ACTGUST 1, 1898.1 THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
105 
A COFFEE EXPERT FOR QUEENSLAND. 
CliYLON MEN AT A DISCOUNT. 
In the face of the wine anil the tobacco in- 
dustries having had their wants looked after, 
it is not unreasonable that liie coti'ee growers 
should seize upon recent opportunities to urge 
their claims. The growing of coffee has not yet 
attained that importance which it should per- 
haps have readied, but neither has tobacco. 
Just wiiat has hindered the one has kept b .ck 
the other — want of expert knowledge. BolIi of 
these industries have great possibilities before 
tliem, and should on that account be duly en- 
couraged. The new Minister of Agriculture (Mr. 
J V Chataway) in his late speech to his consti- 
tuents at Mackay, in .speaking on this subject, 
as good as made a direct promise to appoint a 
coffee expert, and even went so far as to say 
that a man had been found. Let us hope the 
choice niay not fall on some of the broken-down 
gentlemen planters from Ceylon we wot of, A 
few years unsuccessful struggle at the business 
in Ceylon, or elsewhere, is not a sufficient re- 
commendation for appointment to teach the 
struggling bub determined coffee planters of 
Queensland. — A natralian Tropiculturist. 
PALMS AND TOBACCO IN MULLAITTIVU. 
IN MULLAH TIVU DISTRICT. 
Coconuts. — In the Vavuniya District it is 
estimated that there are between 7,000 and 8,000 
coconut trees. The yield-only hve nuts per tree 
— would seem to show either that the soil is not 
suited for them or that they are not cultivated 
with proper care. 
In the Mullaittivu District there are said to 
be about 80,000 trees, yielding an average of 
50 nuts per tree. Nearly all of them are grow- 
ing in the maritime pattus, where the soil is well 
adapted to them. The nuts fetch on an average 
R3-50 per 100. 
Palmirah. — In the Vavuniya District it is 
estimated that between 40,000 and 50,000 pal- 
mirah trees grow. They yield on an average 
only 10 nuts per tree. 
In the Mullaittivu District about 110,000 trees 
are said to be growing. They yield 200 nuts 
per tree. As in the case of coconuts, it is in 
the maritime pattus that they thrive. 
Tobacco. — In the Vavuniya District 88f acres 
were cultivated, as against 1592 acres in 1896, 
and are said to have yielded 1,255,100 leaves, 
or 14,142 leaves per acre. The yield in the 
previous year was estimated at 11,196 leaves per 
acre. The decrease in acreage planted was due 
to land suitable for tobacco cultivation being 
flooded at the end of 1896.— il/)-. Fo x's Acbninh- 
tration Report for 1S97- 
TOBACCO IN JAFFNA. 
As pointed out by Mr. levers in his Adminis- 
tration Report for IbQQ, the cultivation of tobacco 
constitutes one of the most iuiporraiit industries 
of the Province, and were it possible to encoui age 
the growth and manufacture of a sui)erior ai ticle 
of commerce the greatest boon possible would be 
conferred on the industrious agriculturists of the 
North. So far, however, no experiment of this 
character has succeeded, though European capital 
and energy have been freely expended in various 
parts of the Island under tl'ie guidance of experts 
14 
in the endeavour to produce tobacco saleable in a 
foreign n)arket. 
I fear that it must be admitted that the .soil 
of the Islaiid will not produce anything better 
than the coarse product now grown. The culti- 
vation during 1897 extended over a very large 
area, but owing to unseasonable weather the 
crops were not eqp.al in quantity or quality to 
those obtained in the previous year. The follow- 
ing is a comparative statement showing the ex- 
ports of the last two years, to which must be 
ado'etl a very large quantity sent by road to 
Anuradhapura and .Vatale, of which no reliable 
returns can be obtained. The exports for 1896 
were the largest on record :— 
RETURN SHOW-ING EXPORTS OF TOBACCO BKVOND 
SKA AND COASTWISE. 
Beyond Sea. Coastwise. Total. 
Quantity. Quantity. Quantity. 
Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. 
1896 .. 61,879 29,592 91,471 
1897 ... 44,914 3u,857 75,772 
— 3rr, Fishers Administration Report for 1897. 
COCONUT CULTIVATION AT PUTTALAM. 
It is extraordinai'y how coconut cultivation 
has taken on in the Puttalatn district. Thou- 
sands of acres of lands have been within the 
last few years cleared and the cultivation is 
rapidly extending. In the fresh clearings, plan- 
tations are cultivated and a very large quantity 
sent down to Colombo in ]>adda boats. Putta- 
1am is one of the busiest towns in the island. 
Tlie district contributes a very large proportion 
of the income of the island, but it cannot be 
said to be well treated. Bullock 3oaches always 
full ply between Chilaw and Puttalam, a dis- 
tance of thirty-two miles and a whole day is 
taken up by the journey. There is no proper 
jetty for loading and unloading goods and every- 
thing is done in a most piiinitive style. Saltas 
everybody knows is the stable export from Put- 
talam and yields a handsome revenue. After a 
lapse of three years salt is again being manu- 
factured and the salt pans are being prepared 
to receive the sea water. The people in the 
district seem to be all well off and no beggars 
of any descrijition are seen anywhere. The 
coach service between Negombo and Chilaw is 
aboniinable. The horses are of the worst po=sible 
description and the coaches themselves are bad. It 
is time some improvement is made. The boat 
service is fair, but as the boats start from Grand- 
pass the public m town find it inconvenient to 
go all that distance. — Cor. 
PLANTING REPORT FROM S. INDIA. 
NORTH TRAVANCORE NOTES. 
June 26th 189S. 
The S. W. Monsoon burst here on the 5th instant, 
coming on very mildly at first, bat every day lu- 
cre ising in force, antl violence, and lasting for 
fully a fortnight, since when the weather has 
moderated. Tlie strong winds, alougwith the rains, 
have done considerable damage ; blowing down 
a number of jungle trees across roads and block- 
ing them up for a time, I hear of as n)uch as nine 
inches of rain having fallen in the twenty-fourhours, 
but more down towards Munaar ; farther to the 
N. E. the rains were not so heavy. We had more 
