536  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST.  [Feb.  i,  1897. 
the  island  is  being  slowly  increased,  and  produc- 
tion in  1897  will  show  up  larger  than  in  1896,  but 
there  is  no  large  expansion  of  planting,  nor  can 
there  be,  especially  in  the  higlier  districts. 
[Although  the  eliect  of  extended  manuring  must 
not  be  overlooked. — Ed.  T.A.'] 
The  higher  exchange  now  prevailing  is  curtail- 
ing producer’s  prolits  by  about  Id.  per  lb.  and 
if  it  continues,  either  the  sterling  price  of  tea 
must  go  up,  or,  the  value  of  tea  estates  must 
come  down. 
Coffee. — The  past  year  has  been  an  unfavour- 
able one,  only  22,747  cwts.  having  been  exported 
.as  compared  with  63,920  cwts.  in  1895.  With  the 
good  prices  obtainable,  it  is  surprising  that  more 
Liberian  is  not  planted. 
Cocoa. — Tlie  crop  of  last  year  has  been  on  the 
whole  a good  one,  31,366  cwts.  having  been  .sent 
away,  and  prices  have  lately  shown  signs  of 
recovery. 
Cinnamon. — Shipments  have  been  on  more 
than  average  scale,  and  as  the  value  has  continued 
to  rule  high  in  Europe,  the  stocks  there  being 
light,  rupee  prices  liere  liave  been  maintained  at 
a high  level. 
The  heavy  rains  of  the  past  few  months 
ought  to  have  stimulated  growth,  and  the  cut- 
tings the  first  halt  of  1897  ought  to  be  large. 
Coconut  Oil. — This  article  has  been  very  de- 
pressed in  the  markets  of  Europe  and  America 
during  tlie  p.ast  year  owing  to  the  abundance  and 
cheapness  of  other  greases,  chiefly  tallow,  which 
has  been  in  large  supply  from  South  America 
and  Australia' 
A strong  demand,  however,  lias  prevailed  for 
Indian,  and  ports  farther  East,  partly  owing  to 
scarcity  of  Cochin  oil.  The  total  quantity  ex- 
ported in  1896  was  339,870  cwt-,  against  384,150 
cwt.  in  1895. 
Copra. — A lively  demand  for  this  has  been 
experienced,  and,  besides  the  usual  export  to 
Indian  ports,  a considerable  quantity  lias  been 
sent  this  year  to  Antwerp  and  Hamburg,  where 
copra  oil  is  made. 
1’lumbago. — The  exjiorts  have  been  on  an  aver- 
age scale,  and  the  quantities  taken  for  Contin- 
ental ports  and  for  America  have  been  about  the 
same  as  in  1895.  The  total  quantity  sent  away 
was  340,470  cwt. , against  334,921  in  1895.  Fine 
qualities  have  been  scarce  and  in  demand  and 
low  qualities  plentiful  and  neglected  as  usual. 
In  the  latter  halt  of  the  year,  the  enquiry  for 
America  has  been  slack  owing  to  the  rre.si- 
dential  election  interfering  with  trade. 
FIBRE.S,— There  has  been  a poor  business  in 
in  these  during  1896  and  a considerable  falling- 
off  in  the  quantities  exported,  chiefly  owing  to 
first  cost  having  been  forced  so  high.  These  re- 
marks apply  to  coir,  kitul  and  palmyra. 
Desiccated  Coconut.— The  trade  in  this  ar- 
ticle has  increased  by  2,052,525  lb.  as  compared 
with  1895,  the  figures  being 
1896.  1895. 
10,603,598  lb.  8,551,073  lb. 
the  great  bulk  going  to  the  United  Kingdouj. 
♦- 
MAKIAWATTE  TEA  PLANTATION. 
We  learn  through  the  courtesy  of  the  Chief 
Manager  of  the  Ceylon  'Tea  Plantations  Co.  that 
the  whole  estate  of  467  acres  has  given  410.436  lb. 
tea,  or  878  lb.  per  acre  in  1896,  against  870  lb. 
per  acre  in  1895.  We  are  promised  an  e.xact 
return  for  the  old  100-acre  field,  which  cannot 
iftil  to  be  interesting. 
TEA  IN  JAPAN:  OUR  JAPANESE  VISITOR. 
