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THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Jan.  I,  1897. 
SALE  OF  ASSAM  TEA  GARDENS. 
NELLIE  TE.\  GARDENS. 
Messrs.  Mackenzie,  Lyall  and  Company,  on  behalf 
of  Messrs.  Cresswell  and  Co.,  offered  for  sale  by  pub- 
lic auction  at  the  Tea  Sales  Roooni,  No.  5,  Fairlie 
Place,  Calcutta,  at  1 p.m.  on  Monday,  in  four 
separate  lots,  four  valuable  tea  gardens.  The  first  lot 
put  up  to  the  hammer  w.ra  the  garden  known  as  the 
Nellie  Tea  Garden,  situated  in  Zillih  Nowgong  in 
Assam.  This  garden  comprises  an  acreage  of  about  6()1 
acres,  of  which  about  612  acres  are  held  under  fee- 
simple  grant  and  about  52  acres  under  ten  years 
pottage.  The  area  under  tea  cultivation  is  about  225 
acres.  The  tea  is  on  the  fee-simple  land,  with  the 
exception  of  about  three  acres,  which  are  comprised 
in  the  pottah  land.  The  out  turn  of  this  garden 
last  season  was  -15,120  lb.,  and  the  estimated  out- 
turn for  the  current  season  is  52,800  lb.  The  fac- 
tory buildings  consist  of  a woode:;  bungalow  with 
thatched  roof,  a tea  house  with  corrugated  iron  sides 
and  roof  and  cemented  floor,  size  66  feet  by  18  feet. 
Also  two  large  cutcha  withering  houses  and  one  fer- 
menting house,  and  machinery.  The  bidding  at  the 
onset  was  brisk,  starting  with  R2,000  and  advancing 
up  to  R6,500,  at  which  figure  the  property  was 
knocked  down  to  Mr.  Rates. 
HII.LISUR  THA  GAIIDENS. 
The  second  lot  that  was  auctioned  was  the  Hillisur 
Tea  Garden,  situate  at  Tezpur  in  Zillali  Duming 
in  Assam.  This  Garden  comprises  an  area  of 
about  466  acres,  of  which  17.8-1-1  acres  are  held 
under  fee-simple  grant  and  about  293  acres  under 
a pottah  or  lease  from  Government  for  99  years 
from  1st  Augus.  1860.  There  ai’e  also  about  73 
biggahs  11  cottahs  to  the  south  of  the  above  466 
acres  held  in  ryottee  tenure.  The  area  under  tea 
cultivation  is  17,850  acres.  There  are  several  build- 
ings on  the  garden,  and  machinery.  There  were  no 
bidders  fer  the  property,  so  it  was  withdrawn. 
LIZZIEPUB  TEA  GAIIDEN. 
Tire  next  lot  was  the  Lizziepur  Tea  Garden,  situ- 
ate at  Kurseong  near  Darjiling.  This  garden  com- 
prises an  area  of  about  1,956  acres,  of  which  about 
306  acres  are  held  under  Government  pottah  for  30 
years  from  1st  June  1870,  about  80  acres  under 
Government  pottah  for  30  years  from  1st  April  1869, 
and  about  850  aerrs  under  the  same  Goveriiinont 
DOttah  for  a similar  period  from  1st  April  1869.  The 
area  under  tea  cultivation  is  374  acres.  The  outturn 
for  the  past  season  was  83,5201b.,  and  the  estimated 
outturn  for  the  current  season  is  81,000  lb.  There 
are  several  buildings  on  the  garden  with  machinery. 
The  first  bid  made  was  Rl0,000  which  rose  to 
R40,000,  after  which  there  were  no  bidders,  and  the 
property  was  withdrawn. 
THE  MATTAGAimAH  TEA  GARDEN. 
The  valuable  tea  garden  known  as  the  Mattagarrah 
Tea  Garden,  situate  at  Siliguri,  Darjiling,  was  th ) 
last  to  be  put  up  to  the  hammer.  The  property 
comprises  an  area  of  about  750  acres,  of  which  about 
346  acres  arc  under  tea  cultivation  held  under  renew- 
able Government  pottahs.  The  outturn  for  the  past 
•season  was  101,868  lb.  and  the  estim.ited  outturn  for 
the  current  season  is  104,0001b.  The  buildings  at- 
tached are  spacious,  with  some  excellent  machinery. 
The  bidding  started  with  R5,000  and  advanced  up 
to  R31,000,  when  on  behalf  of  the  vendors,  a further 
advance  of  1135,000  w.is  made  by  the  auctioneers, 
but  there  being  no  more  bidders,  the  property  was 
withdrawn. — Englishman,  Dec.  9. 
THE  AMSTERDAM  DRUG-MARKET. 
Our  Amsterdam  correspondent,  writing  on  Novem- 
ber 24th.  states  that  about  27  tons  of  new-crop  Java 
cassia  fistula  has  arrived.  Four  tons  were  offered  by 
auction,  but  only  about  12s  per  cwt.  was  bid,  and  the 
owners  will  not  sell  for  less  than  13s  4d  per  cwt. 
