Oct. 1, 1901.1 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
25^ 
from $6 to #20, and to ray mind is still remarkably 
low. We have here to pay our labourers much more 
than you pay to your coolies, but we expect, I 
think, more work out of them. 
Just now we are paying $8 per month and feed- 
ing the people at a cost of ?4 more per man: — $12 in 
all. You will please understand tl'at we aie up 
till now using English money, and that we 
reckon 4 shillings to the dollar, and therefore our 
dollars are about twice as expensive as those 
mostly in the East Indies. [Rupees in East 
Indies at Is 4d each, and !<• rupees a month is 
high for a working coolie. — Ed. T.A.] 
Still with the high rate we are paying we ex- 
pect to make profits up to, and in fact much past, 
20 pounds sterling per acre, per annum, after our 
Cacao trees are past their fourth year. 
All of our land is covered with dense forest 
which has to be cleared out, and this expense runs 
into about 8 or 10 pounds per acre, including seed and 
planting. Some retain part of the forest for shade 
and so get their Ian i in cheaper. I am using both 
methods myself and cannot yet say which I prefer. 
All readers of your esteemed Journal who reside 
here will be glad if you will kindly comment 
upon these statements and if you will answer the 
few questions propounded. 
The British Consul at Apia is well versed in the 
culture of Cacao as practised here — and he will 
cheerfully corroborate any of the above statements 
I have made. H. J. MOOKS. 
Apia, July 6th 1901. — Somehow the above 
letter, dated away back in May, has remained 
here unsent. Since it was written we have 
got cur April cacao cured and away before this. 
On the 4t.h inst. at the usual jollification held 
at the U S Consulate, VTr R H Uarruthers of this 
place announced that his cacao for the earlier 
part of the year had turned out 17 cwt. to the 
acre. Now there is no more reliable man in 
the world that this gentleman, an accomplished 
British Barrister. 
The October crop is yet to come and 1 make 
no so'rt of doubt but that Mr Carruthers will 
be able to harvest, at the very least 5 cwt. more 
per acre, thus making 22 cwt. for the year for 
each acie. The trees are seven years old, planted 
15 feet apart at an elevation of 450 feet and 
just two miles from the sea shore. A little 
breadfruit shade has been left. No disease has 
so far attacked any trees here : a little trouble 
we have had with wbjte ants, and with a sort 
of fungus. Borers also in rare cases attack the 
tree, but do not seem to be able to kill it. 
The only difficulty so far as I can see is 
that we have at times a number of black pods, 
and we do not rightly know why they get so. 
The bees probably assist at the pollination 
in some way. 
Land seems every month to enhance upon 
older values. Shortly, T expect, when we begin 
handling easy cacao moneys, there will be a little 
excitement over our prospects. — Very truly yours, 
H. j. MOORS. 
THE AMERICAN TEA CAMPAIGN : 
QtTESTIONS FOR THE "THIRTY COMMITTEE" 
AND MR, WM. MACKENZIE TO CONSIDER 
AND ANSWER. 
Honolulu, July 17. 
Dear Sir,— Mr. Mackenzie in his report 
to the " Ihirty Committee " dated New York 
Mwch 20th, 1901 writes I did not go to 
Chicago this time, because I met down here 
all the men I wished to see." What 
more proof can be required to show the 
absurdity of continuing the tea campaign 
in America on present lines. That 
the funds from the Tea Cess, spent 
in America, have been devoted to our Adver- 
tising Agent's chosen disciples, to the detri- 
ment of the unfortunate cess-payer, (who 
is anxious to see Ceylon tea throughout the 
length and breadth of the laud, not merely 
confined to the few stores controlled by our 
Advertising Agent's chosen disciples), must 
be clear to those who have the privilege of 
reading our Advertising Agent's private re- 
ports. It is little wonder that nine-tenths of 
the tea merchants in the United States of 
America have a bitter feeling against the 
Ceylon Tea Planters in general, and take 
no interest in the sale of the teas they grow ; 
and so long as our advertising funds are 
restricted to the chosen friends of our Ad- 
vertising Agent they are not likely to change. 
No doubt our Advertising Agent will cry 
poverty, but then why does he continue to 
pay a third of the advertising ? If funds are 
limited, and over applied for in the United 
States on the one-third basis, why not offer 
to pay a fourth, and so on from time to time, 
reducing the assistance as firms come for- 
ward. 
Mr. Mackenzie has been working the 
tea campaign in America for about seven 
years ; it would be very interesting to those 
who perforce have to contribute to the Cess 
fund to know how many cities in the United 
States and Canada Mr. Mackenzie has visited 
during the seven years? If, during the seven 
years, he has ever visited the Western States, 
or any cities in the West of Canada? — which 
I have been informed he has not. How 
many firms he Las honored with a call, (I don't 
think that would be a difficult matter), and 
last but not the least important, how many 
months— during the seven years he has been 
our paid Advertising Agent for America- 
has he resided in that country? 
K. V. WEBSTER. 
A NEW SCHEME FOR REDUOING THE 
OUTPUT AND OVERPRODUCTION 
OF TEA : 
AN INCREASED CESS TO BUY UP, AND ABANDON 
.50,000 ACRES OF TEA, 
Central Province, Ceylon, August 26th, I90I. 
Sir,— Four schemes have now been put before 
tea producers which the authors believed would 
frave the large number of growers of low quality 
teas from ruin and make the more fortunate owners 
of estates which produce the better quality teas 
more certain of being able to continue to secure 
the handsome profits they have secured till lately. 
Two of these schemes (Mr A Cooke's, and Mr A 
Thomson's brought forward in London) are based 
on the regulation of the sale of the tea produced 
in India and Ceylon and do not depend on the 
reduction of the output. The regulation of the 
sale of tea would no doubt benefit producers • 
but considering the large over-production of last 
year and the heavy stocks of Indian and Ceylon 
Tea at the beginning of this year it seems to nie 
that the reduction of the output is of far greater 
importance than the regulatipn of the sale, On« 
