240 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Oct,  I,  1895. 
Thanks  be  1 But  it  may  come  again.  I remembev 
in  Hewaheta  years  ago  a planter  who  used  to  survey 
with  pride  every  morning  “ the  best  clearing  in  the 
district,  sir,  ” with  its  splendid  maiden  crop.  One 
fine  morning  the  best  clearing  in  the  district  looked 
strangely  »ray  in  the  distance.  It  had  been  cut 
down  in  the  night,  the  bushes  carried  into  the  jangle 
and  stripped.  The  Battaks  cut  down  trees  from 
another  motive.  If  they  have  trouble  among  them- 
selves, or  between  themselves  and  a Malay  faction 
they  proceed  by  night  to  their  nearest  European, 
neighbour  and  cut  down  a few  of  his  bushes,  tobacco 
or  coffee  as  the  case  may  be,  just  sufficient  to 
attract  attention.  On  the  spot  they  stick  a decorated 
bamboo  into  the  ground.  Their  message  to  you  is 
scratched  on  the  bamboo,  and  the  decorations  are 
symbolical  of  what  you  may  expect  if  you  take  no 
notice  of  it : a box  of  matches  ; a bow  with  an  arrow 
tipped  with  the  very  inflammable  black  hair  of  the 
sugar  palm  (arenga  saccharifera)  : or  something  else 
tending  to  show  that  if  you  don’t  settle  their  little 
affair  they  will  burn  you  out.  In  the  case  of  our 
neighbour  they  first  cut  down  20  two-year  old  coffee 
trees  ; and  this  not  having  had  the  desired  effect, 
they  have  since  cut  down  1.50  ! What  they  want  is 
rather  difficult  to  arrive  at  : but  it  has  something 
to  do  with  a man  who  was  dead  before  any  of  the 
present  lot  of  Europeans  were  in  this  district ! The 
matter  of  course  has  been  reported  to  the  Battak 
Controleur.  A similar  case  happened  here  a few 
years  ago,  and  the  man  who  cut  down  the  tobacco 
was  caught  and  got  six  months’  hard.  Poor  devil  1 
Perhaps  a few  words  about 
LAND  TENURE 
may  not  be  out  of  place  here.  The  system  seems  pretty 
much  the  same  as  that  in  the  Native  States  across 
the  water.  A certain  sum  down,  a lease  for  75  years; 
and  an  annual  quit-rent  of  one  guilder  (Is  8d)  per 
bouw  (IJ  acres).  I must  confess  that  the  lease-and- 
quit-rent  system  sticks  in  my  throat.  I think  most 
Englishmen  like  to  feel  that  their  property  is  their 
own.  I don’t  know  what  price  is  asked  for  land  now. 
But  one  piece  I know  of.  that  could  have  been  got 
for  next  to  nothing  two  years  ago,  was  spoken  of  at 
the  rate  of  six  dollars  per  bouw  a few  months  since  : 
and  I doubt  if  that  would  fetch  it  now.  The  big 
contracts  of  4,000  and  6,000  bouws  are  of  course  a 
drawback  to  any  one  who  only  wants  a modest 
500  acres  of  coffee.  The  Sultan  of  Serdang  realises 
this  and  is  prepared  to  give  out  his  land  in  “lots  to 
suit  purchasers ’’;  and  late  comers  will  have  a hard 
job  to  find  blocks  with  sufficient  water  For  though 
the  country  is  a network  of  rivers,  there  are  large 
tracts  between  the  rivers  without  a drop  of  water. 
THE  WORLD’S  GREAT  FORESTS. 
