Dec.  I,  1896.]  THE  TROPICAL 
'chooses  to  say  he  will  work  “ manana  ” tomorrow 
he  is  subject  to  no  inconvenience  by  tlie  delay, 
whatever  his  employer  may  suffer.  In  the  land  of 
manana  there  is  a tomorrow  for  the  peon  as  for  the 
proudest  Castilian.  It  is  this  spirit  of  procrastination 
which  has  driven  the  most  irrepressible  American 
settlers  to  despair.  In  the  course  of  time  they  begin 
te  manana  themselves. 
The  women  and  children  of  the  peons  find  em- 
ployment during  the  coffee-picking  season  at  a nrere 
pittance  of  course,  but  a peon  can  exist  ,on  wages 
which  a sand,  shoveler  would  spurn  if  starvation 
started  him  in  the  face.  The  male  peons  are  liable 
to  military  service,  an  element  which  has  to  be  taken 
into  serious  consideration,  for  Giratemala,  like  the 
other  Central  American  republics  or  the  great  powers 
of  Europe,  is  armed  to  the  teeth  all  the  time  and 
her  soil  is  liable  to  invasion  and  pillage  at  any  hour. 
White  men  going  to  Guatemala  to  settle  will  soon 
find  that  there  ate  three  climates.  On  the  coast  it 
is  blazing  hot  ; in  the  higher  altitudes,  on  which  the 
plantations  are  situated,  it  is  a little  warm,  but  not 
uncomfortably  so ; in  the  highest  elevations  the  climate 
is  an  eternal  spring. 
All  kinds  of  provisions  are  very  dear  and  tobacco 
is  worthy  1 dol  per  pound.  In  Guatemala  City  wines 
are  cheaply  obtainable  at  the  hotels,  but  bottled  beer 
is  worth  about  BOi  or  1 dol  a bottle.  Hotel  accom- 
modations are  quite  high. 
Perliaps  the  most  discouraging  feature  to  be  set- 
tled is  the  want  of  transportation  facilities  ; the 
long  distance  from  the  plantations  to  the  towns 
(often  40  miles  or  more)  and  the  dilfioulty  of  obtaining 
social  recognition.  Once  this  recognition  is  obtained 
life  is  pleasant  enough,  and  there  are  many  dark-eyed 
damsels  of  old  Castilian  stock  in  Guatemala  City  whose 
glances  are  apt  to  soften  the  pangs  of  exile. 
The  early  coffee  crop  is  ready  for  picking  by 
December,  and  the  season  lasts  till  May.  The  plan- 
tations near  the  line  of  railroad  running  to  the 
coast  at  San  Jose  of  course  use  the  railroad,  but 
elsewhere  the  transportation  to  Ocos  and  Champerico 
is  by  ox  teams  and  other  primitive  means.  The  old- 
fashioned  bongos  or  boats  in  which  the  coffee-bags 
were  shoved  off  on  the  beach,  amid  a tremendous 
surf,  are  now  replaced  by  lighters  pushed  off  from 
long  iron  piers. 
The  steamers  do  not  come  up  to  the  piers  for  the 
reason  that  the  heavy  rollers  would  soon  toss  them 
ashore,  and  the  lighters  are  toward  out  a mile  or  more 
to  the  steamer’s  side. 
In  no  way  can  the  extreme  conservatism  of  Guate- 
mala and  other  Central  American  republics  be  better 
shown  than  in  the  rude  contrivance  by  iwhich  pas- 
sengers are  swung  into  the  lighters  a!id  then  into 
the  gangway  of  the  steamers.  The  traveller  who 
has  once  gone  through  the  ordaul  seldom  cares  to 
repeat  the  experience,  save  on  the  direst  necessity. 
Torre-f  Straits  Pilot,  Oct.  3. 
NOTES  EUOM  HOME. 
London,  Oct.  23. 
iMr.  Win.  Mackenzie,  the  Ceylon  Tea  Com- 
missioner, was  ready  to  start  once  more  for 
America  this  week  ; but  a diiliculty  about  pas- 
sage will  ilelay  him  some  days.  He  de,scrve.s 
credit  for  facing  tran.sit  across  tlie  Atlantic  and 
back  in  the  cold  .season  ; but  he  is  in  splendid 
health,  and  reports  that  encouragement  is  found 
in  certain  linns  taking  up  the  work  of  advertising 
CEYLON  TEA  IN  AMEHICA 
on  their  account.  One  London  linn  with  branches 
in  the  States  is  doing  a good  deal,  while  Messrs. 
