Feb. 1, 1899,] 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
577 
wliere in Cliina and Corea. The signatories 
are ; — 
Shares. 
G J M Kearton, 28, Fenchnrch-street, E C. .. 1 
F Fliinhng, Greenroyd, Halifax .. .. ..1 
B Sciirboroagh, 19, Ci'ossley-street, Halifax. . . . I 
H 0 Bcuuertz, Shanghai .. ., .. ..1 
W Woodhead, Halifax .. .. .. .. 1 
M Thomas, 65 and 68, Basinghall-street . . . . 1 
W Spanswick, 26, Rosenau-road, Battersea-paik . . 1 
The first directors— of whom there shall be not 
less than three nor more than seven— are to be 
elected by the sioaatories. Qnalihcation, 250 
shares. lieniuneration, £100 per annum 'each ; 
chairman, £150, Managincr director, H. C. 
Bennertz. —i^'mawcifl^ News, Jan. 13. 
DUTCH COLONIAL TEA VS. ENGLISH 
DITTO. 
IN CONNECTION WITH THE RUPEK EXCHANGE. 
Under the above iieading, Mr. J. van der 
Chys of Delft writes on 2lst Dec. last, in the 
Indische Mercuur of 24th Dec, as follows : — 
la connection with and coutinuation of my former 
articles in the Indische Mercuur on this subject, there 
has reached me through the kindness ^of our Uonsul- 
General in London the report, just received by the 
mail from Calcutta, of the meeting of planters 
held in that place for discussion and mutual deliber- 
ation as to what they should do in order to pa?3 
successfully through the crisis hanging over their 
heads. This crisis in the English tea industry does 
not appear to be of such importance, it is true, as 
the English planters would fain have had the English 
Government believe was the case ; yet nevertheless 
it is evident, that it cannot be eniirely pooh-poohed, 
and that it will therefore also make its influence 
felt in sucl) a manner that the cultivation in English 
India, in the immediate future at all events (and, 
if Java bestirs herself actively, later on as well;, will 
undergo no further extension. When one considers 
that the demands of consumption are always for 
more tea of the Assam-Java character, and that 
Ceylon, as mentioned by me in a former article, in 
a single year produced and sold more tea as a suitiIus 
quantity than the whole annual outturn of our Java 
amounts to, there ia not the least doubt, that, if 
suitable laud can be found in Java, the cultivation 
of tea can be doubled, and with success not only 
for the new plantations, but even more for the old, 
because the large foreign buyers, who now avoid 
Amsterdam on account of its small importance as a 
tea-selling place, would come to that market for 
making their purchases, if doable or treble were sold 
there of what there now is. 
According to the statement of Mr. Maas, who 
sounded a well-known tea broker on this subject, it 
cannot be expected that the English Government, 
at the desire of a small body like the Darjeeling 
Tea Planters' Association, should immediately affect 
a total alteration in its policy. The extract from the 
report of the above-mentioned planters' association 
sent to me runs in the original text as follows : — 
At a meeting of the Darjeeling Planteia' Asso- 
ciation, held on the 1-lth inst., Mr. Grant Goidon was 
in the chair, Twenty-four members were present. 
A motion wa.s brought forward by Mr. Irwin that the 
association should not approach the Government with 
a view to altering exchange, such a course being 
recognised as useless, but should endeavour to obt vin 
an equalisation of the silver value of tea, as compared 
with China, either by a large tux upon China tea in 
England, or by the reduction of the duty on Indian 
tea. The motion was carried unanimously, A motion, 
carried unanimously, to fvpproach oiher Disliict 
Planters' Associations to send deleeates to Calcutta 
to discuss all quentions bearing on the present crisis 
in tea among themselves first, and then to invite 
agents and brokers to a conference, to settle amicably 
the present vexed questions with a view to calming 
the present strained relations. 
THE AMOUNT OF HUSK IN CACAO 
SEEDS OF VARIOUS ORIGINS. 
