4^4 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULl  URIST. 
TURPENTINE. 
Capital  lying  idle  in  India  for  want  of  investments 
that  will  yield  something  less  exignoiis  than  the  rate 
of  interest  on  Government  Paper,  need  not  go  far  in 
search  of  employment.  To  judge  from  the  account 
given  by  the  Conservator  of  the  School  Circle  of  the 
United  Provinces,  the  manufacture  of  terpentine  is 
an  industry  which  promises  to  pay  well  those  who  en- 
gage in  it.  The  operations  carried  on  at  the  Forest 
School  for  the  distillation  of  the  product  from  the  fine 
resin  collected  in  the  Jaunsar  forests  have  proved  that 
the  industry  can  be  made  proStable.  At  present  of 
course,  it  is  carried  on  departraentally  under  conditions 
that  keep  it,  for  all  practical  purposes,  in  an  experi- 
mental stage.  But  in  the  large  towns  of  the  submon- 
tane tracks  there  is  a market  for  a much  larger  quan- 
tity of  turpentine  than  the  Forest  School  can  supply. 
It  is  therefore  reasonable  to  suppose  that,  if  private 
enterprise  were  to  take  up  the  manufacture  energetic- 
ally, it  would  find  its  reward.  No  limit  need  be  as- 
signed to  the  area  of  operations,  and  the  Kumaoa 
forests  may  just  as  well  be  tapped  for  the  resin  of  the 
conifers  as  those  of  Jaunsar.  The  matter  is,  we  think, 
worth  the  attention  of  those  who  seek  new  openings  for 
the  employment  of  their  capital. — Indian  Agriculturist. 
DOMINICA  AS  A FIELD  FOR 
CAPITAL. 
it  has  for  some  time  past  been  apparent  that  the 
West  Indies  must  rely  less  on  the  old  staple  indus- 
try of  sugar  planting,  and  turn  their  attention  more 
to  the  cultivation  of  the  many  and  valuable  fruits 
and  vegetable  products  for  which  their  situation  and 
climate  render  them  so  eminently  suitable.  In  no 
island  can  the  experiment  be  made  with  a greater 
chance  of  success  than  Dominica,  and  few  islands 
have  a finer  prospect  before  them.  Trinidad  and 
Jamaica  are  first  in  the  field ; but,  in  proportion  to 
her  acreage,  Sunday  Island  should  soon  assume  a 
high  rank  in  the  vanguard  of  the  movement.  The 
necessity  for  new  capital  is  now  recognised  by  those 
who  have  visited  the  islands,  and  already  syndi- 
cates and  companies  are  being  projected  which  promise 
to  return  to  their  promoters  and  shareholders  a high  re- 
turn. Dominica  is  29  miles  long  by  1(1  miles  broad, 
and  has  an  area  of  291  square  miles,  or  18(5,000  acres, 
of  which  about  20,000  acres  only  are  under  cultiva- 
tion. In  the  official  catalogue  of  tho  Colonial  and 
Indian  Exhibition  of  1889  tho  following  account  of 
the  Island  of  Dominica  is  interesting  and  important ; 
“ Its  mountains  are  next  in  height  to  those  of  Jamaica  ; 
but  ri"ht  away  to  the  top  they  are  densely  clothed 
with  foliage.  From  peak  to  shore  the  island  is  a 
mass  of  virgin  soil  and  an  uuopened  forest,  while 
from  the  heights  can  be  seen  sparkling  streams  and 
brooks  which  appear  as  fresh  as  those  of  Yorkshire. 
The  finest  lime  groves  in  the  West  Indies  may  oven 
jjow" — that  is  nearly  ten  years  ago — “bo  seen  there. 
A certain  amount  of  cacao  is  already  established.  Of 
fruit  in  all  kinds  there  is  plenty.  No  place  in  the 
West  Indies  is  better  adopted  for  cacao  or  for  fruit  of 
all  kinds.  Cinchona  will  flourish  there  as  well  as  in 
Jamica.  In  short,  whatever  can  be  grown  in  the 
tropics  will  grow  in  Dominica.’’  No  island  has  such 
capacities  for  irrigation;  nowhere  can  water-power 
be  obtained  so  easily.  The  rivers  and  streams,  which 
never  run  dry,  number  nearly  30 ; and,  as  the  coast 
line  does  not  exceed  90  miles,  three  rivers  in  every 
mile  pour  down  past  the  estates  to  tho  sea.  'There 
is  excellent  steamship  communication,  not  only  bet- 
ween the  islands  themselves,  but  America,  Canada, 
and  the  United  Kingdom,  and  the  trading  world 
generally.  There  is  an  abundant  rainfall,  averaging 
about  82  in.  per  annum.  The  mean  temperature  is 
about  79  deg.  Fahr.;  the  maximum  83  deg.  93  min. 
and  the  minimum  71  deg.  83  nun.;  so  in  respect  to 
climate  Dominica  is  vastly  superior  to  Irinidad  and 
other  islands.  Tho  severe  droughts  of  18(i9  and  1873 
in  Trinidad  wore  fatal  to  the  lime  trees  throughout 
that  island. 
The  most  im))orlant  of  tho  vogetabh'  jirodiicts  of 
Dominica  are,  no  doubt,  cacao  and  limes.  RIi.  IMoiiis, 
ia  hie  work  on  " Cacao;  How  to  Grow  and  How  to 
[Jan.  I,  1896. 
