524 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST 
[Feb.  I,  1897. 
they  can  get  the  best  and  the  cheapest.  The  plant 
when  finished  is  to  have  a capacity  of  100,000  tons. 
It  will  be  built  in  the  coalfields  of  Southern  Japan. 
Both  Martin  and  Bessemer  steels  are  to  be  inanu- 
factored.  “ We  want  to  put  our  country,”  said  Mr. 
Oshina  “where it  properly  belongs — in  the  van  as  a 
manufacturing  nation.” 
Planting  in  Central  Africa. — The  Right  Hon. 
Lord  Loch,  g.c.b.,  formerly  High  Commissioner  at 
the  Cape,  presided  on  Tuesday  night  over  a large 
audience  which  assembled  in  the  Whitehall  Rooms 
to  hear  a lecture  delivered  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Royal  Colonial  Institute  by  Sir  Harry  H.  John- 
ston, K.C.B.,  British  Administrator  in  Central  Africa, 
on  England’s  work  in  Central  Africa.  In  the  course 
of  his  lecture  Sir  Harry  Johnston  said  that  at  the 
present  day,  while  the  whole  of  British  Central 
Africa,  otherwise  known  as  the  British  sphere  of  in- 
fluence north  of  the  Zambesi,  was  placed  under  a 
Commissioner  and  Consul-General,  only  that  portion 
of  it  which  was  directly  styled  the  British  Central 
African  Protectorate  was  administered  by  the  Impe- 
rial Government  through  the  said  Commissioner,  while 
the  remainder  lay  under  the  charter  of  the  British 
South  Africa  Company,  and  was  administered  by 
that  body.  The  growth  of  that  administration  had 
merely  kept  pace  with  the  increasing  development  and 
prosperity  of  the  Protectorate.  In  1891,  when  they 
commenced  this  direct  administration,  the  total  trade 
of  Great  Britain  with  British  Central  Africa  scarcely 
reached  the  annual  value  of  .£30,C0O.  At  the  present 
time  the  trade  was  over  .£100,000  in  value  per  annum, 
the  exports  having  risen  from  TiJ.OOO  in  1891  to  nearly 
£20,000  in  1890,  much  of  this  being  represented  by 
the  coffee  grown  in  the  country.  In  1891  the  Euro- 
peans in  the  British  Central  African  Protectorate 
scarcely  exceeded  ninety  in  number.  They  now 
amounted  to  about  800,  of  whom  about  100  were 
connected  with  the  planting  industry.  In  1891  the 
total  amount  of  coffee  exported  from  British  Central 
Africa  was  tw'elve  tons,  whereas  in  1896  no  fewer  than 
320  tons  had  been  exported,  and  the  prices  touched 
by  the  recent  samples  had  been  almost  the  highest 
in  the  market,  viz.,  113s  per  cwt.  Tea  was  grown 
to  a slight  extent  and  cinchona.  Tobacco  was  ex- 
tensively cultivated  by  one  firm,  who  had  started 
a cigar  manufactory.  Cotton  was  grown  on  one  or 
two  estates,  and  another  company  was  developing 
the  various  fibres,  some  of  which  were  of  consider- 
able value. 
The  Quauteuly  Sale  of  Cinnamon. — At  the  perio- 
dical auction  of  cinnamon,  the  last  of  the  series, 
held  last  week,  only  1,400  xiackages  Ceylon,  or  barely 
one-half  the  quantity  put  forward  in  November,  1895, 
were  included.  A brisk  demand  prevailed  from  both 
the  home  trade  and  exporters,  so  that  the  bulk  of 
the  above  supply  was  taken  off  at  enhanced 
rates.  The  medium  and  lower  sorts  realised  id  to 
Id,  and  the  finer  and  superior  qualities  2d  to  3d, 
per  lb.  advance  on  the  prices  ruling  on  the  August 
sales,  thus  establishing  the  following  range  of  quo- 
tations : Ordinary  t©  fair  firsts  at  lid  to  Is  Id, 
tine  garden  cinnamon  at  Is  4d,  superior  quill  at 
Is  6d  to  Is  7d,  and  very  low  at  8d  to  9d;  seconds 
from  lOJd  to  Is  2d,  finest  plantation  at  Is  5d,  and 
coarse  at  7id  to  8Jd ; thirds  from  7d  to  Is  Id,  and 
beat  at  Is  2d  to  Is  4d ; with  fourths  at  7*d,  and 
9Jd  to  Is  per  lb.  The  “unworked”  portion  went 
at  from  8d  up  to  Is  Id  for  the  commonest  to  the 
better  kinds,  with  a few  lots  broken  (in  boxes)  at 
8id  to  9^d. 
The  Blackwood  Coffee  Comi>.vny,  Limited. — Mr. 
