M 
T\Ui  'I’ROPICAL  AORlClJLTURlSr 
[JULV  I.  1895. 
PROBUCTS. 
The  total  value  of  the  exports  entered  at  the 
Custom  House  in  the  year  ending  30th  June,  1804, 
was,  in  round  numbers,  t‘l,'),0(K).  To  this  should  pro- 
bably be  added  t‘8,000  or  tTO,000,  representing  the 
value  of  the  pearls  not  declai-ed  outwards.  One  of 
the  first  items  to  notice  is  trepang.  Its  value  was 
i'1,714.  It  may  be  pointed  out  at  once  that  the 
boundai’v  of  (Queensland  as  at  present  fixed  extends 
across  the  straits  to  within  a hundred  atid  fifty  yards 
of  New  Guinea,  and  thus  cuts  off  the  fishing  ground 
on  the  west  that  should  naturally  belong  to  the 
Possession.  In  addition  to  the  economic  unfairness 
of  this  distribution,  it  gives  rise  to  the  awkward  fact 
that  officers  of  the  New  Colony  cannot  visit  the 
western  part  of  the  Possession  without  entering 
(Queensland  jurisdiction.  The  (Queensland  boundary 
was  fixed  before  the  annexation  of  British  New 
Guinea,  and  (Queensland  is  now  prepared  to  rectify 
it.  This  will  add  something  to  the  value  of  the 
fisheries  in  the  west.  The  reefs  have  been  fished 
for  years  for  trepang,  and  it  will  in  any  case 
only  remain  as  a small  industry  and  not  capable  of 
much  expansion.  Copra  was  exported  to  near  the 
value  of  t'3,000.  This  should,  in  time  to  come,  be 
an  export  of  great  dimensions.  The  coconut  tree  is 
in  all  countries  most  a.t  home  near  to  the  sea,  and 
it  happens  that  the  Possession  has  an  enormous  sea 
frontage,  reaching  according  to  the  estimate  made 
in  the  office  of  the  Surveyor  General  of  (Queensland, 
something  over  3,500  miles.  This,  of  course,  includes 
the  sea  frontage  of  both  the  mainland  and  the 
islands.  There  is  no  part  of  the  colony  in  which 
this  tree  does  not  seem  to  thrive.  It  certainly  bears 
well  up  to  an  altitude  of  over  3,000  ft.  It  has  boon 
planted  from  time  immemorial  by  the  natives,  Imt 
only  on  a very  small  scale  in  most  places.  Various 
reasons  have  tended  to  keep  the  groves  small.  A 
weak  tribe  would  only  have  excited  the  cupidity  and 
hostility  of  stronger  tribes  by  growing  large  quantities. 
On  the  other  hand,  several  powerful  tribes  have 
valuable  plantations.  In  other  places  they  were  cut 
down  as  acts  of  war,  a manifestation  of  powder  not 
quite  unknown  to  white  men  in  dealing  with  natives. 
In  certain  districts,  again,  a man’s  coconut  trees 
were  cut  down  as  a mark  of  grief  when  he  died,  or 
of  joy  on  the  birth  of  his  firstliorn.  To  a largo  ex- 
tent these  destructive  practices  have  been  checked, 
and  all  that  is  possible  is  b.'ing  done  to  urge  the 
natives  to  extend  their  plantations.  A native  regu- 
lation has  been  introduced  into  operation  in  the  more 
settled  districts  to  make  compulsory  the  planting  of 
a minimum  number  of  coconuts. 
A few  Europeans  are  also  forming  plantations. 
Some  of  the  trees  planted  at  the  Government  station 
in  the  Mekeo  di.strict  were  flowering  before  they  were 
quite  three  years  old,  but  it  would  not  be  safe  to  count 
on  a crop  under  six  or  eight  years.  There  is  prac- 
tically unlimited  land  available  for  this  cultivation, 
which  might  be  entered  into  on  a large  or  small  scale. 
It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  the  colony  lies 
just  outside  the  hurricane  zone.  The  advantage  that  this 
affords  in  coconut  planting,  for  example,  over  such 
places  as  Fiji,  Samoa,  and  J'onga  is  enormous.  A large 
coconut  plantation  in  British  New  Guinea  when  once 
in  bearing  would  provide  one  with  a perennial  source 
of  income.  In  no  country  are  the  trees  more  pro- 
lific ; perhaps  no  other  colony  we  possess  offers  equally 
good  and  extensive  opportunities  for  conducting  tliis 
industry  to  high  figures.  It  is  a cultivation  that 
could  be  advantageously  carried  on  by  men  of  even 
limited  capital,  though  it  should  not  be  taken  up  by  a 
moneyless  man.  X person  who  could  eai  n money  by 
fishing  or  trading  part  of  the  year,  while  devoting  his 
sparb  time  to  planting,  could  in  a few  years  work  him- 
self into  a coconut  plantation  if  he  liad  ordinary  good 
fortune  and  a small  capited  to  start  with. 
Gold  to  the  value  of  L'.'i.bOi)  was  entered  outward. 
This  was  sent  from  the  islamls  of  Misima  and  Tagula 
in  the  Loui'-i.adns.  Of  course  the  amount  entered  at 
the  custom  house  docs  not  truly,  represent  the 
(piantity  actually  olit.aincd,  hut  tlie  work  carried  on 
is  only  on  a very  small  scale.  The  gold  ha.s  l)cen  found 
by  laboriously  washing  tlie  sand  and  gravel  in  the 
luunerous  creeks  that  nu'andor  in  the  forcA  and  those 
have  been  nearly  washed  out.  There  is  some  reason 
to  expect  that  gold-bearing  reefs  may  be  discovered. 