Larkin  & Co.  of  Toronto,  uho  have  so  often 
written  to  the  Observer  on  tlie  subject,  deserve 
great  credit  from  the  Ceylon  planters  for  their 
enterprise  since  they  advertise  in  some  340  Cana- 
dian papers.  Mr.  Mackenzie  has  inducei  them 
to  make  a beginning  acros.s  the  bor<ler  in  the 
AGRICULTURIST.  403 
States,  and  their  venture  in  Huffalo— a city  of 
400,000  jieople— is  reported  to  he  eminently 
satisfactory,  so  that  we  may  expect  a further 
extension.  Several  of  the  Commissioner’s  lady 
lecturers  on  Ceylon  tea  have  been  taken  on  by 
linns  now  interested  in  the  trade — a good  sign. 
At  the  same  time,  we  are  not  to  expect  any 
very  large  figures  by  way  of  increase  ol  exports 
to  America  in  18‘JG ; indeed  there  is  a rumour 
that  the  published  return  for  1895  may  have  to 
be  amended  through  some  exports  from  Calcutta 
via  London  to  America  having  been  counted 
twice,  owing  to  want  of  clearness  at  the  Cus- 
toms. It  seems  that  the  American  Customs 
statistics  do  not  help  in  respect  of  the  countries 
from  which  dill'erent  kinds  of  tea  are  imported. 
Considerable  activity  over 
TEA  COMPANY  SHARE.S 
prevails  in  the  City,  and  there  is  no  lack  of 
confidence  in  Ceylon  plantations.  Apart  from 
recent  purcliases  and  developments,  the  forma- 
tion of  another  new  Com|)any,  dealing  with 
estates  at  a comparatively  high  elevation,  is  re- 
ported ; while  a merchant  recently  from  your 
midst  (Mr.  W.  H.  T’igg)  is  credited  with  an 
AMALGAMATION  i>iNu  CONSOLIDATION  SCHEME 
which  is  sure  to  be  very  popular  at  this  end, 
although  the  outside  public  are  not  likely  to  be 
appealed  to.  The  Companies  t o be  amalgamated 
are  some  of  the  very  prosperous  ones  in  the 
Kelani  district,  among  the  earliest  formed  and 
for  which  Messrs.  \Vhittall  & Co.  Colombo,  are 
Agents ; and  at  the  same  time  the  capital  is 
likely  to  he  changed  into  sterling.  No  doubt  a 
popular  as  ■well  as  powerful  Company  will,  in 
this  M’ay,  be  formed. 
It  is  satisfactory  to  see  the 
SCOTTISH  TRUST  AND  LAND  CO.  OF  CEYLON 
— after  sufi’ering  in  the  cofi'ee  days — coming 
rapidly  to  the  front  Avith  its  tea,  although  other 
liroducts  are  not  ignored  ; debt  and  debentures 
are  being  cleared  oft'  and  the  lucky  shareholders 
divide  12^  ]ier  cent  for  the  year  free  of  income 
tax.  The  veteran  Chairman, 
MR.  THOS.  DICKSON,  SR., 
may  well  be  proud  of  his  steering  of  this  Cor- 
poration through  the  dark  times  of  depression 
into  the  present  course  of  prosperity. 
THE  RRAZILIAN-DUMONT  COFFEE  COAIRANY 
— to  judge  by  the  market  quotations  for  de- 
bentures and  shares — is  not  over-popular  in  Lon- 
don at  present,  perhaps,  owing  to  the  late  finan- 
cial trouble  in  Rio  ; but  full  confidence  is  e.x- 
pressed  in  its  being  a sound  and  profitable  enter- 
prise for  the  shareholders,  and  the  following  testi- 
mony appears  in  a iiaragraph  in  the  Financial 
Times  this  week  • 
Dumont  Coffee  Estate — The  sale  of  the  Dumont 
Coffee  Estate  to  an  English  Company  has  caused  the 
Journal  do  Commercio  of  Ilio  de  Janiero,  to  ex- 
press its  regret  that  so  fine  a property  should  be 
allowed  to  pass  out  of  Brazilian  hands.  The  liio 
Xews  while  sharing  the  opinion  of  the  “ Journal  ” 
as  to  the  value  of  the  estate,  which  is,  it  says,  “ one 
of  the  most  valuable  in  Brazil,”  is  glad  to  see  so 
large  an  introduction  of  foreign  capital  into  the  coun- 
try, believing  that  with  more  foreign  property  owners 
steadier  progress  will  be  made. 
Tim 
CO.ST.V  RICA  COFFEE  VENTURE 
— on  which  Mr.  .1.  I,.  Sluuul  reported— is 
not  yet  floated,  .some  more  capital  being  con- 
sidered necessary,  though  a considerable  amount 
h.as  been  subscribed.  The  increased  tightne.ss  of 
the  money  market  may  be  telling  against  such 
