322 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Nov. 1. 1901. 
" I still think that all estates getting the 
bonus should send their account sales or copies to 
the ' Thirty Committee,' not necessarily for public- 
ation, but to enable tiie Committee to judge 
if the business is likely to prove a paying 
one iti the future." 
THE CAMPHOR TRADE OF FORMOSA: 
INFORMATION FROM MR. DAVIDSON, 
AMERICAN CONSUL. 
Pending the arrival of a copy of Mr. David- 
son's exhaustive book on Formosa, it may 
be Avell to mention a few of the facts con- 
tributed by him in the course of conversation. 
First of all, it is a mistake now to talk 
of camphor from Japan, China or even 
Borneo, The high prices and monopoly 
during the war, completely used up all the 
available camphor in both China and Japan ; 
while the Bornean article is so inferior as 
scarcely to be worthy of the name of 
canjphor proper. Still, a consi<lerable quant- 
ity <.>f camphor enters the American market 
even now as "Japan," and Mr. Davidson found 
it dithcult to convince merchants in New 
York th.at it was really the product of 
Formosa, but exported via Japan and there 
packed differently. Two years ago, Japan 
shipped 1,500 lb. of camphor, the very last 
got from her own trees. 
Mr. Davidson does not give much en- 
couragement to Ceylon or any other country 
to grow camphor trees in order to secure a 
profitable, as well as marketable, product. 
The indigenous forests of Formosa are of a 
very large extent, and it will take a long 
series of years before they are exhausted, 
even if 
THE world's requirements 
should increase a good deal over the present 
standard. So large and rich are some of 
the Formosan forest trees, that Mr. Davidson 
has known one tx'ee yield as much as 
£200 WORTH OF CABIPHOR, 
Four per cent is about the best yield from 
the richest part of the tree. Should compe- 
tition by any chance arise, the Foimos,an 
monopoly can be worked to run down the 
price for a time, in order to shut out rivals. 
AUjhis is not encouraging. 
GREEN TEA. 
Mr. Davidson further made reference to 
Ceylon Green Teas and mentioned how he 
was in the office of a leading New York 
tea firm and witnessed a testing of ;i package 
of Ceylon " Greens." The verdict was, — a 
fair average green tea as to make and ap- 
pearance, but with the Ceylon flavour, to 
which American consumers are not attracted. 
We mentioned how we learned in 1884 from 
the largest American buyer of Japan tea, that 
every ounce was artificially faced ; and re- 
marked that surely now the Americans would 
prefer to use a pure article. " Yes," replied Mr. 
Davidson, "but then your Ceylon Greens are 
fermented." (There he must be mistaken : 
no fermentation takes place in the prepara- 
tion of Ceylon green tea ; but this shows 
tlOW a- wrong belief arises and spreads.) 
"But the Oolongs of Formosa are quite 
pure and natural, and they must long re- 
main a favourite tea in America. " 
It will be seen from all this, that 
Mr. Davidson is a fii-m believer in For- 
mosa and her products ; and it is 
pleasant to find the most made of one's 
adopted home. Mr. Davidson is a great 
lover of botany, horticulture and tropical 
cultivation generally. He has lonj; known 
and appreciated the Iropical Agriculturist, 
and he was delighted to be able to study 
our Review of all planting products pre- 
fixed to the "Handbook and Directory." 
Mr. David.son w;is curiou.s to know whence 
the first camphor seed or plants received in 
Ceylon, came? He supposed fiorn Japan. 
PEPPER AND COFFEE EXPORTS 
FROM WESTERN INDIA. 
We are indebted to Mr. C. W. Layard. 
the successor of our lamented friend, Mr. 
Ralph 7'athani, as agent for Messrs. Arbutb- 
nott & Co., Tellicherry, for the annual re- 
port and statistics of the above products for 
the year ending 30th June. [Given as a 
Supplement to this issue]. It is surprising 
to see how well coffee keeps up, consider- 
ing all that has been said of disease and 
decay in Coorg and Mysore. The large 
proportion, too, of native-grown coffee is 
noteworthy and seems to indicate that if 
prices were only satisfactory, the export of 
our old staple from Southern India could be 
maintained, for some time to come. As re- 
gards Pepper, the same rule of an alternate 
good and poor crop seems to prevail : the re- 
turns for five past seasons comparing thus : — 
1896-97 ... Export of Pepper cwt, 222,383 
1897 98 ... „ 125,231 
1898- 99 ... „ „ 2.37.041 
1899- 00 ... „ „ 168,001 
1900- 01 ... „ „ 211.987 
The value of last season's pepper crop (July 
1900 to June 1901) ih given at R7,949,512, or 
close on 8 millions of rupees. Would that 
Ceylon could produce enough pepper for its 
own requirements and still more export 
even as much as it did in 1739 when the 
Dutch sent away 465,000 lb. chiefly from 
Kandyan districts. 
^ 
NEW PRODUCTS IN ASSAM. 
The Report of the Director of Land Records 
and Agriculture in Assam contains notices of the 
cultivation of " sisal " hemp at Dauraeherra, in 
Sylhet, which is being energetically pushed, and 
of experiments made by Babu Debeswar Gohain 
and Mr, Matilal Haldar in growing sugarcane oa 
a considerable scale, and the manager of the 
Bambgaon tea estate in growing " balam " rice 
and husking paddy by steam machinery. These 
experiments, as well as the experimental culti- 
vation of the rubber tree on a considerable scale 
in the Charduar plantation by private enterprise 
and of rhea fibre iu more than one locality, are 
all of interest and fraught with importance to 
the future prosperity of the province, and the 
Chief Commissioner remarks that he is glad to 
encourage them iu every reasonable way.— .Bowi- 
bay Gasetie, Sept, 24. 
