August 1, 1898.J 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
77 
TABLE. 
Value of Crop, 144,000 lbs. @7i £4,350. 
_ , ., Scale Scale Scale Bemarks on 
Detail. 
Plantation Expen- 
diture 
Agency and Stores 
Interest 
Road and 
Freight 
Eail 
London Whouse 
Management . . 
Do. Rent 
Do. Bulking 
Do. Taring 
Selling Commission 
Brokerage and Sale 
Charges 
Discounting the 
Prompt 
Draft to buyer 
A. 
B. 
C. 
Scale 0. 
l-OO 
4-no 
4^00 
•75 
■75 
•75 
•06 
■08 
•03 
Reduced to 6 per 
cent. 
■67 
■55 
■40 
Railway to Dis- 
trict. 
■20 
•20 
■18 
Extra discount 
of 10 per cent. 
•03 
•08 
■04 
AotnalRentonly 
charged. 
•05 
Nil 
Nil 
Avoided. 
•02 
■02 
Simplified by 
margin of vari- 
ation in itares 
increased to 
4 lbs. 
■11 
■11 
•07 
Reduced to 1 
per cent. 
■09 
■09 
•C9 
■07 
■07 
Nil 
Made optional 
to seller- 
■09 
•09 
•05 
Reduced tq i per 
cent. 
Total cost of pro- 
duction 
6-33 6 02 5^63 
Profit on Scale A- £544 
„ B. £738 
C. £984 
From these profits steamer freight has to be de- 
ducted ■ it is too fluctuating to include m the tables. 
It will be seen that the proposed economies in 
(1) London Doclc and Wiirehouse charges, (2) sales, 
charges, brokerage and commissions, and (6) Xraae 
taxes, would reduce them from ■So of a penny per 
pound of tea to ^45 of a penny, or a saving ot 
4/iOths of a penny per pound. 
I have not toucded exchadge m the tables. «at 
if the protest of all producing and exporting India 
can help to stay the hand of government, and secure 
a Is. 3d instead of a Is. 4d. rate of exchange it 
would increase the profit by nearly another half 
Denny per lb. _ , . 
The details and decimal figures I have given may 
appear confusing and even trivial. They are only a 
few hundredths of a penny saved here and there, or 
so it appears on the surface. But in these days of 
desperate struggle for existence by the tea industry 
it is the hundredths of the penny that go to make 
the meagre margin of profit. To adapt an old 
proverb to the exigencies of the case : ' Look alter 
the decimals, and the dividends will looK after 
themselves.— ftoicr. 
NEW PRODUCTS IN ZANZIBAR IN 1897. 
Cacao.-Gteat difficulty has been experienced in 
obtaTnin" seeds and plants of Cocoa. Early m the 
veLr 3000 seeds arrived from Ceylon in a completely 
Shed condition. In June 72 plants were received 
hom London in Wardian cases but only 34 survived. 
A few pods from Seychelles did well. 
Kola -Kola germinates freely and grows well. Tne 
seed is cheap and easily procured, while the produce 
reauircs little preparation for the market, bemg 
merely placed in the sun to dry. Hence, if it can 
Te grown at a profit. Kola is more likely to find 
f avour wUh the Arabs than Cocoa, the beans of which 
have to undergo fermentation before being ready for 
-mJrket Kola tr«e« m.y be planted 20 feet apart; 
they come into bearing in 4 or 5 years. Prices in 
Loudon rule from 4d. to 6d. per lb. If each tree 
yields 50 lb. per annum — a moderate estimate as 
trees h.ive been known to yield up to 150 1b. of 
nuts each — the gross returns, both per tree aiid pei" 
acre, would be much larger that those now obtained 
from cloves plantations, which do not average more 
than 15 lb. of produce per tree, worth 2id. per lb. 
L-irge quantities of Kolas have been shipped from 
the West Indias, which has had the effec: of redu- 
cing the price considerably. Thus in 1890 Kolas 
were worth 2/9 per lb. in 1894 1/3 per lb; while 
now they are worth, as above stated, less than 6d. 
The nuts are made into Kola wine, Kolatina and 
Kola paste, a preparation similar to cocoa paste. 
Chocolates are also adulterated with Kola. 
Vanilla. — A small plantation of Vanilla has been 
made at Dunga and preparations are iu course for 
extending the cultivation of this vine. Of the GOU 
cuttings planted, 427 survived and are growing fairly 
well. Many were found going rotten at the bottom, 
from being planted too deeply, and had to be taken 
up and replanted. The viues have been planted 
singly between three live supports, placed in a small 
circle. The Mbono (Castor oil — Curcas purgans) and 
Prangipaui make good live supports and throw out 
rapid shade. Six feet has been allowed between each 
little bed of vanilla. Water is conveyed from the 
well to the plantation— a distance of 300 yards — 
through bamboo pipes. Much care is required both 
in the planting and cultivation of this vine, and 
some skill in fertilizing the flowers and in harvest- 
ing and preparing the fruit for market. For these 
reasons it is doubtful if the industry will take root 
here among the Arabs. A small plantation of Va- 
nilla has been made at Tundaua. 
Fara Rubber. — Para Rubber shows every indica- 
tion of doing well here. Though the proportion of 
seed which germinated in the nursery appears small 
(174 out of 933) much of the seed was old and 
worthless when sown, and not Expected to grow. 
Those that came up grew rapidly and, with the 
exception of three, have all been transplanted. One 
hundred and fifty were taken to Pemba and planted 
25 feet apart in one of the sandy swampy valleys 
of Tundaua. Seven out of the 150 (5%) 'died, but 
the others came away well. Sixteen have been 
planted out in the rich alluvial valley that divides the 
Dunga bank from the coral, but some of these have 
failed. There is a Para rubber tree, 50 feet high and 
6 feet in circnmferance, growing at Mbweni on <i 
dry sandy ridge. It was planted by Sir .John Kirk 
and in September last was observed to be flowering. 
The presence of this tree growing so well in a"i 
uncongenial locality, justifies 1 think, the assumption 
that if Para Rubber — the most valuable of all vari- 
eties — will pay to grow at all — a point that has no 
where yet been decided — it ought to pay to grow 
here. 
C'eara Rubber. — The Ceara Rubber is just comma- 
up and looks extremely healthy. It has bi_'eD grown 
principally from trees growing about the island. 
The Ceara Rubber trees dont appear to yield much 
juice. I tapped one growing at Mbweai" and got 
little or nothing from it though it must have been 
five or sis years old. It was afterwards found that 
wrong methods had been adopted, though at the 
same time it was quite clear that there was little 
milk in the tree. This variety of Rubber is said 
to thrive on very barren as well as rich soils, and 
if this is the case, it ought to do well on the 
coral wastes of Zanzibar, which cover about 3. 5 of 
the total area of the island. 
Cojhe. — About 60 young Arabian coffee trees are 
growing in the Nursery from seed obtained frooi 
Nyassaland. They look well and will be planted 
out, though they can hardly be expected to prosper 
in Zanzibar as the elevation is too low. Liberiau 
coffee was sown late in the year and has not j-et 
germinated. Attempts have been made to procure 
seed of the Maragojipe coffee, Brazilian variety, but 
none has yet been received. 
