170 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept. 2, 1901. 
THE PROPOSED TEA GROWERS' ASSO- 
CIATION. 
[To the Editor, home and colonial mail ] 
Sib,— As .i private proprietor in C<'yl')n, I am 
more than pleaaeil to see Mr Shollo G- U Skrine's 
resolntion at the ineetirifi Mms last \ve-i< of the 
Ceylon Association in L')ii.loii lo f .nn a " 'f ea 
Growers' Association," ami if it i- r..> Uv a success 
we must tjet India to join us and look to the 
support of all the large compauies in India and 
Ceylon : the smaller proprietors, I am sure, will 
follow. I am pluekinf^ liner this year ai;d throw- 
ing away al) leaf three rounds at lea'^^t after 
pruning.' What has it beneficed me up to date? 
A yield of 3,500!b less t(3a and lower jirice per 
lb." It is no good to say tliat some of the " tea 
companies " have done well, and therefore they 
cannot join a " Tea Growers' Association," ov 
some such scheme of this sort. The sniiill ;;roprie- 
tors might equally say the same. JNo, we must 
all help one another by joining in some such 
scheme as this for the comniou good, and the sooner 
the better.— Youis faithfully, 
Chaulks E. G Hatherell. 
Radford House, near Leamington. 
July 1, 1901. ♦ 
— // mid C3fail, July 5. 
— 
COCONUTS AND TAPIOCA IN PAHANG, 
STRAITS. 
In the Fekan districts .3,ObO acres of land on 
the coast liove been alienated to 'a Syndicate 
(for planting coconuts, I understand), of which 
about 500 acres have been cleared and are being 
fenced. A block of another 2,000 acres, alie- 
nated for tapioca cultivation, will probably re- 
vert to the Government, no work having been 
begun on the block.— Report, 1901. 
PRODUCE, PLANTING AND COM- 
MERCIAL NOTES. 
Although the tea iadustry is under a cloud, which we 
hope is but temporary, the al;ter.dance at the Annual 
Assam Dinner last week was remarkablv good, nor 
were there any marked signs of depression observable 
in the tone of the speeches. These festive gatherings 
are of ancient standing now. The first took place in 
1883, and since then death has claimAd some of those 
who were wont to be so regular in their attendance. It 
seems long, a-lthough it is but really only a short time, 
since the late Mr .John Berry White was a conspicuous 
figure at these gatherings, of which he was one of the 
chief founders, and his cheery "Hear, hear," when 
one or another of the speakers referred to the old 
Assam days or touched a choi d of memory, still ring in 
one's ears. But althoutjh several of the veterans no 
longer grace the festive board, the attendance does not 
diminish, and the chairman of last Thursday was as 
full of eloquence and enthusiasm as in the good old 
days when tea was higher by some pence per lb. If 
some of the old familiar faces were absent those present 
were fairly represeniiative of all departments of the in- 
dustry, and the dinner was a great success. "We trust 
that when next Assam planters meet to dine the out- 
look for tea will be brighter. A special feature of this 
occasion was the presence of Lieutenant-Colonel D M 
Lumsden, of Lumsden's Horse, who, needless to say, 
received a very hearty welcome. 
Commenting upon the position of the tea market in 
the Dominion, the " Canadian Grocer " 8a,ys ; — " Japan 
teas are in a somewhat unique position at present, they 
being strong in price, v/hile those of other countries 
are weak. The chief factor in this is the buying on 
United States account. If the present high price of 
Japan tea is maintained, benefit will certainly accrue 
to Ceylon greens." 
America took considerably more Indian and Ceylon 
tea in the first three months of 1901 than during the 
corresponding period last year — 5,11-2,871 lb., against 
4,04.3,062 lb., an increase of 1.069,609 lb. As the 
maiu increase was received from London, there is 
no doubt, say Messrs. Gow, ^Yllson and Stanton, in 
their last report, that low prices have been the 
cause, and the expansion has therefore been m black 
tea. To capture the North American market for 
green, unferraenteJ, and Oolong teas is more im- 
portant, say they, than ever. There seems no reason 
why this should not be done, now that absolnte 
necessity demands it and it has been proved that 
suitable tea can be made. 
In view of the fluctuating fortunes, in the pa.'St 
ten years, of the Assam Frontier Tea Company, the 
directors are no doubt acting prudently in the policy 
they will recommend to their shareholders for adop- 
tion at the coming meeting. The available surplus 
for the year 1900, after providing for the six per 
cent, dividend on the Preference shares, is equal to 
a distribution of 7 per cent, on thf Ordinary ; but 
they propose to pay 3 per cent, thereon, and to 
devote £4,454 in part payment of the upkeep of 
recent new extensions, leaving i'1,229 to be carried 
forward, as against £2,873, Last year the Ort^inary 
shares got 8 per cent., previous dividends having 
been (reading backwards) 4, nil, 6, G, 3, nil, 2^, 
and 11, this last being for the company's ft st year 
— Borne and Colonial Mail. 
Railway Enterprise in Ecuador.— Our, 
Guayaquil Correspondent writes under date May. 
13 : — " The extension of the Railway from Guaya- 
quil to Chimbo and the capital of Eucador 
has made some substantial progres.s in the 
course of the past year. A large quantity of rails 
and other material for the construction of the line 
has recently been received. Some 25 miles of 
earthworks have been built, and over the first 
half-dozen miles the track is now laid. The re- 
maining portion of about 100 miles, however, 
presents greater difBculties than any hitherto 
encountered by the contractors. Before Quito is 
reached many steep valleys must be cros.sed, and 
innumerable rivers and streams briilged. The 
construction will be costly and calls for engineer- 
ing skill of no mean order to carry the undertak- 
ing to a successful issue. While the line may 
prove to be a benefit to Ecuador from a political 
point ol view , inasmuch as it will give easy access 
to the national capital from the seaboard, the 
commercial prospects of the undertaking are not 
brilliant. The city of Quito contains 18C0 in- 
habited houses and 40,000 niay, therefore, be 
regarded as a most liberal estimate for the popu- 
lation. The route followed by the line traverses 
no thickly settled districts, nor does it tap a 
counir.y where the natural resources promise 
any great future development for mining or 
agricultural industry. The clitnate throughout 
the regions lying between Chimbo and Quito is 
totally unfitted ior the settlement of immigrants 
from Europe. In the vicinity of Quito there is 
little production of any kind, except of such food- 
stuffs as are required to meet the demand of the 
local markets. In these circumstances it is im- 
possible to see where the traffic is to be obtained 
to support the railway on any satisfactory com- 
merci^il basis Unfortunately it is British capital, 
hirgely subsc ibed in Glasgow, that has been 
invited in this enterprise. — London Times, 
June 17. 
