tHE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST.  [July  i,  1895. 
So 
beiii{;  only  4 per  cent,  below  the  estimates,  but  they 
neither  say  what  these  estimates  were,  nor  what  the 
average  yield  was,  as  is  the  general  practice. 
The  sbareholdens  would  probably  learn,  if  they  did 
give  this  information,  that  the  average  was  the 
Smallest  of  any  Ceylon  Company.  It  is,  doubtless,  a 
bomfort  for  the  shareholders  to  learn  that  the  manag- 
ing directdr,  having  paid  his  periodical  visit  to  Ceylon 
at  their  expense,  is  well  pleased  with  the  way  their 
representatives  there  havfe  managed  and  developed 
their  estates. 
Having  ah  experienced  visiting  agent  in  the  island, 
I am  puzzled  to  know  what  advantage  the  company 
gaihs  by.  the  expendittire  of  ill84.  The  manager 
cttuld  well  afford  tb  pay  his  own  expenses  out  of  the 
very  handsome  salary  he  receives  for  managing  the 
company.  He  resides  chiefly  in  Somersetshire ; the 
duties  he  performs  for  this  salary  are  therefore 
nominal,  and  his  office  a sinecure. 
The  directors  inform  us  that  they  have  purchased 
the  Ooragalla  Estate,  of  some  470  acres,  but  do  not 
coudesceni  to  inform  their  shareholders  how  and 
what  they  paid  for  it.  If  the  ornamental  directors 
are  good  for  nothing  else,  they  are  quite  able  to  draw 
out  a straightforward  report,  which  I do  not  con- 
sider theirs  to  be. — I am.  A'c.,  Pkkoe. 
MALTMTirs. 
Sbl4AJt — 'run  WE.VIHEK  AM)  THE  CKOI’. 
Port  Louis,  May  7th. 
The  weather  continues  to  be  favourable  for  planta- 
tions and  the  vegetation  is  very  luxuriant  all  over 
the  island. 
Vanilla.- -The  market  is  linn  and  bare  of  good 
quality.  An  important  lot  of  488  kilos,  quality  was 
sold  this  week  at  Kil"2  per  kilo,  285  kilos  at  1121)  to  28 
perd  kilo.  .\s  we  mentioned  in  our  last  the  outturn  of 
the  crop  will  not  exceed  4,000  kilos. 
We  quote  nominally : — 
It.  K.  per  kilo 
Is  (juality  32  to  33  ,,  a 
2nd  do.  ' 28  to  211  ,,  iibovc 
Good  to  . I)  inch, 
middling  2.'>  to  211  ,,  I 
Vanilloes  14  to  18  ,, 
Alok  Fibues. — The  market  is  firm.  We  have  to 
tiuote  the  sale  of  a few  bales  good  quality  at  K240. — 
Merchanta  and  Planter’s  <tu::ette. 
CINNAMON:  (,)UA  KTEH  l>  V SALKIS  IN 
LONDON. 
The  second  quarterly  auctions  took  place  in  London 
on  Monday,  when  1,‘200  halos  Were  offered  and  the 
whole  sold.  There  was  good  competition  with  an 
advance  of  ^d  to  Id  per  lb.  in  prices  compared  with 
the  previous  quarterly  sales. — E.rannnet'. 
OKAI’HITES. 
At  a recent  meeting  of  the  Geological  Society  of 
Glasgow,  Mr.  .John  Hmith  exhibited  a series  of  speci- 
mens of  gi'ajjhile  as  follows:  Graphite  from  Ceylon 
where  it  occurs  ill  a very  pure  form  in  metainoiphic 
strata  being  probably  the  result  of  alteraUon  of  a 
coal  seam  through  heat.  It  is  a brilliant  variety  being 
built  up  of  thin  scaley  crystal  such  as  are  fqilnd 
in  blast  furnaces  which  are  making  No,  1 pig  iion. 
Graphite  from  4’ravancore.  This  seems  much 
the  same  as  the  fornler  specimen  only  more  com- 
pact, the  component  crystals  being  smaller.  , Grap- 
hite from  a blast  furnaces  known  as  ‘‘Kush.  This 
variety  comes  from  the  furnaces,  both  with  the  sla.g, 
the  black  dirt,  and  the  iron.  When  the  latter  is 
very  “rich"  numerous  scales  of  grajjhite  are  squeezed 
out  to  the  surface  of  the  “pigs  ’ on  cooling,  and  which 
after  show  in  consequence  quantities  of  corroded- 
looking  little  holes.  Many  of  these  graphite  seales 
are  so  thin  as  to  float  in  the  air  when  they  become 
detached.  The  Inilliancy  of  their  surface  does  not 
seem  to  be  affected  by  time,  iis  some  exhibited  were 
not  tarnished  in  the  least.  Mr.  Smith  also  exhibi- 
ted a sword-shaped  piece  of  elaybaud  iroustoue  from 
Waterland,  Ayrshire.  It  measured  19  in.  by  1§  in., 
with  very  sharp  edgei  and  its  peculiar  shape  has 
resulted  from  the  meeting  of  two  “ joints  ” in  the 
rock,  which  are  curved  in  three  directions. — liuUah 
Eastern  Enijineer. 
i’LANTING  IN  NDKTH  IJOKNEO. 
