Dec.  I,  1896.1 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
423 
minds  that  the  Continental  bounty  system  has  practi- 
cally ruined  them,  they  decline  to  accept  any  other 
theory  for  a moment.  The  planters  of  British  Guiana 
are  deeply  concerned,  and  the  Georgetown  Planters’ 
Association  has  applied  to  the  Imperial  Government 
for  relief,  and  has  suggested  that  one  of  the  follow- 
ing three  measures  should  be  adopted  ; — “ {a)  The 
immediate  payment  from  the  Imperial  Treasury  of 
a sum  per  ton  of  sugar  exported  from  the  colony 
equal  to  the  bounty  on  export  s^gar  given  by 
Germany,  so  as  to  ]place  the  indusiry  in  the  colony 
on  an  equal  footing  and  in  as  favourable  a position 
as  that  of  foreign  countries  now  exporting  beet  sugar 
to  Great  Britain,  {hj  The  arrangement  of  a con- 
ference of  the  European  countries  giving  export 
bounties  on  beet  sugar,  with  a view  to  settling  a 
joint  agreement  for  the  immediate  abolition 
of  such  bounties.  This  matter  of  relief  to  be  of 
any  assistance  to  British  Guiana  must  be  very 
promptly  carried  out.  (c)  The  imposition  of  a 
countervailing  duty  on  all  foreign  sugar  imported 
into  Great  Britain  equal  to  the  bounty  given  at 
the  port  of  export.”  Unfortunately  the  planters  of 
Demerara  and  Essequibo  are  not  the  only  persons 
who  have  had  to  face  an  enormous  fall  of  prices.  Other 
agriculturists  have  suffered  in  the  same  way,  and 
might  ask  for  a subsidy  also,  and  the  question  is, 
when  should  such  subsidies  stop  ? Supposing  that 
China  and  .Tapan,  owing  to  Government  subsidies, 
were  to  become  formidable  rivals  of  Indian  and 
Ceylon  tea  planters  in  the  tea  markets  of  the  world, 
the  latter  would  be  entitled  to  ask  for  subsidy  from 
tlie  British  Government,  in  the  same  way  as  that 
suggested  by  the  sugar  planters  of  Guiana.  Our 
sympathy  is  with  the  sugar  planters  of  British  Guiana 
and  the  sugar-producing  colonies,  but  we  fear  that 
protection  will  not  help  them.  Cane  sugar  is  grown 
in  the  United  States,  and  it  is  protected,  except  as 
regards  Hawaiian  sugar,  by  a very  heavy  duty;  but, 
in  inspite  of  this  duty.  German  beet-sugar  is  being 
imported  into  the  United  States  in  quantities  which 
are  increasing  enormously,  tho  total  for  the  first 
eight  months  of  this  year  being  estimated  at  nearly 
600.000. 000  lb.  as  against  only  about  135,000,000  lb. 
for  the  corresponding  period  in  1894  and  about 
167.000. 000  lb.  for  the  first  eight  mouths  last  year’ 
Science  and  Improved  Machinery. — Sir  Charles 
Bruce  has  just  reported  on  the  decline  of  the  sugar 
industry  in  the  Windward  Islands.  He  opines 
strongly  to  the  view  that  the  main  cause  of  this 
decline  is  the  system  of  subsidies  adopted  by  foreign 
governments  which  guarantee  the  producers  a margin 
of  profit  even  when  the  price  is  below  the  cost  of 
production.  Whatever  the  reason,  the  decline  during 
the  last  fifteen  years  is  very  striking.  In  St.  Vincent, 
for  instance,  the  value  of  the  export  in  1880  was 
i:i28,603  ; in  1895  it  was  £21, 581-  In  view  of  these 
figiu'es,  it  is  satisfactory  to  learn  that  Professor 
Harrison,  who  has  reported  on  the  agricultural 
prospects  of  the  islands,  holds  out  great  hopes  of 
renewed  prosperity  from  scientific  treatment  of  the 
soil  and  improved  machinery.  Sir  Charles  Bruce 
in  his  report  on  St.  Lucia  shows  how  much 
headway  may  be  made  even  against  the  worst 
of  agricultural  depression.  The  mortgagees  in 
possession  of  the  estates  of  the  Central  Sugar  Factory 
Company  gave  notice  of  withdrawal  from  the  pro- 
perty. As  the  company  itself  was  entirely  without 
funds,  it  seemed  certain  that  the  estate  would  revert 
to  its  natural  condition  of  jungle,  and  that  a 
large  body  of  labourers  would  be  thrown  out  of  work. 
A locil  syndicate  then  came  forward  and  took  over 
the  estates  for  a year.  “I  understand,”  say.s  Sir 
Charles  Bruce,  *•  that  the  e.states  have  been  worked 
with  such  superior  energy,  skill,  and  economy  as  to 
realise  an  immediate  profit,  and  to  jjistify  the  belief 
that  the  cultivation  of  the  proport}'  will  be  per- 
manently maintained  and  exte.ided,  with  profit  to 
the  undertakers  and  every  advantage  to  the  colony.” 
