240 
THE TllUPiCAL AOKICULTCIUST. 
[Oct. 1, 
been constructed, although the works were begun in 
Ibcil. The remaining aecliouB are the most c (Stiy and 
difiicHlt troni the eugiueeriny point of view ; and 
Gaatcmalu. tias no niont y to Byare for railway con- 
slniction. Public opuiinn anii officinl inclination 
appe>*.r to be in favour of resigning the work to foreign 
capitalists, who have the money and energy in which 
Giiatenifil'i tinda ilaclf sadly licking. Forei(>n capital 
rather hanss back, and not without rea-ion. Con.si- 
deting, however, the extent to wliich liritiuli commerce 
is interested in the trade of the Hepublic, it is to be 
hoped that the money miiy ba found ; for, says Mr. 
Trayner, " the country is practically waiting for this 
road to be completed for its full development, and its 
commerce and prosperity will undoubtedly increase 
immensely when it is in working order under good 
and independent management." 
There were other reasons, besides revolution and the 
" hopeless condition " of the Guatemalan railway 
grojects, why, in 1897, money was scarce and credit 
ard to obtain — why banks were Bhak> , and the 
national revenues fell off by over two million silvrr 
dollars. The staple product— indeed, '• the sole 
eonrca of wealth which the country possesses" — ia 
OoFFEr, ; and while the export of coffee last year was 
larger than usual, there was astill more marked drop in 
prices, so that while Guatemala gave to its customers 
150,000 quintaks more coffee than in 18',)0, it drew about 
four millions of gold dollars less from the transaction. 
This, it must be admitted, was bad businePS. Whether 
an improvement will be m.\de by the lowering of 
the export dues which the Guatemalan Government 
makes on its coffee from 3 dollars 65 cents to one 
dollar silver per quintal, it will bo for a future report 
to say coffee growers in tlie Renublic have Lad another 
evil to content against — the incursion of a destructive 
bug, known as the " chinchc " — a kind ■ f '' coffee 
phylloxera," which attacks not the loot.s, but the 
branches and other overground parts of the plu,n:s. 
To check this plague an attempt was mlide 1o in- 
troduce the Austialian "l<idy-bug," which his the 
great merit of devoting itself to the extermination of 
the destroying " chiucho." lint the " lady-bug " is 
costly and difiicult to obtain; and the Gna'.tmalan 
planter has been fain to put up with a native bug — 
the " tortolitas ; '■ and this, it seems is '' fairly etiica- 
cious," in chawing up the intrusive '• chinches," 
which are further beiiig blasted by a couvenient 
lurtjus. Between revolutions, tlo' ds, hugs and sus- 
pended banks and railway?:, Guatemala tannol be said 
to have br-en in a very hopeful stafe comrj&rc;ally. 
But business, having reached the lowest ebb, has 
begun to improve ; and all nlasses in the Repnb'ic have 
lately become more hopeful. The labour question is 
perhaps the moat deep-seated und stubborn of the 
causes that tell against GuetemaUn prosperity. 
There are three classes of favm-worker.s or " niozos" in 
the Eepublic; and all begin by getting in debt to 
theil- employer. The iirst class, according to Mr. 
Trayner, work well until the debt is paid, and then 
get another advance ; the second keep joggiug on in 
a state of chronic indebtedness, rendering the whi!e 
tolerably faithful service, until they die in debt. The 
third class is an "interesting and very numerous 
one, composed of those who ask advances as long as 
they can get them, and when they know that they can 
get nothing more, desert with what money they have 
and anything more can beg or steal." The Guatemalan 
'' moze " is admirable as an actor, if not as a worker; he 
may labour well and obediently for a week, and tht n ''he 
begins to play his part ; either he or his wife turns ill, 
and he is unable to work, but must needs buy broth." 
The game may be carried on for five or sis months ; and 
then one fine day the " mozo " disappears ; nine-five 
percent, of these rogues " simply evaporate, and tura 
np at the opposite end of the country, and there find 
another victim ; " and against the evil the unfortunate 
agriculturist and capitalist has no resource. — 6'cotswcn. 
