April  i,  i8g6.j 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
68; 
si'tioij,  now  pretty  general,  that  there  is  not  likely  now 
to  be  any  material  dropping  oil  in  market  values  until 
the  completion  of  sales  of  the  past  year's  crop. 
Fiiesii  Issues. — Caoliar  and  Dooars  shares,  both 
Ordinary  and  Prefs.,  have  now  been  granted  an 
official  quotation  and  a special  settling  day  (\larch 
5),  and  in  our  future  issues  they  will  appear  under 
'■  Market  Stocks  ’ in  our  table  of  shares. 
Dimbula  Valley  Ordinary  Shares  are  still  inquired 
for  at  or  about  par,  whilo  the  Preferences  are  buyers 
at  anything  under  ±‘l  premium,  though  this  latter 
figure  has  not  yet  been  actually  reached  for  them. 
Ceylon  Shakes. — C.  T.  P.  Co.  Ordinary  have 
touched  254,  record  price;  and  the  Prefs.  have  changed 
hands  at  ill?.  Eastern  produce  shares  are  still  wanted 
at  d|  upwards. 
Laukas  are  buyers  still  at  5J,  but  holders  want 
a considerably  higher  price,  say  5J  to  5^. 
Indian  Debentures. — Assam  Frontier  and  Upper 
Assam  Firsts  are  wanted,  and  a moderate  premium, 
say  4 or  5,  would  be  paid,  but  none  are  at  present 
to  be  had. — H.  and  C.  Mail,  Feb.  26. 
NOIES  FEOM  OUK  LmNDON  LETTER. 
London,  Feb.  28. 
The  subjoined  e.xtract  contains  matter  which 
may  or  may  not  have  come  under  your  observa- 
tion. [Quoted  on  page  (384. — -Ed,  T.A.]  At  all 
events  it  seems  desirable  to  draw  your  attention 
to  it,  as 
THF.  TEA  INDU.STRY  OF  INDIA, 
is  so  closely  associated  with  that  of  Ceylon. 
What  has  especially  struck  us  in  our  perusal  of 
this  extract  has  been  the  statement  that  nearly 
2 and  half  million  pounds  of  (leylon  tea  is  con- 
sumed in  India  ! 'To  us  outsiders  this  ajjpears 
a statement  of  a curious  character.  Perhaps 
tlie  tea  may  be  used  in  India  for  blend- 
ing pur])oses.  Can  you  enlighten  us  on  this 
point  ? For  it  seems  very  singular  that  with  its 
once  large  production  of  tea  sucli  an  amount  as 
24  million  lb.  should  l>e  indented  for  on  Ceylon. 
INSPECIION  01’  MACHINERY, 
We  are  glad  to  see  that  upon  another  subjec 
the  “Uhl  Rag  ” has  succeeded  in  arousing  Uov 
erument  intervention.  You  weie  the  first  to 
ventilate  the  subject  of  the  ncce.ssity  for  some 
su[iervisdon  over  boilers  and  machinery.  4Miat 
you  initiated  was  echoed  at  liome  in  the  columns 
of  the  Engineer,  and  we  arc  sure  it  will  be 
s.itisfactory  to  you  tliat  at  last  your  Government 
is  acting  upon  your  suggestions,  and  that  legisla- 
tive action  is  being  discusscil  in  your  representa- 
tive chamber, 
COFFEE. 
The  extract  that  follows  will  remind  you  of 
the  time  when  your  interest  in  all  that  concerned 
coliee  was  of  a [i.iramount  character.  It  is  not 
Lo  be  supposed  that  you  are  altogctlicr  without 
some  remains  of  that  interest  now,  for  from  all 
Ave  read  coll'ee,  though  “scotchcil,”  is  no!  abso- 
lutely dead  among  you,  O[union  will  be  divided, 
as  it  always  has  been,  as  to  wdiether  the  reduced 
consumption  of  coll'ee  among  our  home  i)0|)ulation 
can  be  ;ussigned  to  the  amount  of  duty  ])ayable 
upon  it,  or  whether  it  should  be  assigned  to 
the  developed  taste  of  the  Rritish  islanders  for 
tea.  The  imjiroved  quality  and  cheapne.ss  of  the 
latter  article  is  no  doubt  laigely  accountable 
for  this  develo]nnent.  Cofi’ec,  to  be  really  |ialat- 
able,  re(juires  a large  admixture  of  milk  or 
cream.  Roth  these  are  somewhat  exijensive 
luxuries  with  us.  On  the  other  hand  there  are 
persons,  and  a large  number  of  them,  who  pos- 
sess a singular  i)refercncc  for  tea  without  any 
admixture  of  milk  at  all.  Economy,  therefore, 
is  probably  largelj^  at  the  hottom  of  the  iirefcr- 
cnce  shared  here  for  your  new  over  your  old 
chief  product. 
