530 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Feb.  I,  1897. 
India  called  Tamils,  ai'o  Industrious  and  enter- 
prising. When  long  drought  brings  the  pinch  of 
scarcity  miori  them,  they  .swarm  in  hundreds  of 
thousands  across  lo  the  little  Island  of  Ceylon, 
ancient  Lanka.  There,  they  hnd  relief  and  plenty 
of  work,  on  the  nourishing  Tea  Gardens. 
Perhap.s  no  industry  ever  grew  so  rapidly  as  that 
of  lea  in  Ceylon.  Fourteen  years  ago,  the 
export  was  1,000,009  iiounds,  this  year  it  will 
reach  105,000,000  pounds.  The  Teas  of  India  and 
Ceylon  have  only  recently  been  brought  to  the 
notice  of  the  American  jmblic,  but  ther  superior 
strength,  purity  and  flavour  are  already  making 
them  household  dainties. 
Americans  are  great  travellers,  but  only  a few 
penetrate  as  far  as  India,  yet  that  country  would 
well  repay  a visit,  and  we  would  advise  all  who 
go  there,  first  to  read  the  glowing  pages  of  Mac.au- 
ay’s  Essays  on  Clive  and  Warren  Hastings,  India’s 
ancient  civilization,  its  temples,  its  grand  ruins  at 
Delhi,  Lucknow,  Benares  and  a hundred  other 
places  and  the  Taj  at  Agra,  the  “ glory  of  the 
world”  would  all  teach  us  to  be  less  boastful  of 
our  hideous  twenty  storied  modern  iron  structures. 
A RECENT  SOJOURNER  IN  INDIA. 
PLANTING  AND  PRODUCE. 
(From  the  H.  tO  C,  Mail,  Dec.  18.) 
A Te.\  Deai.er’s  View  of  Indian  Tea  Piiospects. — 
It  is  not  often  that  tea  dealers  are  sympathetic  with 
tea  growers,  or  show  any  disposition  to  weep  tear 
for  tear  with  them.  The  following  note  on  Indian 
tea  prospects  issued  by  Messrs.  Brooke,  Bond  and 
Co.  is  interesting,  not  only  on  account  of  its  review 
of  the  position  generally  and  its  fervent  advocacy  of 
British-grown  teas,  but  also  by  reason  of  its  appre- 
ciation of  some  of  the  difficulties  which  attend  the 
planter.  The  following  is  the  note  referred  to:  “The 
Government  figures  show  that  the  British  people 
drank  more  tea  in  the  last  financial  year  than  in 
any  previous  twelve  months ; and  in  these  days  of 
foreign  competition  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that 
though  thirty  years  ago  all  our  tea  came  from  China, 
very  nearly  all  we  consume  nowadays  is  grown  on 
the  British  soils  of  India  and  Ceylon.  It  is  hardly 
ossible  to  think  of  India  just  now  without  being 
epressed  by  the  appalling  famine  which  has  so 
sorely  smitten  that  densely-populated  Empire.  Though 
our  Government  can  and  will  save  the  lives  of 
many  millions  who  would  otherwise  perish,  it  will 
be  impossible  to  prevent  the  awful  misery  of  stir- 
vation,  extending  over  many  months,  with  resulting 
life-long  weakness.  Though  the  famine  will  not  ap- 
preciably affect  the  quality  or  quantity  of  Indian  tea, 
it  is  indirectly  a disaster  to  the  British  planter,  for 
the  doubling  of  the  price  of  rice  means  nearly  doubl- 
ing the  cost  of  cultivating  his  crop.  Under  every 
contract  between  the  tea  garden  coolie  and  his  em- 
ployer the  latter  is  bound  by  the  Government  to 
provide  for  staple  food — rice — which  the  coolie  may 
require  for  his  family  at  a price  not  exceeding  a 
certain  normal  limit.  If  rice  is  cheaper,  the  cun- 
ning coolie  can  buy  his  rice  elsewhere,  but  so  soon 
as  the  market  price  touches  the  stipulated  limit  he 
and  his  family  flock  to  their  master’s  granary  and 
demand  all  they  want  at  a price  which  already  in 
this  famine  is  but  half  that  which  the  planter  has  to 
pay.  Fortunately  the  drought  has  come  too  late  to 
lessen  the  new  season’s  growth  of  leaf  in  the  Indian 
gardens,  so  the  tea-loving  English  public  will  get 
their  tea  at  the  same  price  as  usual.  As  to 
the  general  quality  of  this  year’s  output,  it  may 
be  classed  as  ‘ average,’  and  whilst  ’Dli  will  not 
be  known  as  a ‘ vintage  year’  in  tea,  the  leaf  this  sea- 
son is  very  good.  Uufortunately  the  excessive  rain- 
fall in  England  early  in  the  autumn  has  not  improved 
the  tea-making  properties  of  tho  water  now  being 
supplied  to  our  northern  towns,  but  if  the  British 
boase-wife  will  only  buy  teas  of  universally  good 
repute,  and  will  make  her  tea  carefully,  she  will 
have  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  this  season’s 
infusion  of  her  favourite  leaf.” 
