FsB. 1, 1902.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRIOULTdPJST 
535 
wlien in Enjiland with a view to starting this 
Kapid Traiisib Compauy in which he himself is to 
take a large interest hnancially. It is proposed to 
commence operations on the 
GALLE-MORAWAKKORALE 
road. This road has been chosen to start with 
because, for one reason, it is a road on which 
there is a large amount of estate business which 
is directly available and has already been 
promised at certain deHnite ascertained rates. 
A(<ain the conditions for working there appear 
to be favourable because there is no other means 
of transport except by carts which is most un- 
satisfactory and very, very slow when going the 
longdistance of 5.3 miles. It has, tiierefore, been 
considered a good road to work as a commence- 
ment. The aim of the Company is by no means 
to confine itself to six lorries or to any one parti- 
cular road or district. Having once made a start 
it is proposed gradually to extern! our field of 
operations ; to import more lorries and put them 
to w<uk in every district wherever favourable 
opportunities are offered or seen to exist. Of 
course they will serve a useful purpose in many 
way.'' ; for i-rstance they will obviously serve as 
feeders to JJailways and be of great iuiportance 
in that way. 
The prospectus of the new Company will be 
issued early next week and we hope that the 
capital will be wholly and rapidly subscribed. We 
congratulate ail concerned on their enterprise, 
and, wishing them all sviccess, hope that what 
proves a benefit to the distiicts in which the 
.service will be instituted, may also prov« of bene- 
fit to the energetic promoters. 
RECORD PRICES FOR COCONUTS. 
From a well-known coconut planter, vre 
have received the following interesting in- 
formation ;— 
" Referring to the Observer of the 14th inst., 
the coconut crop gathered on this estate 
during November-December last was sold, 
on the 6th instant, for R52'62i per mille, 
the September-October gathering having 
realised ±{50.124 j"st two months before. On 
both occasions the buyers were Desiccators. 
Such prices, or anything approaching them, 
cannot be found in the records of the estate 
during the past 45 years : hence they were 
spoken of as ' record ' prices. Thr next 
highest record was R47'87i in March 1896. 
" The prices got, for last year's crops (there 
has not been a better year in tViis respect) 
ranged from R40 to R52'62^, an average for 
the six pickings being R44"35 and I doubt 
whether any other estate in the Negombo 
or Chilaw districts has beaten, or even 
equalled, this. 
" Nuts of an estate in the Chilaw district, 
located close to Messrs. Vavasseur & Co.'s 
Desiccating Mills, are said to have fetched 
K53 early in January and a small parcel- 
probably not more than SO.OOU to 40,000 nuts — 
of a Negombo estate, R54. It would be 
interesting to know the average prices on 
these places for the year. The demand for 
nuts has been great during the whole of 
the past 12 months and the supply has not 
been equal to it. The greatly-increased 
demand abroad for copra and poonac (the 
latter is now selling at R120 to R125 per 
ton) and the expansion of the trade in 
desiccated nuts are, I believe, the chief factors 
in the present high price of coconuts. The 
failure of last year's crop in Singapore is 
said also to have influenced the Market. 
"In September 1894 I sent, in response to 
your request, a table of the ' Value of Coco- 
nuts ' from the year 1865 up to that date 
(published in the Observer and reproduced 
in 'Irojncal Anriculturist for October 1894), 
and I now enclose figures from 1894 to 
1901 ':— 
YALUE OF COCONUTS 
DISTBICT. 
Range of price?, per 
thongHnd per 12 
moiitbs- 
E.07i25 to R41-70 
R36-25 to R46 25 
R36-.50 to R47 87i 
R30-121 to R33-62i 
R31-00 to R.S6 00 
R33-25 to R37-25 
R32-,50 to E39-12 
E40 00 to R52-62i 
Tears. 
3894 
1895 
1896 
1897 
1?98 
1899 
1900 
1901 
IN NEGOMBO 
Average value per 
thousand for 12 
months. 
f!39 25 
R39-88 
E39-44 
R32-35 
E.33-92 
E36 00 
R34-96 
R44-3a 
BORNEO PLANTING PROGRESS. 
In North Borneo it is satiafiictory to report pro- 
gress and to tell of an increase in the Chinese 
population — a fact that m those latitudes makes for 
headway in the opening up of a country. The 
railway from Jesseltoii and Beaufort is within measur- 
able distance of completion, and some progress made- 
with tlie Beaufo! t-Tenom section, the opening of 
which, it is hoped, will lead to tobacco estates being 
started in that district. Tobacco still remains the 
leading staple. Rubber and ganibier are receiving 
much attention, while excellent lighting oil has been 
struck at great depths. The labour problem has 
been helped by the .arrival of Chineee coolies from 
Fcoohow, and of Hakkas from Hong Kong, and it 
is sstisfactory to think that there is one part of 
the world that will not " be ruined by Chinese 
cheap labour." Indeed, that is its most urgent 
requirement. 
In Sarawak there has been a great increase in com- 
mercial prosperity. The pepper crop, which is now 
finished, shows a large increase, and prices having 
been good, the planters have made money ; and again 
a considerable number of new gardens have been 
opened. There has been some extension of gambler 
planting, but it is doubtful whether this is profitable 
on such prices as luled during the first nine months 
of the year. We di) not think the sago indnsrty 
has been so profitable as before. There has been 
an increased business in timber for China, ard a, 
fair increase in the output of gold, to extract which 
further works are in prospect. — L. and C. E.>:pressi 
Jan. 3. 
GERMAN COLONIAL ENTERPRISE. 
Amongst the first fruits of the German Empire 
was the scheme of colonisation which the late 
Prince Bi^niarck founded, and which Kaiser 
Wilhelni has assiduously nourished. Up to the 
pre>-ent it has been a costly business to the 
German people, like e\ery thing else at the 
beginning, but he would be a bold man 
who would say that the policy is not good 
business. (Germans are as fond of eniigrating as 
anybody ; why should they not have colonies of 
theii" own to live in? They are a pushing people 
in the way of business, and emulate the Britisher 
in regard to foreign trade, but have the advantage 
of starting where we leave off. In the matter of 
colonisation it may be possible to get a point from 
the working of their Colonial Department, espe- 
