Nov.  2,  1896.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIS  I'. 
355 
6,000,0001b.  in  1891,  but  as  lias  already  been  pointed 
out  the  total  export  of  tea  from  China  to  the  United 
States  has  greatly  diminished,  as  Indian  and  Ceylon 
growers  are  doing  their  best  to  push  their  teas  in 
that  quarter  also.  Her  Majesty’s  consul  at  Foochow 
remarks  on  the  weight  of  taxation  which  is  ciushing 
the  tea  trade  there,  and  states  that  the  dues  levied 
on  common  teas  amount  to  80  per  cent,  on  the  value. 
Coi'i’EE  Pl.\nting  Entekpiuse. — Some  financiers  in 
the  City  have  been  turning  their  attention  to  the 
coffee  planting  enterprise,  under  the  impression  that 
it  has  been  unduly  neglected  so  far  as  British  capital 
is  concerned  since  the  unfortunate  collapse  of  the 
industry  in  Ceylon  nearly  twenty  years  ago.  The 
croakings  about  over-production  of  tea  and  dismal 
forecasts  as  to  the  oidlook  in  the  few  years  time 
may  have  assisted  in  lii  inging  about  this  flutter  of 
excitement  in  coffee,  but  it  is  mainly  due  to  the 
success  of  tea  planting  as  an  industry  and  the  desire  to 
emulate  it  on  the  same  lines.  As  only  about 27  per  cent 
of  the  coffee  entered  for  home  consumption  comes 
from  British  possessions,  in  contrast  to  88  per  cent, 
of  the  tea  supply'  from  India  and  Ceylon,  there  is 
a field  for  an  increase  in  the  cultivation  of  coffee  in 
territory  under  British  rule,  provided  always  that 
conditions  are  favourable  to  placing  it  on  the 
market  at  competing  prices.  The  consumption  of 
coffee  does  not  increase,  and  there  seems  no  pros- 
pect of  this  while  tea  has  so  many  advantages  over 
it.  The  hope  for  British-grown  coffee  lies  in  its 
being  able  to  successfully  compete  with  the  product 
from  South  America  and  elsewhere. 
The  Coffee  M.\rket. — The  coffee  market  is  a per- 
plexing problem  to  gauge,  and  the  element  of  specu- 
lation which  enters  so  largely  into  the  European 
market  consequent  on  the  difficulty  of  fixing  the  pre- 
cise limits  of  the  growing  crops,  especially  in  Brazil, 
is  one  of  the  coffee  planter’s  main  troubles.  Deal- 
ing with  the  subject  of  coffee  prospects  at  the 
present  time  the  Grocer  says:  “Certain  facts  have 
come  to  light  which  tend  to  confirm  the  belief  that 
the  entire  Brazil  crop  for  1896-97,  now  in  course 
of  being  gathered,  will  turn  out  to  be  unprecedentedly 
heavy,  and  the  aggregate  yield  of  about  1,0000,000 
bags,  predicted  as  far  back  as  October  last,  is  likely 
to  be  attained.  It  is  estimated  that  this  amount  will 
be  produced  as  follows  ; B y a crop  in  Rio  of  4,000,000 
bags,  one  in  Santos  of  5,000,000  bags,  and  by  yields 
in  Bahia  and  Victoria  of  1,000,000  bags.  This  will  be 
nearly  double  the  total  outturn  in  1895-90,  when  it 
was  not  more  than  5,489,000  bags  of  all  kinds.  Con- 
trast the  above  figures  with  those  relating  to  the 
Brazil  coffee  crops  in  the  poor,  lean  years 
of  1893-94  of  1889-90,  and  1887-88,  when  the 
quantities  raised  were  respectively  confined  to, 
say,  4,300,000  bags,  4,220,000  bags,  and  3,012,000  bags — 
and  it  will  be  seen  what  immense  strides  have  been 
made  in  the  planting  and  growth  of  the  Brazil 
description  of  coffee  within  the  past  nine  or  ten  years. 
Such  an  enormous  increase  in  the  available  supply 
of  coffee,  therefore,  cannot  fail  to  influence  the 
market  in  favour  of  buyers  by  bringing  about  a 
m ■cb  lower  range  of  prices.  It  is  also  argued  that, 
ai,.  - . ‘6p  promised  abundance  does  not  consist 
of  thu  e . of  coffee  exactly  suited  to  the  tastes  of 
British  or  EiUropean  consumers,  it  is  none  the 
less  sure  to  serve  as  a useful  substitute  for  the 
higher-priced  plantation  sorts.  Some  foreign 
drinkers  of  the  beverage,  whose  palates  are  not  so 
nicely  discriminating  in  their  choice  between  passable 
or  medium  qualities  and  grades  of  a richer  flavour, 
may  discard  the  former  in  favour  of  the  latter, 
especially  in  view  of  the  greater  comparative  cheap- 
ness of  the  article.  Mention  of  one  or  two  instances 
nCACMCQQ  ess.ay  de.scribing  a really 
U Ln  r II  L 00 1 genuine  Cure  for  Deafness, 
Kinging  in  Ears,  dice.,  no  matter  liow  severe  or  long- 
standing, will  be  sent  post  free. — Artificial  Ear- 
drums and  similar  apidiances  entirely  superseded. 
