June 1, 1904.] THE TEOPIOAL 
AGEICULTURIST. 
855 
CEYLON TEA IN FRANCE. 
MR. MARCEL'S LETTER. 
The letter we publish elsewhere does not 
mince matters, as regards figures for Ceylon 
tea imported into France, and appears to deal 
with a subject which has already been much 
discussed. But, as the cause for a fresh letter 
is the Report for 1903 of the Commissioner on 
the Continent, and the writer insists that 
he has detected some serious descrepancies 
•n the figures (and thereby the claims) of 
that official, it is as well that it should see 
the light of day. We cannot, however, 
comment fully on the case until we have 
Mr. Renton's reply to the criticism ottered. 
It must, nevertheless, be remarked that the 
figures representing the tea in Prance, 
"upon which duty has been paid.' are 
surely the most interesting ones to Ceylon, 
For the rest it may be a matter more of 
academic than practical enquiry whether 
certain Prencli figures include China tea 
shipped from Hongkong. If they do, the 
fact to be noted is that French figures are 
not much to be relied on! It is difficult to 
see why in a clear-thi.iking commercial 
country like France, China tea, if shipped 
from Hongkong, should be wrongly classed 
in France as from " Les Ir.des Aiiglaises." 
But if this is the caae, Mr. Marcel 
might well devote some of the energy 
and evident pleasure with which he criti- 
cises Mr. Renton to getting these mistaken 
entries officially corrected ? On the other 
hand it is scarcely good policy on tlie part 
of the " Thirty Committee " not to publish 
Mr. Renton's letter of November 23th, 1903, 
in which Mr. Marcel's letter of March, 1903, 
was answered. i\ow tliat this further letter 
from Mr. Marcel has appeared, it is only 
fair— seeing that its Commissioners, as we 
understand, are now precluded from writing 
direct to the press— that tlie " Thirty " should 
publish Mr. Renton's defence, as he gave it last 
year. JNo doubt Mr. Renton will reply, to the 
"Thirty Committee," to these further criti- 
cisms from Mr. Marcel, on his Report which we 
publishedon MarchSOtli this year; and if neither 
letter is to appear in print, it will result in 
only the one side of the question being heard 
for a considerable time to come. Mr. Marcel's 
figures must undoubtedly prove somewhat 
difficult to answer, and in spite of the advice 
we have given Mr. Marcel above, we must 
say it is of serious import to Ceylon to 
know exactly what is being gained by the 
" marked activity " (of wliich we spoke 
on March 30th) that had been displayed 
in France ; and it is sal isl'actory that there 
is some one on the spot ready to test every- 
thing in the way of statistics that go to 
feed the Ceylon appetite for knowledge as 
to results of our Commissioner's work. We 
trust the "Thirty Committee " will n;ive this 
matter their attention soon, witli a view to 
meeting these criticisms with a published 
reply at the earliest possible opportunity- 
SOUDAN COTTON GROWING. 
Mil. LEIGH HUNT'S PLANS. 
IMPORTATION OP NEGKO LABOUR. 
In regard to the agreement between Mr Leigh 
Hunt and the Soudan Government, we under- 
stand that the work has heen commenced and is 
expected to have very great inlluence in the 
development of the Soudan and on the cotton 
industry of the world. For some tune past Mr 
Leigh Hunt has been in the Soudan perfecting 
his scheme for cotton-growing' on an extensive 
scale, and the work has been initiated in 
charge of a European stafi, which is now on the 
ground. This staff will be augmented as the 
developments of the scheme may require, and 
it is intended to employ educated negroes from 
the United States. In connection with tliis last 
pai t of his plan Mr Leigh Hunt will shortly visit 
America. Preparations are now in progress for 
the construction of the necessary houses and 
worlds for cotton-growing, and the ground is 
being prepared, so that planting will actually 
begin in June. Mr Leigh Hunt already has 
ample labour for the immediate needs of the pro- 
ject, but his staff will be reinforced by expert negro 
planters later in the sea?on. Mr Leigh Hunt 
does not regard tliis as an experiment, as he is 
convinced from extensive personal observation 
that cotton-growing on a commercial basis in the 
Soudan cannot buthave the most satisfactory re- 
sults. He says that the day is not far distant when 
England will obtain the bulk of her cotton from 
the Soudan, and expresses bis conviction that 
cotton caa be grown in that country as cheaply, 
if not more cheaply, than in any place in the 
world. In addition to the cotton growing project, 
Mr Leigh Hunt has, according to die " Egyptian 
Gazette," by special arrangement with the Soudan 
Government, undertaken to make such agricultural 
experiments in the Soudan as they may require. 
» . — 
COTTON IN EAST AFRICA. 
A report on the prospects of growing cotton in 
the East Africa Protectorate, by Mr E Brand, 
assistant in the Agiicultural Department of the 
Protectorate, has been published as No. 606 of 
the Miscellaneous Series of Diplomatic and Con- 
sular Reports I Cd. 1767—101. After describing the 
special characteristics of land and climate suitable 
for cotton-growing Mr Brand savs : — 
The soils of the coast districts of East Africa may 
be roughly classified under tour divisions : — 
1. Coast sands. — These are not adapted for cottou 
cultivation, except where there ia a sufficiently regular 
subsoil of clay, or loam, to hold np necessary water, 
in which case they are easy of tillage, and produce 
excellent crops. 
2. Coral formation. — This invariably supports an 
overlying red soil of a retentive nature. When this 
ia shallow, or the rock appears in places on the sur- 
face, crops are liable to suffer from drought in the 
dry season ; but, when deep, this forms some of tho 
most productive soil in the whole Protectorate. 
3. RedhiU Soil.— Instance, for example, the Sekoki 
Hills, near Maliudi, on the south side of the Saboki, 
cousisting for the most part of a deep friable clay of a 
distinctive red colour, compressed into soft red rock 
below. This material, which produces very fine timber 
and fruit trees, furnishes the conditions under which 
are obtained the finest crops without the aid of irriga- 
tion. In places where the red particles are coarser"at 
the surface the soil is more susceptible to drought, 
and less suitable for cotton. 
4. Bottom Lands.— These are supplied in the allu- 
vial flats of the Sabaki, Tana and Juba riversi and will 
