November 2, 1891.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
343 
" The Botanical GurJens maiutaiued by the North- 
West Provinces Government at Saharunpore and 
Mussoorie afford an excellent example of the public 
advantage of such institutions. As regards cost_, it 
appears thut the gardens are virtually eelt'-supporting. 
Tne expenses Isst year amounted to K20, 143-14-10. 
Ou the credit side we have cash receip's to the extent 
of K16,323, and the Director- General of Agriculture 
remarks that allowing for the seeds and plant dis- 
tributed to soldiers' gardens and supplied lo public 
gardens and scciLtiea in addition to the direct saving 
to Government ou drugs grown and manufactured 
for the Medical Department, there would bo a bnlance 
in favour of the credit over the debit side of the 
Ekocount. On the benefits to agriculture and the pros- 
perity of a province mainly dependent ou the cultiva- 
tion of the soil, many proofs couH be quoted. Mr, 
HolderneEB eays generally: 'The bencfieial (fF:ct 
of the Saharunpore and Lucknow Gardens on 
horticulture in Upper India is ciipable of easy 
verification by anyone who moves alont the coun- 
try and cotes the progress which gardening and fruit 
growing are making among the native community." " 
The extract that refers to oinohoDa is especially 
interesting. Here are we, with large reserves of 
cinchona, sending ultimately our produce to England 
to the manufaotuves there, who will buy it for a 
mere nolhing ; our Government buying their febri- 
fuges at a high figure, when it might, us the Indian 
Government does, buy cinchona on the spot and 
manufacture it, 
Ceylon Tea Fund Committee. — Mr. Eoberts, I 
think, was quite right to bring to the notice of the 
Committee what some fausybodies are suggesting 
to the detriment of the Standing Tea Fund Com- 
mittee and the new Tea Company, The Tea Fund 
Committee had a good answer to give such enarlera. 
Tea. at tenpence and low rates of exchange 
pays, but the genius who averages 6Jd is not the 
one to lead ug on to victory. 
Coffee is falling in a most extraordinary way, 
which points to its being an article for the specu- 
lator, so I fancy there will ba soon a sharp rise, 
more especially for Ceylon. 
These Invuntors of Tea Diseases should be 
deported at the expense of the Colony. Let the 
Governor use ono of his Prunes and Prismatic 
measures — say Promptitude— to get Dr. Trimen's 
answer to , those Indian Quacks. 
Native Teamen of our acquaintance inform ,us 
that the profits they have made out of common 
tea will not go half way towards covering the 
losses they sustained on their finest grades. They 
are greatly put out this season to find that the 
high district teas fetch such a comparatively small 
advance on those from the low districts, and de- 
olaro that the business in fine kinds is not worth 
following. They assure us emphatically that next 
season's supply of Congou will thow a further 
falling off of fully 50,000 chests, — Foocliow Eeho, 
Sept, 26lh. 
An Inteebsting Tour of the principal botanic 
gardens in the world was recently made by an 
American botanist, in order to procure from these 
establishments specimens of the useful products of 
the vegetable kingdom tor the University Museum 
at Cambridge, Massachusetts. The botanist visited 
on his tour Genoa, Ceylon, Adelaide, Dunedin, 
Sydney, Brisbane, Java, Singapore, Saigon, Hong 
Kong, Shanghai, and Tokio. The traveller was 
partmulnrly struck with the Botanic Gardens in 
Ceylon. Plants from Australia are quite at home 
with those of the West Indies, Japan, or EuglanJ. 
" Oiioo for all," says the American, "it may bo 
said that botanists are nade welcome (to these 
gardens) in every way, finding every facility for 
tarrying on sjstomatio work."— L, and 0, Express. 
TEA AND EXCHANGE, 
In reviewing the sea-borne trade and navigation of 
Bengal a few mouihs ago, Mr, Scobell-Armstrong 
referred briefly to the question in how far the tea 
industry is affected by a fluctuating exchange. In 
his opinion an alteration in the relative value of gold 
and silver cannot in the long run either stimulate 
or check the production of tea in India, since the 
change neither affecis the desire for tea on the part 
of the consumers nor reduces the amount of goods 
which he is willing to give in exchange lor it, Mr, 
Armstrong illustrated this argument by a sketch 
of what in bis opinion would be the effect if silver 
should rise, say, to Is 9J aud stay there or thereabouts. 
In the firi-t p'ace, he said, the rupee price would fall, 
but there could be no immediata increase in the 
price of tea, since the amount of tea put on the 
London market won'd for some time remain as great 
as ever. If the depression became sufficient lo check 
production and the extension of gardens, " there 
would no doubt be some rise in sterling price, but it 
would only bo for a time" assuming of course that 
the rise in silver were due to its becoming dearer. 
If it were due to gold becoming cheaper, gold 
prices would rise at once and to the full amount 
and there would be no depression at all. In the event 
then, that silver itself had become dearer, there 
would, Mr, Armstrong admits, be a depression in the 
tea industry. " Profits," he says, '' would not be so 
great for a time," but the tea planter.^ would even- 
lu-»lly reduce their outgoings, for since their rupees 
would have risen in value they might fairly claim to 
pay less of them. When the pLinter's outgoings bad 
been reduced in proportion to the new value of the 
rupee, his profits, lUr. Armetrong coatende, would be 
as large as ever. With a sudden rise in the value of 
the rupee the depression would be severe, but the ad- 
justment would be effected sooner; with a slight rise 
the depression would be slight, but it would be longer 
before it disappeared. In any case, hov^ever, the final 
adjustment would be only a matter of time. 
In an official resolution published, on Wednesdaj', 
Mr. Armstrong's argument is examined both from a 
practical and taeoretioal point of view. In the former 
respect it is contended that the explanation suggested 
by the Collector of Customs does not agree with the 
tea-plauttrs' experience. !' It is true," the reeolution 
admits, " that he will pay less for machinery, European 
stores and other articles purchased in England. It is 
also true that, as all tea-growing countries use a 
silver currency, the tea planter is free from the 
special disadvantages which hamper tlie Indian 
whost-grower in his attempt to compete with 
rivals in gold-using countries. As, however the bulk 
of the planter's expenditure is incurred in ludis, 
where fluctuation in the value of the rupee is com- 
paratively inconsiderable, he cannot protect himself, as 
Mr. Soobeil Armstrong suggests, by reducing his pay- 
ments for wages and articles produced locally. It 
would seem, then, that " the gardens which fail 
year after year to gain the norraal profit of 
capital must sooner or later go out of cultivation, 
and only tliose will survive in which the cost of pro- 
duction is cheapest. " The price of. tea in London ia 
the resultant of so many causes that it cannot be 
supposed that the contraction of output cansed by the 
closure of the more expensive gardens will so reduce 
the total supply as to cause the price of tea to rise to a 
figure at which it will pay to re-open and work 
them." The fallacy, indeed, of Mr. Armstrong's 
argument lies iu the idea that the expenses of a tea 
garden can be automatically adjusted with the rise and 
fall of Exchange. Even if the suggestion were correct 
in theory it would still be opposed to all the results of 
practical experience, — Calcutta Englishman. 
THE JAVA BUDGET, 
(from our AMSTERDAM CORRESPONDENT.) 
The Java Budget for 1S92 has been introduced iu 
the Second Chamber of the States-General. It appears 
that the i^ro lit balance of 1889 amounts to f. l,2:i-2,10i 
more than estimated, the total profit beius; thus 
1,3,110,738. The service pf 1890 will prohahly exhibit 
