Sept.  2,  1895.]  THE  TROinCAl  AGRICULTURISt. 
T5'9 
cal  state  of  the  island  is  settled  and  the  tTle-deeds 
of  the  lucky  possessors  of  camphor  domains  have  been 
investigated  and  acknowledged  by  the  new  Govern- 
ment, after  which  permits  will  be  issued  with  the 
greatest  reserve. 
As  is  already  well  known  among  those  interested 
in  Camphor  production,  the  Nitrate  King,  Colonel 
North,  has  done  a splendid  stroke  of  business  in  corner- 
ing the  article,  which  within  a few  months  has  gone 
Up  100  per  cent.,  and  in  the  hands  of  such  a 
powerful  concern  the  price  is  not  likely  to  give 
way,  while,  if  it  suits  the  ring,  it  may  be 
driven  up  to  almost  any  figure.  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind,  also,  that  it  is  to  the  interest 
of  the  Japanese  to  work  with  these  speculators  at 
home,  as  by  carefully  husbanding  supplies  producei's 
can  dictate  terms  to  the  whole  world  and  derive 
great  pecuniary  benefit  from-  the  production  of  cam- 
phor in  their  own  land  ond  the  newly  acquired 
territory.  They  ai'c  indeed  perfectly  safe  from  com- 
petition, it  being  a well-known  fact,  as  our  Formosan 
correspondent  remarks,  that  a camphor  tree,  like  the 
oak,  is  a tree  of  slow  growth,  and  for  generations 
hence  there  will  bo  no  tear  of  production  in  territory 
outside  of  Japan.  It  should  be  remarked  by  the  way, 
that  woods  of  Camphor  trees  in  Japan  and  For- 
mosa are  merely  found  interspersed  among  other 
trees  ; indeed  we  learn  from  the  report  of  a 
.Japanese  who  was  recently  sent  by  an  important 
house  of  business  to  investigate  the  matter 
that  the  camphor  trees  in  Formosa  are  by 
no  means  as  plentiful  as  is  sometimes  sup- 
posed, the  tree  only  growing  in  certain  favourable 
situations.  The  production  of  camphor  in  Formosa 
cannot,  therefore,  be  relied  upon  as  inexhaustible. 
One  word  more  with  regard  to  the  probable  direc- 
tion of  the  future  export  from  Formosa.  It  may  be 
considered  as  certain  that  the  Japanese  will  attempt 
to  dispose  of  the  article  by  way  of  Japan,  unless,  of 
course,  they  should  see  a imirked  advantage  in  send- 
ing it  to  Hongkong.  That  port,  as  is  well  known, 
has  a reputation  for  wild  sp.*culation  in  camphor  ; it 
often  occurs  there  that  prices  are  10  per  cent,  above 
those  in  .Japan  and  if  the  consuming  markets  at 
home  ; and  in  the  merchants  of  Hongkong  choose 
to  put  so  much  extra  money  into  the  pockets  of 
Formosa  camphor  producers,  they  will  doubtless  be 
made  welcome  to  do  so  when  opportunity  occurs 
ater  on — -Kobe  Chronicle. 
the  cocaine  habit. 
A Tit-Bita  representative  has  had  a talk  with  a 
Jjondon  West-end  pharmacist  about  fortunes  spent  on 
drugs,  and  the  pharmacist  has  poured  some  sad  tales 
into  the  willing  ear.  About  cocaine,  for  example, 
the  chemist  said  he  has  a customer,  a vei'y  wealthy 
gentlemen  wdth  an  affection  in  his  legs,  who  spends 
no  less  than  t'H  a week  in  cocaine.  He  is  not  alone 
in  this  respect,  the  chemist  said  ; he  could  name 
hundreds  oi  cases  where  members  of  the  aristocracy 
only  keep  themselves  going  by  means  of  cocaine  or 
morphia.  At  present  the  cocaine  habit  is  a perfect 
curse  to  many  ladies  in  the  West-end,  who  are  ruin- 
ing their  constitutions  and  spending  small  fortunes 
in  the  purchase  of  the  drug.  A lady  went  to  this 
disciple  of  Galen  the  other  day,  entering  the  shop 
in  a very  stealthy  manner — a characteristic  which 
most  people  addicted  to  the  cocaine  habit  have — and 
bought  right  away  6 oz.  of  cocaine,  costing  over 
M20,  and  in  a comparatively  short  period  was  back 
again,  w’anting  the  bottle  replenished. 
We  admire  the  grand  manner  in  which  these  West- 
end  men  speak  of  their  customers  who  are  rarely 
less  tha!i  “ members  of  the  aristoci-acy.”^  The  curious 
thing  is  that  we  never  meet  in  real  life  with  phar- 
macists of  position  who  talk  so  freely  about  what 
their  customers  take. — Chemist  and  Drugijist. 
“IN  TROITCAL  LAND.S.” 
