THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 
June i, 1891.] 
823 
BAEK AND DRUG BEPOIiT. 
(From the Chemist and, Druggist.) 
London, March 25th. 
Cinchona.— Tho fortnightly auctions which took place 
here on Tiiesilay were rather heavier than their recent 
preilecessors. Ihey consisted of 
Packages Packages 
Ceylon cinchona .... 780 of which 613 were sold 
East Indian cinchona 
South American 
2,086 
do 
1.8U 
do 
cinchona . , . . 
475 
do 
177 
do 
,7 a va 
. 284 
do 
253 
do 
African West Coast ... 
, 23 
do 
28 
do 
Total 
. 3,653 
do 
2,908 
do 
The assortment was distinguished by the unusual pre- 
dominance of East Indian bark, mostly from Beypore 
and Calicut, and nearly all of recent import. The bulk 
of this consisted of Succirubra, including several parcels 
of very good chips and shavings, and there was also a 
fair quantity of Ledger bark, but the Oflicinalis barks 
were badly represented. The sales generally passed oil 
flit and lower, especially towards the end, holders sell- 
ing freely Some of the brokers at the close of the sales 
declared that the prices obtained were absolutely the lowest 
ever accented in public sale in London. 
Quinine.— The market is dull, and no business reported. 
The nominal quotations are : Kellers lO^d, buyers lOd per 
oz., for second-hand German quinine in bulk. 
^ 
PLANTING NOTES IN SOUTHERN 
INDIA. 
Mr. Philip Home has a second excellent letter of 
advice to his nephew in the Indian Planters' Gazette, 
dealing with Calcutta Agents. He commences his 
letter by remarking that there exists between planters 
and their Agents a liitle — perhaps sometimes more 
than a little of what he calls race or class antipathy. 
“The causes of friction,’’ lie proceeds to say, “arise 
in a want of community of view.” 
This phrase hits the nail square on the head. The 
planter is not a business man. A letter couched in 
the usual cautious business phraseology reaches him 
at the end of a long anxious aud harrassiug day. He 
is tired and irritable. Thera is some sentence which 
reads to him as implying distrust or reflecting on his 
work. He takes up paper and pen. He does not ‘ bag 
to cwu receipt of the favour ’ nor ‘has he the pleasure 
to bring to the notice,’ nor ‘ the regret to ob.'erve.’ 
Ho writes briefly aud makes his sentences crack aud 
sting. The firm is to him an impersonality. By the 
time the ‘stinker’ is complete, his ill-temper and irri- 
tability, caused not by the Agents, but by the worries 
of the day have lieen worked off. Agents are human. 
They read in all probability merely what is written, 
not what is between the lines. They retort, making 
some allusion to money matters. And the ruction 
grows. 
That the planter as a rule is not a business man is 
generally admitted. He argues thus, to quote Mr. 
Home agaiu, “ what is the use in spending much of 
my time over vexatious accounting and correspondence 
with all tlie planting to look after and coolies coming 
in.’’ There is some truth in this, but ou the other 
baud, time should be fouud for aooeunts and corres- 
pondence, aud failure aud heavy loss has more fre- 
quently than not been due to the ueglect of these. The 
Agents, Bitting at their oflice tables, with their clerks 
and their peons, forget that letters and accounts area 
very different matter when all the coolie work has to bo 
done by yourself. They blime the planers often 
unreasonably for their delay in f.jrwarding returns, 
and in replying to their letters. So here agaiu is want 
of community of view. 
“There is another cause,” continues Mr. Home 
which has set up antipathy between improvident 
planters as a class and Agents. A Manager works for 
some years, saves a little money and comes in, we will 
say, for a small legacy. He, with a couple of other 
men in the samo position, takes up a piece of laud 
aud sets to work to make a tea garden. They open 
out beyond their means aud borrow money from tho 
Agents ou tho security of their property. They have i 
a bad season, and misforluoe comes in other shapes 
and forms. They get more aud more heavily in on 
the wrong side of the Agents’ books. They are fore- 
closed ou, aud the firm takes over the property, which 
backed by ample capital turns out a very good thing. 
The firm has done nothing but what is perfectly 
justifiable, but the inau who opens the garden doesn’t 
look at it ill that light. It is gall aud wormwood to 
him to see the familiar bushes, which he worked so 
hard over planting when seedlings, grown from seed 
bought out of bis savings, — yieloing profit to others. 
He stigmatises the entire agency fraternity as vultures 
aud corinoraut.s capable of every rapacity aud mean- 
ness.” 
J ust so. No matter whether the case is exactly similar 
to the above or whether it arises from reckless opening 
by ail inexperienced youngster, or from unsuitable soil 
or a succesuon of seasons going from bad to worse. 
Planters are apt to contuse the capitalist with the 
merchant. Taking it as a general rule, the former is 
prepared to let ins money lie idle for a length of 
time, provided there is a reasonable chance of it bring- 
ing in a good return evenuially; The merchant re- 
quires a good return ou his money almost immediately 
eiihor directly or indirectly. It is contrary to the first 
principles of mercantile rule to lock up capital for an 
ludtfiinte period. An application is made for a loan. A 
merchant has a balance lying idle. By utilising it he 
sees it will bring in business. The estate, as time goes 
on, cannot pay its way, aud he is not prepared to invest 
further money vvithout the direct management of it. 
So, as in an example used by Mr, Home tho estate is 
taken over; more capital is sunk, with the result 
that a handsome profit accrues. But of more frequent 
occurrence are the cases when money has beeulenr, 
but hardly any rotiuu, except on paper, received. Tho 
merchant realises that he has made a bad inve.stment, 
he is naturally anxious to get back as much of hia money 
as soon as possible, he declines, as it seems to him, to 
throw good money after bad. He shows forbearance 
so long as ha can afford to, and then forecloses. 
Can anyone fairly blame him ? 
^ More triction is caused in all these transactions. 
The planter, who has probably never borrowed before, 
does not realize how quickly interest mounts up. 
Items appear in hia monthly account which he does 
not understand. All that is intelligible to him, is that 
they help to augment his debt He knows his ignorance 
and believe that it is being made use of to swindle him, 
and freely expresses these views. The Agents are fre- 
quently not even in their treatment of a borrower. At 
first they are too eager to see the piroporty improved and 
high cultivation undertaken. Latterly they grow 
nervous and are in too great a hurry to keep ex- 
penses down to the lowest pitch. 
Then too there aro instances of planters taking 
advantage of the willingueis of Agents to help they , 
to incur a debt which they cannot expect to paq; 
instances of ngeats placing ohequo-books in the ban s 
of a young planter with carte blanche to draw on them to 
any extent. 
So the antipathy is fostered. More’s the pity. 
If only both sides would realise and keep continually 
before them the difficulties, the embarrassments aud 
the worries that suriound the other: if only both 
would display a Eomewhat greater desire to forget the 
oases wlierc the actions have not been quite accord- 
iug to Cooker, an 1 to remember the much more nume- 
rous ones where consideration and kindness have been 
shown, how much better for all. Tho Agents are as 
necessary to the success of the planting industry as 
the planters, and the less the friction and the antipathy 
botween them, tho greater is the suooess likely to bo. — 
St. Louis in the Madras Times. 
PLANTING NOTES FROi\I PEERMAAD 
Alter an unusually boisterous laud wind season fol- 
lowtd by’ very hoc aud dry weather, Bplendul rain has 
Lllou all over tho district, and has biought out very 
fine blossoms, so that ah thoie who aro .still the for- 
tuiiite po.sBcSsois of coffee — tdas I that their number 
has so terribly dimiuishod — are particularly cheery, aud 
