ieo 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept. 1, 1898. 
KULES FOR PLANTING PADI IN THE 
MATANG DISTRICT. 
No. 3G1.— The olearing of all fields to be commeDced 
not later than the 20th June. Ni.reeries to be com- 
menced not Uter than the ith July, and completed 
by the 14th July. The planting of padi to be com- 
menced not later than the 21th August, and completed 
by the 30th September. It shall be lawful for the Dis- 
trict Magistrate to alter, at any time, the dates on which 
any of the above operalions thai! take place if, owing to 
drought and other causes, it is found expedient to do so, 
due notice being published in the Oovennnenl Gazette 
and given to planters and all others concerned of auch 
alteration being made. 
Any person who shall commit abrench of any of these 
rules shall be liable, on conviction before a Magistrate 
or Peughulu, to a line not exceeding %5, and iu case of a 
continuing offence to a fine not exceeding $1 for each 
day during which such offence is continued. 
13th June, 1898. 
THE CINCHONA COMBINE. 
Tiie three cinciiona bark auctions in FInlland, 
which were to be an experjnicntin<; fjround for an 
attempt by importers of tiie bark at a conibina- 
tion, are now things of the past, and yet the 
association wiiich promoted these attempt.s lian 
had little or not hiiif; to s ty as to the success or 
non-snccess of its plans. Our market reports 
have, of course, sliown tlie main fact that the 
effort to maintain cinciioiia bark at tiie unit rulinj; 
at the time tiie project was started has failed, 
and we have also tliought it \va.s only fair to place 
considerations before our readers which to an 
extent e.xcused the failure of the importers. No 
ollicial explanation has, however, been f,'iven in 
Amsterdam, but in Java a criticism ot the cir- 
cumstances surrounding these three auctions has 
appeared from Mr. E A Van Winning, one of the 
Java growers of cinchona bark. This gentleman, 
writing from Bandoeng, deals very fully with the 
case. He recognises t hat the attem[it to keep up 
prices has failed, but, as is to he expecteii, he does 
not put this down to any fault of the . cultivators, 
indeed, he surprises one by insinuating that there 
was much move real combination amongst the grow- 
ers in Java than there was amongst the importers 
in Amsterdam. Tlie'prir.cipal growers, he says, had 
made some kind of working arrangement whicli 
was frustrated by the action of their agents, the 
importers. In Amsterdam the whole thing became 
a comedy, and he lays a great deal of the blame 
for what has happened on those who were not 
loyal in helping the combination and on specu- 
lators.— -B. 0. Drug gist J une 17. 
PLANTING IN NEGRI SEMBILAN 
STRAITS. 
(Prom Eeport on Land Department, Coast I>i&- 
^ trict, 1897.) 
Estates. — Early in the year the Port Dickson 
Coffee Company completed the planting of the 700 
acres previously cleared by them. Mr. Robert EngJer 
obtained a conces.sion of 640 acres of land for plant- 
ing coconuts adjacent to the 800 acres already planted 
np by him at Pasir Pnteh, and has already begun 
operations. A small coconut plantation was bsgua 
by Mr. 0. Malcolm Cnmming on the Luknt Eoid, 
tbe laiid selected being deserted kampong land, growa 
np in lalang and blukar. The owners of tapioca es- 
tates are year by year planting less and less, and 
in my opinion, it will be a blessing to the district 
when this form of cultivation ceases altogether. To 
judge from the customs returns, tbe cultivation of 
iambier and pepper is on the increase, 39,290 pikuls 
of the former having been exported during the year. 
The largest of the gambier and pepper estates is 
wned by a Chinese firm in Canton, which is repre- 
MBtetjl by Lob Cheng Seng, and is aijuat«d Ijeliwejjn 
the Lukut and Sepang Rivers. It would be t«dioQt 
in a report of this kind to go into detail wiib re- 
gard to tbe way iu which th< se estates are maniLged 
and worked, and also superfluous, as I am led ti 
believe a report on the workiug of them will shortly 
em^inate frcm another quarter. When the Sengk&nK 
Gambier and Pepper Concession fell in, about ti.i>)0 
acres of ii was applied for by th<i executors of the 
origini ownerl, Toh Eng Siew. The survey is now 
cemplete and I am led to to believa that the amount 
apenate will reach nearer 8,000 then b.UUO acres. 
MR. \V. MACKENZIK AND TEA • 
AN INTERESTING LETTEIC. 
Kandy, July i'i. 
SlU, — I enclose copy of a letter received by Mr. 
Lane from Mr. Mackenzie, together with the 
newspaper cutting referred to. 
I am, sir, yonrs faithfully, 
A. PHILIP, 
Secretary to the "Thiity Committee." 
London, June:^4. 
Dear Lane, — I arrived home this day )a«t week. 
Thanks for your letter of the 31bt intt. Thj 
China blacks we have been displacing, were quite 
2d nearer [4d cheaper than our black teA. Japaii« 
are at present dearer than our teas in Americs. 
By the new tea law Ja]>an inferior tea is ex- 
cluded and the average piice has gone up con- 
.•jider-vbly. I enclose a cutting from the "Canadian 
Grocer," of 10th June, which, while it t^liow^ J8|>anii 
were being quotoii at k to Is ojd, 6(ie>iki) of the 
very poor quality of Ceylons ! See bright flavoiy 
pekoes are practically unobtiiinable in Ceylon. 
This week's mail lias broaght me depressing re- 
ports ot the result to tea of a duty of 5d [>er lb. 
while coH'ee, already so absurdly cheaper, gets off 
free. I have heard today, that a strong agitation 
was being got up to have both articles treated 
equally, but with wiiat success remains to be 
seen. I am arranging for the effort we are to 
make in CfUiada. I am glad to Hay a strong 
Colombo and London lirni are conteniplating action 
(in Canada. I hail an interview with them today. 
I can learn nothing of the "Nirvana" Company 
here, althougli they are described as of Colombo, 
London, New York and ^'ancouver. I have \\ritten 
to New York and Canada about them. 
Rogivue is in London, I hope to meet him. Large 
quantities of Ceylons have been bought for him 
recently. 
I was given a sample yesterday of a very 
rubbishy Ceylon Tea, which was sent here to be 
matched. It is reported too j>oor to be matched 
here. Yet the Committee has helimd the tnen in- 
troducing this rubbish to a new country. I am 
not allowed to disclose the name. Since such teat* 
made, it is well it should hnd a market elsewhere 
ban iu London. — Yonrs faithfully, 
(Signed) Wm. Mackenzie, 
(Extract referred to from the Canmlian (rrocer, June lOth, 
The one or two wholesale houses which broaght on 
Japan teas by the first steamer are quoting 28c. to 35c. 
(14d. to 17|d) per lb. There have been a good many 
transactions in Ceylon teas of low and medium grades 
daring th« past week, and there has been a little doing 
in Indian growths, but other descriptions are neglected. 
The Ceylon teas arriving this week are not showing 
nearly as good quality as those which arrived a month 
ago, and advices from Colombo and London say that 
fine teas are becoming scarce. Bright, ilavory pekoes 
are practically unobtainable in Ceylon. A few China 
green teas were shipped to the United States this week, 
while some teas of the same description, which had 
been rejected by the tea inspectors in the United StateSj 
ftie being offered tUis ^ee^ in ,^9ro8t9. ' \ 
