312 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Nov. 1, 1898. 
Eftme tiiiie the Bandoong munufactory was secured an 
ample supply of the raw material and a ready market, 
fice ftoui. competition, foi' the manufactured article iu 
Asia and Australia. With a view to extending the 
factory, a larger site had to be looked for, especially 
as many complaints were forthcoming with regard 
to the pollution of the water that flowed through the 
towns, and was injurioua to t" e fish ponds. 
It is n y firm conviction that the plan, according to 
which tlie working of onr factory is carried on, is 
not a plan conducive to the intercBts of the producers, 
and, as a direct consequence, is lil-tewise not condu- 
civo to the interests of the shareholders. Now, what is 
THE ACTUAL STATE Of AFFAIRS? 
The manufacturers of quinine, who will 
bo only too pleased if they can succeed 
in rendering the manufs.cture of quinine in 
Java, an impossibility, have recently raised the price 
ot the cinchona bark, and lowered the price of the 
manufactured quinine to such a degree that the pro- 
ducers find it more to their advantage to sell their 
produce in the form ot bark than to have it manu- 
factured at BanJosng, and then to sell it in the fonu 
of a prcparn.lion. Tlie niauufaclurers can always 
effect this with lo.«s, or, at Hny rate, without only a 
slight, loss fur a short time. Planters naturally piefer 
to send their bark to Europe, and our f ictory without 
a supply of the necessary raw material muit necessarily 
cease to exist, after which ihe manufacturers are maa- 
tors of the silu\-tiou, and the producers are ultimately 
the victims and beur the loss. 
Mr, Van Prelm concludes by saying the Bandoeng 
factory must not ceas« to e.xist, but muat ratber be 
enlarged and furnished with tiie very best machinery, 
as well as with an expert specialist as manager, so as to 
manufacture is well and as cheaply as in Europe. 
The factory should pay for tho raw material at a price 
corresponding to the prevailing prico of the sulphata 
of quinine, and the cinchona producer.s should possess 
at least half of the shares of the factory. 
Since his return to Europe he says he has done 
much, to further the interests <•{ the factory and of 
the producers, but he cannot, end will not, publibh 
what he hiis ahcady done and effected in this direc- 
tion, but he says that he has every reason to bo satis- 
fied with the results obtained. 
He Bays ho is in a position to declare that his efforts 
to improve the condition of the producers and to 
maintain the life of the Bandoeng manufactory have 
not been without succeas, thanks to the co-operatioa 
iu the Netherlands of sundry parties interested in 
the cultivatiou of cinchona. 
For all these reasons he Bsk;i that the vote of cen- 
sure should be withdrawn. — British and Colonial Drug- 
gist, Sept. 2. 
«. 
"PLANTING m THE NORTH-WESTERN 
PROVINCE. 
Karawila, Sept. 20. 
THE DHOUGHT. 
We are yet practically in the throes of the drought. 
V^ehad apleasant break in the weather on the 10th inst., 
when the rain that fell on that and the two succeeding 
days measured very nearly an inch. But that did not 
go for much, as the moisture did not go very much be- 
low the suiface. As I am writing, the weather is very 
gloomy and a drizzle has fallen. We may have rain 
before long, but the North-Bast rains are not due before 
the middle of October or a month hence. 
I have heard residents in Chilaw say that this is 
the mos>t severe drought they have known for many 
year.s. Streams and water-courses that were always 
flowing, are now quite dry. The Kudawewa in 
this district is fast drying up. I have heard of an 
Estate in the Chilaw District where trees that have 
passed iheir prime are being watered ! Low-lying 
Bandy estates co not suffer to the same extent, as v.-ater 
ia notveiy far from the surface iu such places and 
is \», ichiu reach of tho roots. 
THE OlilENT COMPANT's MILLS. 
The Engineer of the Orient Company's Mills at 
Veyangoda, wbo went home recently, has returned 
and id to boss their Desiccating Mills here. Tb« 
buildings are already up and with the EuKiueer on 
the spot it will not be long before the machinery will 
bo up aud the mills a going concern. 
COCONUT BUfTEH: A SJiW COMPAMY. 
Coconut butter has been before the pnhlie for 
some years now, at least io name. A CoiDpa.ny 
connected with Ceylon has been formed, it >• 
said, for its manufacture. If white batter be 
wanted, white oil will be necessary and for 
white oil, white, sun-dried copra must be used. 
The oil from colored copia will be colored. It can 
be clarified and purified, but its color cannot be 
altered. It was said that tne great drawback to (be 
aee of coconut oil by the Price Candle Company 
was its color. To secure white copra it 
will be more economical to establish milla some- 
where here on the banks of the canal, than at Colombo. 
Here in the dug gone, most of the copra manufactured 
is of necessity white. Ouce it is known that only 
white copra will be purchased and good prices nill be 
paid for it, most of the copra from Calpentyn, Putta- 
lam and Chilaw, not to opeak of the Districts Boutb 
of the latter place, will fl w into the cew mills. I 
make this suggetitiou gratis — for nothii (. 
"THE PURCHASING PRICE OF THE 
RUPEE." 
Writin<; on this subject in Capital (Calcutta, 
Sept. 8tii) a correspondent "X" puts forward 
some very strikiiij; figure* a-s follows : — 
Now take a typical staple like common rice, and 
look for a moment at the annual average price in 
Bengal from 1861 to 1897. 
Seers sold. Seers sold 
for Re. 1. for Re. 1. 
1861 
. . 29 1 
1880 
. . 20 61 
1B62 
. . 2'.t-47 
1881 
.. 26-4 
1863 
. , 28 94 
18H2 
. . 24 85 
1864 
.. 2017 
1883 
. . 20 49 
1865 
. . 18-87 
1884 
.. 15 5 
1W6 
.. \HH2 
1885 
.. 15-84 
1867 
.. 21-67 
188G 
. . 19 92 
18C8 
. . 23 7 
1887 
.. 21-03 
186y 
... 2152 
1888 
19 01 
1870 
.. 24 G 
1689 
. . 14 98 
1871 
.. 25 26 
1890 
.. 16 29 
1«72 
. . 23 86 
1891 
.. 1584 
1873 
. . 20 97 
1892 
.. 15-31 
1874 
.. 15-24 
1893 
,. 12 86 
1875 
. . 20-57 
1894 
.. 13-92 
1876 
.. 21-76 
1895 
.. 16-9 
1877 
.. 18-69 
1896 
. . 13-41 
1378 
.. 1317 
1897 
. . 9-59 
1879 
.. 14-02 
If we talk the aggregate for these decennial periods 
as the index, they work out as follows: — 
18G1-1870. 1871-1830. 1881-1890. 
237-86 .. 194 15 .. 19441 
but if we take the aggregate for the last 10 years, i.e., 
from 18S8— 1897, we get the extraordinary low index 
figure of 14811 
Nor turn back to our exchange. We find the aggre- 
gates of the decennial periods are as follows : — 
1861-] 870. 1871-1883. 1831-1890. 
243 41-48 .. 216 23-32 .. 185 45 96 
but if we take the aggregate for the past 10 years, 
I.e., from 1883-1897, we get the extraordinary low 
index figure of 156 7-64. Arrange the statement in 
this way — 
Aggregate Aggregate Aggregate Aggregate 
Decennial Decennial Decennial Decennial 
Index. Index. Index. Index. 
1861-1870. 1871-1880. 1881-18S0. 1888-1897. 
Price of 
Bice 237-86 194-15 194-41 14811 
Rate of 
Exchange 243 41-48 216 23-32 185 45-96 J 56 7-64 
