572 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Feb. I, 1899. 
tb.> (!0od. will be unnecessary. The "J f raUw.iv, 
Will be tmusported from ,ZIJl Ihia 
cost. That 13 duo m part f ^'-j,-';!^ ^^,,0 not 
chaats who quote as 'l*^'^'-''>^*''^*^^';fotter cause, that 
Tc that on rdviKg in ^Moscow, the caravan tcafl 
duer., t °" t > hei in price, than those shipped 
are not srn.-iL;ly nii^nti lu tn the onen ne of 
1897, China only figures for lOi per ccni. 
PRODUCE AND PLANTING. 
TvK PROSPFCTS.-The outlook for tea is brighter and 
in'^"u?;rr"tJ.:.t|on to. this Mes-s Gow W l.on 
and Stan.on in their cuxular P^^^-f f^^^,,,^,, 
week's issue ^t^'^., f '^.^^^^t more cheerful outlook 
remuBheving ihat the pres^^^^^ 
has been caused by inoieas n„_^^^ y^^^^ 
----nSBfsr^o^^^^^^ 
..ni be U e wor^ ^^Eo'.unately 'there is 
t^\:w;gain- ?ashry "conceived tea pUnting opera- 
'^^■d last had 
^^^^"h: ai^^^-i^^rS'^y 
the trade ,f°"'^,]^^,f t'^^* to take losses on stock 
often as 'l^^ ^nce owiS to their losing the 
Sne°s">n1 ^^lUu- °.Tthiu a fe^ weeks of arnval. 
Again, the sale of ' pare Ceylon ' packets (oompelling 
thuse who label it ' pure' to use culy Ceylon; ib bciQfC 
treatly interfered with by the big bleadere, whose 
nuujbera and power grow rapidly each year ; the 
competition has therefore beaefiltcd the stronger and 
more pointy Indiaa K'^ov.'Aio to the detriment of 
Ceylon and China. Our in)i>orts for the year show 
an increase of aboat 1 million lb, or say 9i million lb 
against 93 million in I8y7. Deliveries, however, have 
fallen ofif 1 million lb— viz., about 94 mUlion lb against 
95 million lb in Ib'.tT Deliveries for home consnuiption 
have fallen oil' still more— viz., '^i million— but ihiu dis- 
crepancy w as made up by an increase of the exports 
of over I million lb. It will be noticed that thebe in- 
creases and decreases in Indian and Ceylon tea re»- 
peclively commenced from last April onwards. The 
stock on January, 1898, was ICJ million lb, and next 
year (1899) we shall 8t»rt with about the same. We 
notice by our Ceylon advices that the total crop for 
1898 ehowa an increase of about 4 million lb. over lli97. 
However, foreign countries outtide tb» United King- 
dom have taken some 5| to G million lb. more direct, 
while IJ million less have been sent to the United 
Kingdom. Australia has taken oue-sixih more, or aay 
2i million more; America three times more, or s»y li 
million more ; and Russia six times more, or tay li 
million more. Direct exports from Colombo to otber 
countries ouleide the United Kingdom, togethtr with 
the exports from here, may therefore be roughly put 
down at H4 million lb., eo that some 22 million lb. 
have been diverted from the home maik<-t. 
The market opened with low qaotatioiis for P«rkoa 
Bonchongs and Pekoes, v^z., 4|a to liji. and capital 
broken Pekoea at 8Jd to 9id, but finer teas were 
light and difficult of sale up to Is, finest being scarce. 
There was a steady demand all through January, 
but in February quite a slump set in, and the pi ices 
ruling for broken Pekoes at Od to 9id were umply 
astonishing. Trade in March was very quie'. but 
prices ehowed no change for the ordinary kind*, which 
were condemned by the trade and the shippers as 
poor and thin; anything with quality and colour, 
however, brought rather firmer rutee, and grades 
above Is were conspicuous by their absence. In April 
the quality began to improve, and with a better trade 
demand from ti5s to 7ua per cwt. in their -green' 
state, which would be of immense service in Lelp:ng 
the blenders to furnish consumers with a good whole- 
some beverage at a moderate figure; and at the 
same time ensure them a constant supply of 
this aromatic article without its patrons having to 
forsake it for some other form of nonalcoholic drink." 
The Pkice of Rubbkb.— The position of the rub- 
ber industry is one which is watched with especial 
interest just now, for whilst the raw material tends 
to a still higher level of priots, particularly for the 
fine Para variety, which is so necessary to tne pro- 
duction of serviceable tires and other rubber goods, 
quotations for the manufactured articles have for some 
months past gone rather the reverse way. and seem 
likely to go still lower. It is only two or three years 
since the prized Brazilian and Venezuelan raw rub- 
ber styled " fine Para " ruled at from 33 to 3s 3d per 
pound, bnt by July last the quotation, which 
stood at the beginnins of the year at Ss 7d, 
was up to 4s 5d per pound, whilst the present price 
is about 4s Id. British manufacturers of mechanical 
rubbers have by agreement raised their minimum 
price-lists twice in the course of this year— 10 per 
cent in February, and a like amount in July last; 
but it is affirmed" that this rise does not nearly cover 
the enhanced price of the raw material, labour, &e. 
Akotheb Planter's Pae.idise.— M.Lionel Decle has, 
in The Fortnvihtly , a very appreciative article on the 
Ehodesian schemes, and particuh'rly on the Tanganika 
Railway project. The Tanganika Railway, according 
to M. Decle, will open new markets and carry to 
the south scores of thousands of " magnificent Wany- 
amwezi labourers," who are urgently needed there. 
It will cross regions rich in minerals, admirably 
adapted to agriculture, and suitable to the cultiva- 
tion of ccffee, sugar, and tobacco. When it is bu It 
the trade from the East coast with the interior will 
