prove short of the demand, and, in 
consequence, tlie prices of common teas rose 
sharply, with a corresponding effect upon the 
value of siiares. But these favourable reports had 
a somewhat unsubst3.utial foandation ; the results 
were certainly not very nuich behind those of 
1897 8, even in Cachar and Sylliet concerns, whose 
very poor results were barely compensated for by 
the strictest economy and cessation of all attempts 
at development. A few companies were as suc- 
ces-f il in 1898-9 as in 1897-8, but for the 
majority the former was the worse year, 
and, as a result, share-values drooped from 
the middle of the year, with few transactions. In 
the late autumn when the market in tea was fairly 
brisk, and when the output in Cachar and Sylhet 
recovered considerably, the market revived some- 
what. Such beinj,' the condition ©f affairs, it is 
not surprising that no new companies were floated 
daring the year. There have, however, been a 
few additions to the capital of old companies. In 
the home trade ihe year has been a notable one on 
account of the attempts which were made to 
abolish the pound draft; and to reform the system of 
weighing. Harmony has now been restored, and no 
harm will come to the ventilation of these vexed 
qirestions. The teas of India and Ceylon continue 
to open up for themselves markets all over the 
world. It is slow work, necessarily, but even the 
continent of Europe is now showing unmistakable 
signs of yielding to the fascination of " the cup 
that cheers," and especially is this the case in 
Russfa. In fact, only the other day, a meeting 
was held in Colombo, at the instance of Ku.ssiau 
tea buyers, to consider the development of the 
Colombo market, where Russian firms found it 
difficult to obtain as much tea as they required- 
There is no need for planters to despair ; far from 
it. Tea shares do not lend themselvef to specula- 
tion just now, it is true, but the industry is a 
sound one, and for investment as opposed to specu- 
lation, is worthy of consideration. 