The  Wonderful  Caucasus. — The  Caucasus  seems 
the  modern  Land  of  Promise.  Not  only  is  tea  culti- 
vation the  subject  of  great  expectations,  but  M. 
Rotovosky,  a well-known  Russian  botanist,  has  just 
published  a report  on  the  medicinal  plants  in  the 
Caucasus.  During  last  year  he  carried  out  experi- 
ments in  the  cultivation  of  these  essential  oil 
plants,  and  at  the  same  time  investigated  the  Cauca- 
sian flora.  He  discovered  about  100  varieties  of  medi- 
cinal plants.  The  satisfactory  results  of  his  inves- 
tigations have  induced  the  Russian  Government  to 
cultivate  the  castor-oil  plant  in  the  Caucasus,  with 
the  view  of  providi)ig  Russian  firms  with  large 
quantities  of  this  drug.  M.  Rotovosky  has  been 
appointed  to  superintend  this  undertaking. 
Coffee  Planting  in  Central  Africa. — In  our 
reference  last  week  to  Sir  Harry  H.  Johnston’s 
paper  on  Central  Africa  and  planting  operations 
there  we  mentioned  his  reference  to  the  development 
of  the  coffee  planting  industry.  The  British  ad- 
ministrator, in  the  course  of  his  paper,  read  an  ex- 
tract from  the  report  of  a well-known  firm  of  colonial 
brokers  to  an  industrial  mission  in  Central  Africa, 
which  especially  concerns  itself  with  the  spread  of 
coffee-planting  amongst  the  natives.  This  report 
says  : “ With  reference  to  the  shipment  of  thirty- 
four  bags  of  Nyasaland  coffee  just  arrived,  we  have 
carefully  examined  the  samples,  and  the  quality  of 
the  coffee  reminds  us  of  high-grown  Ceylon  coffee  in 
its  palmy  days.  It  is  a good,  bold  plantation  bean 
of  rather  open  character,  well  prepared  and  dried, 
and  from  its  stylish  appearance  would  always  com- 
mand a ready  sale,  being  well  liked  by  both  home 
trade  and  export  buyers.  It  is  singular  that  al- 
though every  effort  is  being  made  all  over  the  world 
in  coffee-growing  districts  to  produce  fine  quality, 
it  is  quite  the  exception  such  a result  as  yours  is 
obtained.  The  two  bags  of  peaberry  that  realised  today 
107s  per  cwt.  would  fetch  115s  in  larger  quantities  of 
fifteen  to  twenty  bags  and  upwards.  The  same  re- 
mark applies  to  a certain  extent  to  the  other  small 
lots.  ‘‘A  reference,”  said  Sir  Harry  .Johnston  in  his 
paper,  “ is  made  in  this  quoted  opinion  to  Ceylon 
coffee.  It  has  been  a great  satisfaction  to  me  to 
note  the  interest  taken  in  our  Protectorate  by  the 
Ceylon  planters,  who  very  soon  made  inquiries  about 
our  country,  and  two  years  ago  established  a strong 
Ceylon  company,  the  Nyasaland  Coffee  Compan}’, 
which  is  now  busily  planting  in  the  Mlanje  district 
of  our  Protectorate.” 
The  Planting  Outlook  in  Java. — The  crop  pros- 
pects do  not  appear  to  be  bright  in  Java.  Drought 
is  complained  of,  and  the  outlook  for  produce  gene- 
rally is  not  encouraging. 
The  Planting  Operations  of  the  British  North 
Borneo  Company. — At  the  half-yearly  meeting  of  the 
British  North  Borneo  Company,  held  on  Tuesday, 
the  chairman  (Mr.  R.  Biddulph  Martin),  referring 
to  the  planting  operations  of  the  company,  said 
that  arrangements  were  now  being  made  to  culti- 
vate on  a large  scale  ramie,  for  which  it  was  be- 
lieved there  would  be  a practically  unlimited  market. 
The  syndicate  interested  in  that  matter  had  already 
engaged  a manager,  who  would  shortly  proceed  to 
Borneo.  The  growth  of  indiarubber  would,  he 
hoped,  also  receive  attention.  This  was  a product 
which  was  in  increasing  demand,  and  could  only 
be  cultivated  in  certain  parts  of  the  world.  The 
result  of  the  tobacco-planting  operations  of  1895 
had  been,  generally  speaking,  highly  satisfactory, 
and  the  prospects  were  most  encouraging.  Then 
they  had  a syndicate  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
catch,  and  they  heard  that  it  was  doubling  its  plant 
in  their  territory.  In  reviewing  the  present  position 
0 f the  company  as  compared  with  former  years, 
he  could  not  help  being  struck  with  the  marked  im- 
provonieut  that  had  taken  place.  The  constant  do- 
