THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
lOoT. 1, 1903. 
To the Editor. 
PLANTING IN B. C. AFRICA. 
Mlanje, British Central Africa, 22ad July, 
Dear Sib,— I am rather surprised at the 
tone of Mr. Storey's letter re planting in 
B.C.A. Evidently he seems to think that 
because he came over on a shooting trip for 
a few months, that he had gained a vast 
experience in everything concerning this 
country. How can a person passing through 
the country in a Machilla carried by natives 
learn what prospects there are in tobacco, 
cotton and tea ? Most oi: Mr, Storey's time, 
if he went shooting, was spent in the plams 
far away from estates. I venture to say 
that he did not visit the coming district 
Mlanje or he would not have such vague 
ideas of tea and tobacco. I may say that 
next year there will be many hundred acres 
of tea planted in this district, and also in 
the Blantyre and Zomba districts ; many 
hundred acres of tobacco and cotton will be 
planted. It takes a man time to learn the 
prospects of a country, not a mere visit. As 
has happened so often in this country, men 
come out to hunt game ; they hear all kinds 
of tales and immediately rush back to where 
they came from, volunteering information of 
• what they know absolutely nothing about. 
It might also surprise Mr. Storey to learn 
that a sample of the Mlanje tea was sent 
home to a London Broker and valued at 
7id in bulk. If such is the case what will be 
the future with machine-manufactured and 
sorted tea.— I am, etc , 
YOUNG CEYLON PLANTER. 
I should hail with delight so simple a process, 
lb only goes to prove what Sir J Sinclair says: — 
" He who introduces beneficially a new and, useful 
' plant ' is ables.iiog and honour to his country." 
1 hope there are many in Ceyloa reaily to take 
the honour. Grow ramie. It has a vast future. 
Start manufacturing also. I, like Mr Anderson, 
assert it is easy to grow, prepare and manufacture, 
and no matter whose process is adopted, — for the 
benefit of the Empire. I say grow Ramie.* 
— Yours faithfully, 
D. EDWARDS RADOLYFFB. 
CEYLON RUBBER SALES IN LONDON. 
6, Mincing Lane, London, E.C. Aug 21. 
Dear Sir, — It will probably be of interest 
to some of your friends to hear that Ceylon- 
grown Para Rubber was sold in sale here 
today, at again higher prices,^ Particulars 
as follows :— 
Mark, Cases. Description. Price per lb. 
Heatherley 3 Fine biaouita pale colour 4a 6d 
1 do darker 4s 6d 
1 Fine clean scrap 3b 8id 
1 Fine black 3a Sfd 
1 bag thick rough sheet 
cuttings 3a 6d 
Calloden; 8 Small ihiu white biscaits 43 6d 
Do 1 Fair black scrap little heated 3s Od 
Do 1 Fme black scrap 33 Sjd 
Do 2 Low diny black scrap 2s Oid 
Yatipauwa 3 Fine biacuita palish oolotir 4a 6il 
Do 1 Rjddish clean scrap 33 6d 
Dolahena 1 small box (14 lb) clean 
pale thin shield 4s 6d 
Fine Para has risen to 4s Id to 4s 2d 
since our last. — We are, Dear Sir, yours 
faithfully. LEWIS & PEAT, Brokers. 
Do 
Do 
Do 
Do 
RAMIE FOR CEYLON. 
Birchington Rd., West Hampstead, N.W., 
London, Aug 3. 
Dear Sir,— 1 am glad to see by your issue9 
that there is some one else agitating to get this 
grand fibre into the agricultural economy of the 
Empire. I endorse much that Mr James Ander- 
son says: — ' It is not difficult to prepare" or 
grow. I doubt, ho>vever. the policy of drying the 
stems. This seems to me to be causing a loss not 
only in handling to dry, but after the fibre is 
dried to soften again to degum.and if the canes are 
to be transported or exported the cost of freight 
would kill it. I hope the simple machine, ha speaks 
of, will treat it in the green state. As it is in that 
condition the best results are attained. He 
speaks of a machine that is wanted to clean i a ton 
£ day and in the next paragraph he says his 
machine will deliver " a ton per diein easily," 
whereas in the following passage he states two 
men could easily remove 200 lb per day. Now a ton 
is 2,240 lb. There is a vast diffi^-enoe between these 
figuies.iaton=l,l20and 1 ton =2, 240 cand lastly 200; 
but even this result at so small a cost for machine 
would be profitable. Mo doubt, Mr Anderson can 
explain the discrepancy ; does he mean 2,0001b? 
COCONUT PLANTING IN THE SOLOMON 
ISLANDS. 
Sydney, Aug. 24. 
Dear Sir, — Even to far away Solomon Islands 
your valuable periodical has penetrated, as 1, these 
last ten years, have been a subscriber through 'my 
Sydney Agent, and I as well as others have ob- 
tained many valuable hints from it. Especially 
does anything concerning coconuts interest us, as 
this is the only product as yet cultivated to any 
extent in this group, and we should be pleased to 
find opinions and experiences from other parts of 
the tropics on this head a bit more frequently 
expressed than at present, every one here being 
practically beginners without previous experience 
of coconut planting. Especially, I think, is 
the question of open versus close planting, a 
very important one. Without exception we here 
now, on the suggestion of Mr. Woodford, the 
Resident Commissioner, plant open, viz., 33 feeb 
apart or 40 trees to the acre. This allows the 
leaves on the fully grown trees, allowing for cur- 
vature, just about to touch each other. Even -if 
the yield per acre is no heavier by this planting, 
(which I believe it is) 1 consider we have two 
considerable advantages. One is that the trees 
* We gave a full paper by Mr. Radclyffe in our 
September T.A, on page 159,— Ed. 
