34^ 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIS 1'. 
I Nov.  2,  i8q6. 
to  buy  out  the  plantation  owners — lock,  stock, 
and  barrel.  Tlie  negotiations,  it  is  added, 
readied  a point  at  which  it  seemed  almost  cer- 
tain that  at  least  thiee-ijuarters  of  the  .Ia^■a, 
plantations,  including  all  those  of  real  im))ort- 
ance,  were  about  to  jiass  under  the  control  of  the 
Syndicate.  At  that  time,  it  may  be  noted,  the 
current  price  of  -lava-bark  in  Amsterdam  was 
about  ‘2-80c  per  unit  per  half  kilo.  At  the  last 
moment,  however,  negotiations  fell  through. 
Now  it  is  hinted  that  the  sudden  reduction  in 
the  (nice  of  quinine  which  followed  the  break- 
ing-off of  the  negotiations  is  due  to  a delinite 
policy  on  the  part  of  the  quinine  Syndicate  to 
deiiriciate  the  bark-market  to  such  an  extent 
that  the  plantation-owners  will  be  forced  to 
come  to  terms.  The  first  result  of  the  move 
was  seen  at  last  Thursday’s  Amsterdam  auctions, 
when  the  unit  fell  to  2 o5c. , the  lowest  imint 
touched  since  February,  1895,  when  the  lowest 
unit  on  record,  viz.,  2'50c.  was  reached.  If  the 
quinine  manufacturers’  policy  should  be  success- 
ful, Ave  shall  probably  see  a further  fall  in  the 
unit  at  the  September  auctions  in  Amsterdam, 
and  it  may  be  well  that  shortly  afterwards  the 
formation  of  a Syndicate  to  take  over  the  bulk 
of  the  .Java  |ilantations  will  he  announced.  Such 
a step  would  give  to  tlie  quinine-makers  almost 
.a  few  years’  monopoly  of  tlie  market,  inasmuch 
as  Ceylon  has  but  little  hark  left,  while  the 
Indian  suiiply  is  small  and  partly  of  jioor  ipiality, 
and  neither  cultivated  nor  wild -growing  (Ouprea) 
barks  from  South  America  can  be  thrown  ujion 
the  European  market  in  quantities  large  enough 
to  altect  the  quinine-supply  at  anything  like  the 
present  unit. 
We  re[»eat  that  this  statement  comes  to  us 
from  a Avell-informed  source,  luit  we  cannot,  of 
course,  guarantee  even  the  partial  truth  of  the 
as.sertions.  Yet  tliere  is  nothing  inlierently  im- 
probable about  them.  Several  unsuccessful  at- 
tem])ts  have  lueviously  fieen  nunle  to  bring 
tlie  cinchona  supply  under  control,  but  none  of 
these  were  set  on  foot  by  an  oiganisation  so 
powerful  as  the  present  quinine  c mbination  ; 
and  it  is  well  known  that  some  of  the  members 
of  the  combination,  e.sjiecially  in  Ceniiany,  have 
long  hecn  anxious  to  place  ilunr  luisiiiess  upon 
a sounder  footing.  So  much  is  certain,  that  if 
the  quinine-makers  should  obtain  control  of  the 
bulk  of  the  plantations,  they  will  be  able  to  r-aise 
their  prices  to  an  e.xtent  that  will  richly  com- 
l>ensare  them  for  the  recent  decline.  — Chemist  and 
Dnujgist. 
FLANTINC  AND  I’RODCCE. 
India  and  its  Pboduci’..— The  rocently  issued 
volume  by  the  Government  of  India  of  British 
India  for  the  years  18'.M-U5  consists  mainly  of 
c.aborate  tables,  with  an  explanatory  memonuidum 
prefixed.  The  tables  show  the  tea,  coffee,  and  cin- 
chona cultivation  in  each  district  of  each  province 
and  in  the  native  states  in  ISlti  and  IHltl,  and  the 
progress  in  each  product  from  181)5  to  181)1. 
