612 THE TROPICAL AGEICULTUHIST. [Mjutcji 1. 1899. 
" The JouriNAi, of thk Jamaica Agricui.tural 
Society," for Deoembei-, 1898, has the following 
contents :— Illusti-fttion of Lionghoin Cow, " Moas 
Rose "; Board of Mauaf,'enient ; Mentinj;!; ; Dura- 
ble Whitewash; CulfcivM,uou of I'otaloei.- ; Bad Dairy 
Manage-jneut Cultivation; Adulterated Butter ; Notes 
from the Apiary ; The Castor Oil Plant ; Skilful 
Adulteration; Jamaica Preserves; Honsehold Hints; 
India Sheep for Jamaica ; Comments; Poultry Notes ; 
Dairy Notes; Branch Notes; Oddw and Ends; Oar 
Imports and Exports ; Sale of Indian Cattle; Onion 
Culture ; The Agticultur^il Outlook ; Questiona and 
Answers j Prices of Meat, Vegetables, etc. 
Tea Sklling in thk Salvation Army.— It 
h interesting to learn from " General " B<:o'.h that 
the selliiif^ ot tea has become ;i iej>n!ar bu,'^ine^^8 
in many brandies of his " Army." 'J'hron^liont 
France and (Jermany this is partieulnrly tlie 
case and in Paris and Berlin a very consiider- 
able business is done. (The ''Thirty Committee" 
ought to make a note of this.) The .same is true of 
the United States, we are told, the selling of tea 
being added to other work carried on by the 
"Artny" under the direction of " Comniis«ibner " 
Booth-Tucker. 
Planting in Buazil. — We draw attention to 
a long communication, given in our diiily i^sue and 
Trojncal Agricultuvint, from our old <'orrespondent, 
Mr. A. iScott Blacklaw, dated in December from 
Kio. He dcal-s not only with coHee, lint al.-o 
with cotton, sugar cane, rubber and even tea ! 
For, it seems as if the depression in eofi'ee were 
going to force the Brazil i)liinter into new grooves; 
but we have no fear of his finding tea profitable 
at the |)resent cost of labour. Mr. Blacklaw 
gives us a number of novel particulars respect- 
ing rubber; and inde('<l his friend the pioneer 
tea planter only meditates supplying the local 
inarket. We shall be niui-ii intcrtsted in hear- 
ing of the result of his e.\periment, more especi- 
ally as the Colonel takes so much interest in 
the Tropical Agriculturiaf. For information re- 
specting coflee prospects and BraziTs finance.s we 
must refer to the letter on our si.xth page. 
Vanilla in the Seychelles.— The Adminis- 
trator of Seychelles sends the following statement 
as to ths capabilities of the islands in tlie direction 
of vanilla production to the Journal of the Im- 
perial Institute. A vanilla plantation should not 
be started in the Seychelles with a capital under 
£1,000 seeing that it takes three years to produce 
a crop. Suitable land cannot be secured under 
E200 an acre, an even at this price it is not 
easily obtainable. Under the old System (plant- 
ing on bars, wires, Ceo.) from 1,200 to 1,. 300 vines 
were planted per acre. The vines are now planted 
on live trees, and the number planted depends on 
the number of trees existing on the land to be 
put under cultivation. The vines cost about K4 
per 100, and a man can plant 350 cuttings of vines 
per day, and can keep in good order, throughout 
the year, 2,.5O0 plants. A mans' wages are R12, 
and a woman'.s R6 to RS, without rations. The 
women are employed for "marrying" the flowers, 
i.e., removing the pollen from the anther ot the 
flower and applying it to the stigma. A woman 
can " marry '' from 600 to 800 flowers per day. 
Each vine can produce from 25 to 30 pods ; 130 
of which average 1 lb. of ])repared vanilla. The 
flowering season is from August to December, 
the pods are gathered about nine months after, 
and it takes three or four months to "cure" the 
pods. 
toFFi.n GROWING in Serdang continues to be 
in a hopeful way. Planters there do not complain, 
lliere IS every encouragement to them from the 
recent iniprovemen' in pM - 'ur Mi. berry — .S' /' 
Press. ■ * 
Nkw (;l'inea DEV^.I,^)|^^!l.:^r, -.Me>->,rs-. J A 
i atten and Bariett, we hear fioni the ^utli are 
en route for (icrniuu Xcw Cuinea, wheie they have 
been ottered the »ar„e area of land thai Sir Swnei> 
Vine tried to acquire iu British New (Jnioea. The 
o/rers to Messrs. Patten and Barrett aieslateil Co 
be even more advantageous to them than the terms 
on which Soniers-Vine prop< sed to acquire the land. 
v>c Hear also a rumour is current that it will not 
be long before Biitish New (Jninen will be declared 
a {.rown Colony. The advent of the new Governor 
may see the change brought about, and if so, rapid 
changes may occur which «ill aid settlement and 
bring along a better and more prosjMjious state of 
alJaiis m iNew (;uine,i, the effect of wliich luust 
sooner or later be felt here.-rc/r/r* Strait, Pilot, 
December 31. 
Vol IX. Part 12. Edited by W. If. Clarke, Ua- the 
following contents for December, IWB :-Soine Emic 
Gi-as-ses-No.! Praine Grass; New South Wales Weeds 
l^tr.'i, . Tr'i.^^r'"'*^'.'''^'; ^ Suoceasful Dork 
liirm The Strawberry ; Arrowroot: liattlinij Jack 
Wheat (With Clio H red plate; ; Bees, and hIw to 
Manage 'hem-Transferring; Ferns: Bacon-curioe 
from the British Point of'* View ; Ru»t in WhLat 
during the dry season ot 1897; Wheat and Oats 
m coastal districts ; Labour-saving Appliances of the 
barm; Insect and Fungus Disease of Fruit Trees 
and their Remedies; Dairy Breeds and Milk 
lests; Bee Calendar for January; Farm Note» for 
Northern Rivers District ; Riverina Notes ; Farm 
>,otea for Hawkeabury District ; Orcbard Notes for 
January; Practical Vegetable and Flower GrowioK; 
Estima es of Wheat Yield ; Burning Preventive Breata 
General Notes ; Replies to Correspondente. 
Tea Companies' Meetings: Modest Divi 
DBNDS.-The shareholders in the three Companies 
who.se reports appear today ought, we suppose 
as times go, to be satislied with dividends rautr- 
ing from 3 to 4 and 5 per cent. In respect of 
both the Kalutara and High Forest Companies 
(but especially the latter) there is so much young 
tea as to lead one to anticipate a "good time 
coming ' and the promise of this season so tar 
on Upper Maskeliya Estates is so good as to 
isQo' T ""^"^ *° exceeded in 
1899-AVith reference to several Ceylon Tea Com- 
panies we have heard the remark made frequently 
of late, how a good thing to begin with was 
turned into a lesn profitable if not dotbtful 
business, through the purchase by Directors— 
without taking the opinion of shareholders— of 
est^ates never thought of in the original prospectuse.* 
and the purchase ot which would scareelv be 
sanctioned if it were put to the vote of the 
shareholders. No doubt the Directors had power 
to make such purchases under the articles of 
Association ; but we think it a pity that in each 
case an appeal was not first made to the share- 
holders and their opinion taken. Of no less than 
SIX Companies we have lately heard the remark 
in answer to the enquiry,-" How is it that 
i.s paying no dividend (or only a small dividend)'" 
Oh It would have paid well, had there been 
no af er purchase of estate." It is no 
good being wise after the event ; but Directors 
may later oa hnd it awkward to explain l ow 
they came to be so much deceived about soml 
at least, of their purchases. ' 
