March  2,  1896.J  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIS  P. 
62 1 
THE  uayk;am  compan\,  ltd. 
Wo  liavc  received  a co]>y  of  the  inos]ioclui<  of 
this  Company  which  lias  heen  lormeil  nitli  a 
capital  of  in',<JOU,OdO,  in  10,000  shares  of  KlUO 
each,  of  whicli  only  4,2o0  will  at  prc.sent  he  is- 
sued. The  provisional  directors  are  Me.ssrs.  I'\ 
M.  Mackwood,  Cordon  Frazer  E.  Uo.sling  and  .\. 
Kosling  ; Bankers  ; Chartered  B.ink  of  India, 
Australia  and  China  ; Proctors  ; Messrs.  Julius 
A Creasy  ; and  Agents  and  Secretaries  : Messrs. 
Mackwdod  ic  Co.  The  Kayigain  Estate  which  is 
in  the  Nainhajiana  division  of  Ivalutara  consists  of 
J-iO  acres  tea  over  three  years  old,  219  acres  tea 
from  one  to  three  yccurs  ohl,  81  acres  land  now 
heing  holed,  and  547  acres  forest  ; total  1,200  acres. 
'J'ke  property  has  been  valued  by  Mr.  E.  D.  Har- 
rison at  11402,500  on  a seven  years’  purcha.se,  and 
on  the  basis  of  yield  of  500  lb.  tea  per  acre.  All 
the  old  tea  lias,  however,  given  5Golb.  per 
acre.  The  price  which  the  Vendors  have  agreed  to 
accept  is  114(0,000,  half  of  it  in  fully  paid-up 
shares,  and  balance  cash— the  remaining  1125,000 
being  called  u|i— In  to  provide  jiermanent  bungalow, 
twosets  iiennanentlines, coinjilcte  tlie  new  clearing, 
and  take  over  Coast  Advances.  The  pioperty  is 
being  taken  over  from  1st  Jan.  1890. 
PLANTINC  AND  PilODlJCE. 
Planting  in  Southern  India. — Southern  India  as  a 
liehl  for  tea  enterprise  is  very  much  in  evidence  just 
now.  Entei'iirising  young  men  from  Ceylon  and  else- 
where arc  turning  their  attention  to  it,  and  capitalists 
at  home  have  their  mind’s  eye  in  that  direction. 
Planters  on  the  spot  are  eager  to  show  that  they 
arc  quite  aware  of  the  strength  of  their  position,  and 
there  is  a general  feeling  of  enterprise  which  will  no 
doubt  soon  show  important  results. 
A Seasonable  Pamphlet. — A pamphlet  on  “ The 
AVynaad  and  the  Planting  Industry  of  Southern 
India,”  by  Mr.  Francis  Ford,  has  recently  been  issued, 
and  very  effective  it  is  as  a graphic  description  of  the 
country  and  the  people.  If  the  thousands  of  young 
men  on  the  look  out  for  something  to  do  at  homo  should 
chance  to  read  some  of  Mr.  Ford’s  word-painting  there 
will  bo  an  increase  in  the  European  population  of 
the  Wynaad.  Hero  is  a description  from  Mr. 
Ford's  lien:  “It  is  .January  in  the  Wynaad.  The 
coffee  planter  is  still  busy  with  his  crop  ; the  tea- 
])lanter  is  looking  forw'ard  to  his  annual  Imliday, 
for  during  the  following  few  weeks,  Ihcio  will  be 
no  rain,  and  the  bushes  will  rest  until  the  show’er.s 
of  March  have  fallen.  Tiie  weather  is  lovely  ; bright 
days  and  chilly  nights.  \\  lien  tlic  moon  is  at  the 
full  the  whole  land  is  bathed  in  silver  light,  and  so 
clear  is  the  atmosphere  that  hills  distant  thirty 
miles  may  bo  discerned.  This  is  the  ratting  time 
of  the  sambhur  ; sharp  and  defiant  rings  out  the 
belling  note  all  night,  cclioing  aniong  the  silver 
hills.  In  the  early  morning  there  is  a crisp 
feeling  in  the  air  which  spcak.-i  of  frost,  though 
it  never  falls  in  these  uplands.  A light  mist 
lies  in  the  swamps  and  bottoms  of  tho  valleys, 
which  quickly  passes  away  once  the  sun  has 
risen.  Ail  tho  day  the  idanter  is  able  to  be  out 
and  about  without  minding  the  heat.”  lieio  is 
another;  ‘ Clouds  lie  low  on  the  land.  Looking  down 
from  an  eminence  it  is  as  though  a sea  of  grey  silent 
waters  covers  the  face  of  the  earth.  As  the  dawn 
comes  up  rays  of  gold  glorify  its  surface,  and  there 
is  a shimmer  of  opalescent  light.  Noiselessly  sub- 
side the  cloud-billows;  now  one  )ieak,  now  another 
appears;  wooded  proniontoric.s  jut  out  and  forests 
rise  from  the  vaporous  flood.  Before  the  day  is  two 
hours  old  all  the  tumbled  woodland  scenery  stands 
out  in  radiant  loveliness,  stretching  away  to  the  purple 
distance,  with  wreaths  of  snow  white  cloud  sweeping 
round  the  hills.’’  But  Mr.  Ford’s  main  object,  we 
take  it,  is  to  show  that  tho  Wynaad  is  the  place 
where  tea  may  be  successfully  cultivated,  and  his 
views  arc  fairly  rosy.  It  is  with  tea  cultivation 
as  with  many  other  things,  a case  of  the  survi- 
val of  the  fittest.  If  tea  can  be  grown  ill 
Bouthein  India  to  greater  advantage  than  elsewhere 
ihc  cultivation  of  the  product  will  pay.  In  tliese 
days  of  plentiful  production  tho  weakest  will  p-s- 
suredly  go  to  the  wall.  It  is  not  a question  of  more 
tea,  but  a case  of  who  can  grow  it  profitably.  Those 
gardens  which  are  handicapped  in  the  general  com- 
petition will  suffer.  The  consumption  of  tea  cannot 
go  on  increa'ing  without  limit.  The  Wynaad  is, 
no  doubt,  in  many  respects  a par.adisc  for  planters, 
but  even  in  an  earthly  paradise  the  producer  lias  to 
compete  with  his  neighbour.  Mr.  Ford  is  right  in 
advocating  the  view  that  tea  planting  can  best  be 
undertaken  by  a company,  and  if  the  proposed  com- 
pany set  to  work  in  a careful  and  economical  man- 
ner there  ought  to  be  excellent  prospects  of  successful 
results  in  Southern  India. 