Dr.  Obayashi  has  returned  from  his  trip  to 
the*  Central  Province,  charmed  with  Kandjq  as- 
ton  shed  at  the  extent  and  variety  of  the  Royal 
IJotanic  Cardens,  very  much  impres.sed  by  the 
tea  districts  he  saw,  and  by  the  machinery  in  the 
New  Peradeniya  and  Scrubs  factories,  and  with  the 
feeling  that  Nuwara  Eliya  is  “too  cold.”  He 
now  returiis  to  Japan  and  will  probably  lecom- 
mend  some  machinery  being  imported,  although 
he  says  it  is  not  so  suitable  in  the  jneparation 
of  Japanese  green  teas.  The  “facing”  of  Japan 
teas,  our  visitor  says,  is  done  in  the  godowns  at 
the  shipping  port,  and  this  “facing,”  as  we  have 
often  mentioned,  is  of  Prussian  blue  and  other 
deleterious  matter.  Latterly,  however,  American 
dealers — according  to  Dr.  Obayashi — have  been 
objecting  to  the  facing.  Our  visitor  is  greatly 
impressed  with  the  fertility  and  resources  of 
Ceylon  and  thinks  (despite  our  deprecation  and 
attempted  correction)  that  our  future  crops  of 
tea  must  very  largely  increase— indeed  to  a 
figure  which  we  pointed  out  to  be  inqjossible  ; 
but  in  vain  ! How  far  this  impression  may  afi’ect 
the  extension  of  tea  growing  in  Japan  or  still 
more  in  Formosa,  we  cannot  say-  But  our  visitor 
is  certainly  anxious  to  introduce  improved  tea 
factory  buildings  and  machinery  into  his  native 
land. 
■ — ♦ 
VARIOUS  PLANTING  NOTES. 
“ CiioCHO.” — It  is  wonderful  how  the  merits 
of  the  West  Indian  vegetable  introduced  to  the 
East  for  the  first  time,  we  believe,  by  Mr.  Nock, 
of  our  flakgalla  gardens,  get  s[)read  after  a round- 
about fashion.  A London  daily  newsjmper  has 
the  following  editorial  note  upon  it  : — 
It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  as  a result  of  the  work 
doue  at  the  Nimcly  Ooog  Nursery,  the  Chocho,  Christ- 
ophine,  or  vegetable  pear  introduced  from  the  West 
Indies  is  now  being  cultivated  by  the  natives  in 
serveral  villages  in  Mysore,  and  is  becoming  quite  a 
popular  vegetable  both  in  the  vilages  and  in  some  of 
the  towns.  It  is  largely  used  in  the  gaol  at  Bangalore, 
where  it  is  carefully  grown,  and  it  is  considered  one 
of  the  most  useful  and  wholesome  of  foods  for  the 
prisoners.  The  large  fleshy  part  of  the  root  sometimes 
weighs  nearly  twenty  pounds,  and  is  very  good  when 
cooked  and  eaten  like  a yam,  a fact  which  is  not 
generally  known.  It  is,  we  belive,  now  being  grown 
under  glass  in  this  country,  and  does  well  under 
similar  conditions  to  tomatoes  and  grapes  or  cucum- 
bers, and  the  large  flat  single  seeds,  carefully 
cooked,  are  considered  a great  delicacy. 
Coffee  in  the  Far  W^est.— There  is  no  end 
to  the  cofi'ee  inve.stments  of  Ceylon  ])lanters 
in  America:  we  call  attention  to  the  cheering 
report  |given  on  page  541  of  the  Dumont-Brazil 
Company ; and  now  we  learn  from  Mr.  Mait- 
laiul-Kirwan  that  he  is  interested  in  no  less 
than  10,000  acres  of  land  in  Independent 
Honduras,  taken  up  mainly  for  coffee,  of  which 
200  acre.s  are  jilanted  and  in  bearing.  'The  estate 
is  within  20  miles  of  the  sea  with  a river  for  boat 
transport ; but  the  supply  of  labour  is  uncer- 
tain. We  shall  have  more  to  say  on  the  sub- 
ject. Meantime  Mr.  W.  J.  Forsyth,  formerly  of 
Maturata,  .sends  us  a Mexican  pajier  with  corre- 
.sj)ondence  and  rejiorts  showing  that  a fungoid  dis 
ease  (Stclbum  FlavUiinn,  Cooke)  already  known  in 
•lamaica  and  elsewhere,  has  appeared  in  one 
division  in  Mexico.  We  shall  give  the  whole 
Correspondence  as  also  extracts  from  the  pam* 
phlct  on  Coflee  in  Honduras, 
