Feb.  r,  1896.] 
TIIR  TROPICAL  AGRICUf.TQRIST. 
52: 
strong  opponent  of  bimetallism,  Sir  ft.  (lilfon  hail 
estimated  the  market  value  ot  the  Oigricnltural  iiro- 
tlucts  of  1S',)1  at  fill, 000, 000  less  than  they  would 
have  been  worth  at  the  prices  of  ltS7 1,  and  there 
had  been  a great  further  fall  in  most  of  the  com- 
modities since  It  was  stated  that  the  value 
of  products  sold  off  the  land  in  1801  was  less  than 
that  of  those  products  in  1S71  by  t'dS.OOO.OOO.  No 
other  commodity  illustrated  the  effeo.  of  the  artili- 
cial  fall  in  prices  so  strikingly  as  wheat,  wiiich  had 
been  steadily  going  out  of  cultivation  in  the  TTnited 
Kingdom.  The  circumstances  which  caused  a de- 
preciation in  currency  to  stimulate  exportatioii 
were  iho  maintenance,  or  partial  maintenance,  of 
the  purchasing  power  of  the  depreciated  cur- 
rency in  the  exporting  country  in  relation  to  the 
expenditure  of  the  producers  of  the  goods  ex- 
ported, and  the  ability  of  shippers  to  pay  prices 
in  currency  high  enough  to  yield  satisfactory  pro- 
fits to  the  producers.  The  price  of  wheat  iu  Europe 
had  been  so  extremely  low  that  export  from  India 
had  been  barely  profitable,  even  with  the  advantage 
given  by  the  fall  iu  the  gold  value  of  the  rupee. 
The  Argontiue  Itepublic,  with  much  greater  currency 
advantages  to  exporters,  had  taken  up  the  position 
recently  held  by  India  as  third  among  the  great 
wheat-exporting  countries  of  the  world.  Previous  to 
1887  Argentina  had  never  exported  as  muclr  as  half 
a million  qnartoi'.s  of  wheat  in  a year,  and  it  was 
not  till  IfsilU,  whim  100  dollars  in  gold  were  worth  201 
dollars  in  paper,  that  the  period  of  extensive  ex- 
porting began.  Then  the  exports  continued  to  expand 
till  iu  1801  they  reached  7,018,000  ([uarters,  iuclud- 
iiig  Hour.  T’he  expansion  was  attributed  to  tlie  high 
gold  premium  which  had  existed  for  the  last  eight 
years,  and  particularly  the  last  four.  The  actual 
price  of  growing  the  grain,  purchasing  bags,  and  de- 
livering it  at  the  railway  had  been  sent  down  at  about 
Os  a quarter  in  a productive  year,  with  gold  at  350; 
that  was  m hen  the  gold  jiremimn  was  at  25C  and  100 
dols  of  gold  exchanged  for  350  of  paper.  Railway 
and  ocean  freights  and  other  charges  might  bring 
the  cost  of  lauding  wheat  in  England  to  10s  a 
quarter,  and  the  balance  of  any  price  iu  excess  of 
that  sum  was  the  profit  to  be  divided  between  tho 
owner  of  the  land  and  the  grower.  It  was  only  for 
a few  weeks  in  1801  that  the  price  of  wheat  in 
England  was  under  20s.  When  Mr.  Gasti’ell,  thio, 
British  Vice-Consul  at  Buenos  Ayres,  wrote  his  report 
in  August.  1801,  the  price  had  not  fallen  below  13>s 
on  rail  iu  Argentina,  while  the  exchange  value  of  lOi'' 
gold  dolliiis  was  over  350 dols  iu  paper;  therefore  the 
growers  v.ei'e  getting  15s  Cd  a quarter  in  their  paper 
currency.  Can  producers  stand  up  against  such  a 
tremendous  handicap  as  that?  With  the  advantages 
existing,  the  Argeiitine  grower  would  be  able  to  un- 
dersell tho  rest  of  the  farniers  of  the  whole  world. 
— //.  A C.  Mail,  Dec.  20. 
THI',  WVNAAD 
{Coiiiiiurniratrd. ) 
Tlie  little  hook  of  03  i>ages  (.lemy  8vn)  by 
Francis  Ford  is  a cnuci.se  and  admirahly  written 
description  of  Wynaad  and  the  Planting  fmlustry 
of  Soutliern  India  ; giving  exactly  the  informa- 
tion intending  investors  require  witliont  any 
unnecessary  padding.  Investors  tliere  are,  not  a 
few,  unfortunately,  lieing  now  driven  from  this 
island  liy  the  utterly  mistaken  policy  of  the 
Oylon  (xovernment  in  leserving  land.s,  Imndrcds 
of  thousands  of  acres  of  which  might  .safely  he 
made  available  for  cultivation  ; and  a consider- 
able portion  of  which  lies  alongside  the  rail, 
way  to  Uva,  the  very  existence  of  this  land- 
ind’eed,  being  one  of  the  chief  recommendations 
for  undertaking  the  important  and  costly  ex- 
tension. The  land,  as  it  is,  is  valueless,  and 
answers  no  earthly  pnr])Ose.  Sold  to  the  planter, 
it  would  realize  from  11150  to  1!200  per  acre, 
and  soon  be  clothed  with  a vegetation  closer 
and  more  verdant  than  in  its  primitive  state, 
greatly  adding  to  our  chief  iiidu.stry  and  con- 
verting a noil-paying  into  a highly  i-eninneir'itive 
railway,  ihc  only  oH'ect  the  present  prohibition 
of  land  salc.s  lias  had  is  to  enhance  for  a time  the 
\ alnc  ol  existing  e.statc.s,  which,  for  no  other  reason, 
ha\e  ‘hoomed’  nji  to  tigures  nnjirecedented  in 
the  history  ol  either  tea  or  coll’ei* ; and,  secondly 
to  turn  a-vay  intending  inieslors  to  search  for 
otiier  lands  liy  which  they  hope  to  compete  sne- 
c.cssfnlly  _with  the  Ceylon  )ilantiiig  industry. 
