Nov.  I,  1895.]  iHb:  TROPICAL 
Directors.  A failure  of  any  enterprise  through 
want  of  prudenc  ^ in  that  direction  would  do 
harm  to  Fiji.  The  wealth  of  Fiji  is  at  present  derived 
from  the  fruits  of  the  soil ; therefore  the  success  of  a 
commercial  luaii  in  Fiji  depends  u|)on  the  prosperity 
of  the  planters  and  the  ijrogress  that  may  be  niauo 
in  bringing  under  cultivation  tlio  waste  lands  o?  the 
colony.  These  waste  lands  amount  to  over  4.5Uu,dOU 
acres  and  there  are  only  39,000  acres  under  cultiva- 
tion. Be  assured  that  the  Yuna  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce whether  it  had  one  or  fifty  luenibers,  will 
endeavour  to  secure  for  the  planters  of  these  two 
islands  direct  steam  commuuicati.m  with  the  colonies, 
to  enable  the  planters  to  grow  and  export  fruit  and 
save  the  planter  double  freight,  and  the  intermediate 
charges  now  imposed  by  the  middle  man  for  tran- 
shipping. 
PERAK  MILLING  AND  TRADING 
COMPANY,  LIMITED. 
The  prospectus  of  the  Perak  Milling  and  Trading 
Company,  Limited  which  has  a capital  of  $12,000 
has  been  forwarded  to  us  : — 
The  Company  is  being  formed  for  the  purpose  of 
purchasing  from  Messrs.  Tait,  Tate  and  Company 
of  Perak,  Engineering  Contractors,  the  following  pr'o- 
perties  : — 1,300  acres  of  jiadi  land  in  the  District  of 
Krian  in  the  Protected  Native  State  of  Perak  in  the 
Malay  Peninsula,  and  of  three  other  pieces  of  land 
respectively  situated  in  'J’anjong  Piandong,  Kurau 
and  Bagan  Serai  in  the  aforesaid  District,  and  of 
purchasing  padi  from  the  Native  producers  thereof 
and  milling  the  same.  The  cultivation  of  padi  in 
the  State  of  Perak  has  of  late  years  been  rapidly 
increasing,  and  the  Government  recognising  the  im- 
portance of  the  industry  has  recently  started  a new 
Irrigation  Scheme  for  the  District  of  Krian  by  means 
of  which  it  is  confidently  expected  that  the  pro- 
duction of  padi  in  the  next  four  or  five  years  will 
be  more  than  doubled.  At  present  the  cultivation 
of  padi  is  exclusively  carried  on  by  natives. 
They  produce  annually  about  6,000,000  gantangs  of 
padi  (a  gantang  being  equivalent  to  a gallon  in 
English  measure)  4,000,000  of  which  are  exported  as 
padi,  and  1,500,000  as  rice  w'hich  has  been  simply 
treated  by  hand  mills. 
The  first  mentioned  property  is  held  by  Messrs. 
Tait,  Tate  and  Company,  under  a Lease  for  999  years 
from  the  Sultan  of  Perak.  100  acres  of  land  have 
been  planted  with  padi  and  another  100  acres  will 
be  cleared  befoi'e  the  end  of  the  year. 
The  Vendors  are  to  receive  $35,000  in  cash  for  the 
cost  of  the  erection  of  the  Mills  and  for  the  ex- 
penses incurred  in  opening  up  and  cultivating  the 
land  till  the  end  of  the  current  year,  and  ten  fully 
paid-up  shares.  It  is  proposed  that  the  Company 
should  open  up  250  acres  of  land  annually,  thus 
bringing  the  whole  estate  into  cultivation  in  five 
years.  It  is  hoped  that  two  crops  a year  may  be 
produced  as  is  the  case  in  Ceylon. 
In  regard  to  the  planting  of  13,000  acres  of 
paddy,  the  estimated  profit  per  year  for  tlie 
first  five  years  is  $5,000  and  the  estimated  profit 
yearly  after  the  fifth  year  $16,000.  The  total 
expenditure  for  milling  is  stated  at  $178,000  and 
the  total  receipts  $308,000  showing  an  estimated 
yearly  profit  of  $30,000  which  wdth  the  average 
profit  on  the  estate  for  the  first  five  years  shows 
a total  profit  of  $35,000. 
CAMPHOR  IN  JOHORE. 
Datu  Mehlrnm  reports  : — 
ycarcely  such  a thing  as  Kapur  Barns  — 
Cotiqdwra  is  to  be  found  in  the  territory  of  Joliore 
now.  To  obtain  it  involves  the  de.sti  action  of  the 
tree  and  before  a tree  reaches  maturity  more  than 
a generation  must  elapse.  The  price  of  Barns 
Camphor  used  lo  be  twenty  times  higher  than  Japan 
or  Formosan  manufactured  Camphor,  Campi/ora  Larus. 
