74 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST- 
[August i, 1890, 
son chests may prove to be all that is claimed 
for them, quite apart from that in which our 
planters may regard the matter. Should it ulti- 
mately be found desirable to supersede the wooden 
boxes at present in use by this novel alternative, the 
decision may open to us another very valuable island 
industry, and much money which now goes out of 
Ceylon to pay for foreign woods and .Japanese boxes 
may be retained in it to the great benefit of its com- 
munity. It is known that the Syndicate working the 
patent for these chests looks forward hopefully to 
eventually conducting their manufacture locally. 
Ceylon, as does every other tropical country, possesses 
an abundance of almost wild growth which by means 
of modern machinery may readily be prepared for 
the production of this strawboard. We have before 
dealt with the prospect which is thus held out to 
US, and we need not therefore here further dilate 
upon it, But the complaint now reaching us brings 
this prospect nearer to us. It may be found that 
*n its realization may lie the only road out of the 
difficulties which have given rise to that com- 
plaint. We would therefore express the hope that 
those of our friends who may now be making trial 
of the Stanley-Wrightson chests will favour us with 
as early information as to the results to their 
experience with them as may be practicable. We 
cannot fail to appreciate any new device by which 
the causes for the complaints we have dealt with 
may soon be removed. We shall deal with the 
good news of the successful utilisation of Maana 
grass reported by this mail, on another page. 

THE PLANTma INDUSTRY OF THE 
COLONY (CEYLON) IN JUNE 1890. 
The main results can now be given of the com- 
pilation of plairtation statistics for our “ Hand- 
jjOok and Directory,” thus: — 
Number of separate properties recorded . .1,930 
Number of plantations cultivated .. ..1,452 
Number of Superintendents and Assistants ..1,211 
Total extent 
„ cultivated 
In Tea .. 
„ Coffee (Arabian) 
„ „ (Liberian) 
„ Cacao 
„ Caedajiomb 
„ Cotton (on plantations). 
„ Tobacco „ 
„ Rubber „ 
„ PeI'PEE „ 
„ Aenatto „ 
„ Timbee and fuel trees 
planted 
686,728 acres 
324,765 
19 
219,487 
91 
53,454 
11 
1,226 
12,050 
11 
91 
5,060 
293 
99 
11 
477 
19 
678 
11 
215 
11 
419 
11 
1,.589 
11 
In Cinchona, — 19,077,000 trees over two years old. 
This last piece of information may appear rathe^ 
startling to those who have been crying out tha 
there is no cinchona left in the country ; but the 
hguroB really mean that 16 millions of cinchona 
trees have been cut down and uprooted since July 
1888 — no bad rate of harvesting. We have already 
dealt with tea. Poor old coffee has run out by 
25,000 acres in the two years and what a change 
since 1877 — thirteen years ago only — when coffee 
stood for 272,243 acres ! Liberian coffee and cacao 
show little change; but the area under cardamoms 
has slightly increased. Of the minor products, there 
is no need that we should speak today. But it is 
interesting to note that while the total number of 
plantations cultivated has not increased (a number 
of old places “abandoned”), but is rather less, the 
total number of planters has gone up from 1,136 
to 1,211 in the two years. Our highest number was 
1,389 in February 1881, and then it went down to 
1,079 in December 1885. In rather more than four 
years therefore, we have gained 132 additions to 
the list of managers and assistant superintendents 
or at the rate of 34 per annum. 

IMMIGRANT AND NATIVE LABOUR 
IN JAMAICA. 
The negroes and their friends in Jamaica have 
generally opposed immigration at the cost of the State 
on the ground that native labour is abundant and 
would be available for the planters if they gave 
equal wages and advantages to natives as to im- 
migrants. The complaint of employers in Jamaica 
is in regard to negroes the same as in Ceylon 
is preferred against the Sinhalese, — unreliability : 
the absence of steady perseverance in work. The 
report of a recent committee on immigration 
seems to have dealt very fully with the whole ques- 
tion, as the following extracts prove : — 
That they have duly considered the Messages of His 
Excellency the Governor and the several Petitions re- 
lating to Immigration and have heard all witnesses who 
have tendered their evidence on the subject. 
They accept the statement that in many Districts of 
the Island there is an absence of that supply of conti- 
nuous and reliable labour which is indispensable to se- 
cure the investment of capital and the development of 
the great resources of the Island. 
Your Committee are of opinion thatfor the encourage, 
ment of the investment of capital on agricultural opera- 
tions, a certainty of continuous labor is a necessity, 
and that in a country so sparsely populated as|this is 
the establishment of a system by which such labour 
can be secured on fair terms to the employer and em- 
ployed must work greatly to general prosperity. They 
attach considerable importance to the assertion of 
those who oppose Immigration that if the same facilities, 
terms and advantages now given to imported labourers 
are given to native labourers, the uncertainty now at- 
tending the supply of lanour would be lessened. They 
therefore recommend that power should be granted to 
the Protector of Immigrants to enter into contracts 
with native labourers on behalf of employers and that 
only a sufficient number of imported labourers should 
be introduced as will with the native contract labourers 
meet the wants of employers. To encourage the native 
labourer to work under the protection of the Immigra- 
tion Department yonr Committee recommend that an 
indenture fee of 50s a year for each native adult 
labourer entering into an annual contract should be 
paid to the Executive by each employer and that of this 
sum £2 should be paid as a bonus to the native labourer 
on the expiry of each year’s faithful service under con- 
tract, and the remaining lOs should be available to yards 
rtimbnrsing the Government the cost of carrying out 
the system. This would give the native contraot 
l|hQurer an advantage over any Imported labonrei. 
