July i, 1890.] 
THE TROPICAL AQRICULTUR!ST. 
45 
benefiting indirectI}’ more or less all classes of the 
community. It is quite on the cards, judging from 
past progress, that m less than twenty years the 
output of silver will exceed in value any one of our 
long established staple products. This year I esti- 
mate that about three and a half millions sterling 
worth of silver and lead will be exported. A question 
of vital importance to all, but more especially to 
the silver-miner and wheatgrower is. Will the metal 
maintain its price ? It may be asked, how can 
the price of silver affect the Australian wheat- 
grower ? That it does affect him will be presently 
shown. During the last few months silver has had 
a most remarkable rise. For about two yc-ais 
prior to the late advance the average price was a 
little over 3s Gdperez. A few weeks ago it touched 
4s, the present quotation being 3s lOid. The main 
cause of the rise is no doubt the Bill introduced in 
the Sfiiate and House of Bepresentatives of the 
United States in February last, which virtually 
provides for the free coinage of all the silver 
(about half the total product of the world) produced 
in that country. Another cause is Mr. Goseben’s 
proposal to abolish the heavy duty in Great Britain 
on silver plate, which will undoubtedly, owing to 
the beauty and durability of the metal, bring it into 
more general use. One of the principal reasons 
given for introducing this Silver Bill is the 
growing scarcity of gold, which means dear money, 
and that the expansion of trade and rapid increase 
ot the world’s population requires a much larger 
metallic currency. Ti.e United Slates has 426 
millions of dollars (over £85,000,000) of paper 
money commonly c lied uncovered notes, behind 
which there is no gold or silver or bullion. 
Now I will try to explain how cheap silver keeps 
down the price of wheat, the great staple export of 
this colony. The European market for foreign wheat 
is supplied chiefly from the United States, India, 
Russia, Aigentine Republic, and Australia. Before 
the demonetization of silver in Europe in 1873 the 
value of the rupee there was two shillings in gold, 
six months ago it was only worth Is 4d, but in a 
silver standard country like India the rupee lost none 
of its purchasing power owing to the adoption of 
the gold standard by the principal commercial 
nations of the world. India sends to Europe one 
million tons of wheat yearly. A person who wishes 
to obtain wheat in Ind'ia can procure enough silver 
to make two rupees for 2s 8d ; w'ith it he can buy a 
bushel of wheat in India to sell in the English 
market in competition with the Australian farmer 
who must sell his wheat for the equivalent of two 
rupees in silver, or, what is the tame thing, 2s 
8d a bushel in gold. Silver being the only legal tender 
in India the Indian wheat-producers have experienced 
no material change in the price. In a late New 
YorJ; Ttihiiiic Senator Stewart writes — “The 
silver standard countries have ample resources to 
supply the European markets with all farm 
products. Why is it that all the silver standard 
countries continue to increase their exports of 
farm products, while the gold standard countries 
are compelled to surrender the markets of Europe 
which they have so long enjoyed. lu 1880 the 
United States furnished 60 percent, of the quantity 
supplied ; in 1888 9 our country sent less than 23 
per cent. The Australian Colonics are on the gold 
basis, and suffer equally with the United States. 
These colonies in 1880 sold in the European 
markets over 13,000,000 bushels of wheat, while in 
1888-9 their contribution was reduced to 4,500,000.’’ 
Australia being the only silver-predueing country 
of any importance irr the British Empire, and, barring 
the United States and Mexico, producing more 
silver than airy other country in the world, she 
has a perfect right to make her voice heard in 
the great bimetallic controversy that is now agi. 
tating England, the Continental nations, and 
America. Australia should use every effort to induce 
England to return to her old bimetallic currency, 
which would make silver alegal tender forany amount. 
The recent rise in the price of silver is mainly 
owing to wise legislation, and Australia, so far as 
possible, should follow in the wake of America. A 
rise of only 4d an ounce means an extra profit to 
one Australian mine alone of .£2,500 a week, or 
the dividends increased by £130,000 a year. This 
4d an ounce may also mean the difference between 
struggling Companies making a call or meeting 
expenses. It may be argued that an advance in 
silver and increased dividends only add to the 
wealth of the lucky shareholders, but a good pro- 
portion of this increased wealth is bound to oirculale 
in one form or another. The higher the price we 
get for any of our staple exports the better for all 
classes. The mine owner cannot enrich himself 
without enriching others. His wealth is taken from 
the ground and by his enterprise the country at 
large is made richer and no individual is made 
poorer. Very different to the man who speculates 
for a rise in sugar or wheat. Bis gain is another 
man’s loss. Again, it may be said that if a high 
price for silver means a higher price for wheat, 
would that not be rather rough on the people of 
wheat. importing countries, such as England? No 
doubt it would ; but, as a rule, nations like indi 
viduals generally act from purely selfish motives. - 
The paramount duty of the legislators of any country 
is to strive to increase the prosperity of that 
country. And if this desirable result is accomplished 
how such legislation affects other nations is a matter 
of very secondary importance . — Adelaide Observer, 
May 10th. 
PLANTING IN IS! ETHE.RLANDS INDIA: 
.Java Tea, Bantam Pepper, Sugar. 
The present low quotations for Java tea have stirred 
up the planters there to put their house in order. The 
fall ii) prices has long been in operation and, all 
through last year, the situation remained unchanged. 
The planters, taking tie alerm, set to work growing 
the Assam vtriety of tea in preference, and introduced 
sundry itnjir.'venients in machinery and appliances. 
The fall in Java tea, proper'y so called, arises some- 
what from quality being taorificed to quantity, but 
growers' profits lave been materially reduced even for 
superior kinds by the low rates offered by retail tea 
dealers in Europe. To remedy thi.s, the planters have 
taken steps to start retail tea dealing on their own 
acceunt, and they have also set about increasing the 
sale of the article in the i-land itself. 
In Bunlam, pepper cultivation, formerly a leading 
industry, has fallen off considerably through suitable 
land for carrying it on abounds. The peoprle migrate 
elsewhere to work as labourers on pepper estates but 
shrink from growing it themselves, owing to dlBcuUies 
attendirg the transport of cuttings aud the mode of 
planting them out, which requires a particular kind of 
timber for poles hard to get. To meet the difSculty the 
Oovernmeut has decided upon storting an experimental 
pepper garden there, which will also contain tries 
suitable for poles. 
The Botanical Garden at Buitenzorg affords a stii- 
king instance of how Nature sometimes mocks at theore- 
tical science. Scientists there put out by the canker 
attacking the sugar canes in Java, determined to experi- 
ment upon it by planting in an enclosed piece of laud 
sound canes and stricken ones in alternate rows to find 
out now the disease spreads and its mode of at'ack. 
The plants were left to themselves until the day ot exa- 
minatif n, wlttu the scientists found, to their amaze- 
ment, that the diseased cane had not infected the sound 
ones, and that just the opposite had taken place by all 
