Mav 2, 1904.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
7G9 
and about twelve months were wasted, ' 
with no adequate result. 
Tllli " RKD " IN NATUPAL INDI 'O 
Similarly, it was requested that the " red " 
in natural indigo, MS Well ns the blue, shou'd 
bestudied, in view of the value attached to this 
property in the synthetic indigo— with the 
result that ths •' red '' in natural indigo was 
found to he an extraneous item having no con 
nection with the sj nthetic " red." 
PURE INDIGO FOUND. 
In spite, however, of these side studies, dis- 
tractions from the main work, Mi: liloxam was 
able at length to arrive at " pure indigo," after 
long and patient research with only one 
European assistant, Mr. R. Finlow. The dis- 
covery is not yet, we hear, available to the 
planters, owing tn differences between Mr 
Bloxatn and the Indian authorities. The^^e 
differences will i o doubt be the subject of 
official investi gation at home and cannot there- 
fore be detailed ; but it may be mentioned that 
the general results of the discoveries have 
been communicated by Mr Bioxam to the 
Government ot Bengal. The process, which— 
indigo planters (who liad long spent so 
much money, .pist as the Governtnent hns 
for them — to such little result) will be glad 
to learn — is not an expensive one, will not 
become public property till Mr Bioxam. wlio 
is hurrying home now before the spring ses- 
.sionsof the Chemical Society close, reads a 
paper on the subject, detailing the processes 
— simple ones, we understand, like many 
discoveries of importance— and esiablishiug 
them as his own addition to the existing 
scientiflc knowledge of the product. After 
this discovery is made known, no doubt 
the Indian Government will be better able 
to appreciate the work that Mr. Bioxam has 
done ; but whether they will be able to 
obtain his services again at Dulsing Serai, for 
a further period, and afterwards at the bigger 
Research Institute at Pusa, depends very 
much on the future status of such an 
appointment. The return of Mr. Bioxam 
to England and the enquiry into his 
case will probably be followed by the opening 
up of the whole question of scientific appoint- 
ments in the Scientific and Educational brain 
ches of the Indian service, and— we trust— their 
establishment on a better footing. Sir 
William Kamsay, the great chemist, is one 
of those, we believe, who hold very strong 
views on this subject. Our own scientific 
staff at Peradeniya and the way they are 
treated ofllcially and by the planters, though 
none of the present skilled stiff can ^)e 
said to be overpaid, form a model for India 
in many respects. We shall look forward to 
the publication of Mr. Bloxam's Chemical 
Society paper with much interest, and follow 
the stages of the revolution in indigo planting 
that it seems about to herald. 
« 
RUBBER IN THE N. C. P. CEYLON. 
In a.iilition to the cotton e.Kperiinental growing 
at the Maha llluppalama fjaiilens near Annradha- 
puiii, now in charge nf Mr 0 J Cowper Mee it is 
staled that rubber will also be plamed and crown 
under irrigation, and the expert opinion is that 
there is no doubt that rubber under inigation will 
"do very well and attain a healthy growth. 
CEYLON OPENINGS FOR BRITISH TRADE. 
(" Commercial Int'Uigence" travelling 
correspondent in the Far East ) 
Colonib ), t eb. 19.— Ceylon is a fine market; for 
cement), and very l;;i-j,'e quanuties are being 
imported. Tbere is room for a yood deal of enter- 
pri.^e ou the part ot Biitish manufacturers of 
cement, as a very large pioporiion of the iraporta* 
tions consist of Belgian and German makes. 
C<iriuo:ited and galvanised sheets are a tine 
market here, and the imp a'l ations appear to be 
equally divided between Briiisli and German 
manufacturers. Here again there is great room 
for improvement on the part of British firms. A 
very large business is done in nails (wire and 
cui), bolls, fcrews and rivets — galvanised and 
black. The wiie nails come from Germany. The 
demand for nails is so great tluit representatives 
of Bi itis'h firms would get a good deal of business. 
The bu^iness in barbed \iire is going up by leaps 
and bounds, as this wire is being taken up by 
the natives for fencing purposes. At one time 
only the European estate owners wouid use 
barbed wire. Wire netting also finds a ready sale. 
An enormous business is done in Belgian bar 
iron. Cannot British ironmasters make an effort 
to get this trade ? A good deal of steel is used 
in mining, but the quality is rather low, the 
price averaging from I'is. to 16s. per cwt , f.o.b. 
English port. A good business is done in estate 
tools — mamoties, picks, rakes, bill-hook«i, and 
hatches— but the qualities are poor. There is room 
here for more oil mills and oil mill machinery. 
Owners of coconut estates are realising that it is 
l)etter to ship the oil rather I ban the copra. A 
live representative, who would call on the estate 
owners and give estimates, would get a good deal 
of business. The erection of saw mills also is on 
the increase, and there is an inquiry just gone 
home for a very large sawing machine for a new 
mill. Galvanised buckets have a very large sale* 
and all seem to come from Wolverhampton. In 
euaiiielled ware, however, the Germans appear to 
be gaining ground. There is a good demand for 
crockery of the cheaper qualities Hanging and 
wall lamps, for kerosine, are in good demand. 
There is a fair demand for constructional steel in 
the lighter sections. Window glass finds a steady 
sale, but Continental manufacturers are capturing 
Ibis business. Nottingham laces sell in very large 
quantitie?, and the same applies to dress goods 
generally. Strange to, say, Ceylon does not appear 
to receive the at/tention ot the big drapery houses 
at home, and I am told that travellers wit'- a good 
range of drapery samples are seldom seen here. 
For this class of business the best time in 
Ceylon is about June, when the Christmas orders 
are given out. There is a good market for boots, 
and the favourite make here appears to be that of 
Messrs Dawson, hut there is room tor more. Cheap 
toilet soap?, put in fancy boxes, have a good sale. 
A good business is being opened up amongst the 
native dealers in a cheap line of German biscuits. 
These are put up in very highly decorated tins. 
It is dillicult to say which are the more valuable, 
the tins or the biscuits. The tins have hinged 
lids, and can be used for other purposes when 
emptied of the biscuits. Being useful and orna- 
mental, they are meeting wish a ready sale. A 
French company in Pondichcrry is putting jn the 
market an oil or fat obtained from the coconut, 
called "Cocoliue." This is used, I understand, 
for culinary purposes, and the sale is spreading 
rapidly. To the best of my knowledge the coconu 
