I2S 
THE  TROPICAI 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[Aug.  I,  1S96. 
“f;AT,LAIl.\  COMPNAV” 
from  ^ tlie  public  is  already  over-subscribed 
— mainly  by  personal  and  business  friends 
— before  tlie  prospectus  has  been  issued.  Mr. 
Straclian  is  full  of  conlidence  in  the  future  of 
our  tea  enterprise  ; and  he  has,  of  course,  a very 
large  interest,  not  only  tlirough  the  Company 
about  to  be  floated,  bub  in  the  Uagalla  Com- 
pany, with  its  high  rich  plantation,  and  in 
valuable  tea  properties  in  the  Agrapatana,  l!o- 
gawantalawa,  etc.  Mr.  Straclian,  who  much  en- 
joyed his  recent  winter  visit  to  the  colony,  is 
looking  very  well  and  may  go  out  again 
•luring  the  coming  winter.  The  “tea”  acreage 
in  the  Gallaha  i)rospectus,  I may  mention,  is  valued 
so  moderately  as  £42  per  acre.  The  Company 
will  hold  the  Colombo  business  (with  Mr.  Hathorn 
as  Manager)  and  this  will  iirobably  be  much 
e.xtencled. 
My  letter  on 
“COFFEl-:,”  FTC. 
in  the  London  Times  has  been  attracting  a good 
deal  of  attention,  mainly  through  a reprint  cir- 
culated among  Ceylon  men  and  merchants  at 
home.  One  planting  colonist  writes  ; — 
“ I am  much  obliged  for  the  reprint  of  your  ex- 
tremely iuteresting  letter  to  the  Times  which  had 
escaped  my  notice.  I have  felt  for  some  time  that 
coffee  is  the  thing  to  go  in  for  now,  and  am  myself 
taking  up  land  in  the  Selangor  District  with  a view 
of  having  another  try  at  the  good  old  staple.  I am 
hoping  to  go  out  to  Ceylon  and  the  Straits  towards 
the  end  of  this  year  to  have  a look  round,” 
It  is  evident  from  recent  e.xperience  that  one  has 
to  be  careful  to  discriminate  among  the  States 
and  soils  of  the  Malayan  peninsula,  so  tar  as 
“cotVee”  is  concerned;  but  1 do  trust  that  some 
investors — Sir  Graeme  Elphinstone,  for  instance — 
may  reap  the  fruit  of  their  enterprise.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Shire  Highlands  in  British  Central  Africa 
may  yet  prove  the  coming  Eldorado  for  coffee:  we 
shall  hear  more  of  it  shortly,  no  doubt,  when 
Sir  Herbert  Johnston  arrives  home. 
MR.  THOS.  CHRISTY  AND  THE  OVERPRODUCTION 
OF  COFFEE  AND  INDIAN  TEA.. 
I have  also  received  the  following  suggestive 
and  interesting  letter  from  Mr.  Thos.  Christy  of 
Lime  Street : — 
London,  E.C.,  June  1',),  189(>. 
Dear  Sir, — In  your  letter  to  the  Times  of  June  1st, 
you  apeak  of  the  question  of  over-production  of  coffee. 
The  price  of  coffee  appear  to  be  ruled  very  much  by 
Brazil  for  quantity  and  Java  for  quality.  In  ray  opi- 
nion, in  the  future  the  great  cotfee-produciug  country 
will  be  Africa,  and  the  reason  I think  so  is  this  : there 
are  so  many  indigenous  varieties  found  growing  wild  in 
Africa,  and  crops  which  would  surpass  the  imagination 
of  those  who  had  seen  it,  points  to  the  fact  that  that 
land  is  suitable  of  coffee-growiug. 
In  the  same  copy  of  the  'Times  was  a leaderette  on 
Indian  affairs,  and  speaking  about  the  labour  that 
India  can  furnish  for  making  railways,  I am  quite  con- 
vinced that  it  will  not  only  be  a question  of  the  In- 
dian assisting  to  make  the  railways  and  doing  them 
thoroughly  well,  and  at  a low  price;  but  I shall  be 
very  much  surprised  if  the  Indian  once  leaves  Africa. 
