February i, 1892.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
575 
the flourishing condition of muny of tlie coffee gardecs 
and the very promieing sppearauce of then w tea fields 
should not be forgotten. The terrible area of 
abandoned coffee is rariinly to bo attributed to the 
gold mania of the paafc decade. The companies that 
invested iu Wjnaad land for gold riiuing, Jo ;ked oq 
the cultivation of the f^urface as a very rniuor consider- 
ation. The coffee was worked on what wns called 
commercial principles, and if for any reason the crop 
felt short of expectation?, the expenditure in upkeep 
was proportionately reduced, and the unfortunate 
planter who was retained in the Gold Oompanien' 
service, to attend to the plantations, had no resource 
but to reduce the area worked in proportion to the 
allowance given, and thus nearly the whole gold country 
has reverted to its original jungle. Indeed, the two 
could hardly be worked togi'ther when the labour 
available was always requisitioned for the mining 
department whenever there was any scarcity of hands 
or press of work. But in private hands there are 
still well cultivated and paying coffee estates, and now 
with the high prices ruling, and a crop above the 
average, planters are ("oing well. 
That King Coffee, as they call it in Ceylon, is on 
its lasl legs in Wynaad, is an exploded idea. Largo 
fields of coffee were planted in Wynaad this last 
season, and men of experience from the famous 
Bamboo District of Ooorg are now opening extensively 
in Wynaad, and the beautiful young coffte, with 
various shade trees planted at the same time, delight 
the eye with their flourishing appearance, and recall 
days of the past, when every coffee p'ant seemed 
to thrive in any locality. Cinchona cultivation is 
now at a terrible discount, the market price of bark 
at a penny per unit of quinine, stops all idea of har- 
vesting any but the richest bark, aud the owner of a 
cinchont estate can only hope that his trees may 
outlive the enormous supplies from Java, and those 
trees that cm do this will yet be a source of large 
profit. 
Tea is doing well. The old seed bearing trees at 
Pandalar set at defiance the neglect of years, and 
when burnt down by jungle fire, riee again healthy as 
ever, like the Phceaix, while the young plantations 
of the last two years show such growth, that a planter 
of experience mistook a four-year-old Ledger field for 
Tea!! I suppose at Pome liille dibtance. With the 
report on Iklr. Punnett's tea that you lately published 
in your paper, there must be a great impetus given 
to this industry, as there is available in Wynaad a 
very special type of tea plant which appears to exactly 
suit the soil and climate, and proJuons a tea of most 
exceptional strength and flavour, whioh always com- 
mands a high price. — Madras Times. 
THE AMSTERDAM CINCHONA 
AUCTIONS. 
Amsteedam, Deo. 19. 
At today's auctions 5,380 packages Java cinchona 
sold at a slight reduction in price, ns compared with 
the last gales, the average unit not exceeding .ij cents 
or about 1 l-16d per lb., which is on a par with this 
week's London auclions. The following was the range 
of prices: — Manufacturing barks in quills broken quills 
and chips, 7 to 75 cents (= l|d to llgd per lb.) ; ditto 
root, 10 to 44 cents ( = lijd to 8d. per lb.) Druggists" 
barks in quills, broken quills, and chips, 10 to 36 cents 
(= IJd to (Jid. per lb) ; ditto root, 12 to 19 cents (=2d 
to 3.^J per lb.) The principal buyers were Mr. Guslav 
Brieglel), the Amsterdiim quinine-works, aud the 
Brunswick iiuinine-works. — Chemist and Dntggist. 
THE DUTY ON TEA. 
TO THE EDITOII OF THE " SYDNEY MORNING HERALD." 
Sir,— Now that the Government have proved a 
miijority iu their favour in tin; Assembly, I would like 
to jjoint out the unfairness of the prop isal to remit tiio 
duty on tea on so sliort a notice. The proposal haa 
already brought hnsitioss in this commodity to a 
ptuudetill so far as the distribaliug trade is oopoeraud 
Every grocer and storekeeper in New South Wales has 
ceased to buy, and will bny nothing before the 1st of 
March next unless he runs out of the article before 
that date: consequently the distributing houses, who 
are holders of large stocks of duly-paid teas, will find 
themselves losers on the Ist of March next of 3d 
per lb. on all their duty-paid stocks, betides the loss 
of throe months' trade, whioh in itself is a very serioug 
matter. The retail trade is not so hardly dealt with, 
as it will have three months to reduce atooks; but 
even amongst retailers there are numerous holders of 
large stocks— men who buy 12 months' supply on the 
arrival of the new season's teas, and have still six 
months' supply on hand. I would suggest to the Trea. 
surer, under these circnmstsnces, that in fairness to 
the trade in general and the distributors in particular, 
he should alter the date for remitting the duty to the 
Ist of August next, as at this daie traders in tea in 
the ordinary course of business have their stocks worked 
down to minimum in view of the arrival of the new 
season's crop, and it would allow holders to get out 
without loss, and the disorganization of business which 
is inevitable if the Ist of March is the limit. This 
would also be an advantage to the Treasurer, as it would 
add so much more revenue to his accounts for the 
financial year. Trusting you will find space for this im- 
portant matter, — I am, &o., Distbibutob. 
December 11th. 
STATEMENT SHOWING 
OF INDIAN TEA FROM 
SIDENCY, APRIL TO 
{From Watson, Sibthorp ^ 
THE EXPORTS 
BOMBAY PRE. 
NOV. 1891. 
Co.'s Report.) 
Lb. 
United Kingdom .,. ... 17,322 
Austria ... .,. ,,, 2575 
Malta ... ... ... 3a 
Spain-Gibraltar ... ... ... 2,750 
Abyssinia ... ... ... 290 
E. O. of Africa-Mozambique and Zanzibar 3,700 
Egypt ... ... ... 600 
Uuited States ... ... ... 4o 
Aden ... ... ... 1,733 
Arabia ... ... ... 26,592 
Persia ... ... ... 1,286,315 
Straits Settlements ... ... 50 
Turkey in Asia ... ... ... 164,431 
Australia ... ... ... 194 
Total... 1,506,528 
[The above export of over li million of pounds 
in 8 months is described as " Indian tea," but 
query whether much of the Ceylon tea sent to 
Bombay is not included ?— Ed. T. A.'] 
THE SAPPHIRES AND EUBIES OP SIAM. 
The report of the directors spates : — 
In the beginning of April Mr, Gibbons, the company's 
chief agent in Siain, paid his first visit to the mines, 
and selected an area of nine square miles, which 
embraced all the mines of N<^vong and Chanak, in the 
province of Krat. The negotiations with the Govern- 
ment in connection with the formal transfer of the 
properties to the company were somewhat protracted, 
but towards the end of June Mr. Gibbons received per- 
mission from the Government to take over the nine 
eqnaro miles he had selected. He at once proceeded to 
Krat, and a month later he was able to report that he 
and hia party were in peaceful pfssession of the mines. 
It then became necestary to decide upon a system of 
working the properties. The directors were opposed to 
any outlay being incurred for machinery until the value 
of tlie compiny's property had been proved, and Mr. 
Gibbons suggoeted as a temporary system that licenses 
should be issued to selected diggers on condition that all 
stouts obtained by thorn were to best once surrendered 
to the ciimpauy's officers, thi ir labour being rewarded 
inxt rata with the value of the yield, such value to 
fixed by the company's resident gem expert ; it I) 