No  attempt  to  plant  it  has  been  made  in  Johore. 
AGRlCULrURlsr 
THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  INDIAN 
CIGARS. 
A ritOKlTAIiUJ  UNDERTAKING. 
Me  arc  (says  tlie  Madras  Mail)  glad  to  see 
that  the  manufacture  of  cigars  in  this  country 
under  Euro))ean  management  gives  every  promise 
of  develoj)ing  into  a large  and  profitable  industry. 
1 he  fii'st  annual  general  meeting  of  Messrs.  G. 
Mengel  & Co.,  Limited,  was  held  at  Dindigul 
outlie  28th  instant,  when  the  balance  sheet  was 
presented  which  showed  on  the  ten  months’ 
working  a net  profit  of  12i  per  cent.  This  is 
very  satisfactory.  There  is'  no  reason  that  we 
can  see  why  all  the  cheaper  brands  of  cigars 
smoked  in  Europe  and  Australia  should  not  in 
course  of  time  bo  obtained  from  Southern  India. 
Public  balance-sheets,  such  as  Messrs.  Mengel 
& Co.’s,  conclusively  show  that  there  is  money 
in  the  business,  and  we  know  tliat  enter- 
prise is  not  lacking.  During  the  first  half  of 
this  year  109,292  lb.  of  tobacco— nearly  the  whole 
of  wliich  w'as  in  the  form  of  cheroots— were 
shipped  from  this  port  as  against  77,006  lb.  for 
the  same  period  in  1894. 
LETTERS  FROM  JAMAICA  : 
BY  AN  OLD  CEYLON  PLANTER. 
Blue  Mountains,  July  31st  1895. 
ORANGE  CULTIVATION. 
You  apjiear  to  have  in  a gentle  way,  been 
“hauling  me  over  the  coals”,  in  that  I have 
not,  as  your  Jamaica  corre.spondent,  given  you 
more  information  as  to  the  wonderful  expansion 
of  the  Orange  Trade  and  Cultivation  on  the 
North  side  of  the  Island.  I was  under  the  im- 
nres.sion  that  in  my  lir.st  letter  from  Jamaica,  I 
had  dealt  fully  on  that  subject,  and  stated 
that  “Pen  ” keeping,  and  “Banana”  cultiva- 
tion were  the  most  paying  investments  in  the 
Island.  The  growth  of  the  orange  trade  has 
certainly  been  very  remarkable.  In  1884  the 
total  value  of  fruit  exports  was  £253,019  ; in 
1889  it  was  £320,323  and  in  1893-94  it  had 
risen  to  £527,871.  Last  winter  there  was  a terri- 
ble cold  wave  in  Florida,  and  it  damaged  not 
only  the  crop,  but  the  trees  vei’y  severely,  and 
tho.se  of  our  orange  growers  who  had  oranges 
left  made  a lot  of  money  by  shipjiing  them,  and 
for  another  year  or  two,  until  the  Florida  trees 
pick  up  again,  there  ought  to  be  good  times  for 
our  orange  growers.  But  in  .Jamaica  we  have 
no  orange  groves  proner,  and  the  attempt  to  grow 
them  on  that  juinciide  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  successful.  Perhaps  we  want  some  Florida 
planters  to  come  and  teach  us  grafting  and  other 
“ dodges.”  The  best  Jamaica  oranges  seem  to 
be  those  sown  hroadenst  by  the  birds,  these 
usually  come  up  sweet  oranges,  but  I am  told 
that  if  you  plant  seed  most  of  it  comes  up  Seville 
orange,  so  that 
GRAFTING  LS  NEEDED 
to  tuin  it  out  a ])rolitable  tree.  I hear  one  or 
two  grafters  have  lately  been  imported,  so  we 
m?  ^'*^^*'*^*^  future — “ Experientia  does 
it.  The^  best  oranges  grow  at  an  elevation  of 
2,000  to  .1,000  feet  .above  the  sea — Manchester  is 
famous  for  them,  but  they  grow  well  all  over 
.I.amaic.a,  and  if  they  were  ])icked  at  the  proper 
time,  and  sized,  and'  shipped  carefully  as  Medi- 
teiianean,  and  St.  Michael’s  fruit  is  shipped,  they 
would  certainly  “ take  the  cake  ” in  the  American 
markets,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  they  should 
not  do  the  same  in  London  .and  Liveri>ool.  1 have 
shipped  a few  lioxes  niyself  on  trial  to  London, 
early  in  the  season  with  most  satisfactory  results, 