Cure  it,  ’’  says  that  “ a good  cacao  tree,  in  good 
soil,  yields  from  ,50  to  several  hundred  pods  per 
annum.  The  average  fur  well-cultivated  trees  at  seven 
years  old  should  be  between  80  and  100  pods  per  annum. 
As  it  generally  takes  about  11  pods  to  yield  1 lb.  of 
cured  cacao,  the  above  would  indicate  that  a good 
mature  cacao  tree,  under  favourable  circumstances, 
might  yield,  on  an  average  not  less  than  7 1 '.  of 
cured  cacao.  The  average  yield  per  tree  at  all  stages 
on  an  estate  of.  say,  300  acres  would  probably  not 
exceed  some  2 lb.  or  3 lb.  per  tree,  or,  taking  230  trees 
per  acre,  a return  of  4 cwt.  to  6 cwt.  of  cured  cacao  per 
acre.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  the  actual  working 
expences  on  an  estate  in  Trinidad  are  estimated  at 
about  19s  per  cwt.  At  tho  sixth  and  on  to  the  ninth 
year  cacao  trees  should  bo  in  fair  bearing,  but  they 
seldom  reach  their  prime  before  their  twelfth  or 
fifteenth  year,  after  this  period,  where  the  trees  have 
been  carefully  established  and  well  cultivated,  a cacao 
estate  is  a comparatively  permanent  investment,  and 
it  may  be  expected  to  continue  in  bearing  and  yield 
remunerative  returns  for  some  fifty,  eighty,  or  one 
hundred  years.  It  is  computed  that  20  h.inds  will 
be  sufficient  to  work  a cacao  plantation  of  300  acres  in 
full  bearing,  including  picking  and  curing  crop.  ’ 
Land  in  Trinidad  p anted  with  a cacao  fetches  .£50 
and  upwards  per  acre.  The  cost  in  Dominica  of  lands 
in  forest  is  10s.  to  £1  per  acre,  and  under  certain  con- 
ditions the  Government  gives  freegrants.  The  following 
statement  will  give  a idea  of  the  expenses  and  profits 
connected  with  cacao  planting  in  Dominica  for  the 
first  six  years.  Afterwards,  as  we  have  already 
stated,  the  estates  will  yield  far  larger  and  heavier 
profits  ; — 
100  acres  of  forest  land  to  fell,  clear,  plant 
cacao ; houses  for  manager,  labourers,  &c.. 
stock,  &c.,  complete,  £20  por  acre  to  sixth 
year  ..  ^ ...  ...  £2,000 
Interest  on  £2,000  at  live  per  cent  for  six  years  800 
Coutigencies  (say)  . . ...  400 
£3,000 
Returns,  sixth  year — 
5 cwt.  per  acre  at  60s=£15  . . ...  £1,500 
Working  expenses,  at  25s  per  cwt.  ...  925 
£875 
Another  industry  which  promises  well  is  the  growth 
of  lira  3S  and  the  m uiufacture  of  lime  j nice.  There  is  no 
difficulty  in  the  cultivation  of  the  lime  ; indeed,  as  soon 
as  it  has  begun  to  yield  it  looks  after  itself.  The  fruit  is 
crushed  by  the  same  machinery  employed  to  crush 
the  sugar  cane,  and  the  juice  is  distilled  by  me- 
chanical process.  It  is  then  boiled  and  run  off  int ) 
barrels  to  cool,  when  it  is  ready  for  exportation  and 
sale.  It  is  estimated  that  a lime  estate  should  yield 
a profit  of  about  £10  an  acre.  All  the  world  knows 
of  the  lime  juice  of  Montserrat,  an  island  about  one 
degree  north  of  Dominica ; but  the  climate  and  rain- 
fall of  the  latter  are  even  more  suitable  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  lime  than  Montserrat  itself.  Cacao  and 
limes  would  doubtless,  be  the  chief  staple  of  a Do- 
minica estate;  but  there  is  also  a successful  future 
open  to  tho  cultivator  of  oranges  and  bananas.  The 
working  expenses  of  an  orange  plantation  are  al- 
most nominal.  Prune  the  rotten  branches,  thin  the 
fruit  in  its  early  stage,  and  manure  the  trees  oc- 
casionally, and  you  have  done  all.  The  great  germ 
of  success  in  orange  culture  in  Dominica  lies  in 
the  fact  that  the  fruit  ripens  some  two  months 
before  the  Florida  crop ; latter,  moreover,  is 
subject  to  severe  and  disastrous  frosts.  It  is  a 
fact  that  ]<’lorida  orange-growers  go  to  Dominica 
in  tho  early  fall  to  buy  such  oranges  as  they 
can  obtain,  to  sell  in  the  States  prior  to  the 
ripening  of  their  own  crops.  A crop  of  1,(XX)  orange 
trees  should  after  tho  eighth  year  realise  a net 
profit  of  not  loss  than  10s  per  tree,  or  f,500  a year. 
Dominica  oranges  have  been  sold  in  London  this 
last  winter  at  2s  a dozen.  In  November  and  De- 
cember I'lngland  and  Scotland  have  no  oranges,  except 
some  immature  fruit  from  Spain  and  tho  States. 
Florida  oranges  ripen  earlier,  and  so,  at  present,  meet 
with  no  competition  for  practically  two  months,  The 