The  crop  is  of  fair  quality,  but  not  fine.  A small 
parcel  of  cassia-pulp  lias  also  arrived.  Cubebs  remain 
Quite  neglected  and  without  business.  About  138 
boxes  of  flue  second  Sumatra  Benzoin  have  changed 
hands  at  about  £8  7s  6d  per  cwt.  Only  common 
qualities  are  now  left  in  stock,  but  for  these  there 
is  no  demand.  Cananga  oil : Fresh  arrivals  have  filled 
the  requirements,  and  for  the  present  there  is  no 
demand. — Chemist  and  Druggist,  Nov.  28. 
HIGHLAND  COFFEE  OF  SIERRA  LEONE. 
[Coffee  stcnophylla,  G.  Don.) 
The  Highland  Coffee  of  Sierra  Leone  (Cofee  steno- 
phijlla  is  an  interesting  plant,  as  being,  according  to 
the  Botanical  Magazine,  t.  7475,  “ one  of  the  two  in- 
digenous West  African  species*  which  in  point  of 
Commercial  value  may  prove  a formidable  rival  of 
the  Arabian  coffee.”  It  was  discovered  by  Afzelius 
upwards  a century  ago  ; but  was  not  published  until 
1834,  when  G.  Don.  described  it  from  specimens 
collected  by  himself  at  Sierra  Leone.  Sir  Joseph 
Hooker  remarks  : — ” It  was  regarded  by  Rencham, 
perhaps  rightly,  in  the  ‘‘Niger  Flora,’  as  a variety 
of  C.  arahica.'’ 
The  plant  is  an  evergreen  shrub  or  small  tree  up 
to  20  feet  high ; youngest  leaf-shoots  ar-e  pink. 
Leaves  four  to  six  inches  long  by  one  to  one  and 
a half  broad,  bright  green  and  glossy  above,  paler 
beneath;  nerves,  six  to  ten  pairs,  with  small  glands 
at  the  axils,  which  are  white,  and  perforated  on  the 
upper  surface.  Flowers  large,  white,  one  to  one  and 
a half  inches  across  the  corolla  lobes.  Rerry  half- 
an-inch  in  diameter,  globose.  Seels  he.mispherio, 
with  a narrow  ventral  furrow. 
It  owes  its  name,  ‘‘  The  Higlilaud  Coffee  of  Sierra 
Leone,”  to  Dr.  Daniell. 
Mr.  G.  F'.  Scott-Elliot,  F.L.S.,  the  botanist  to  ihe 
Anglo-French  Boundary  Commission,  in  1892,  also 
collected  specimens,  which  are  now  in  the  Kew 
Herbarium.  Sir  Joseph  Hooker  remarks  that  these 
are  of  a very  slender  shape,  with  lanceolate  leaves 
only  two  to  two  and  a half  inches  long  by  one-third 
to  two-thirds  of  an  inch  broad,  very  different  from 
those  represented  in  the  accompanying  plate,  ‘‘and 
these  together  favour  the  opinion  entertained  by 
Rentham,  that  both  are  forms  of  C.  arahica,  Linn.” 
Mr.  Scott-Elliot’s  account  [Kcm  Bnllelin,  1893,  p. 
167)  is  as  follows  : — 
“ Coffee  stenaphijUa,  the  narrow-leaved  ‘ wild,’ 
‘ bush,’  or  ‘ native  coffee,’  is  sometimes  found  wild 
in  the  hills,  and  is  more  often  cultivated  than 
the  Liberian.  It  grows  very  freely,  and  yields  quite 
as  much  as  the  Liberian,  but  is  somewhat  longer  in 
coming  into  bearing.  Roth  the  natives  and  French 
traders  at  Freetown  say  that  it  has  a superior  fla- 
vour, and  prefer  it  to  the  Liberian.  In  fact,  latterly 
a certain  amount  has  been  exported  to  a French 
dealer,  who  is  said  to  sell  it  at  -4  frs.  50  cents,  a lb. 
as  ‘best  mocha.’  Considering  that  it  is  worth  at  Free- 
town 6d  a lb.,  this  should  be  a fairly  profitable  trade, 
and  a trial  shipment  should  be  made  by  the  English 
merchants  to  find  out  exactly  what  the  market 
value  in  Liverpool  woiTd  be.  The  plant  appears  to 
thrive  best  in  the  hig’uer  hills  about  Sierra  Leone, 
on  gneissose  or  grantic  soil  and  can  be  grown  at 
from  500  to  2,000  ft. 
The  plant,  from  which  the  accompanying  plate 
was  produced  for  the  Botanical  Magazine,  was  raised 
at  Kew  from  seed  sent  in  May  1894  by  Sir  William 
H.  Quayle  Jones,  late  Chief  Justice  of  the  West 
African  Settlement  and  Deputy  Governor  of  Sierra 
Leone. 
The  circumstances  under  which  the  seed  was  col- 
lected is  given  in  the  follow’ing  despatch  communi- 
cated to  Kew  by  the  Colonial  Office  : — 
Deputy  Governor,  Sierra  Leone,  to  Colonial  Office. 
Government  House,  Freetown,  Sierra  Leone, 
April  10th  1894. 
My  Lord  Marquess, — In  reply  to  your  Lordship’s 
Despatch,  No.  15,  dated  the  23rd  January  last, 
transmitting  a copy  of  a letter  from  the  Director  of 
the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew,  asking  that  a few 
pounds  of  fresh  and  authentic  seed  of  Coffee  steno- 
phylla  may  be  obtained  and  transmitted  to  him  for 
distribution  to  the  botanic  stacions  in  the  West 
Indies,  which  request  your  Lordship  desired  should 
