M \Rr.(i  2,  THl^.  TROPICAL 
liiiv(^  lictMi  liuilL  w’iili  it  ill  tlic  .liiliiia  1‘i'iiiiiwulii, 
and  have  proved  its  great  duraliility  as  a build- 
ing stone.  It  has  also  been  aiiidieil  to  orna- 
mental uses,  the  ilressings  and  Gothics  windows 
of  St.  John’s  Church  at  Chundikiili  having 
been  constructed  of  it.  Cut  into  slabs  it  has 
furnished  the  covering  for  nearly  all  the  load 
drainage  of  the  same  locality.  NVe  cannot  but 
think  that  much  employment  could  bo  economi- 
cally found  for  this  stone  in  our  southern  dis- 
tricts, its  extreme  lightness  favouring  the  cost 
of  freightage.  It  would  be  interesting  to  learn 
what  is  known  as  to  the  composition  of  these 
valuable  dc[)osits,  as  to  which  we  have 
hazarded  a conjecture. 
YAKTOnS  PTiANTTNfi  NOTES. 
LWli  loi:  i\  I'll''.  WANAUi.  \iigiii 
fmvsi  land  in  l he  W'\ uaad,  .'-iuil.iblc  foi-  ll^•M■nlli- 
vaiiou,  and  situated  at  .an  elmaliun  nf  fn.m 
;i,ouo  to  4.0(10  feet,  in  bhicks  ol  oOO  acres  or 
more,  is  advertized  for  sale.  Small  blocks  of  K.io 
to  -200  acres  of  colfee  land  i.i  full  bearing, 
adjoining  forest  land  are  also  oliered  for  sale. 
Tii.v  IX  riiR  WvxA.vii,— The  Trice  fetched  by 
llie  lirst  break  of  “ Eramaiailla  ” Tea  in  the 
Home  market  was  ti.^d,  not  !»d  as  stated  in  the 
telegram  from  Condon.  T.y  the  details  given  in 
Messrs,  (low,  \\  ilson  and  Stanton’s  iirice-lists, 
to  be  found  in  our  market-sup)ilement,  it  u ill  be 
noted  that  the  shipment  was  a very  representative 
one.  These  results  rellect  great  credit  on  the 
Company’s  Tea  Superintendent,  Mr.  Nicolls,  who 
has  had'several  years  experience  in  Ceylon.  The 
corrected  prices,  liy  the  way,  are  lid  above  the 
week's  Indian  average.  — /Pn’ibrny  (d/umo?;,  Feb.  ]. 
LiUKUiAX  COFFKK  IX  PKRAK,— 111  the  Lower 
Terak  Monthly  Keiiort  for  December  189o,  Mr.  E. 
.1.  Hrewster,  District  Magistrate,  s.ays 
I have  visited  the  various  small  agricultural  settle- 
ments and  was  disappointed  to  find  so  many  people 
had  left ; various  reasons  are  given  ; at  the  same  time 
I am  glad  to  report  that  the  Liberian  coffee  gardens, 
when  sufficiently  drained,  have  come  on  wonderfully. 
The  Chinese  who  have  planted  a little  say  it  pays  them 
well  now  ; one  Malay  told  mo  he  had  sold  over  four 
hundred  ’ dollars- wo’rth  off  his  holding  and  was 
extending  it,  the  trees  look  remarkably  well.  I hope 
to  be  able  to  assist  the  Javanese  settlers  a little 
during  189(1  ; they  have  cut  many  drains  themselves. 
It  is  people  like  this  I like  to  help,  who  are  not  above 
doing  a stroke  to  help  themselves. 
Tannixg.— Mr.  F.  C.  ML  Webb,  a practical 
tanner,  curer,  and  leather-dyer  at  Dharavie,  in 
liombay,  is  credited  with  being  the  inventor  of  the 
latest  )U-ocess  of  the  art  of  tanning,  which  promi.se.s 
to  revolutionise  that  art,  at  least  in  India.  He 
has  applied  to  the  Covernment  of  Jndia  for  per- 
mission to  patent  bis  invention.  It  is  claimed  for 
this  process  that  it  entirely  dispcn.ses  with  the  use 
of  any  chemical  substance.s  or  compounds,  that  it 
will  supersede  all  .systems  in  vogue  in  India 
by  its  ejecting  a sa\ing  of  7o  per  cent  of  labour 
to  the  manufacturer,  and  of  25  per  cent  to 
the  public  in  cost,  and  lastly,  that  it  will 
convert  raw  pelt  into  the  finest  tannerl  leather  in 
from  24  to  4H  hours  (a  thing  which  at  present, 
by  the  best  processes,  takes  nearly  .as  many 
weeks  to  accomplish).  This  is  regarded  as  its 
principal  merit.  The  advantages  in  the  t.anned 
inaterial  by  this  process  in  Mr.  AVebb’s  machine 
are  said  to  be The  leather  will  ha\  e better 
wei<dit  and  colour,  and  cost  25  per  c(‘nt.  less; 
•/reater  durability  and  supideness,  with  equable 
iinnnpss  (<\s  pjood  tlitit  done  tli0  b tiiid.  9 
months  systems);  and  development  and  retention 
of  the  imiustry  in  the  country.— J/,  Math  I'eb,  4. 