The  River  Klias  is  on  the  West  Coast  of  Nortff 
Borneo  and  was,  presumably,  the  former  mouth  of 
the  Padas  River.  A number  of  Chinese  have  settled 
on  the  Klias  but  the  majority  of  the  population 
are  of  Brunei  extraction  and  are  a tall,  well-made, 
good-looking  lot  of  people.  The  soil  is  suitable  for 
any  tropical  cultivation  and  this  district  in  former 
times  exported  a large  quantity  of  pepper  w’hich 
was  grown  on  the  high  lands  near  Bundu.  The 
great  amount  of  moisture  in  the  air  should  enable 
the  Klias  distret  to  grow  a cotton  similar  to  the 
sea  Island  cotton.  Of  towns  the  chief  is  Menumbok 
which  is  the  most  convenient  place  for  receiving 
sago  but  the  water  supply  is  not  good,  the  result 
being  that  the  sago  of  Padas  is  worth  40  cents 
a picul  less  than  the  Sarawak  sago.  As  many  thou- 
sand piculs  are  exported  yearly  from  Menumbok 
it  would  probably  pay  the  Mill  owners  to  make  a 
water  supply  cistern  at  the  hills  to  the  West  and 
North  West  of  Menumbok,  the  cost  of  which  would 
be  paid  for  by  the  higher  price  which  the  better 
washed  sago  would  command.  Mempakol  is  a small 
village  on  the  point  opposite  to  Labuan  and  is  the 
chief  custom  station  of  the  district  and  is 
the  residence  of  the  Magistrate,  Mr.  .J.  G.  G.  Wheatley. 
Being  open  to  the  sea  it  has  a pleasant  breeze,  at 
times  very  strong,  and  beiim  connected  with  Me- 
numbok by  a telephone  and  bridle  road  and  with 
Labnan  liy  the  telegraph  cable  it  will  probably 
continue  to  be  the  chief  judicial  village  in  Province 
Dent  but  its  want  of  water  will  be  detrimental  to 
its  progress.  The  sago  factories  formerly  at  Mempa- 
kol have  been  removed  to  Menumbok  and  the  latter 
appears  to  be  a rising  station.  P’l-om  Mempakol 
to  Menumbok  the  distance  is  about  two  miles  which 
is  planted,  nearly  all  the  way,  with  coconuts  which 
thiive  well.  These  plantings  were  begun  at  the  in- 
stance of  Mr.  .Joseph  Wheatley  who  in  several  cases 
gave  the  seed,  bought  at  his  own  expense,  and  the 
plantin<j,s  have  latterly  been  so  numerous  that  tlie 
Padas  district  probabl}’  contains  the  largest  quantity 
of  coconuts  of  any  district  in  North  Borneo.  The 
exports  of  sago  from  Benoni,  Bangawan,  Qualla  Lama, 
Ac.  must  be  considerable  but  the  navigation  at  times 
to  L.abnan  is  stopped  liy  the  weather.  At  present 
all  the  sago  from  those  ports  goes  to  Labuan. — Hritish 
North  Hornen  Herald. 
RICE  AVERAGES  FOR  MAY 
Soolya  1st  quality 
..  R2-80  to  2-91 
per 
Do  2nd 
. . R2-(52  to  2-75 
do 
Cuttack 
. . R2'62  to  2‘75 
do 
Callunda  (Calcutta) 
. . R2-75  to  2-90 
do 
Do  Coast 
..  R2-80  to  2-91 
do 
Kara  do 
. . Iv2  (i2  to  2- 7.') 
do 
Do  Calcutta 
. . R2-40  to  2 (10 
do 
Kazla  do 
. . R2-25  to  2-  40 
do 
Muttusamba 
. < R3'25  to  3'37 
do 
^ 
cinnamon  PEELEliS  AND  THE 
OF 
CONTRACTS. 
LAW 
A correbijondeiit  writes:— “I  have  seen  the  letter 
in  your  paper  of  the  27th.  There  may  bo  conflicting 
opinions  among  lawyers  and  laymen  about  a second 
conviction  for  desertion,  but  tho  dteisinn  uf  the  Gol- 
lectivc  Court  in  a Ratnapura  case  reported  in  Sui>renio 
Court  Circular  vol.  iw  pp.  2 — fl  clearly  lays  down 
the  law  on  the  point  and  a Magistrate  is  bound  to 
follow  the  ruling  of  tlie  S.  C.  Ask  the  lawyer,  who 
gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  Magistrate  was  right 
to  refuse  to  send  a defaulter  to  jail  twice  for  the  same 
offence,  whether  he  has  reird  tho  judgment  of  tlie 
Appellate  Court  above  referred  to.  Planters  must  try 
to  get  men,  after  being  in  jail,  punished  a seueud 