Planters  and  the  Government. — The  weekly  article 
in  the  Times  on  Indian  affairs  is  this  week  devoted 
to  the  planters  of  Southern  India  and  the  Govern- 
ment. Mr.  Ford’s  book  is  referred  to  and  quoted 
in  it.  The  writer  in  the  Times  says  ; “ Lord  Elgin, 
on  his  recent  visit  to  Madras,  was  addressed  by  a 
deputation  of  the  United  Planters’  Association  of 
Southern  India.  They  laid  before  bis  Excellency  the 
labour  difficulties  under  which  their  enterprise  is 
conducted,  and  the  need  of  increased  protection  for 
their  produce  while  in  transit  from  the  interior  to 
the  ports.  The  Viceroy,  in  reply,  indicated 
a willingness  to  consider  the  expediency 
of  issuing  a commission  of  inquiry,  and 
it  is  generally  hoped  tliat  such  an  investigation  will 
shortl}'  take  place.  The  grievances  of  the  Southern 
Indian  planter  are  very  practical.  He  makes  no  great 
demands  on  the  Government,  but  tire  demands  which 
he  does  make  he  regards  as  indispensably  necessary 
for  the  working  of  his  business.  Fixity  of  tenure  in 
his  estate,  safeguards  against  fraud  in  the  supply  of 
his  labour,  protection  of  his  produce  against  theft,  and 
adequate  means  of  communication  towards  the  sea — 
these  are  the  initial  conditions  for  successfully  planting 
in  any  country,  and  they  sum  up  the  total  of  the  South 
India  planters’  requests.  The  truth  is  that  iu  Southern 
as  in  Noithern  India  tho  pinch  of  competition  with 
other  Asiatic  countries  is  every  year  more  keenly  felt. 
The  Indian  planters  merely  ask  that  the  Indian  Gov- 
ernment shallawaken  to  thefaet  ofthiscompetition,  and 
shall  give  them  the  fundamental  facilities  which  a good 
administration  ouglit  to  give  for  carrying  on  their 
industry.  In  the  north  as  in  the  south  we  see 
densely  overcrowded  districts,  and  at  no  groat  dis- 
tance from  them  other  districts  into  which  labour 
has  to  lie  imported  at  almost  a fancy  price.  Between 
eerlain  of  these  nnderpeo|)lcd  and  overpeopled  tracts 
tho  insufficiency  of  means  of  coinmimication  acts  as 
a breakwater  against  tho  free  flow  of  tlio  popula- 
tion. We  also  see  largo  sums  of  British  money  in- 
vested in  reclaiming  and  planting  the  jungles,  with 
inadequate  guarantees  as  to  the  claims  wliich  mav' 
be  eventually  made  by  Government  on  the  improve- 
ments. From  the  North  as  from  tlie  South  come 
the  same  complaint  of  w'ant  of  roads  or  of  in- 
sufficient expenditure  on  works  for  the  control 
of  the  rivers.  A book  just  published  at  Madras, 
‘ The  "Wynaad,  and  tlie  Planting  Industry  of 
Southern  India,’  sets  forth  the  result  of  this, 
state  of  tilings.  The  author,  who  writes- 
under  the  )iseudoiiym  of  P'raiicis  Ford,  has 
evidently  had  a very  practical  experience  of 
his  subject,  both  as  a planter  and  as  a coast 
agent.  Until  a few  years  ago,  he  says,  it  was 
idle  for  the  British  capitalist  in  Southern  India 
to  ]ilead  with  the  local  government  for  the  facili- 
ties necessary  for  the  conduct  of  his  industry. 
Even  though  he  might  be  supported  by  tlie  district 
officer.?,  the  repiy  that  he  practically  received  was 
this  ; ‘You  have  come  to  the  country  avowedly  to  make 
money;  you  must  accept  things  as  they  are  ; otherwise 
you  are  free  to  return  whence  you  came.’  This 
demeanour  of  Government  is  the  main  reason  whj’ 
the  mineral  resources  of  Southern  India  remain  imdevei- 
oped ; why  manufactiiieis  lug  behind;  and  wliy  the 
natives  of  tlie  country  do  so  little  in  their  pi  ivate’eapa- 
city  to  open  out  new  industries  or  to  extend  old  ones.’  ” 
“ We  re)iroduce  the  foregoing  sentences,”  says  the 
writer  of  the  article  in  the  Times,  “ as  they  embody 
