November 2, !89'-J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 329 
To the Editor. 
THE BEITLSri NORTH BORNEO CO. AND THE 
BRITISH BORNEO CO., LD. 
Eew, Bogawantalawa, Sept. 23rd. 
Deab Sir.,— Your editorial paragraph in your 
issue of the 21st the British North Bcrneo Co. 
is calculated to kad your readers to believe thf.t 
there js Bomelhing wrong with the Company which 
administers the Government ol British North Borneo. 
The Company, whose proceedings you ciiticiz?, 
is a private one called the British Borneo Co., 
Limited, and has nothing whatever to do with the 
gQ-verning Company, of which Sir Rulherfoid Alcoek 
is Chairman, and in which Mr. Henry Walker 
holds the post of Commissioner of Lands.— Yours 
truly, W. D. GILiBON, 
Special Repreeentative, British. Norlh Borneo Co. 
[We are glad to find that we fell into an error 
(a veiy natural one) iu confusing two companies 
with such similar titles; and we are additionally 
glad to learn that it is not the big governing com- 
pany that is in difficulties. The latter company 
ought (o absorb the smaller body in order to prevent 
coufusiOD.— Ed. T, A^ 
THE LONDON AND LOCAL MARKET 
FOR TEA. 
Central Province, Sept. 2Gth. 
Deab Sib, — "Superintendent," in his letter of the 
21st, omits to include his Colombo agent's and 
Broker's commissions and sale charges, whioh will 
amount to \\ cent, as against the J cent for 
shipment by ordinary shipping agent. Why not 
fix the rate for exchange on the one parcel sent 
home instead of giving us the rate for the year ? 
Why also fix twopence a lb. London charges! \\ 
pence per lb, is a stiff price even to pay for 
London charges on such carefully bulked and 
packed teas as "Superintendent" has the handling of. 
Let "Superintendent" bear in mind that eut e.f say 
8,000 000 lb. tea sold locally only libout 3,000 000 lb. 
have been sent to other ports than London, so 
does he expect the Colombo buyers to look for a 
less profit than a penny or 6J cents per lb. ? — 
Yours truly, ONE WHO HAS TBIED BOTH. 
COFFEE IN NORTH BORNEO. 
Kandy, Sept. 29th. 
Dear Sir,— Tho following extracts from a letter 
dated t<orth Borneo, 2yth August, and referring to 
cctl'ee, may interest your readers,— Yours faithfully,- 
W. D. GIBBON. 
Tlie yomig clearings planted (in collee) Decenibei- 
1889 and -lanuary 1890 are now bearing crop which will 
bo npe in say March 1892, and then the picking 
season will bo twice a year, iu quantity; and in 
small quantities nearly every month. The trees are 
from 1 to 7 feet in height or say average -1 feet 
9 in to 5 feet. Tbo four year old coffee is bearing 
heavily and looking well. 
The land chosen for onr new clearing (100 acres) 
IS close to the bay and runs up to 1,000 feet in a 
long easy slope— tho water supply is very good and 
a launch can go up to the village. 
PALMiEAS AND COCONUTS. 
DcAR E'laa, — I should feel ever grateful if you 
would kindly give me the following advice : — On 
one of tho estates under my management, there are, 
I should think, nearly as many waddlies, or young 
palmiras, as there are coconut trees. My intontiona 
were to out all these waddlies down and manure 
the estate with same. The leaves I should put 
round the trees dug in, but the st'.m or body of 
I he trea can I manure with, by digging trenches 
and putting them in, and how far would I have to 
put them in the soil ? The trench would be dug 
between the lines of tho coconut trees ; the waddlies 
put in with other rubbish etc., and filled up again. 
Do you think this would bo beneficial to the estate 
or would you advise me to burn the stem and 
apply ashes round the tree. 
For any advice as regards this given me I should 
feel greatly obliged, as I think the sooner the 
waddlies are rooted out and cleared from the estate 
the better, as the amount of young plants are in- 
creasing year by year. 
It will no doubt be a very expensive process 
cutting do\?n all the trees. Do you think it is ad- 
visable for me to cut the top off and let the tree 
rot? That will be beneficial as the roots of the cooenut 
tree will suck all the subs lance from the waddlies. 
The only thing I am afraid, of is beetle attacking 
the waddlio when it is so f ir decomposed. When 
the top or head is cut out the tree rots away in 
a few weeks and the juice is abundant inside the 
tree, which would, I should think, benefit the coconut. 
Awaiting your reply, I remain, yours very faith- 
fully, PLANTL;R, PALLAI, N.P. 
THE HISTORY OF THE LOUGH CASE 
AS DEALT WITPI BY THE CEYLON 
TEA FUND COJIMITTEE. 
Aranayaka, 0:t. 10. 
Siu,— 1 have been to some extent tho medium 
of a aertain amount oE friction between tha Ceylon 
Tea Fund Gommitleo and tho Tea Committee of the 
London Association : as my name has been brought 
into the matter both by your London corres- 
pondent and that of the "Times of Ceylon"; 
and as tho former in bis letter of Scj t. 18th 
states the ge neral feeling to be that Uie action of 
the Ceylon Tea Fund Cornmittac was taken " on 
iusufflcient and unsupported representations," I 
think it orly fair to that Committee to make 
public, with your leave, a hitt v.y of the affair as far 
as I aai concerned in it. 
Mr. A. S. Hutebison wrote to mo on April 10th 
and at the san:c tiui3 sent out a parcel of sundries 
which he asked me "to kindly place before the 
Tea Fund Cemmittee when Mr. Lough's pro- 
position comrs forward." As he addressed me 
"t'ear Sir" and wrote of absolutely nothing but 
this one matter, it did not occur to me for an 
instant to look upon his letter as private, and 
indeed it is not easy to imagine how Mr. Hutchison's 
object coul 1 have been attained by my 
treating his commuuication as ono intended for 
my tyu aloi c. 8o [.a I am not and never liave 
been a member of the Tea Fund Committee, I 
placed tlio matter with one who is ; and when I 
tell you his name (is I do privately) you will 
agree wiih me that it could scarcely have been 
in abler or more discreet hands. I suppose he 
did at the meeting wh;\t I should have done myself, 
acd either read the letter or handed it round for 
perusal. At any rate I am quite sure he did not 
say: "Here is a ktta- which, taken in oonneo- 
tion with thehun:ries I place on tho table, c.jntains 
very. ample reasons wliy you should not carry out 
tho roccramcndation of tho London Tea Committee, 