Fur  this  ]mrpose,  there  i.s  not  a more  con- 
venient and  jironr.sing  held  than  the  Wynaad, 
which,  as  we  are  here  remindud,  is  “A  Hill 
district  in  the  Aiadra.s  Presidency,  to  the  W'est.” 
I t.s  general  elevation  is  from  2,0UO  ft.  to  4,000  ft. 
It  enjoy.s  a good  climate;  its  fertility  is ’nnsur- 
pa.s.seci  and  its  scenery  wonderful.  To  tlie 
eastf  rise  the  Nilgiri  Hills  or  Bine  Mountains 
as  tho  name  iiiijilie.s.  'J'his  range  has  an  altitude 
of  0,001)  feet  with  peaks  running  ii])  to  8,000, 
while  to  the  north-west  the  chain  of  ghaiUs 
stretches  away  into  the  rugged  little  province 
of  Coui'g,  famed  for  its  coHee  ; area  about  1,020 
square  miles  ; rainfall  from  50  up  to  200  inches. 
AV'e  might,  perhaps,  he  inclined  to  demur  a little 
to  ilie  statement  that  “ Wynaad  is  admitteilly  a.s 
favourable  ;is  Ceylon  in  respect  to  climate  and 
far  .superior  to  both  that  island  and  y\ssain  as 
icganls  a cheap  laliour  sn|)j)ly,”  but,  a.s  to  the 
.snitabilil>-  of  the  land  for  tea,  tliere  does  not 
seem  lo  be  any  room  ior  doubt ; and  we  suspect 
tliat  if  the  pre.sent  dejiloralile  policy  of  our 
local  Covernment  continues,  it  can  only  be  a 
riuestion  of  a very  few  years  when  Southern 
India  will  outstrip  Ceylon  in  the  yield  of  all 
her  ]iet  products. 
Coll'ee  seeins  again  to  be  profitably  cultivated 
in  these  bamlioo  lamls  of  wdiich  w'e  have  nothing 
analogous  in  Ceylon  : — 
“ Kxiierience  lias  proved  that  there  are  locali- 
ties in  the  W'ynaad,  notably  Sultan’s  Battery 
and  Nellacotta,  wdiere  coHee  liourislies  excellently. 
Shade  and  manure  are  essential  to  sneces.s  ; 
by  means  of  iliein  the  planter  is  able  now'-a- 
days  to  hold  his  dire  enemy  llcniilcm  vastatrix  at 
hay.  .An  ollicial  statement  of  prolits,  on  a block 
of  estates,  lately  imhlishcd,  s'-ows  that  the  owner 
has  m.'wle  in  ten  years  a net  profit  of  £77,000 
off  092  acres.  In  one  .sea.son  alone  (IS92)  the  net 
])rotit  was  no  less  than  £18,000.” 
But  it  is  to  tea  that  the  present  race  of  crushed- 
ont  planters  in  Ceylon  will  most  natnr.ally  turn, 
and  here  we  have  a descriptive  report  hacked 
up  by  antlioriries  and  iignres  which  seem  to  ns 
nnimpeachahic. 
‘■Tea  is  a product,”  says  Mr.  Ford,  “which 
li,as  been  grown  with  sncIi  excellent  re.snits  tliat 
the  Vi  ynaad  promises  to  be  one  of  the  most 
pa.ying  distri.as  iu  the  Fa.^t.  i.SOuIli,  per  acre 
has  been  made  on  an  estate  in  South  Wynaad,’: 
— and  he  (luotes  from  the  rejioit  of  onr  own  AV'm. 
Taylor— than  whom  we  have  few  better  authori- 
ties—that  “ the  nature  of  the  soil  is  a sandy 
loam  with  some  laterite  ; well  suited  for  the 
growth  of  tea  as  proved  by  the  size  and  vigorous 
ap])earanco  of  the  hushes— the  lay  of  the  land 
is  mostly  easy  and  undulating,  and  I may  say 
that,  as  far  as  soil,  lay  of  land  and  climate  are 
concerned,  this  part  of  AVynaad  would  compare 
favourably  with  the  hulk  ‘of  the  tea  districts  in 
Ceylon.”  Mr.  Taylor,  wdio,  by  the  way,  has 
just  called  upon  us  while  writing  tliis,  remarks; 
“ Yes  ; quite  true  ; hut  they  will  have  to  go  in 
for  a heller  jat.  Of  all  the  rubbishy  jat  I have 
ever  seen,  the  Wynaad  can  show  tiie  worst,  and 
yet  tlicy  got  crops — marvellous  Hushes — but  M liat 
might  they  not  get  with  a better  jAt  and  better 
]danting  V ’ Tho  author  hacks  Mr.  Taylor’s  o])!- 
nion  up  by  that  of  Mr,  AAC  M.  Standen,  g 