Address  THOMAS  KEMBE,  Victoria  Cham- 
liKKs,  19,  Southampton  Buildings,  Holborn 
London. 
wilF  suffice  to  show  that  there  has  already  been  a 
considerable  fall  in  value  since  it  became  known  that 
a thumping  crop  of  Brazil  coffee  was  practically 
assured  for  the  present  season.  From  55s  and  52s 
fid  in  the  middle  of  last  February,  down  to  50s  fid 
and  44s  recently,  there  has  been  a fall  in  quotations 
of  4s  fid  to  8s  fid  per  cwc.  for  September  and  Decem- 
ber deliveries  of  fair  Channel  Rio,  as  recorded  by 
the  London  I’roduce  Clearing  House.  ‘Good  aver- 
age ’’  Santos  has  declined  in  proportion,  and  from 
52s  ,9d  in  July  the  price  here  has  since  fallen 
to  48s,  which  is  a moderate  figure : whilst  in  Havre 
the  same  quality  of  coffee  has  lately  been  disposed 
of  in  the  terminal  market  at  fiOjfr,  instead  of  75fr 
in  June  last,  and  9fifr  to  lUU  fr  in  September,  1895 
and  1894.  Regarded  thus,  the  position  of  coffee  just 
now  is  one  from  which  the  home  trade  in  London 
may  derive  real  encouragement,  as  it  seems  that  more 
reasonable  prices  for  the  favourite  berry  are  about 
to  set  in  and  rule  for  some  time  to  come.  Once  Brazil 
coffee  grows  to  be  relatively  cheap,  it  will  be  a pretty 
true  harbinger  of  easier  rates  for  what  are  termed 
‘fancy’  coloury  sorts.  As  the  depreciation  in  common 
coffee  goes  on,  the  disparity  between  that  and 
prices  for  the  finer  grades  will  doubtless  appear  more 
marked,  and  the  low  valuations  in  the  one  case  will 
help  to  bring  down  extremely  high  rates  in  ihe  other.” 
Coffee  Looking  Up. — Another  large  c ffee  com- 
pany. This  time  in  the  East.  It  is  called  tlie 
Malay  Peninsula  Coffee  Company,  Limited.  It  has  a 
capital  of  £100,000,  divided  into  equal  pro- 
portions of  6 per  cent,  cumulative  preference 
and  ordinary  shares  of  £1  each,  subscrip- 
tions being  invited  for  50,000  preference  and 
30,000  ordinary.  It  is  acquire,  as  going  concerns, 
certain  coffee  estates,  comprising  about  10,000  acres 
of  land  held  on  leases  for  999  years,  in  the  pro- 
tected state  of  the  Malay  Peninsula.  The  area  now' 
under  coffee  of  various  ages  aggregates  about  1,048 
acres  of  which  5.38  acres  are  in  full  bearing,  108 
acres  in  partial  bearing,  and  402  acres  young  plants, 
which  come  into  bearing  in  1897  and  1898.  The 
profits  for  the  year  ending  October  31,  1895,  are 
certified,  at  an  exchange  of  2s  2d,  to  have  amounted 
to  £6,350,  and  those  for  the  current  year  are  esti- 
mated, on  an  exchange  of  2s  2|d,  to  amount  to 
£7,075.  The  purchase  price  is  £92,000,  of  which 
£72,000  is  to  be  paid  in  cash  and  £20,000  in  fully- 
paid  ordinary  shares.  The  directors  are  Sir  Alex- 
ander Wilson  ( chairman  of  the  Mercantile  Bank  of 
India,  Limited),  R.  J.  Boyle  (chairman  of  ttie  Moa- 
bund  lea  Company,  Limited),  and  D.  M.  Lumsden 
( chairman  of  the  Port  Dickson  Coffee  Comany,  Li- 
mited), who  wi  1 join  the  board  after  allotment.  It 
is  announced  that  Mr.  Thomas  Heslop  Hill,  the  prin- 
cipal proprietor  of  the  estates,  has  consented  to  un- 
dertake the  management  of  the  estates  for  a period 
of  five  years.  The  following  contracts  have  been  en- 
tered into : A contract  between  Thomas  Heslop  Hill 
and  Thomas  David  Traill  of  the  one  part,  and  Richard 
Blam  ey  Magor,  as  Trustee  0.1  behalf  of  the  Com- 
pany, for  the  purchase  of  the  Siliau  Coffee  Estate, 
dated  September  8,  1896.  A contract  between  Thomas 
Heslop  Hill  of  the  one  part  and  Messrs.  George 
Williamson  & Co.  and  D.  M.  Lumsden  of  the  other 
part,  dated  September  22,  1896,  with  reference  to 
assisting  in  the  formation  of  the  Company.—  //,  and  G. 
Mail,  Oct.  2. 
DRUG  REPORT. 
(From  the  Chemist  and  Druggist.) 
Loudon,  Oct.  1st. 
.‘Vreca-.nlts.- Sixteen  bags  we  e offered  today,  for  which 
2Ls  per  cwt.  is  asked,  but  teat  figure  was  not  obtain 
able  at  auction. 
C.VRD.yjiOMS.— In  strong  demand,  with  keen  competiti.  n. 
At  auction  lOO  cases  were  all  disposed  of  at  an  irre- 
guliu'  advance,  averaging  abcait  tid  per  lb.,  but  in  .some 
instances  much  exceeding  that  figure.  'J'he  following 
prices  paid  Ceylon-AIysore,  fine  pale  medium  to  bold 
plump,  3s  7d  to  3s  8d  ; medium  fair  pale  3s  3d  to  3s 
4d ; small  to  medium  yellowish  and  brown  3s  to  3.s  2d ; 
small  yellowish  2s  8d  to  2s  lld  ; ditto  brownish  2s  6d; 