[This  is  fj-om  an  old  friend  of  a Ceylon  plan- 
ter nf)w  at  home,  -a  county  m.agnate  of  the  old 
scliool.  It  must  amnso  the  author,  and  his  com- 
nieiits  on  Free  Trade  sound  like  a voice  from  the 
middle  age.s  and  his  style  e.xactly  like  I'epys  [ 
He  is  the  only  man  however,  who  notes  the  re- 
marks on  the  manipulation  of  tea— and  he  is  riffht 
there ; only  Ceylon  has  to  provide  for  depraved 
tastes  !] 
( From,  a vcri/  Old  Hand.) 
Mr.  Sinclair’s  hook  on  Peru,  ikc. , is  very  in- 
teresting. I have  read  all  the  Peru  part.  He 
seems  f<j  recommend  the  temperate  )>arts  to 
Europeans,  the  chief  objection  being  at  present 
insutlicient  carriage,  but  the  valley  of  the 
Amazon  is  apjiarently  too  hot  and  steamy  for 
any  Euro])ean  workers. 
i.  think  at  page  ,32  he  suggests  that  tea  should 
be  dried  in  the  sun  like  coca  leaf,  and  undergo 
no  other  mauipulaticn.  This  is  just  what  was 
done  years  ago  with  very  good  Indiiin  and,  I 
believe,  China  tea.  Dr.  Bridge,  of  Wellington 
who  was  very  fond  of  tea  used  to  have  it  always, 
he  told  me  from  a friend  of  his,  in  that  way 
and  in  sacks  of  leaves  uncurled.  They  looked 
like  a spread  out  yellowish  brown  leaf.  Mr. 
Sinclair  seems  a bit  of  a Kadic,al  and  a Free 
Trader.  He  says  the  potato  famine  of  1846  com- 
])elled  Free  Trade.  This  is  not  so,  for  it  was 
decided  in  1843  or  rather  in  Se|jtember  1841. 
When  Parliament  o|iened  for  business  Major 
Beresford,  afterwards  War  Minister,  asked  me 
to  come  and  dine  with  him  that  day,  for  he 
would  come  home  to  Pall  Mall  and  leave  .again 
for  the  House  of  Commons,  but  during  an  hour 
or  so  told  me  everything.  He  said  he  did  not 
at  ,all  like  what  Peel  was  saying  about  Free 
Trade.  I expect  in  1846  the  remaining  h.alf-crowii 
of  duty  xvas  taken  oil',  many  shillings  having 
been  taken  off  before  th.at. 
THE  HALF-YEAR’S  EXPORTS  FROM 
CEYLON;  JANUARY  TO  JUNE  1895. 
It  may  be  useful  to  offer  a few  rcm.arks  on 
the  comparative  table  of  exports,  for  the  half- 
year  ended  the  .30th  June  bast,  which  we  published 
In  our  Overland  Edition  of  the  4th  instant,  and 
to  bring  some  of  the  more  important  figures  con- 
t.ained  therein  into  a focus.  Coffee,  by  prescrip- 
tive title,  althougb  .alas  ! no  longer  by  its  total 
intrinsic  value  and  its  weight,  occupies  the  first 
place  in  the  table  ; .and  we  are  glad  to  note  that 
it  .shows  some  increase.  It  is  not  a little  that, 
after  its  lamentable  decadence  from  over  a mil- 
lion cwt.  in  the  seventies,  it  shouhl  present 
even  .so  respectable  .an  outturn  as  38,303  cwt. 
for  the  half  year,  as  against  12,981  cwt.  for  the 
first  half  of  1894,  and  .32,939  and  25,392  for 
the  corresponding  periods  of  the  two  ])revious 
years.  It  would  be  too  mucb,  perhaps,  to  expect 
that  our  exports  of  this  article  at  tlie  end  of 
tlie  year  will  exhibit  the  same  progressive  in- 
crease, and  that  1895  will  show  thrice  the  out- 
turn of  liist  year  ; but  with  the  growing  atten- 
tion p,aid  to  the  product — attention  fully'  justi- 
fied liotli  by  current  and  prospective  prices  ami 
by  the  unwisdom  of  rushing  into  Tea  - we  may 
hope  that  Coffee  has  at  last  touched  the  bot- 
tom, and  th.at  there  will  be  a m-.adu.al,  if  nol 
very  startling,  growth  in  exports  of  all  varieties 
of  the  fragrant  bean. 
The  downward  tendency  t)f  Cinchona  has  not 
been  arrested,  and  is  not  likely'  tc»  be,  so  long 
as  prices  remain  what  they'  are  ; but  what  a fall 
from  the  the  3,t  million,  2^  million  and  more  than 
1 million  lb.,  of  bark  sent  au’.ay  in  the  first  half 
of  1892,  1893  .ami  1894  res])ectively  to  the  le.<s  than 
half  million  lb.,  of  the  past  six  months  ! Tlie 
time,  tliough  not  y'et,  m.ay  (mine  some  d.ay  for 
the  resuscitation  of  Cinchona  ; but  meanwhile 
there  is  more  than  compeu.satioii  in  the  steady 