Justice  Chitty  heard  a petition  last  week  asking  the 
Court  to  confirm  lesolutions  which  had  boon  passed 
for  the  reduction  of  the  capital  of  this  comxiany.  The 
company  was  formed  in  1879  to  cultivate  coffee 
estates  in  Ceylon.  The  nominal  caxiital  was  £100,000, 
divided  into  £5,000  shares  of  .£20  each  ; 3,250  shares 
had  been  issued,  of  which  3,140  were  fully  paid  up, 
the  remainder  (110)  having  been  forfeited.  .Shortly 
after  the  incorporation  of  the  company  two  estates 
were  purchased  for  .£58,000,  but  owing  to  the  almost 
entire  failure  of  the  coffee  crop  in  Ceylon  the  culti- 
vation had  been  discontinued,  and  the  estates  were 
sold  for  £5,21*0  The  directors  estimated  the  present 
value  of  the  Blackwood  estate  at  £15,000,  and  the 
entire  loss  amounted  to  £37,800.  'This  deficit  it  was 
proposed  to  extinguish  by  writing  off  .£12  per  share, 
and  as  the  company  had  capital  in  hand,  far  in 
excess  of  its  wants,  it  was  proxiosed  to  return  £2 
per  share.  Resolutions  had  been  passed  for  reducing 
the  capital  of  the  company  from  £100,000,  divided 
into  5,000  shares  of  .£20  each,  to  £39,340,  divided 
into  4,890  shares  of  £6  each,  such  reduction  to  be 
effected  by  (1)  cancelling  llO  shares  which  had  been 
forfeited,  (2)  cancelling  capital  which  had  been  lost 
or  was  unrepresented  by  avail  assets,  to  the  ex- 
tent of  .£12  per  share  ou  3,140  shares,  amounting 
to  £37,680,  and  (3)  by  returning  to  the  shareholders 
paid-up  capital  to  the  extent  of  £6,280,  being  at  the 
rate  of  £2  per  share,  which  was  in  excess  of  the 
lequirements  of  the  company.  Mr.  Carson,  who 
apxieared  for  the  company,  having  stated  the  above 
facts,  his  lordship  made  an  order  sanctioning  the  re- 
duction, and  directed  the  company  to  use  the  words 
‘‘  and  reduced”  after  its  name  fora  xieriod  of  one  month. 
^ 
THE  INCREASE  OF  TEA  GROWING. 
Enormous  as  is  the  world's  consumption  of  tea, 
and  largely  as  it  is  increasing,  it  seems  to  be  a ques- 
tion whether  supply  will  not  e.xceed  demand  before 
very  long.  It  is  now  very  clearly  demonstrated  that 
the  shrub  needs  only  certain  conditions  of  soil  and 
climate  to  thrive  and  produce  first-class  leaves.  It  is 
equally  proved  that  the  required  conditions  exist  in 
manj'  parts  of  the  world  which  have  never  gone  in  for 
tea  growing.  In  both  South  America  and  South  Africa, 
initial  experiments  are  said  to  have  been  crowned  with 
brilliant  success,  while  Russia  is  making  a determined 
effort  to  supply  her  oau  requirements.  At  the  same 
time,  the  out-turns  of  Assam  and  Ceylon  steadily 
increase;  in  spite  of  the  discouragement  afforded  by 
lower  prices.  The  Dutch  Bast  Indies  are  also  be- 
ginning to  comxiete  in  earnest,  and  there  are  some 
who  believe  that  the  industry  would  flourish  in 
Northern  Queensland.  It  may  be  taken  for  granted 
too,  that  China  will,  before  long,  make  strenuous 
endeavours  to  regain  her  lost  hold  on  external  mar- 
kets ; when  the  Empire  is  opened  up  by  railways, 
the  cost  of  transport  to  the  coast  is  bound  to  be 
largely  reduced.  All  present  circumstances  thus  point 
to  the  likelihood  of  a continuous  augmentation  of  pro- 
duction ; and  unless  consumption  increases  propor- 
tionately, tea  drinkers  will  have  a better  time  than 
tea  growers.  Happily,  our  Indian  and  Cingalese  gar- 
dens have  achieved  such  high  reputation  that  they 
will  enteriuto  this  competition  with  great  advantages 
in  their  favour.  But  they  should  spare  no  exertion  to 
cheapen  cost  without  loss  of  quality. — Globe,  Dec.  8. 
THE  TEA  TRADE  IN  RUSSIA. 
Tea  is  the  national  drink  par  excellence  iu  Russia ; 
it  is  as  indispensable  in  the  food  of  the  people  as 
bread  or  meat,  and  is  taken  at  all  hours  of  the  day. 
In  every  town  tea-houses  are  found  where  a large 
glass  of  tea,  with  plenty  of  sugar  in  it,  is  provided 
at  a cost  of  from  three  halfpence  to  twopence  half- 
penny, according  to  the  town  and  the  position  of 
the  customers  frequenting  these  establishments.  In 
these  circumstances  it  is  only  natural  that  the  con- 
sumption of  tea  in  Russia  attains  enormous  propor- 
tions, and  is  yearly  ou  the  increase.  According  to 
the  Journal  dela  Cliambre  de  Commerce  de  Gonstanti- 
nople,  Russia  imported  in  1894,  through  the  port  of 
Odessa,  15,692,tXX) kilogrammes  (kilogramme— 2,204  lbs) 
of  tea  from  China.  Through  the  Custom-houses  of 
the  Baltic  large  quantities  of  tea  ore  entered,  chiefly 
consigned  to  Moscow,  or  for  local  consumption,  and 
by  the  land  customs  of  Eastern  Siberia,  about 
20,000,000  kilogrammes  of  tea,  representing  a value  of 
about  50,000,000  roubosl,  were  imported.  All  the  tea 
