Jan.  I,  i8g6.‘j 
THR  I'ROPICAL  AGRICULl  URIST. 
489 
A CINCHONA  AND  CARDAMOM  CENSUS. 
Our  Ceylon  contemporary,  the  Tropical  Agri- 
cnlturist,  luisjn.st  taken  its  periodical  census  of  the 
area  cultivated  in  Ceylon  with  produce  for  exporta- 
tion, and  publishes  some,  interesting  comments  upon 
the  results  of  its  investigations.  Concerning  cinchona, 
it  is  stated  that  in  September  of  this  year  there 
were  only  982  acres  of  land  under  cinchona  alone 
left  in  the  colony,  but  besides  the  trees  growing  on 
this  surface  there  were  1,714,000  cinchona  trees  grow- 
ing in  coffee  and  tea  gardens,  the  area  of  mixed 
land  of  this  character  being  5.207  acres.  This  latter 
estimate  is  arrived  at  by  crediting  one-third  of  the 
mixed  area  to  cinchona.  The  total  number  of 
cinchona  trees  over  two  years  old  in  the  island  is 
estimated  at  4,483,000,  a decrease  of  2,500,000  within 
twenty-seven  months.  The  coffee  area,  by  the  way, 
has  decreased  in  the  same  time  from  30,000  to  21,0.34 
acres,  while  the  acreage  under  tea,  the  all-devouring 
crop  of  the  moment,  has  risen  from  273,000  to 
304,419  acres.  There  are  4,693  acres  under  cultivated 
cardamoms,  slight  falling-off,  which  is  attributed 
mainly  to  the  absorption  of  planting  energy  by  tea- 
growing, which  accounts  for  a decrease  in  the 
cultivation  of  many  of  the  lesser  products.  Ceylon 
also  contain  7,397  acres  of  land  partly  under 
coffee,  tea,  and  cocoa,  but  interspersed  with  annatto, 
coca,  vanilla,  croton,  pepper,  cloves,  citronella,  castor 
oil,  and  aloes.  The  T.A.  is  naturally  proud  of  its 
census,  and  observes  with  justice  that  “ No  tropical 
industry — and  probably  no  agricultural  enterprise 
outside  the  tropics— has  had  so  much  care  bestowed 
on  the  compilation  of  substantially  accurate  statis- 
tics concerning  its  position  and  progress  as  the 
planting  enterprise  of  Ceylon.” — Chcmisl  ^ JJi-uiji/ist, 
Dec.  7th. 
THE  DUTCH  PLANTERS  AND  COEEEE 
IN  .JAVA. 
The  Rirst  Clt.amber  discus.sed  last  week  the 
Java  Ihidget,  and  it  was  principally  Mr.  Py- 
nacker  Hordyk,  the  former  Governor-Ceneral, 
who  criticisea  the  policy  of  the  present  Colonial 
Minister.  In  many  instances  there  wa.s  a con- 
siderable delay,  and  those  reforms  whicli  were 
introduced  had  long  since  been  prepareil  by  the 
former  Governor-General.  Mr.  Muller  found  that 
tlie  price  of  11.15  per  picul  paid  for  the  Govern- 
ments coffee  was  too  low,  considering  that  fl.60 
per  picul  was  made  for  it,  and  he  advised  that 
11.20  sliould  be  paid  to  the  natives  in  future. 
However,  M"!-.  Hordyk  observed  that  if  11. 15  was 
an  injustice,  11.20  would  be  eqally  unjust,  and 
thus  there  would  be  no  other  way  left  than  to 
abolish  the  Government  coffee  cultivation,  tlie 
conse(piences  of  which  would  be  so  ruinous  to 
the  Treasury  that  plans  for  useful  works,  such 
.as  irrigation  and  (ionstruction  of  r.ailways,  by 
w'liich  the  population  is  benefited,  would  be  laid 
aside.  In  addition  to  this  the  Minister  stated 
that  in  Menailo  the  price  had  been  increased 
from  fl.20  to  11.25  per  ])icul  but  .since  then 
not  a single  tree  moie  had  been  planted.  With 
regard  to  decentralisation,  he  said  that  no  body 
desired  it,  .and  why  should  he  thus  make  pro- 
posals in  this  respect?  Tlie  Chamber  did  not 
enter  into  .any  furl  her  deb.ite,  and  the  Budget 
passed  un.animomly.  According  to  atelegram  from 
Goveinor-Gcueral  of  Netherl.and-;  India  the  Gov- 
ernment coffee  crop  in  .Java  lor  this  ye.ar  is 
at  present  estimated,  at  .335,700  piculs.  — London 
and  China  E.rpre.<is. 
AN  INDIAN  VIEW  OF  TEA  COMPANIES 
IN  C PYLON. 
What  the  effect  of  this  wholesale  swallowing  up 
of  estates  by  the  Company  mania  will  ultimately  be 
on  the  planting  enterprise  in  Ceylon  remains  to  be 
seen ; but  there  can  hardly  be  any  doubt  that  it 
sounds  the  death-knell  of  the  good  old  days,  when 
the  position  of  the  Ceylon  planter  was  analagons  to 
that  of  a country  gentleman  living  on  his  property. 