At  a recent  meeting  of  the  Americ.an  As- 
sociation for  the  Advancement  of  Science  rei)orts 
were  read  by  several  members  giving  the  resulls 
of  their  investigations  as  to  where  the  greatest 
forests  in  the  world  are  sitn.ated.  The  object 
of  tliese  investigations,  remarks  the  Journal  of 
Horticulture,  w’as  principally  to  ascertain  the  ex- 
act influence  of  fore.sts  for  e(pialising  the  dim, ate 
and  tlie  rainfall  of  the  glohe.  Tn  the  ))rovinces 
of  Quebec  and  Ontario,  north  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
river,  tliere  is  one  great  continuous  tract  of 
forest,  whicli  extends  nortliwanis  to  Hudson  and 
Bahrador,  atid  which  mc.asures  .altogetlier  about 
1,700  miles  in  length  and  1,000  niile^  in  width 
There  is  also  another  large  area  of  timl)cr  lands 
in  South  America,  which  occupies  tlie  v.illey  of 
tlie  Amazon,  embracing  large  portions  of 
Northern  Brazil  ami  E.astcrn  I’eru.  T’his 
forest  is  estimated  to  me.asurc  about  2,100 
miles  in  length  by  1,»J0  in  width.  Recent 
explorations  have  .sliown  that  Central  Africa 
j.ossesses  a tremendous  forest.  'i’lds  forest 
IS  situatetl  in  tlie  v.allcy  of  the  Congo, 
bouniled  on  the  north-east  Ity  tlie  waters  of  the 
Nile,  and  by  the  Zambesi  on  the  .south.  Its 
widtli  lias  not  yet  been  surveyed,  but  its  lengtli 
is  estimated  to'  measure  at  least  3,000  miles  from 
north  to  south.  Again,  there  is  another  in  Si- 
beria, ranging  from  the  jdain  of  the  Obi  River, 
on  the  Avest,  to  the  valley  of  the  Indighinka,  on 
the  east,  and  embracing  the  gi'eat  river  valleys 
of  the  rivers  Olenek,  Lena,  amid  ana.  The  aver- 
age breadth  of  this  great  forest  region  is  1,700 
miles,  and  the  average  length  from  east  to  west 
about  3,000  miles.  Tlie  principal  trees  in  tlnat 
vast  and  extensive  taigas  and  urmans  are  the 
conifers,  comprising  iiines  of  several  varieties, 
firs,  and  larches.  The  central  parts  contain  thou- 
sands of  siiuare  miles  which  have  never  been  ex- 
plored, and  to  which  not  even  the  most  experi- 
enced trai>]iers  ha\e  ventured  to  enter.  It  is 
stated  th,at  the  beautiful  .semblance  of  the  lofty 
conifers,  which  exclude  the  pale  Arctic  .sunshine, 
is  extremely  bewildering  to  the  e3’e — so  bewilder- 
ing that  a'll  sense  of  direction  is  lost.  Their 
height  averages  about  150  feet,  and  thej'  stand  so 
closely  together  that  walking  among  them  is 
difficult. — A ustralasian. 
A CUBEB  MOVEMENT. 
August  1st. 
Our  Amsterdam  correspondent  writes,  under  date 
of  July  31st We  have  had  a much  better  market 
for  cubebs  the  last  day  or  two,  and  higher  prices 
have  been  paid.  A holder  today  placed  upon  the 
market  two  parcels  of  cultivated  berries,  one  of  16 
bales  (585  kilos),  for  which  he  asked  20  cents  per 
half-kilo,  another  of  196  bales  (8,300  kilos),  for  which 
he  asked  25  cents.  Both  parcel  sold  very  I’cadily  at 
full  ra  es. — Chemist  and  Drwjijist. 
PLUMBAGO  IN  SCOTLAND. 
An  important  discovery  of  plumbago  has  been  re- 
cently made  near  Newton  Stewart,  in  Wigtonshire. 
Two  beds  are  said  to  have  been  opened  up,  each 
about  20  feet  wide.  This  is  good  news,  as  it  will 
restore  the  trades  connected  with  the  mineral  to  the 
original  source  for  raw  material.  British  supplies 
are  otherwise  practically  exhausted.  Ceylon  is  at  pre- 
sent the  chief  producer. — The  Investor,  .July. 
TEA  IN  NATAL. 
The  importance  to  the  colony  of  the  rapid  and 
permanent  advancement  of  our  local  industries  can 
hardly  be  over-est  mated,  and  that  the  tea  planters 
have  achieved  remarkable  success  was  amply  de- 
monstrated during  the  recent  exhibition.  The  tea 
industry  spends  thousands  of  pounds  annually  in  this 
Colony,  and  has  been  established  in  our  midst  for 
a number  of  years.  We  may  instance  the  case  of 
Messrs.  W.  R.  Hindson  & Co..  Limited,  of  the  Clifton 
Tea  Estates,  as  indicative  of  what  has  been,  and  is 
being,  done  by  growers.  Commencing  with  an  output 
of  some  600  lb.  in  1887,  their  return  for  present 
season  is  upwards  of  250,000  lb.  Over  .500  acres  are 
planted  with  tea  bushes.  A huge  factory,  equipped 
with  the  lates  , machinery,  driven  by  water  power,  deals 
with  the  leaf  during  the  many  pro -(.sses  it  under- 
goes on  its  way  from  tlio  bush  to  the  tea-chest,  and 
gives  employment  to  about  300  hands.  A feature  of 
the  (x'libit  was  the  fixe  distrilnition  of  thousands 
of  neat  little  pickets,  cont lining  about  2 oz.  of  the 
blended  te.is  which  have  created  smdi  a sensation 
recentljx — Kutnl  .Uennri/,  .Inly  26. 
LIBERIAN  COFFEE  IN  WVNAAD. 
The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  Proceedings 
of  a meeting  of  the  Agri-Hortieultural  Society  of 
Madras  held  on  the  1st  ult. : — Head  the  following 
letter  from  Mr.  H.  B Winterhotham,  dated  Anda 
Todi  Estate,  Vnyitri,  S.  Wynaad,  6th  INIay  1h;).5: — 
“ I am  in  receipt  of  vour  letter  of  the  1th  May  and 
I shall  be  glad  to  give  you  any  information  whic 
