676 
THE TKOPICAli AGRICULTURIST. 
[Apiuii -i, 1900. 
sold down to 78s. Gienadas went Is lower, and 
ill some ciises perhaps even a little more, for 
Only t«'i) loos Sulci at 72s, tlie bulk of tlie "fine 
red" wliicli liad been selling at 72s to 74s, only 
renlibiiij,' 70s to 71s. Tliis week the Government 
dul not liiiy any Gie adas, but were purchiieers 
of about I'M bags of Trinid-uls at prices varying 
from 79s to 8ls 6J. Ot Ceylons nearly 2,000 
bags were offered of which 7;^1 bags were sold, 
at 60s to 6ris 6d for "smalls," 78s to 83s fair 
to good red, 85s 6il to 87s for fine red. 
Native cocoa sold at 66s for common and 67s to 
70s 6d for fair to good. The demand for tiiis 
growth is evidently dull this week for 1 have 
not heard of any more having been sold since 
the sale, but I still think "very fine bold" red 
with a light break, would fetch a f-incy price. 
Coco. I buiter is quoted a little higher in price 
being Is 5|d today. 
Stocks stdl run very low, the stock of all 
growths being oidy 74,94.3 bags against 91,152 
bags last year, and 113,918 bags in 1898, of these 
7,40 J late Ceylons, 15,172 Trinidads, 9,727 
Grnnadas and 25,24l bags Guayaquil. 
From all accounts I am of opinion that this 
years supply of Locoa, will be nearly as large as 
lh.it of 1899. The Guayaquil crop may not be 
quite so heavy, but the small dilierence will be 
more than compensated by increased receipts 
from Afiica, and perhaps Bahia, especially African 
where I hear the increased cultivations are be- 
ginning to tell up. This is just as well tor with 
the consum))tion increasing as it is we shall want 
every pound of last year's supply, if, indeed, it 
will be sufficient to prevent prices a little later, 
going hiyher. 

PADDY CULTIVATION: ITS COST AND 
PROFIT. 
LARGE PROFITS? 
(from a wynaad point of view.) 
Ill view of the decline in values of coffee and tea 
in the Eaiopeau markets, as well of the circums- 
tance that a considerable extent of land suited to the 
prolilable growth of riije is to be found in proximity 
to blocki which are under coffee and tea in India, 
it will be instructive to glince at the advantages re- 
sulting fiom utilizing such olocks for raising an article 
o£ cousumptiou which lends itself «o readily as a 
means of supporting the labour engaged, not merely 
on the iilih itself but in that devoted to the major 
products named above. 
There are practically two methods by which rice, 
i. e., p iddy can be suocesfuUy grown, namely, through 
intli^eiious labour, and by means of imported coolies. 
The foimer are accustomed as a general rule in 
South Iiulia, to be remunerated in kind, a man re- 
ceiving for a full day's work approximately 4 lb. of 
paddy, a woman S lb., while one anna in cash is 
disbursed weekly to such of the former as may have 
'worked for not less than six days in the week; and 
twice a year all hands expect to be presented with a 
oonple of lar^e coarsely woven white cloths, on the 
recurriog anniversary of the two principal festivals, in 
March-April and in August-September. On the other 
hand, imported coolies are paid attherateof 4 and 
3J as each daily. 
lb may be taken for granted, speaking broadly, that 
the averHga value of paddy in Southern India is R2 
per miiund • f 82 lb., and upon this hypothesis te. 
[^ctijH L.f wiige^ payable to the imported labourer, 4 as 
per niiiri) is luoio than double that earned by hia 
iinligeU'AH i:r!nfifeie. 
lu fittiUiiin all estimii a of the outlay connected 
(th paddy i uUiYttion. it will consequently be fairest 
ta strike an average, and debit the account with day 
labour at an all round scale of 3as. per diem. 
Before sorntinizing the coat o£ cultivating paddy 
lauds or bhil tracts it should be assumed that the 
ryot posBC'^ses upon a 30 acre block a herd of at 
least 40 buff iloe-i, the accruing minure from which 
will suffice to liberally fertilize the whole, once every 
second year (one-half of the holding being so treated 
annually), while the services of the animals are uti- 
lized (1) for ploughing, and (2J for threahing, i.e., for 
treading out the grain. 
Paddy, on the average, requires about four months 
to mature, but upon some tracts, two harvests can be 
annuilly raised. The following statement furnishes a 
schedule of the outlay incideiitnl to cultivating 30 acres 
of wetland for a period of about eight months : — 
R 
1 Herding 40 buff does at 6 annas per diem 9(1 
2 Cost of 30 maunds of seed yraiu .. 60 
3 Ploughing each acre six times (prior to 
seed sowings a man taking three davs 
to do the work each time, also labour 
for ''buudiog ' the land ... 200 
4 Sowing the seed .. ... 30 
5 Application of manure . . . . 16 
6 Reaping .. ... 30 
7 Threshing and winnowing the grain 80 
455 
Value of Harvest representing a yield of 15 
maunds per acre, amounting to 45i> mds. 
at 112 .. .. ..900 
Value of straw . . . . . . 100 
1,000 
Deduct Expenditure .. ... 4-'i6 
Balance of profit ... 545 
The yield of paddy varies considerably and ranges 
from 10 to 30 fold, but in this statement a return of 
only 15 fold is provided for, a result which may con- 
fidently be anticipated where the work of supervision 
is intrusted to capable hands. 
From these figures it will be ebvious that on or 
dinary land of the extent named properly manured 
and otherwise treated a return of 15 fold yielding a 
net profit of over 115 per cent, accrues, or "deducting 
the pay of a native supervisor, 100 per cent, profit 
remains to the cultivator. 
One mannd of paddy properly cleaned and win- 
nowed yields about 50 lb. of raw rice, the value of 
the latter as a marketable commodity being governed 
by the particular class of grain from which it 
was raised. 
But assuming that an average is struck between 
the beat quality and the commonest description of 
rice, a rupee nurchases about 18 lb, of the latter, 
so that a rateable yield of 15 maunds per acre is 
equivalent to a crop of more than 750 lb. of rice 
worth R41-10-8. 
These calculations are based on practical experi- 
ence and may be thoroughly relied on as a moderate 
estimate of the probable profits acruing from the 
cultivation of paddy or holdings at an elevation of 
2,400 feet above sea level and enjoying an annnal 
rainfall approximating 80 120 inches, fairly well 
distributed. Ryot. 
— Planter, February 24. 
BRITISH NEW GUINEA. 
AN AUSTRALIAN CEYLON. -This is the ietm 
applied to New Guinea by the Australians. The new 
colony, we learn, is at last to be thrown open to white 
ODlomsation, not through the agency of a British 
syndicate, but by the direct action of Government 
Adr-.iniatiator, Mr. Le Hunte, with the concurrence 
of the Australian colonies concerned. The terms on 
which laud may be acquired after a certain date for 
settlement purposes have been issued, and it is prob- 