It  cannot  but  be  that,  with  the  disappearance  of  the 
resident  proprietor,  planting  in  the  colony  will  lose 
much  of  its  prestige,  and  become  more  and  more  a 
purely  commercial  enterprise,  and  that  the  change 
will  bo  regretted  in  many  ways  and  for  many  rea- 
sons. Tne  change  may  be  gradual,  but  it  will  be 
iri6vit3(Dl6  if  the  presGut  stsito  of  things  contitiuGs  — 
Madras  Times. 
TEA  CULTIVATION  BY  THE  SHANS 
BURMAH. 
Mr.  H.  A.  Johnson,  of  Maskeliya,  has  an  interest- 
ing story  to  tell  of  his  recent  trip  to  Burmah 
whence  he  returned  this  week  in  the  ss,  “ Cheshire  ’’ 
His  visit  to  Upper  Burmah  was  taken  to  see  his 
brother,  Lieut.  G.  W.  Johnson,  of  the  3rd  Punjaub 
Cavalry,  who  is  in  command  of  the  TTpper  Chindwin 
Battalion  of  the  Military  Police,  his  headquarters 
being  at  Kindat,  390  miles  above  Mandalay.  For  this 
out-of-the-way  spot  Mr.  Johnson  started  last  April, 
and  in  the  course  of  his  visit  he  went  out  severai 
times  on  circuit  with  his  brother,  his  travels  furnish- 
ing him  with  a number  of  most  interesting  experi- 
ences and  some  line  sport.  He  described  the  country 
as  most  picturesque— all  jungle,  but  the  scenery  he 
has  not  seen  surpassed  anywhere.  Having  joined 
his  brother  at  Kindat  he  stayed  with  him  a 
short  time,  and  then,  acting  on  his  advice  he 
Eaid  a visit  to  the  district  in  which  tea  is  grown  • 
is  brother  accompanying  him  there.  They  reached 
the  first  tea  gardens  at  Koiya,  but  did  not  stay 
anywhere  till  they  reached  Maungkan,  a pretty 
little  )ilace  on  the  banks  of  the  Chindwin  river. 
They  travelled  thither  in  a Government  boat,  and 
Mr.  .Johnson  says  he  was  well  repaid  for  his  visit. 
Maungkan  is  where  tea  is  grown  in  the  largest 
quantity,  and  having  become  acquainted  with  a 
headman,  he  was  shown  over  the  nurseries  and  the 
gardens— all  of  which,  by  the  way,  are  cultivated 
by  Shans.  The  tea  grown  is  pretty  much  the  same 
jut  as  that  cultivated  in  Ceylon — Assam  Hybrid. 
and  is  not  indigenous  to  the  Upper  Chindwin 
though  it  has  been  grown  there  for  200  years’ 
when  it  was  first  imported  from  the  Northern  Shan 
States.  The  planters  do  not  go  in  for  clearings  as 
here;  all  their  tea  is  grown  in  the  jungle  under 
shade.  From  these  plants  the  Shans  take  leaf 
and  seed,  all  their  bushes  being  allowed  to  beceme 
seed-bearers.  They  pluck  coarse,  taking  even  the  very 
largest  leaves,  and  nearly  all  the  leaf  is  converted 
into  a pickle  which  they  call  letpet.  This  pickle  is 
dark-red,  and  is  by  no  means  a bad  condiment  at 
the  lunch  table.  How  it  is  made  Mr.  Johnson  says 
he  does  not  know ; but  the  pickle  comes  out  a rich 
dark  colour ; the  tea  resembles  ordinary  tea  leaf 
after  infusion,  except  that  it  is  larger  than  what  we 
see  here;  and  the  leaf  loses  all  flav.jur  of  tea.  The 
pickle  has  a large  sale  in  Rangoon,  and  the  seed  is 
all  exported.  Some  of  the  tea  bushes  .Mr  Johnson 
saw  were  from  20  to  25  feet  high.  He  brought  away 
some  of  the  bushes  and  planted  them  in  his  brother’s 
garden  at  Kindat.  The  soil  in  the  Maungkan  dis- 
trict is  perfect  in  his  opinion  for  both  tea  and 
coffee  growing.  Later  Mr.  Johnson  spent  a long 
time  on  the  river  Uru,  a tributary  of  the  Chiudwar 
400  miles  inland  from  the  mouth  of  the  river’ 
going  as  far  up  as  Haungpa,  which  is  very  near 
the  jade  mines  worked  by  the  Chinese.  Here  he 
had  some  good  fishing  and  splendid  shooting— ele- 
phants, tigers,  bison  (and  the  Burmah  bison  is  the  larg- 
est in  the  East),  samhur,  leopards,  bears,  and  deer 
being  very  plentiful,  w’hile  one  requires  no  license  fer 
shooting  elephants  or  other  big  game.  He  had  his  first 
experience  of  big-game  shooting  from  elephant-back  in 
the  course  of  his  trip.  Birds  of  all  sorts  are  very  nu- 
merous, and  he  had  some  fine  snipe,  quail,  and'  teal 
shooting.  Naturally  he  had  some  interestiug  experien- 
ces with  the  tribes  on  the  Naga  Hills  and  elsewhere— 
the  head  hunters  and  men  of  that  sort— and  he  has 
brought  back  with  him  a number  of  Naga  weapons.  On 
the  whole  he  put  in  a very  enjoyable  holiday  in  a 
country  about  which  very  liftle  is  yet  known.— Local 
“ Times,  ” 
