618 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March 1, 18W. 
Finally, as to the prospects, Sir. Wm. Mac- 
greK'T lias following leiiiitrks : — 
The colony ia in the condition of beinsr ready for 
considerable agiioultural development. This ia not 
possible without the intervention of Europeans. 
With the exception of coconuts, rubber from forest 
trees, and a few other article, natives are not likely 
alone t* evi r add much to the exports of the colony. 
The iime his come when as;ricuitural development 
should be pushed in the Possession with as much 
perseverance a.s has been employed in forcing peace on 
the difft-renr, hostile ti ibes to prijpare for it. 
The conditions uufler which laud has bseu offered 
for some years for settlemmit h-ive been vi-ry easv, 
but they have failed to attract settler.-*. Tnere will 
Jje no help for this condilioii of matters, except to 
s;rant nu<',h facilities and induc._-m<3nts as may attract 
seLtlement of the kind now required. There is 
already undoubtedly as much land known and avail- 
able for ocoupition as, if utilised, would suffice to 
make the colony self-supporting. 
The mining industry is better started than the 
agricultural, probably because for surface mining it 
requires much less capital. The fishing industry ia 
capable of fuller development. This will probably 
proceed gradually by its own efforts. Unless new 
industries, such as the manufacture of sago, the export 
of cane, and such like, arc established, there does 
not seem to be room for any considerable addition 
to the number of E-niall traders already in the Pos- 
session. The fishing industry, in some scale or other, 
will be permanent. Ths agricultural expansion, so 
far as directed to coconut-trees and rubber-producing 
trees, will also be permanent; and the cultivation 
of such crops as tea, sugar, vanilla, tobacco, &c., 
would, if once bestun, probably continue, as there 
would always be plenty of virgin land to fall back on. 
The mii)iiig population, on tlie other hand, is not 
permanent, and 'he miner has shown no disposition 
to settle on ti e 1 nds of the colony. As soon as a 
prospector bee niiea wealthy he leaves for Australia. 
Quartz-reef mining would, of course, be more abi -ling, 
and the surface mi -ing may lead up to ibis. Agii- 
culture, however, will be, in all likelihood, the largest 
and surest industry of the colony. It is by far the 
most difficult to start. 
A mass i'of appendice.s include some viiluable re- 
ports. From one of these by the Government 
Agent for the Kigo district, we copy a picture 
of'the Papu-m under peaceful rule .— 
The coast tribes need little comment. They are an 
orderly and law-abiding people, but in many villages 
they are becoming very lazy. For years past they 
have enjoyed the benefit of peace, whereas in former 
years they were always on the alert, expecting an 
attack from the bill tribes. It is drawing near the 
time that they should be compelled to assist the 
Government financially ; tbis would also force them 
out of the grooves inherited from tlieir forefathers. 
It is regrettable to see the numbers of fine, young, 
able men in ihe coast villages who sleep half the day 
and employ the other half with a looking-glass nnd a 
comb admiring their person and dancing all night. 
While so employed, their wives are labouring in the 
heat of the sun in their gardens, and toiling under 
heavy burdens from the hills. So long as a native has 
plenty of food, there is no need for him to work 
for the f'.reigner for any lengtny period; all he wants 
is sulficient trade to purchase a wife, then he is 
quite independent. Olothiug is a luxury, and not a 
necessity. In some of the coast villages it is almost 
impossible to obtain any labour, although high wages 
may be off-'red. 
Somefchiiig like the poll-tax of <^eylon is required 
to teach the di{,niity and nece.ssity of la^iour. 
fiasb of all, we have a series of interesting 
detailed skecclies of exploration and maps : — 
Sketch map showing Tracks followed and cut by 
A. Clunas and Party on trip from Clarke's Fort to 
the Yodda Valley. 
Sketch maps by Mr. W E Armit, f.l.s.,f.b.g.s., of 
District lying to Eastward of Port Moresby. 
Fishiog Eite used by Natives of Doba. 
Kiriwiaa Emblazoned Shield. 
Map of the Eastern Part of British New GaioM 
(in four sheets) from the most reccat astroaomioftl 
observations, surveys and explorations. 
And then follow no fewer than 47 illuslralions, 
admirably rendered, quite an aibuiu of typic&l 
Papuan chiefs and mea of dilletenl ti ihes, women, 
girls and children, native dancer-i, carving, pottery 
arms, tools, canoes, ornaiueuts, instruiuents, iiu- 
plements, constabulary, i^c. Mount Victory (a 
voh-auo) with Mount Trafalgar, <S;c. — al together 
a niii.'st instructive selection giving a wonderiully 
g'Mil idc:i of what is to be seen in the youiigL-ht of 
Hrid^h Colonies. We have no ili'ubi ih it there 
i.-i a great future bef >re ilie Colonial "baby '; aiid 
the historian cannot fail lodo justice to (he wise 
layiug of foundations, in exploration, ftdniinifitra- 
tioii, judicial courts, organisation of native coip* 
and the l>eginning of European beltleiueui in lilil- 
Tisn Nkw Guinea i!Y Lit.uT.-(iovt,RNOK Sib 
W.M. MACGKIiGOIi. 
^ 
PLANTING MOTF-S. 
Ti:a Pkohi'KCT.s. — It is very reassuring to learn 
that so far as he has gone in his iuvetstigatioua, 
Mr. KeKvay-Bamber is confident of being able to 
do much for the itnproveiuerit of Ceylon tea on 
many plantations, if not over many districts. It it 
too soon to expect reports ; but no doubt very 
interesting papers may be anticipated from his 
expert pen a little later on. 
Castilloa Kl'Bbkr. — We have an enquiry 
from Burma for seed of this kind of ruDher to 
try on a coflee plantation (up to 3,000 feet eleva- 
tinn) on the Toungoo range in Burma. For 
fifteen years eoli'ee was grown profitably without 
the leaf fungus; but at last the di.sease 
reached tliLs out-of-the-way solitary estate. The 
owners however write: — "In the first instance, 
we have decided to try and resuscitate coffee, but 
it will be necessary to introduce a new strain of 
seed before doing so. Do you know of a good seed 
which you could recommend? [We have recom- 
mended Blue Mountain, Jamaica seed.] I should 
also like your opinion on the suitability ot 
growing Castilloa rubber. I find Ceara does very 
well here, but imagine the piice is not nearly so 
remunerative as the former. The highest portion 
of the estate is barely 3,0'^ feet above sea-!evel 
&,ud most of the land a good friable soil." Ca£tilloa 
seed may well be tried. 
KELANI VALLEV PLANTEK-S' AS.SOCIATION.— 
The annual meeting is reported elsewhere and 
we see that the Estimate of Tea Crop for 1899 
is 161,000 lb. below that for 1898, and is given as 
follows :—1899's estimate 13,014,0001b. from 24,817 
acres in bearing ; not in bearing 7,747 acres — 
total 32,.564 including clearings. Yield equals 
525 lb. per acre for hearing tea. — ^^aturally the 
Committee are not pleased at the great delay in 
starting the Kelani Valley Railway with its 
ample financial guarantee. Koads are beginning 
to show signs of improvement, we are glad to 
learn. Here again the Railway will be an 'in- 
mitigated blessing in preventing cruelty to animals. 
The testimony borne to the memory of the late 
Mr B. L. Ingles was cordial and in good taste. — 
A discussion over Mr- Harcourt Skrine and his 
personal charges led to some heated language ; 
and eventually to a vote of confidence in the 
Planting M. L. C. We heartily congratulate the 
members on getting Messrs. Forsythe and Gawan 
Jones for their Chairman and Secretary once 
more— better men there could not be for the posts. 