AGRlCmTURISr. 
llKSKrA'i’mi  (JoroN'CTs.--  Wo  Icaiu  from  fjoudon 
that  one  of  the  parties  to  the  coalition  in  connec- 
tion with  tliis  article  has  withdrawn,  and  the 
Syndicate  may  now  be  considered  a.s  at  an  end. 
There  has  been  a good  demand  recently,  and  a 
very  large  forward  sale  has  been  concluded ; but 
the  rate  has  not  transpired.  Meanwhile  the  various 
desiccating  works  arc  in  full  .swing  which  gives 
employment  to  a very  large  number  of  hands  who 
would  otherwise  have  no  work  to  do Local  “Examiner.” 
Cinnamon  in  Java.  — In  the  latest  number  of 
Tcysuianuia  Dr.  van  Koinbnrgli  has  a pajicr  on 
cinnamon,  in  wliicli  he  dcseiibos  tlie  metliods  of 
cultivation,  distillation  of  oil,  preparation  of  bark, 
ixc.  He  then  ]U'oceed.s 
The  cinnamon  tree  was  introduced  into  Java  about 
1828.  Under  the  culture  system  ic  was  planted  on 
a large,  scale,  especially  in  Krawang,  where  the  cul- 
tivation of  it  held  the  longest  .stand,  witliont  how- 
lu'cr  yielding  i,hc  returns  that  were  cxpectf'd  from 
it.  TliC  ciiuiiimou  of  .ci/fm/Avo/,  eultivaleiMii  .Tu\ ;u 
is  said  to  iic  not  so  line  ;is  that  grown  in  Ccyloii, 
a fact  Unit  need  not  crcat(!  sm  in'ise,  if  the  statement 
be  true,  that  the  Ceylon  cinnamon  tree  varies  so  much. 
Tlie  writer  then  meutious  the  existence  in  the 
.lava  expci'imeiital  g.ardeii  of  trees  of  Cinnaynomma 
Cd.^ivia,  Bluiue,  llu^  hark  of  wliieli  \ ariety  is  .said 
to  fetch  liigli  prices  iuCliina.  After  referring  to 
oil  of  cassia,  “Cbiuese  cinnamon,''  and  Co.wm 
/iynra  and  Cay-fild  rnrt,  Dr.  van  Ibuiiburgh  eon- 
eludes  as  follows  ; — 
According  to  Dr.  van  (iorkom  the  ( 'iniifliniiinuui 
/.idiiiin  found  in  the  high  forests  of  W’est  Java  yields 
a baric  the  powder  of  whieb  can  servo  very  well  as 
a surrogate  for  true  einnamon.  It  is  not  impossible, 
that  by  a rational  cultivation  of  some  of  the  varieties 
of  cinnamon  found  growing  wild  a product  of  good 
quality  in  a form  desirable  in  commerce  may  he 
obtained. 
We  have  no  fear  fliat  Ceylon’s  monopoly  in  the 
production  of  the  finest  cinnamon  will  ho  endan- 
gered by  Java  or  any  other  country. 
Waste  Land.s  for  Tea  Cuetiv.vtion  in 
India.  — Discussing  objections  made  by  the  Indian 
Tea  Association  with  regard  to  rules  issued  by 
Sir  Cliarles  Elliott  for  tlie  grant  of  wastelands 
for  tea  cultivation  .and  for  rcgnlaling  leases,  tlie 
Pionerr  says  : — 
One  rule  lays  down  that  a grant  of  land  on  an 
individual  application  shall  be  limited  to  1 ,500  acres, 
the  tlovornment  view  being  that  such  an  area  affords 
suHieient  scope  for  a garden  to  be  worked  with  profit 
and  .adva.ntage.  The  men  who  have  developed  the 
Dears  and  partly  turned  a wilderness  of  jungle  into 
land  yielding  a handsome  revenue  contend  that  all 
practical  experience  shows  the  limitation  to  be  too 
stringent.  Cases  can  be  cited  where  it  has  been 
possible  to  utilise  for  actual  cultivation  only  one- 
third  of  tlie  laud  acquired  : and  the  area  remaining 
to  be  taken  up  is  far  less  promising  than  the  older 
tacts,  timber  being  sparse  and  the  water  supply 
scarce.  It  is  argued  that  as  in  the  past  grants  of 
2,000,  to  :!,000  and  even  4,000  acres  have  been  given 
and,  as  the  bigger  gardens  have  invariably  been 
successful,  it  would  be  a mistaken  policy  to  lay 
down  the  strict  limitation  of  1,500  acres.  The 
tendency  nowadays  is  to  amalgamate  small  concerns, 
capital  being  liberally  provided  for  work  on  a large 
scale,  and  if  capitalists  arc  to  b"  checked 
in  their  enterprise  they  will  naturally  turn  their  at- 
tention elsewhere.  The  Association  ask  that  the 
local  District  Officer  shall  be  given  some  discretion 
as  to  the  extent  of  each  grant,  and  that  where  very 
large  areas  are  in  question  reference  shall  be  made 
to  the  Board  of  Revenue.  This  seems  only  fair  and 
reasonable.  Again,  objection  is  taken  to  a rule  which 
apparently  debars  an  applicant  from  applying  again 
in  his  own  name  for  more  land  until  the  five  years  of 
his  first  lease  have  expired.  This  is  radically  wrong, 
for  the  fact  that  a planter  has  already  given  hostages 
to  fortune  should  not  debar  him  from  extending  his 
holding — always  provided  that  he  can  clearly  establish 
his  financial  ability  to  open  out  more  land, 
