May 1, 1900.] 
THE TK®PICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
757 
CACAO IN SAMOA, 
The following; (says the Samoa Weekhj Heraldjis 
taken from advance sheets of a Consularreport : — 
Cacao is generally plaated in rows about 14 feet 
apart and on hillsides at closer distances. Some 
planters f i.vonr a wider spacing ; thus it will be seen 
that from 180 to 225 trees are usually planted to each 
acre of ground occupied. Dining the third year a 
small crop is prodiiced, but not until the fourth ye.ar 
is the crop of any appreciable value. Bach year there- 
after, as far as rny short txpeiieiioe goes, the crops 
increase, and at the present time I can not even con- 
jecture how much may ultimately be produced. 
On my Papa'oloa plantation, after clearing my land 
of the forest growth, I set out rows of bananas in lines 
15 feet apart, and when these were well under way 
and offering good shade, I planted my cacao with 
spaces of 15 feet on parts of the land and 18 feet on 
other portions. Along all the different roads I 
plaiitel pine apples, and I also devoted several fields 
to them. I have reservefl for pasturage abont 8 acres all 
told, and it may seem astonishing to people outside 
of Samoa when I say that land has furnished abun- 
dant pasturage for six horses, fifteen sheep, and twenty 
one head of cattle, lean not from memory say just 
how mu^h fruit I shipped last year from this place to 
A-Uokland, nor how many head of cattle I sold out of 
the natural inciexso of the place. But I am well 
assured that my net profits, after paying every ex- 
pense, were upward of |1,20). This from 60 acres all 
told is very satisfactory, considering that all was 
obtained from catch crops (bananas and pines) planted 
mostly to shade my cacao, from which, during the next 
two years, I expect very profitable returns. 
Daring the early mouths of this year, Papaloloa was 
raided in turn by both factions then at war, and I 
have up to now been unable to procure a sufficient 
supply of laborers t ) put it in its former tine condition. 
Though the whole of the crops was carried off or 
consumed on the fpoS during three mouths when hos- 
tilities existed, it is safe to say that from the sale of 
the fine fruit crop now coming on, I will still this year 
be able to score at leist as good a net profit as last ; 
though this will not cover the groat losj I mat with 
in the deitruction of my herd otcittle, and the loss 
of 750 cacao trees wantonly pulled up by the adherents 
of Tanu and Tamasess^. 
Part of my cacao has just commenced to bear, and 
I am forwarding its seed pods to iiy different trading 
stations as fast as they come on. At these points 
they are freely given to the native?, who are 
now commencing the cultivation of cacao in good 
earnest in several districts. At t'agopago, I have at 
present about 3,000 trees in all stages of growth, and 
Oil my property there I h ive still room for about 
2,009 more plants, which will be set out this year. 
After Pap.^Ioloais cleared up I expect that eight 
m:n will be sufficient for the place while we are 
still raising fruit for export. l«lext year, I will have 
to abandon this oa account of the rapid growth of 
my cacao. When this is done, I will increase the 
ntttnber of my cattle to fifty or sixty at least, and 
their naturalincrease will probably briugme nea-lv ns 
much'as I should have received from Hie fruit and tina 
too with less labour and trouble. — Fiji Times, Ftb. 17. 
^ . 
BRITISH TROUT IN KASHMIR. 
The experiments in introducing British trout; 
into Kasiiniir liave come to an untimely end owing 
to tha shipping agents at iiome having sent the 
ova in a slow steamer unprovided \-itli a cool 
room. Captain Allan, who went to Karachi to. 
meet the bo.K, found that the Duke of Bedford's 
gift to tiio Kashmir Association had developed 
from ova into trout long before the steamer had 
passed Aden. The Association lias however suffi- 
cient funds at its disposal to make a further trial, 
and another attempt will we hear be made in the 
coming autumn. — Pioneer, Marcli 21, 
THE TEA DUTY. 
Some Figures. — The announcement that the Bud- 
get speech would be made on Monday was only 
known at the close of last week, and occasioned 
considerable surprise owing to the early date. A 
rush was made to get dutiable articles out of bond, 
and some of the large tea distributors have been 
working early and late. It is a philosophical 
way of looking at the matter to say that the 
extra duty will not affect the general consumption. 
Anyway, it will fall heavily on the poor, to whom 
tea is at once a necessary and a luxury. Although 
the Chancellor of the Exchequer does not appear to 
think so, tea contributes quite enough to the national 
exchequer. The additional burden of 2d per lb. ia 
expected to produce in the course of twelve months 
a sum of il, 800, 000. The duty from tea has pro- 
duced, in the ten mouths ending January 31, £3,640,633 
which is an increase on the corresponding ten months 
of last year of £344,833. The consumption per head 
for the period has therefore increajed from 4.9 to 5.3 
pounds. The receipts from coffee duty were £162,963, 
against £155,982; from cocoa £154,208, against 
£155,000. The decrease in the latter was caused by 
the increased import of raw cocoa (which is taxed ac 
Id per lb.) not quite compensating for the decreased 
import of foreign made chocolate and cocoa, which 
pays 2d. per lb. Brewers are not at all displeased 
with the Budget, for it is said they fully expected 
that the duty on beer would have been raised 2s. a 
barrel. Surprise is expressed that millionaires have 
been left untouched, and that coffee escapes. Cer- 
tainly the Chancellor of the Exchequer believes iu 
tea — as a source of revenue. 
The Tax on Bbokers' Oontr.4.gt Notes. — Some un- 
easiness has been caused in commercial circles gene- 
rally by the Chancellor of the Ex)heqaer'a proposal 
to ta.x contracts for goods sold by brokers. The 
precise wording of the resolution carried iu the House 
of Commons on Tuesday was " that there shall be 
charged upon a note signed by any person carrying on 
the business of a broker to his principal advising him 
of the sale or purchase of any goods, v/area, or mer- 
chandise the stamp duty following— namely : If the 
goods, wares, or merchandise are of the value of £5 
a)^d under the value of ±'100, Id ; of the value of £100 
or upwards, Is.'' This proposal is of a very wids 
character, and, whether intentionally or not, will be 
pretty sure to cause considerable friction in businese 
circles. Meetings of merchants and brokers haye 
been held hurriedly at the London Chamber of 
Commerce, and a deputation was appointed to 
present to the Chancellor of the Exchequer a very 
numerously signed memorial asking for information 
as to the scope of the next tax, and that tha 
memorialists might be heard before any final deci- 
sion was given. The Chancellor of the Exchequer 
has, we believe, agreed to receive a deputation next 
week, and ten representative brokers and merchants 
have been selected for this purpose. In the House 
of Commons last night Mr.C.IMcArthur asked whether 
the new stamp duty on produce contracts would apply 
to all descriptions of produce, including sugar, cotton, 
corn, provisions, and iron, and whether it would be 
levied on both spot and future transactions, and the 
Chancellor of the Bxcheqtier replied in the affirmative. 
He also answered a question with regard to the pay- 
ments at the Custom houses on Saturday and Monday 
in anticipation of the extra duties to be imposed by the 
Budget, stating that the amount paid was £2,500,000, 
and that he hoped shortly to make some proposal 
with a view to the prevention of such large anticipa- 
tory payments. — Home and Colonial Mail, inarch 9. 
^ 
Applying Manure to Fruit-tree^. — A mistake that 
is very often made in the application of manure to 
fruit trees is in heaping it right round the trunk 
and forking in within a radius of a foot or two. It ii 
not difficult to discover how far a tree's roots extend, 
and to distribute the fertiliser accordingly,— (JueensZarttt 
Journal. 
