Sept. 1, 1898.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
175 
THE AGRICULTURAL MAGAZINE. 
The followin;,' are the contents of the July 
nniiiber to hand :— 
I.— Ourselvfia ; II. — Season Reports ; III. — Rainfall 
taken at the School of Agriculture during the month; 
IV. — Occasional Notes ; V. — The Demonstrations at 
the Fruit and Flower show ; VI, — The Colombo 
Fruit and Flower Show, 1898 ; VII.— The Paddy 
Weevil ; VIII. — Seed Paddy ; IX. — Inoculation for 
Rinderpest; X — The Preservation of Eggs : XI.— Agri- 
culture in Zanzibar ; XII. — A Report on " Orthezia 
Insignis " ; XIII.— The Utilisation of Town Refuse ; 
XIV. — General Items. 
As will be seen from the above table there is 
a good deal of interesting reading, both of a 
local and general character. 
The present issue, which begins a new volume, 
furnishes an index to the IXth volume, July 1897 
to June 1898. We wish the Magazine all success 
in the future. 
MINOR PRODUCTS REPORTS. 
Java Quinine. — On the 12th instant 26 cases, total- 
ling 306 klogramnies (10,710 ounces) of quinine sul- 
phate from the Bandoeng factory will be put up for 
auction in Amsterdam. 
The BuLGAiUAN Rose-crop will yield 60,000 T. oz of 
otto. A Kezanlik correspondent does not think the 
price will ri.se. 
Cinnamon. — Ceylon chip fetehed at this week's 
auctions 4jd 16 bags being sold. Quils are firm, 
but quiet at Is 0|d for firsts 10|d for second, 9id 
for thirds, and 8jd for fourths. 
Coca Leavks. — Rather firmer and scarcer, though 
little business is passing : good gretn Truxillo leaves 
have sc 1 at 8d. 
Cardamoms. — There have been a fair enquiry, bu' 
actual business has been small, though prices are 
steady. Mvsore splits have fetched 2s, and good medium 
bold at 23" lid. 
Eucalyptus Oil — Ceylon Coconut oil '243 to 24s 
6d in pipes, and Cochin 29s on the spot. Fine Lagos 
Palm oil is lower on the week at 23s per cwt. 
LEMONCiitAss Oil. — Little business doing ; but if 
anything the oil is firmer, at ihi per oz on the spot, 
and 3gd to 3Jd, c.i.f. or new oil. 
Quinine. — Deaier in secondhand, and manufacturers 
are firm, without inclination to sell other than small 
lots for consumption. As a matter of fact, makers' 
stocks are low, and they appear to be supplying as they 
make. The general opinion is that the recent reduc- 
tion in price by manufacturers was not justified by the 
condition of the bark market, and that it is fear of Java 
competition which keeps the price low. In that con- 
nection we may note that at Amsterdam, on Tuesday 
July 12th, there will be offered 26 cases, each con- 
taining twelve 1-kilo. tins of the Bandoeng sulphate 
of quinine. The total amounts to nearly 11,000 oz. 
Olive Oil in Uai ii-ornia.— A great increase has lately 
been made in the olive acreage of Southern California. 
Reports say that there is more than enough olive oil 
product to supply the Pacific Coast, and unless an 
Eastern deniiind can be created ruin stares the 
olive growers in the face. A single packing company 
in Angeles, which has just completed its season's 
work, has manufactured 3,000 gals, of olive oil and 
pickled 1,000 barrels of olives. 
RoY.VL Gauuens, Kew Bulletin of Miscellaneous 
Infoimation, June, 1898. — Contents: — Tea Blights, 
Fungi Exotici, I. Miscellaneous Notes : — Mr. H. B. 
Lloyd — Mr. II. Holley— Botanical Magazine — Hoo- 
ker's Icones Plantarum — RosaGigantea — Totem Pole 
from British Columbia — Kola in the Lago.s Hinter- 
land — iJutta I'ercha — The Toonu or Tunu — Binnfelsia 
Calycina — Praguay Tea — Malingering in Egypt — A 
Chinese Prescription. 
PLANTING IN PERaK. 
COFFEE, COCONUTS, RUBBER, SUGAR, RAMIE, PEPPER, RICE 
(From Annual Administration Tteport for 1897.) 
It is not generally realized how large is the area 
of land held by Europeans and Chinese in Perak, 
and I have appended to this report a special return 
shewing the number and area of estates exceeding 
100 acres, from which it will be seen that the 
number of estates is 75, comiorising a total area of 
68,138 acres. The total area of agricultural land 
alienated in Perak amounts to 230,691 acres. During 
the time I have been in acting charge of the State 
I have visited every district, and have been specially 
struck by the extent and excellent management of 
the sugar estates in Krian, and of the coffee and 
coconut plantations in Kuala Kangsar, Larut, Matang, 
Kinta and Lower Perak. The planting of coco- 
nuts and Para rubber is being rapidly extended, 
and experiments are being made wiih ramie, a new 
fibre somewhat difficult ot treatment. The high price 
of pepper is very encouraging to the few planters 
of this agricultural product in Perak. The Malay 
cultivator is mainly depended on his rice crops, and 
the rice harvest partially failed in every district 
during the year under review. The chief district in 
which swamp padi is grown at present are Krian 
and Kuala Kangsar, but the area is being extended 
throughout the State, and, if opened up by means 
of roads and drains, there is no reason why the 
extent of land under rice cultivation in Lower Perak 
should not soon equal or exceed that of either of 
the districts named above. I hope that a rice mill 
will soon be established in Krian, as it would be of 
great sssistance to the local cultivators. Large tracts 
of good planting land are still available, and there 
is every reason for confidence in the planting future 
of the State. At Kuala Kangsar there is a Govern- 
ment garden, planted chiefly with limes, coconuts, 
nutmegs and other fruit trees, from which good crops 
have been obtained, and about 3.5,000 Para rubber 
seeds have been supplied to intending planters. A 
scheme for establishing a Federal experimental garden 
is now under consideration. 
The prices of Liberian coft'ee were much lower at 
the end than at the beginning of the year, and I 
fear that planters must have suffered severely. The 
check to this promising industry is much to be re- 
gretted, but I hope that it is merely temporary and 
that the ability and energj' of European planters 
in the Federated Malay States will successfully cope 
with the bad timss through which ihey are now 
passing, as ti.eir fellow planters have done, on former 
occasions, in Ceylon and elsewhere. It is probable 
that the conditions of soil, climate and labour pre- 
vailing in these States compare favourably with those 
of other countries in which Liberian coffee is grown, 
and no one visiting the estates can fail to be im- 
pressed by the excellence of the crops. Possibly, 
however, improved methods of curing, sorting and 
packing the beans can be devised, and more general 
advertisement may enable Malayan coffee to com- 
mand higher quotations in the European market. 
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, CEYLON. 
instuctions for collecting and sending specimens 
of plants and insects for report. 
1. — Directions foe Packing and Transmitting In- 
sect Pest for Report. — Packets, said to contain 
" Insects for Report," are frequently received by the 
Government Entomologist with the contents quite 
unrecognizable. The chief consideration is that the 
specimens should reach their destination in as fresh 
a condition as possible. As a general rule this can 
be best ensured by putting them into a close-fitting 
tin bo.x. In this way leaves, and the insects feedii g 
upon them, can be kept quite fresh for several days, 
or even a week. But do not spoil the eft't ct hi/ punch- 
ing air-holes in the lid of the hor. Insects do not 
require much air, and the supply that enclosed with 
them will in all cases be ample for their needs, I'ho 