Under the above heading Mr. Brnijning of 
Wageningon, writes to the Indische Mtrcuur of 
Dec, 17, as follows : — 
The cacao shells, wliich in the teciinical working- 
up of the cacao seeds fall off, possess little value 
from an industrial point of view; tliey are useful 
for few purposes, and serve now and tlien for 
tlie adulteration of agricultural food-stufis and in- 
ferior chocolate. lb is evident that the amount 
of husk in a lot of cacao seed is not entirely 
immateiial to the manufacturer. 
By the kind intervention of the firm of 
A. Driessen, of Rotterdam, I was afforded the oppor- 
tunity of exanuuing,15 original samples of various 
origin, and to ascertain the aniouDt of husk 
in then). 
The results obtained are comprised in the follow- 
ing table : — 
100 gram seed con- Average 
sist of weight of 
Name, as reg. origin. , ' , a seed (un- 
kernels. shells. liusked.) 
Java cacao . . 92 9 % 7-1 % 1-236 gram 
St, Thomas cacao . . 92 3 „ 7 7 ,, 1-.318 „ 
Surinam cacao II .. 91'4 ,, 8'6 ,. 1-149 ,' 
Trinidad cacao .. 90-9,, 9-1 „ 1-286 / 
Para cacao .. 89-8 ,, 10 2 ,, 1-LS6 ,' 
Porto Plata cacao .. 89-5,, 10-5 „ 1-292 \\ 
Haiti cacao . . 88-6 ,, 11-4 ,, 1-317 „ 
Bahia cacao .. 88-4,, 11-6 „ 1-379 „ 
Puerto Cabello cacao .. 88-1 ,< U-9 „ 1-598 „ 
Surinam cacao 1 ... 88-1 >> 11-9 ,, 1 637 ,, 
Machai- Guayaquil cacao 88 0 u 12-0 1-537 „ 
Aribba Guayaquil . . 87-0 n 13 0 ., 1-628 „ 
Carupano cacao .. 86 8 >. 13-2 'i 1-469 ,. 
Caracas cacao .. 86'6 ,, 13-4 ,, 1-504 ,, 
Grenada cacao .. 86 6 „ 13 4 „ 1230 ,j 
From these figures it appears evident, that not 
unimportant differences e.xist between the amounts 
of husk of diHerent varieties of cacao ; at the 
same time it appears from this, that there is no 
definite connection between the amount of iiusk 
and the weiglit of the grain. I must first, however, 
wait for a closer de.->cription of the varieties 
referred to, as only a thorough examination of 
a laige number of samples of difi'erent years would 
be able to show how far the various peculiarities of 
the samples already examined are constant. 
MINOR PRODUCTS REPORT. 
London, Dec. 22. 
Coca Leaves. — Busiiaess has been done in good 
Truxillo leaves this week at 9d, for Huannco kind 
1b 3d is asked. 
Caedamojis. — The sales appear to have been 
confined to some half-dozen cases or so. A case or two 
of medium pale Mysore containing a few split have 
so d at 33 Id, and 23 5d has been paid for small- 
medium long pale. 
Cinnamon. — Ceylon Quills to the extent of 12 bales 
sold at this week's auctions at 8gd for first sort, 74d for 
secoud 6d and for third and o^d for fourth. Nearly 80 
bags of Ceyloa chips at from 3id for common to 4Jd 
for fairly good. — B. and C. Druggist, Dec .23. 
The Dimbula Valley Tea Company is doing 
very well ibis year, seeing that an interim 
dividend of 4s per share (€5) — 4 per cent. — has 
teen already declared. The year ends on 31st 
March. For the nine months ending December 
the quantity of tea secured is in excess of last 
year at same date ; while the average selling 
price per lb. is nearly id belter. This is exceed- 
ingly salisfuclory and the sl.archolilers and 
directors may well be congratulated. 
