.Tote 2, 1903.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
m 
to other '■product« of equal value and inteiest-. 
John R. Jackson, Lympstone, Devon. — (?«}'(fe«e)'s' 
Chronicle, March 22. 
WOLLD'S PRODUCTION AND CON- 
SUMPTION OP COFFEE. 
The French Consul in Brazil, in a report on the 
state of trade iu that country, states that there is an 
over-prodnoiion of coffee throughout the world, and 
that in Brazil there is a teLidency to restrict thi> area 
of culfrivation. He says that in the yeoT from .July 1, 
1900, to June 30, 1901, the total prodactior, of coifee 
throughout the world was 15,460,000 bags of 1321b. each, 
and that of this quantity ll,,50'i>,000 bsgs were grown 
in Brazil, 1,150,000 in GaatemaU, Costa Eios, Mexico, 
and Nicaragua, 1,050,000 in Venezuela, Colombia, 
Ecuador, and Peru, 480,000 in the Dutch Indies, 450 000 
in Hayti, 315,000 in British India and Ceylon, 203,000 
in Puerto Rico and Jamaica, and 90,000 in Padang. 
He estimatea the consumption at 14,117,020 bags, 
leaving an excess of production at 1,342,380 bags. — 
London Times, April 7. 
« 
SUGAR CULTIVATION IN FIJI. 
An important feature in the sugar induslry 
of Fiji is the euilivation of cane by Indian coolies 
wlio have completed their ter.ii of indenture. At 
Kewa they cultivated, during 1900, 1,077 acre=<, 
producing 18,399 tons of cane, valued at £9,473. 
At Navua they cultivatert durisig the same period, 
1,921 acres, producing 24,087 tons of cane, valued 
at £12,516. During the last three years (govern- 
ment lias acquired, under the Settlements Fund, 
certain blocks of land, aggregating 6,790 acres, 
which have been divided into small holdings, and 
considerable area=i have now been leased at a 
nominal rent to Indian immigrants whose terms 
of indenture have expired with a view to inducing 
them to remain in the country. Tiie annual rental 
at present obtained fioin tiie blocks leased aggre- 
gate £2U.—H. cm'! C. Mail, April 11. 
_ 0. 
WILD ANIMALS IN MADRAS. 
The number of wild animals destroyed in this 
Presidency during 1900-01 was 1,015, or 41 nio>re 
than in tlie previous year. Of tigers killed there 
were 105, or 16 less than in the previous year, 
but of panthers, leopards, and cheetahs kided 
there were 829 accounted for, or 65 more than in 
the previous year. As usual, Ganjam and Viza- 
gapatam contributed the largest number of animals 
killed, the figures being 209 and 257 respectively. 
The rewards disbursed during the year amounted 
to B20.761, against R19,548 in the previous year. 
The loss of human life caused by wild animals 
was as high as 203. It was heaviest in Vizaga- 
patam, where 71 persons were killed. The nr.niber 
of cattle killed was 15,197, the heaviest mortality 
being in South Canara (4,628).— .1/. 3Iail. 
— « - 
PLUMBAGO MINING IN CEYLON. 
• 
As we mentioned in our last issue (/apt. 
Trep;ay, the well known mining expert, leaves 
Ceylon by tlie mail steamer "Orizaba" on 
Thursday after 4J- years' residence in Ceylon, 
having been here since LS97 and spent most 
of his time on Monerakande whilst also visit- 
ing various parts of the island for plumbago 
mining purposes. " I have- had considerable 
experience in raining generally" said he to onr 
representative, "and my opinion most; 
decidedly is that there is a good deal of 
money to be made out of plumbago, if 
sufficient funds are provided for deep ininii::^. 
The fact of the maf^er is that I am goiiij'- 
home nf<w v/itli the object of floating 
one or t\vO ccmpanies to take the matter 
in hand. Most of the surface plumbago 
has already been exj)!oited and what we 
want to do is to uiine deeper with pro- 
per appliances. The deeper the mining, 
the better the quality and therefore the 
better the price. High prices, of course, 
always stimulate prospecting imd this was 
overdone durir.g the boqm 3 or i years 
ago. The present prices are aufileient to 
encourage prospecting on legitimate lines. 
There is not much new ground to open 
up but there is plenty of ore below 
present workings which can be reached 
with proper appliances to go to great 
depths. What I mean by proper appliances 
is superior pumping and hauling machinery; 
nothing else is required but good manage- 
ment. Must decidedly I believe there is 
money to be made out of plumbago, if it is 
properly worked. All you want is a proper 
system of working and there does not seem 
to be any system whatever in the native 
way of working. You want really to get 
down to the primary rock. What I say is 
that you may get i)lumbagoat practically an 
unlimited depth. The greater the depth the 
better the price. There is a large ex- 
port from Ceylon just now, but honestly I 
believe it is from stock and that the pro- 
duction is not keeping pace with the con- 
sumption." 
PROFESSOR HERDMAN'S RESEARCHES. 
(To the Editor of the Daili/ Post.) 
Sir,— The enclosed letter from Professor Herd- 
man reaches me abioad, hence delay in trans- 
mission. Although more specially intended for iii.s 
biological friends, it is of such interest as to de- 
serve the wider publicity tliiough your columns, 
and forms the fourth of the series. ' 
The experiment of the drift bottles, thrown over- 
board en routedown Channel as a clue to cuirents, 
has proved even more successful than anticipated 
and form a most valuable sequel to previous 
experiments made in the Irish Sea. — Yours, &(?., 
Isaac C. Thompson. 
Mentone, April 3rd, 1902. 
S.S. " Lady Havelock, ' off Chilavaturai Pearl Fish- 
eries, Gulf of Manaar, Feb. 28th, 1902. 
My Dear Thompson,— I have just heard from our 
Fisheries Department at University College of the 
success of the drift-bottle experiment which we started 
the night we left Liverpool. Perhaps Mr. Johnstone 
has given you later information than I have, but 
wilhiu a month from the time they were set' free 
120 out of the 200 drifters had been returned, and 
they were practically unanimous as to the story 
they told about the ciu'rents. 
Mr. Horuell and I have now been heie about six 
weeks, and have fiui&hed the first part of onr work 
which was a general survey of the marine zoology of 
the Ceylon coa^t, and havestarted the second part— ■siz. 
a detailed study of the pearl oyster banks in the Gulf 
of Manaar. For this work we have our dredgino- 
steamer the " Lady Havelock," a smaller steamer tha 
't Serendib," and tvyo large sailing barques, on om 