PLANTING IN NORTH FOKMOSA. 
Camphor.— With regard to camphor at present 
no British firm in North P'ormosa seems to in- 
terest itself in this important product^ the handling 
of whicli if" iu ths hands of German and Chinefee 
nierchanl-i, uctii.g probably in coriibiuaiion. Tin ie 
1-. a .flight de. re.ise in ihe i^iLintiiy expoi ted and 
a large deciea-^e lu value fiom i;i94,2-21 in 1696 
U> £121,938 111 ls97. 
TF-.v.— There whs a short export hi Formou 
oidoii<;s iimounting t. 17.857,43»j lb., as aKainst 
)9,iW,281 lb. in 1890. The value, however, wm 
i;0oJ,583 in 1897, as against £592,320 iu 1896. 
To prevent the adulteration of Forniosa oolonss 
by nu.vture with old local leaf or China leap", 
forogn merchants co-operate with the Chinese 
Tea GuiUI under the auspices of the Japanese 
authorities. A committee, consisting; of three 
foreign and four Ciiinese mcrchautt*. was appointed 
to deal with the questions of adulteration of tea, 
havinf,' the i)0wer to impose lines and confiscate 
adulterated teas. It is doubtful whether deci- 
sions a'lveu by that coinmiitee may not yet be- 
come the subject of litigation. The inland tax 
on tea collected last year anioiiiited to !>ome 
£40,0(X). 
The export of hemp and other fibr»> becomes 
noticeable this year, amounting to some £7.000. 
The special pwrts each exported a lesser or 
t,'reater quantity. The aiuliorities are taking 
great interest in the development of this pro<Jnct. 
For many years Tvvatutia, the centre of the 
tea trade and the distributing centre of North 
Formosa, has been the h.mie of the foreign mer- 
chants, who have quite forsaken the jiort Taui- 
sui, called Hobe in former times. Their liglit to 
reside and ir.a.h- i,, u,at town seems never to hare 
been questioned by the Chinese Government, 
though the latter would never allow forei-'nere 
to le.i.se lands in their own names. A most satis- 
factory Hriangcmcnt, however, was made with 
the Japanese Government whereby lands and 
buildings acquired previon.>j to the end of April 
1S9/, and hirherto held in Chinese coinpradores' 
names, could lespectively be leased per[»etually 
and owned ab.-^o!utely by foreign merchants within 
the limits of " mixed residence" which wee made 
to include the w hole < f Twatutia and several large 
vu.mt spaces. It was a pity that British nier- 
' liants did not avail thf;nise!ve» more largely ot the 
opportunity of acquiring land at that moment, 
for le.is'is made after May 8ili could not be made 
for a longer term than twenty-five years. The 
Uritisli merchant in I'ormosa is rather a pee- 
simist in his views as to the future of the island, 
but If liigh prices for land and exorbitant rents 
are a guide the owners of property in Twatutia 
sliould have eveiy reason to congratulate tliem- 
selves. 
That the natives of the cities have never en- 
joyed so much prosperity as at present, and that 
commercially they have benefited much by the 
altered circnmstances of the island, are facts that 
cannot be denied. 
The want of road and rail communication is 
peihaps the most serious obstacle to expansion 
of trade, ai d what is of greater importaAce. the 
pacihcation of outlying districts. It is most re- 
grettable that tne projected railway between no>-tIi 
and .south is no nearer a commencement than it 
was a year ago. It is indispen^uble for the Gov- 
erument to undertake its construction ; a private 
company like the " Formosa Railway Corapanv " 
formed in Japan, and having no support in the 
island is bound to be a failure. Koads leave the 
capital in every direction, but die method of cons- 
Jl^Iffi r™^ 5? ^i.'^'" "Dfitable for permanent 
trafhc— £. cD C. Eo:p-ess, July 22, 
