Sept,  i,  1896.J  THE  TROPICAL 
Exports. 
189.5. 
1894. 
Camphor 
. . $33,900 
25,300 
Coffee 
14,800 
1,500 
Cutch 
. , 114,000 
96,000 
Gutta 
46,800 
30,700 
India  Rubber 
49,000 
35,300 
Sago  flour 
..  121.300 
122,000 
Tobacco 
..  1,176,000 
875,000 
For  1894  the  total  exports  amounted  to  ^1,698,000  ; 
for  1895  they  reach  a total  of  f2, 130,000. 
In  ihe  House  of  Commons,  tliere  lias  been  a 
discussion  on 
“ COCOA  nUTTKR,” 
(not  to  be  confounded  with  “ coconut  butter,”  of 
wliich  we  have  also  heard).  This  is  most  fully 
reported  in  the  Morninq  Post  as  follows  : — 
COCOA  BUTTER. 
The  House  then  went  into  Committee  of  Ways 
and  Means,  Mr.  J.  W.  Lowther  in  the  chair. 
The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  moved  the  follow- 
ing resolution  — “ That  the  duty  of  Customs  now 
payable  on  cocoa  or  chocolate  ground,  prepared,  or 
in  any  way  manufactured,  under  the  provisions  of  the 
Act  42  and  43  Vic.,  cap.  21,  sec.  3,  shall  be  payable 
on  that  product  of  the  cocoa  bean  which  is  generally 
known  as  cocoa  butter.”  The  right  hon.  gentleman 
said  the  matter  was  a very  small  one,  and  could  be 
easily  explained.  At  the  present  moment  cocoa,  raw 
or  manufactured,  was  liable  to  duty,  and  it  had  been 
discovered  that  cocoa  butter,  though  manufactured 
from  cocoa,  could  not  properly  be  included  as  a 
manufactured  article  because  the  process  of  manu- 
facture had  not  come  within  the  scope  of  ex- 
isting provisions.  This  article  was  largely  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  chocolate.  Out  of  every  hundred- 
weight of  raw  cocoa  861b.  of  cocoa  butter  was  mauu 
factored.  As  the  law  stood  the  manufacturers  of  cocoa 
butter  in  this  country  were  liable  to  a duty  of  ll-3d 
on  every  pound  of  cocoa  butter,  whereas  the  manu- 
facturer abroad  could  send  the  article  over  here  with- 
out paying  any  duty.  This  was  protection  for  the 
foreigner  against  the  Englishman — (hear,  hear) — and 
therefore  he  asked  that  the  Committee  would  pass 
this  resolution. 
Mr.  Kearley  protested  that  no  notice  had  been  sent 
to  the  great  manufacturing  firms  of  the  country. 
The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  said  he  had 
received  communications  from  Messrs.  Cadbury, 
Taylor,  Epps,  Lipton,  and  Thorn,  all  of  whom 
desired  this  alteration  in  the  law.  (Cheers.) 
Mr.  Kearley  noticed  one  serious  omisssion  in  that 
list,  and, that  was  a firm  which  fiourished  in  tho 
district  represented  by  the  right  hon.  gentleman, 
namely,  Messrs.  Fry,  of  Bristol.  He  understood  that 
they  strongly  objected  to  this,  and  appeared  to  bo 
quite  in  ignorance  of  it. 
The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  said  he  had 
received  a communication  froTii  Messrs.  Fry,  who, 
he  thought,  had  not  understood  the  jjurport  of  the 
resolution. 
Mr.  Kearley  asked  that  the  resolution  should  be 
postponed  for  at  least  a week  in  order  that  Messrs. 
Fry  and  other  firms  should  be  able  to  obtain  a hearing. 
He  maintained  that  if  a duty  were  imposed  on  cocoa- 
butter the  foreign  trade  of  certain  manufacturers 
would  pass  away. 
The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  pointed  out  that 
a clause  embodying  the  views  of  those  on  whose  behalf 
the  hon.  member  spoke  could  be  placed  on  the  paper 
and  discussed  on  the  Finance  Bill.  That  would 
give  ample  time  for  the  matter  to  be  fully  considered 
in  the  interval  by  the  manufacturers  and  others 
interested.  (Hear,  hear.) 
Sir  W.  Harcourt  observed  that  this  was  purely  a 
preliminary  stage,  and  he  advised  his  hon.  friend  to 
be  satisfied  with  the  assurance  of  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer. 
The  resolution  was  agreed  to,  and  the  House  resumed. 