Coolie  Labour  in  the  West  Indies. — There  is 
one  point  in  connection  with  the  crisis  in  the 
sugar  planting  industry  of  B itish  Guiana  which 
must  not  be  overlooked,  and  that  is  the  difficulty 
between  maintaining  the  validity  of  the  posi- 
tion of  the  indentured  coolies  on  tho  one  hand 
and  the  employment  of  coolies  whose  contracts 
had  run  out  at  less  wages  on  the  other  ; the 
alternative  being  the  closing  of  tho  estates, 
which  means  ruin  to  practically  the  entire 
population.  There  is  also  a far  more  serious 
question  to  be  faced  by  the  Imperial  Government, 
as  the  insolvency  of  the  whole  sugar  industry  will 
also  mean  the  insolvency  of  the  colony  for  the  lieavy 
loans  to  the  estates  guaranteed  by  the  colony,  while 
the  revenue  will  suffer  in  proportionate  ratio.  The 
obliteration  of  tho  sugar  industry  in  British  Guiana 
will  mean  the  disappearance  of  at  least  75  per  cent, 
of  the  whole  trade  of  the  colony. 
Cuban  Planters  and  their  Troubles.— It  is  an 
ill  wind,  &c.,  and  the  losses  of  the  Cuban  sugar 
planters  from  the  insurrection  in  the  “ Pearl  of  the 
Antilles”  has  been  some  gain  to  sugar  planters 
elsewhere.  The  exportation  from  Cuba  to  the  United 
States  had  fallen  off  by  two-thirds  np  to  August, 
and  has  now  ceased,  to  the  advantage  of  sugar  cane 
growers  in  the  West  Indies,  and  in  the  East  too.  As 
to  tobacco,  owing  to  exceptionally  large  stocks  being 
in  hand,  the  market  for  Havannah  cigars  has  not 
yet  risen  to  the  extent  expected.  But  experts  in 
the  trade  predict  that  hi  another  two  years  there 
wiil  be  such  dearth  as  will  place  prime  Havannahs 
beyond  the  reach  of  all  except  the  very  wealthy. 
Coffee  in  the  Congo. — M.  Laurent,  Professor  of  the 
Agricultural  Institute  of  Gembloux,  entrusted,  by  the 
independent  Scate  with  a mission  to  the  Congo, 
has  just  published  a report  upon  the  results  of  his 
travels,  in  which  he  says  that  the  Congo  will,  in  some 
years  to  come,  be  as  important  a coffee-growing  coun- 
try as  Brazil  is  at  the  present  time.  The  coffee  tree 
will  find  in  the  great  equatorial  forest  the  conditions 
of  soil  and  climate  that  are  the  best  suited  for  it. 
It  grows  there  in  a wild  state,  and  there  are  three 
descriptions  known,  two  of  which  yield  excellent  results. 
According  to  the  information  M.  Laurent  has  obtained 
at  Bosoko  and  Coquillhatville,  the  preparation  of  the 
ground  for  coffee  plantations  would  require  native 
labour,  which  could  be  obtained  at  a cost  of  about  £10 
per  hectare  (2.47  acres). 
• ♦- — 
COFFEE  IN  THE  CONGO  STATE. 
WEST  AND  CENTRAL  AFRICA. 
We  have  received  from  the  author,  M.  Emile 
Laurent,  Profe.ssor  in  the  Government  Agricultural 
IiLstitute  at  Gembloux,  Belgium,  a copy  of  his 
Report  in  French,  addressed  to  the  ' Belgian 
Secretary  of  State,  on  the  Agricultural  Prospect.s 
revealed  by  his  journey  in  the  Congo  Free  State 
appertaining  to  King  Leopold.  Tliis  journey, 
specially  subsidised  by  the  Government,  extended 
from  the  8tli  September  1S95  to  the  14th  of  May 
1896,  and  included  a great  portion  of  the  vast 
extent  of  territory  comprised  in  the  State  for 
over  ten  degree.s  sontlr  and  five  degrees  north  of 
tlie  equator  witii  some  twelve  degrees  of  latitude. 
Pending  a full  trauslaliou  of  tlii.s  important 
Report,  wliicli  we  may  pulilish  in  cxte.nso  in  our 
Tropical  Ariricultarist,  we  may  fortliwitli  give  a 
general  idea  of  its  contents.  This  must  be  very 
biief , foi  tlie  Ivepoi  t cor  ers  over  forty  pa^j'e.s  of 
a large  size  jn-intei!  iiampldet.  It  has  irassed 
into  a tliird  ediCoii,  so  it  is  evidently  attractincr 
a good  deal  of  attention  in  Belgimn  and  on  the 
Continent  generally  ; and  as  a result  we  may 
ex))ect  a considerable  introduction  of  both  plaiitin'o- 
pioneers  .and  mercirants  ,as  well  as  capital  into 
the  Congo.  But  it  will  he  snrpiising  if  British 
traders  and  money  do  not  take  piaoiity  wlien 
it  is  found  tli.at  there  are  new  products  av,ail- 
able,  much  in  demand  in  Europe  and  America. 
Already,  the  Congo  State  is  tlie  scene  of  some 
very  successful  English  Mission  Settlements 