Several  good  veins  of  auriferous  quartz  are  known, 
but  they  are  thin  and  have  not,  so  far  as  tested, 
appeared  to  gain  in  thickness  with  depth.  On 
Misima  the  diggers  emplov  natives  to  work  at  sluicing 
at  so  much  a day,  hut  on  Tagula  the  natives  have  been 
setting  up  on  their  own  account,  and  wash  out  gold 
for  themselves. 
The  search  for  gold  is  extremely  difficult,  owing  to 
the  denseness  of  the  forest  and  the  rough  and 
rugged  nature  of  the  hills.  Strong  traces  of 
gold  are  found  on  the  upper  Ely  ; they  are  also 
met  with  on  the  Purari,  Tjakekamu,  Anga- 
bunga,  Goldie,  Vanapa,  and  Mambare  rivers.  In 
the  east  end  it  has  been  seen  at  Yela  or 
Rossel  Island,  at  Duan  and  Goodenough  Islands,  and 
also  at  some  other  places.  It  is  an  arduous  and  diffi- 
cult journey  to  ascend  the  sti'ong-running  rivers  to 
the  hill  disti'icts  in  which  this  gold  is  most  gene- 
rally met  with,  and  it  will  be  a long  period  before 
the  Possession  can  be  even  roughly  prospected. 
In  a count.iy  that  would  be  trying  for  the  wives 
and  children  of  white  men  the  gold  industry  would 
not  be  of  so  much  advantage  as  in  a country  like 
Australia  or  New  Zealand,  which  are  from  their  geo- 
graphical position  the  permanent  homes  of  the  white 
race.  Still  it  could  not  fail  to  be  of  some  use  to  even 
British  New  Guinea,  although  it  would  not  proba- 
bly add  very  much  to  permanent  settlement.  The 
Government  has  had  good  reason  to  be  satisfied 
with  the  ti-eatment  of  the  natives  by  the  dig- 
gers from  Australia,  who  ai'e  a law-abid- 
ing, hard-working  sot  of  men,  takiiig  them 
as  a whole.  The  only  regret  is  that  the 
extremely  limited  moans  of  the  (Tovernment  renders 
it  impossible  to  offer  them  any  s)>ecial  facilities.  It 
is  at  best  only  a fugitive  industry  in  New  Guinea, 
audit  the  (Toverumont  had  any  money  to  devote  to 
the  cncour.agenient  of  any  industries,  thos<'  of  a per- 
manent nature,  like  agriculture,  would  deserve  a pre- 
ference. Now  that  the  search  for  gold  has  been  taken 
up  bv  the  native  on  his  own  account,  the  finding  of 
gold  on  a small  scale  will  probably  never  die  out,  but 
the  native  may  very  likely,  sooner  or  later,  lead  us  on 
to  more  extensive  deposits.  Pearl  shell  was  procured 
to  the  value  of  1;3,3()().  This  article  is  found  over  a 
great  area  of  fishing  ground  in  the  eastern  waters, 
but  uufortunatelv  the  sea  is  often  from  twenty  to 
thirty  fathoms  deep  where  the  best  shell  is  found. 
Several  attempts  have  been  made  to  improve  the 
diving  gear,  so  ns  to  make  it  safe  for  picking  up  shell 
at  those  depths,  and  if  this  could  only  be  done  the 
pearl  shell  fishery  of  the  colony  would  be  a valu- 
able one.  The  waters  of  the  Possession  would 
seem  to  be  well  adapted  for  farming  the  shell. 
The  ))earls  have  generally  been  found  in  shallow 
water  shells,  mostly  in  the  Kiriwina  group,  not  so 
much  in  the  ordinary  pearl  shell  although  found 
there  also.  They  are  obtained  by  > atives,  who  will 
soon  exhaust  the  fishery  as  the  shell  is  easily 
reached.  Probably  this  shell  would  he  the  best  one 
procurable  for  the  cultivation  of  pearls,  as  its  home 
is  in  a small  depth  of  water  and  it  produces  many 
pearls. 
Of  sandal  wood  3'21  tons,  valued  at  left  the 
colony.  The  inai-ket  for  this  article  appears  to  be 
limited — less  than  Western  Australia  alone  could  sup- 
ply. It  is  found  in  the  Possession  near  shipping  ports, 
andlabonr  is  cheaji,  so  that  with  average  price.s  it  can 
be  worked  on  a small  scale  at  a profit.  The  supply 
there,  as  in  all  other  sandal  wood  countries,  is  easily 
exhaustible,  but  it  will  remain  a small  industry  for 
some  time,  and  will  no  doubt  be  taken  u))  by  the  natives 
on  th(‘ii  own  behalf. 
The  value  of  imports  was  T‘28,5(X),  making  a total 
trade  for  the  year  of  € 13.51)0. 
The  princijial  items  imported  were:  Food  stuffs. 
t’7,181  ; dra])c,ry,  L'2.iirt7  ; tobacco  and  cigars.  ,i'3.1l85  ; 
hardware,  .T3.ic>2;  beverages,  Tl,7(>0;  and  building 
materials,  t'2,8S',). 
Food  stuffs  consist  chiefly  of  rice,  meat,  and  biscuits, 
imported  from  Australia. 
Drapery  is  beginning  to '.be  used'by  the  natives  in 
certain  districts,  bnt  it  will  be  many  years  before  they 