The  Duty  on  Goffer. — At  the  House  of  Gornmons 
last  night  a deputation,  representing  the  importers,  ex- 
porters home  trade  dealers,  and  brokers  engaged  in  the 
coffee  trade,  waited  upon  theChanccllor  of  the  Exche- 
quer for  the  purpose  of  urging  the  total  abolition  of 
the  present  duty  on  coffee.  Mr.  Lough,  M.P.,  in  intro- 
ducing the  deputation,  stated  that  the  coffee  trade 
Avas  in  such  a condition  that  if  it  Avas  not  assisted  it 
Avould  be  extinguished.  Since  1873  the  trade  had 
decreased  by  about  a million  hundredAveight.  At  pre- 
sent the  import  trade  only  totalled  about  three- 
quarters  of  a million  hundredweight,  while  the  export 
trade  was  about  half-a-million  hundredweight ; and  if 
their  request  were  not  granted  he  feared  the  trade 
would  still  further  decrease.  Mr.  Robert  Wales  (Chair- 
man of  the  coffee  section  of  the  London  Chamber  of 
Comm  erce)  urged  that  the  imposition  of  the  duty 
cause  restrictions  in  mixing  and  other  operations 
while  the  coffee  was  in  bond,  the  result  of  which  Avas 
to  drive  the  trade  to  Hamburg  and  to  Holland,  where 
there  was  no  duty  on  coffee.  The  Chance'lor  of  the 
Exchequer,  in  replying,  said  that  obviously  if  the 
duty  on  coffee  was  to  be  repealed  that  on  chicory 
must  also  be  abolished ; and,  following  that,  ho  had 
no  doubt  claims  of  a similar  nature  Avould  be  advanced 
regarding  tea  and  cocoa.  So  far  as  the  consumer 
Avas  concerned  he  tliought  there  Avas  no  case  for  the 
repeal  of  the  duty  ; and  he  pointed  out  that,  although 
the  duty  Avas  halved  in  1S73,  no  increase  of  consump- 
tion folloAA’ed.  In  fact  he  had  received  representations 
antagonistic  to  the  views  of  the  deputation.  As  to 
the  export  trade  he  was  afraid  that  its  decrease  was 
not  due  to  the  duty.  The  Brazilian  production  had 
largely  increased,  Avhile  that  of  British  India,  Avhenco 
coffee  to  a great  extent  formerly  came,  had  decreased; 
and  the  result  had  been  that,  whereas  it  used  natu- 
rally to  come  to  England,  now  it  went  to  the  agents 
at  Gontineutal  ports,  because  it  could  be  more  easily 
distributed  there,  not  because  of  the  duty.  Moreover, 
France  had  placed  a tax  on  the  article ; and  the  port 
and  dock  dues  and  Avarehouse  chai-ges  at  Hamburg 
Avero  lower  thau  in  London,  both  of  which  still 
further  tended  to  decrease  the  export.  In  conclusion 
he  announced  that  as  regarded  the  arrangements 
affecting  bonded  coffee  he  would  endeavour  to  make 
them  more  convenient  than  they  Avere. 
— - 
FlC'i’iON  Al’.ouT  Fl.vntain.s. — A great  deal  of 
literature  and  romance  aljont  tlio  plantain  is 
just  noAV  going  tlie  round, s in  Great  Britain. 
The  importation  of  the  succulent  fruit  from 
Jamaica  lias  bred  the  public  imagination.  We 
forget  at  the  jiresent  moment  hoAv  many  familie.s 
can  be  sup))orted  on  an  acre  of  banana.s,  as  they 
aie  called  ; Imt  it  i.s  sometliing  tliat  Avould  alari'n 
a Malthusian.  Mr.  Stanley,  M.F.,  found  some 
plantains  in  Darkest  Africa  tAventy-tAA’o  inches 
long  and  ciglit  inches  round,  one  of  Avliicli  Avas 
a square  meal  to  the  most  voracious  of  his 
liieiidly  savages  after  ten  day.s’  semi-starvation. 
Each  stalk,  ho  says,  hoie  fifty  or  a huiidreil  of 
such  fruit.  'J’he  most  interesting  feature,  hoAV.( 
ever,  about  the  plaintaiii  is  that  it  makes  ex' 
cellent  Aviiie-  iSpcke,  iu  his  Nile  Journal  says,  the 
\Aine  is  rather  like  hock,  but  he  omits  to  state 
Avhen  he  had  last  tasted  hock.  In  T'iii,  they  make 
Avine,  as  they  call  it,  from  the  banana,  and  with 
such  success  that  an  enterprising  trailer  Avanted 
to  iuqioi't  pul])  bananas  to  com[)ete  Avith  tbe 
domestic  gooseberry  in  the  manufacture  of 
“simkin.”  A tree  from  Avhich  one  can  manu- 
facture Manila  hemp,  lace  ]iocket-handkerchief.«, 
hats,  plantain  fritters,  imarkiug  ink,  ami  cham- 
paigne  is  evidently  no  oidinaiy  growth.  At  pre- 
sent the  e.xj)ort  of  Manila  hemp’  is  v,alued  at  three 
millions  sterling.— North  Borneo  Herald, 
Feb.  16. 