Bub  The  Times  gives  some  additional  figures  ; for 
instance,  mentioning  that  apart  from  English  firms 
paying  duty  on  the  raw  product  to  make  this 
butter,  Dutch  and  Dermaii  houses  tliat  paid  less 
duty  on  the  beans  actually  gob  a'dr.awback  on 
the  “butter ’’they  exported  to  England  I 
AGRICULTURIST.  165 
MR.  ERNE.ST  E.  GREEN 
writes  to  me  on  1st  July  as  follows,  and  it  is 
as  well  his  note  should  be  published  to  prevent 
any  misconception  : — 
“•  I have  been  much  gratified  by  the  way  the 
district  associations  have  been  coming  forward  in 
support  of  my  book  011  the  Coccidfo  of  Ceylon ; 
but,  judging  by  remarks  made  in  the  course  of  the 
discussion  at  the  meetings,  I fear  that  there  is  some 
misconception  as  to  the  scope  of  the  work  in  ques- 
tion. There  seems  to  be  an  impression  that  the 
term  ‘Coccidse’  is  synonymous  with  ‘insect  pests.’ 
This  is  not  so.  The  family  Coccidce  covers  only 
one  group— namely,  the  ‘scale  bugs’;  and  although 
the  greater  number  of  our  pests  do  belong  to  this 
family,  there  are  others — and  important  ones — that 
do  not.  ‘ Helopeliis  ’ is  one  of  the  exceptions,  as  I 
have  previously  explained  you.  I shall  be  much 
obliged  if  you  will  mention  this  in  writing  to  Cey- 
lon. As  I should  be  very  sorry  to  take  advantage 
of  such  a misconception  and  cause  disappointment, 
I hope  that  anyone  who  has  been  led  to  subscribe 
solely  under  the  wrong  impression  will  withdraw 
his  subscription.” 
For  my  part,  I cannot  see  how  there  can  be 
any  disappointment,  for  Mr.  Green's  book  is 
sure  to  be  very  useful. 
London,  July  10. 
MR.  J.  L.  SHAND 
is  back  from  his  mission  to  Central  America— 
Costa  Kica — chiefly  to  report  on  valuable  coflee 
property  in  a new  district  of  that  rising  coffee 
state,  which  the  owner  wishes  to  develop  by  means 
of  English  ca])ital  and  probably  a Limited  Com- 
pany. I have  not  seen  Mr.  Shand  yet,  but 
learn  his  Report  is  favourable.  In  this  connec- 
tion it  is  of  interest  to  read  what  is  .said  about 
“coffee”  in  the  adjacent  state  of  Columbia  (South 
America)  in  the  course  of  a recent  Consular  Re- 
port quoted  by  Commerce  : — 
COLOJIBIAN  COFFEE. 
Colombia  possesses  a large  expanse  of  territory 
with  the  favourable  (or  unfavourable)  circumstance 
that,  though  geographically  situate  in  the  tropics 
the  climate  is  diversified  in  all  grades,  from  that  of 
everlasting  snow  that  covers  many  summits  of  the 
Andes,  down  to  continual  heat  and  burning  sunshine. 
The  country,  says  Mr.  Consul  Mallet,  may  be  said 
to  be  practically  uninhabited.  The  whole  number  of 
inhabitants  is  supposed  to  be  4,000,000  souls,  but  as 
no  census  has  ever  been  taken,  any  idea  as  to  tho 
number  of  inhabitants  must  necessarily  be  speculative. 
The  whole  country  is  divided  into  departments  and 
each  department  is  subject  to  the  Central  Govern- 
ment which  has  its  seat  in  Bogota.  The  machinery 
of  the  Government  is  managed  entirely  in  that  city. 
The  chief  agricultural  product  is  coffee.  The  belt 
of  laud  lying  about  3,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea  is  where  the  greater  part  of  this  berry  is  pro- 
duced, though  the  part  grown  at  1,000  feet  elevation 
is  of  a quality  superior  to  that  grown  fui'ther  down. 
Were  there  sufficient  population,  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  annual  crop  should  not  be  much  increased 
It  seems  easy  enough  to  remedy  this  want  by  merely 
promoting  immigration  from  other  lands,  but  there 
are  many  practical  difficulties  in  the  matter.  The 
first  difficulty  is  to  get  together  a certain  number  of 
people  suitable  for  the  work.  When  got  they  have 
to  be  brought  over  to  these  burning  shores ; after 
arriving  they  have  to  be  conducted  up  rivers  and 
over  primitive  roads  until  they  arrive  at  the  section 
of  the  country  to  which  they  have  been  destined. 
Next  comes  the  housing,  clothing,  and  feeding  of 
them,  and  all  the  care  that  must  be  taken  of 
their  health  ; next  the  building  of  the  village  where 
they  and  their  families  are  to  dwell.  Add 
to  all  these  the  isolated  position  in  which  these 
immigrants  find  themselves  among  people  of  different 
race,  language,  religion,  and  customs,  and  it  is  easy 
to  understand  the  causes  of  utter  failure  and  indi- 
vidual suffering  in  so  many  immigration  SQli©taes« 