There  is  a class  of  Indians,  if  I may  be  allowed  to  use 
such  a name,  who  have  thoroughly  studied  in  Europe, 
and  also  in  the  schools  of  India,  and  some  of  whom,  I 
believe,  you  have  in  Ceylon  ; these  men,  in  many  cases, 
they  are  excellent  telegraph  clerks,  excellent  post  otSce 
clerks,  who  thoroughly  understand  the  routine  accord- 
ing to  the  English  system ; they  are  accustomed 
to  hot  weather  and,  from  the  information  I have  ob- 
tained, are  thoroughly  reliable.  Although  we  may  be 
sending  English  ladies  out  to  India  as  doctors,  there 
is  a large  number  of  native  gentlemen  who  have  quali- 
fied in  tnis  country  who  would  be  very  suitable  to  send 
to  Africa, especially  to  the  Soudan,  and  it  will  not  bo  long 
before  the  attention  of  merchants  in  Bombay  and  Cal- 
cutta and  also  in  Ceylon  will  be  turned  to  the 
splendid  districts  which  England  is  reconquering  in 
Africa.  It  is  well-known  that  the  English  have  no 
wish  to  fight ; they  are  merely  endeavouring  to  estab- 
lish peaceable  occupation  for  the  Egyptian  and  also  for 
their  Indian  subjects  who  are  now  commencing  to 
trade  with  Africa;  so  much  so  is  this  the  case  that 
produce  is  being  sent  from  the  east  coast  of  Africa  to 
Bombay,  where  it  is  transhipped  to  England.  Once 
the  Indian  leaves  the  rule  of  India  he  will 
feel  that  he  will  have  the  full  protection  of 
the  British  Government  in  Egypt  and  in  a very 
short  time  you  will  be  able  to  chronicle  the 
fact  of  the  introduction  of  Indian  houses  along  the 
east  coast  of  Africa.  Already  some  of  the  East  Indians 
are  going  to  France  to  study  French;  some  arc  also 
settling  in  Germany  to  thorougly  gain  the  language 
and  the  customs  of  Germany  and  German  tra.de,  with 
the  object  of  settling  in  German  colonies.  They  know 
that  they  can  purchase  goods;  they  know  also  what  the 
natives  require  and  will  very  quickly  learn  the  nalive 
languages  and  dialects.  Although  entirely  agreeing 
with  the  wricerin  the  'Times  of  the  1st  June  in  regard 
to  the  labour,  still  we  must  not  ignore  the  upper  classes 
in  India  who  have  qualified  to  assist  the  English  in  de- 
veloping our  colonies  and  possessions,  especially  in  hot 
climates. — I remain,  yours  truly.  Thos.  Christy. 
That  my  correspondence  is  widespread  and 
varied  may  be  judge<l  from  the  following  from 
the  editor  of  the  Friend  : — 
Dear  Sir, — I was  glad  to  meet  you  at  the  breakfast 
meeting  of  the  Aborigines  Protection  Society  at  Can- 
non St.  Hotel,  but  had  no  opportunity  to  ask  you 
a question  on  w'hich  I want  information.  Friends 
want  to  establish  an  Industrial  Christian  Mission  on 
Pemba  and  we  think  the  best  way  of  helping  the 
coloured  people  when  Mr.  Curzon  abolishes  the  legal 
status  of  slavery  will  be  to  purchase  an  estate  on 
Pemba  and  run  it  with  freedmen.  This  will  require 
a competent  business  man  at  the  head  of  it  to  run 
it,  and  we  have  no  such  man  at  present  ; but  I want 
to  know  how  copra  is  prepared  in  Ceylon  for  the 
Marseilles  market.  Can  you  kindly  tell  me  where 
I can  get  the  information  that  would  practically 
guide  us  in  placing  copra  from  Pemba  in  best  con- 
dition for  the  market  ? I understand  that  at  pre- 
sent Ceylon  does  this  the  best,  and  that  you  have 
studied  the  subject.  Kindly  excuse  me  for  thus 
troubling  you. — Yours  very  truly, 
Henry  Stanley  Newman. 
A copy  of  our  “ All  about  Coconuts  ” gave 
Mr.  Newman,  I trust,  all  the  information  he  re- 
quired. 
HORNIMAN’S  tea  COMPANY. 
Talking  o<  Sii  Graeme  Elphinstone  reminds  me 
that  I learned  from  Mr.  Horniman,  M.P..  the 
other  day,  that  neither  “Logie”  nor  Mr.  Powell 
Jones  now  holds  seats  on  the  Directorate  of  his 
great  Tea  Selling  and  Distributing  Company. 
Competition  in  this  business  must  be  \ery  keen 
owing  to  the  multiplication  of  iigei.cies  ; and  yet 
I was  .surprised  to  learn  the  other  day'  that  a 
well-known  City  Firm  could  allow  a grocer-agent 
in  a West  of  England  town  as  much  profit  as 
fourpence  a pound  oil'  a good  tea  supplied  by 
them  and  which  was  being  freely  sold  and  appre- 
ciated at  the  said  watering  piace. — Mr.  Horniman 
evidently  thinks  it  very  important  a gooil  hold 
should  be  got  of  the  American  and  Russian  tea 
markets  to  meet  the  further  production  of  tea. 
I forget  if  I told  you  in  a previous  letter  of 
a surprising  fact  learned  through  a young  English 
lady’s  letter  from 
RERUN, 
namely,  that  she  has  never  seen  so  much  tea 
drunk  as  in  German  families  there  : as  in  Austra- 
lia, the  rule  .seems  to  be  to  have  tea  at  every 
meal.  I recently  heard  of  the  death  at  9J  in 
England  of  one  wdio  had  been  a great  tea  drinker 
all  his  life— a good  evidence  of  its  use  ! 
The  question  as  to  whether  the  pristine 
