iS2 THE TROPICAL 
The trial of this comparatively cheap 
machine will be watched with interest 
for there can be no doubt that Rhea, Sisal 
or Sanseviera could be freely grown in 
many parts of the country traversed by the 
Ceylon Northern railway, as well as in waste 
lands nearer Colombo. Still more may thrs 
be said of " Calotropis," the fibre of which has 
recently been the subject of considerable 
notice in the Madras Presidency. Still 
more familiar in Ceylon, cf course, is the 
fibre of the plantain (" Musa textilis ") 
which, in the Philippines, gives the well- 
known Manilla Hemp. And in this con- 
nection, it is interesting to know that the 
Curator of the Ootacamund Botanic (hardens 
has just published a bulletin on some very 
simple native machines used in the 
Philippines for extracting the fibre, with 
sketches of an improved machine of 
Mr. Proudlock's own invention. We have 
reproduced his report and a figure of the 
machine in the August No., and would point 
out that all this activity must surely (as we 
sincerely trust,) issue ia new or increased 
industries both in India and Ceylon. Any 
one who means to experiment, cannot fail 
to find a mine of information in the 
Tropical Agriculturist. 
' PLANTING IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA : 
FREE GRANTS OF LAND. 
A pi'opos of the enquiry of our correspondent 
"Masai" for a description of British East Africa 
from a planting point of view, it may interest 
" Masai " and others of our planting readers 
to know that a circular just issued by Sir 
Charles Eliot points out that within the Pro- 
tectorate free grants of unoccupied land will 
be given outside the Railway zone — that is a 
mile on each side of the Railway. Grants 
for agriculture and cultivation will not 
exceed 610 acres, but His Majesty's Commis- 
sioner is prepared to let larger areas within 
the limits specified for experiments in grazing 
at a nominal rent for the (irst ten years. The 
only conditions— and they are reasonable — 
are, that the applicant must pay survey 
fees, and that if after three years the holder 
of a free grant of land fails to cultivate it 
or otherwise make use of it to the satisfac- 
tion of the Land Officer-, it will revert to- 
Governnient. The districts in wliich the free 
grants are ottered are situated along the 
Uganda railway a mile or more from the line. 
The elevation varies from about 550 to 9,000 
feet, with conesponding changes of temjiera- 
ture. In the lower altitudes the climate is 
tropical but not excessively hot; above5,000 
feet white men can live very much as in 
Europe, European vegetables of excellent 
quality are produced in abundance and there 
are large areas which have been pronounced 
to be eminently fit for raising stock, parti- 
cularly sheep. In the part of the Protectorate 
not included in the notice, free grants are 
not given ; but outside the Hallway Zone 
freeholds can be purchased at 2 rupees (two 
bhillings and eight pence) an acre and arrange- 
ments are made by which pur.'-jous of moderate 
AGRICULTURIST. [Skpt. 1, 1903. 
means can purchase an agricultural holding 
of 640 acres by instalments spread over 16 
years. Land is usually leased at about 15 
rupees (£1) for 100 acres ; but ground only 
suitable for grazing or such purposes as 
Zebra and Ostrich farming can be obtained 
at lower rates. The chief products of the 
East Africa Protectorate are India-rubber, 
copra, fibre, castor oil, sim-sim, copal, timber, 
maize. The cultivation of coffee, cotton, 
tobacco and European vegetables has also 
been successfully commenced and there is a 
growing export of potatoes to Durban. 
CEYLON TEA IN AMERICA. 
The interview of our London Corres- 
pondent with Mr. Larkin, though a 
little belated, is still of interest. We 
are all ready to confess in Ceylon now, 
that Mr. Wm. Mackenaie was right, and 
everybody out here obstinately wrong, 
about " Green Teas," and that it would 
have been a good thing if the manufacture 
of the latter had been commenced four or 
five years earlier as the Planting Commis- 
sioner had advised. And now Mr. Larkin 
is pressing for Ceylon Oolongs after the 
Pormosan type. If Mr. Fairhurst's instruc- 
tions are not enough to lead to successful 
experiments, can a Formosan Chinaman — 
an Oolong maker— not be got over to Col- 
ombo, failing a Ceylon planter trying to 
find out the secret on the spot ? Anyway 
no time should be lost if the " Oolongs " 
market is to be captured. As to " Adver- 
tising," Mr. Larkin is quite right as to the 
absolute need of going ahead with adver- 
tisements ; but the question is who should 
now see to such advertising. We say the 
merchants and dealers in our tea, and not 
the planters. The latter have done more 
than their duty in giving so long a spell 
of subsidies, and after their big outlay and 
advertisement at the St. Louis- Exhibition, 
they may well withdraw from what is 
peculiarly a mercantile, trading duty. 
OUR RUBBER INDUSTRY. 
A well-informed planter gives us the 
following information as to the 1,000 acres 
of native land which a year ago were 
reported to be taken up for Rubber in 
Sabaragamuwa ; — 
" Mr. Margetson, along with another 
gentleman, represented a Syndicate who 
were prepared to take up Para. They, 
however, did not close their negotiations with 
the native vendor, owing to some mis- 
understanding with the home people, re- 
sulting in both leaving for England. 
"I will be very much surprised if we 
cannot show a very large area under this 
product in the near future. It is interest- 
ing to follow the very great forethought 
exercised by Thwaites and Trimen in 
having stocked such valuable products in 
daya gope-by," 