In  181)8  the  total  area  under  tea  in  India  was 
dl)5,83Ui  acres;  and  in  18Ul  it  had  increased 
to  ■1‘22,.551  acres.  The  highest  average  yield  per 
acre  from  mature  plants  was  obtained  in 
.Talpaiguri,  viz.,  .5.5.5'91b  in  18!):),  and  oIl’Blb 
in  181)1.  Tlie  total  acreage  under  colTec  in 
India  in  181)3  was  258,l)8-i  l t acres,  and  in 
181)1  it  was  277,881-1)  1 acres.  In  IHlKi-lIl  there  were 
11,235  acres  under  chinchona  in  India  ; btit  in 
1891-1)5  the  acreage  had  decreased  to  8,710.  A toi)v 
of  the  annii-.il  rcpoit  of  the  Secretary  to  the  Clin  f 
Commissioner  in  Assam  on  the  subject  of  tea 
culture  in  that  state  for  1895  has  recently  been 
received  at  the  Board  of  Trade  from  the  India 
Office.  As  iu  previous  years,  in  the  statement 
appended  to  this  report,  figures  are  given  for 
each  subdivision  separately,  in  addition  to 
the  totals  for  each  district.  Silchar  continues 
to  head  the  list  in  regard  to  the  number 
of  tea  gardens  and  the  area  under  tea  cultivation 
and  the  Dibrugarh  subdivision  still  shows  the  largest 
outturn.  The  total  number  of  gardens  at  the  close 
of  1895  was  812,  against  823  in  1894,  showing  a 
decrease  of  11  gardens.  During  the  year  15  gardens 
were  newly  opened,  against  48  in  the  previous  year, 
17  were  closed  against  7 in  1894,  and  9 gardens 
were  amalgamated  with  other  gardens  against  10  in 
1894.  Some  improvement  has  taken  place  in  the 
number  of  gardens  furnishing  statistics.  Out  of  812 
gardens,  statistics  have  been  furnished  in  respect 
of  717  gardens,  against  698  in  the  preceding  year : 
estimates  had  to  be  framed  for  95  gardens,  against 
125  in  1894.  The  Chief  Commissioner’s  thanks  are 
due  to  those  managers  and  agents,  who  have  fur- 
nished the  required  information.  The  total  increase 
of  7,218  acres  under  tea  cultivation,  as  compared 
with  12,171  acres  in  1894  is  distributed  among  all 
districts  except  Cachar  and  Darrang.  In  Cachar  it 
is  stated  that  new  extensions  have  not  kept  pace 
with  the  areas  of  old  lea  abandoned,  and  in  Darrang 
the  decrease  is  said  to  be  more  apparent  than  real, 
being  due  to  greater  accuracy  in  the  figures  for 
certain  gardens  for  which  estimates  had  to  be  framed 
in  previous  years.  The  total  outturn  of  tea  during 
the  year  was  99,524,5841b,  as  against  94,829,0591b,  in 
1894,  or  an  increase  of  4,G95,515lb- 
How  THU  China  Tea  Trade  is  Uandicarped. — It  is 
not  only  that  China  tea  shippers  have  to  meet  the 
successful!  competition  of  India  and  Ceylon  teas, 
but  the  Chinese  Government  have  helped  to  des- 
troy the  trade,  the  decay  of  which  they  now  lament. 
If  the  Chinese  authorities  would  abolish  duty  and 
admit  machinery,  the  tea  trade  of  China  would  be 
permitted  a chance  of  recovering  some  of  its  lost 
ground,  but  that  is  not  a matter  that  the  planters 
of  India  and  Ceylon  wish  to  see  altered.  The  per- 
versity of  the  Chinese  officials  has  no  doubt  helped 
to  benefit  British-grown  tea.  On  the  subject  of 
likin  the  British  c-msul  at  Fuchau  recently  wrote  : 
“ Even  in  China  the  imposition  of  likin  occasion- 
ally leads  to  riots.  The  likin  duty  on  tea  is  nomi- 
naily  2-2U  taels  per  picul  but  additions  bring  it  up  to 
nearly  2-80  taels.  The  tax,  for  reasons  known  to 
the  officials  is  divided  into  five  items  called  original 
dues,  likin  dues,  expense  of  collection,  military  con- 
tribution, and  ‘ loss  on  touch  of  silver,’  all  of  which 
vary  in  amount.  To  these  have  to  be  added  a ferry 
toll  or  duty  on  all  teas  from  the  north,  and  a tax  of  3c 
‘for  benevolent  purposes  ’ on  teas  coming  from  the 
districts  to  the  xvest,  and  one  or  two  extra  tolls,  so 
that  the  total  amount  does  not  fall  short  of  2'80  taels. 
If  the  value  of  tea  is  taken  at  15  taels  per  picul,  with 
the  export  duty  it  has  to  bear  taxation  to  the 
amount  of  5’30  taels,  or  about  35  per  cent,  ad  valorem, 
before  it  leaves  China.  It  may  be  asked  why  transic 
passes  are  not  taken  out,  which  would  enable  the 
merchant  to  bring  the  tea  to  the  port  on  a payment 
of  1'25  taels  per  picul.  The  native  dealers  and  gro  acts 
are  afraid  of  official  opposition,  and  European  ex- 
porters find  it  impossible  to  make  the  necessary 
arraugemeuts.  (1)  The  Lo ’Ti  Shui  or  Octroi  office — 
'This  has  seven  branches  which  collect  annually 
3U,000  or  40,()U0  taels  on  goods  taken  into  Fuchau  by 
road.  Like  the  likin  it  is  under  the  control  of  the 
provincial  treasurer.” 
I’l.AN'j  iNG  Enteiu'Kise  IN  East  Atiuca. — 'There  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  the  Shire  Highlands  will 
become  the  seat  of  an  important  planting  industry. 
Shire  Highland  coffee  command.-,  a high  price  on  the 
London  market.  At  Zanzibar,  Sir  -Tohn  Kirk's  ex- 
perimental garden  is  an  object  of  interest,  although 
the  trials  of  tea  do  not  appear  to  bo  satisfactory. 
An  account  of  the  present  condition  of  the  garden 
is  contained  in  the  following  note.s  of  a recent  visit, 
taken  from  the  iCxu'dhar  Cavet/c  of  August  28, 1894: 
“ Mr.  Crabbe,  the  Ceylon  planter  who  was  passing 
through  here  last  week  on  liis  way  to  Nyassaland, 
