753 
May  I,  1897.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
Excepting  those  of  Ceylon  and  Caracas,  few  or  none 
of  the  finest  growths  now  show  any  improvement  in 
value,  and  cocoa  between  54s  and  64s  remains  at 
nearly  the  old  level  of  depression.  Before  the  recent 
rise  took  place,  says  the  Grocer,  cocoa  was  cheaper  than 
it  had  been  for  five-and-twenty  years  previously,  and 
though  it  may  not  become  still  dearer  in  a hurry, 
it  is  the  generally  received  opinion  that  it  can 
hardly  undergo  the  severe  depreciation  it  did  in 
the  past  year.  Descriptions  which  were  next  to 
unsaleable  at  from  .S5s  to  45s  per  cwt  are  now  worth 
41s  to  52s,  and  low  defective  grades  that  were  dis- 
posable only  at  25s  to  32s  have  recently  fetched 
36s  to  42s.  The  advancing  market  which  has  been 
witnessed  this  year  so  far  is  mainly  accounted  for 
by  the  constantly  active  demand  for  exportation  to 
Germany,  where  the  consumption  has  increased  by 
.50  per  cent,  within  the  last  year  or  two.  The 
Germans  prefer  cocoa  to  ccffee,  esteeming  the  former 
to  be  the  more  nutritious  article  for  their  use,  and 
as  the  commoner  qualities  have  been  best  suited  to 
their  requirements,  anything  below  a certain  figure 
has  been  sure  of  finding  a ready  sale.  Our  export 
trade  in  cocov  with  Germany  has  therefore  been 
materially  enlarged,  and  though  no  detailed  official 
statistics  are  published,  it  may  be  calculated  that 
the  amount  of  cocoa  shipped  from  the  United 
Kingdom  to  that  country  is  now  twice  what  it  was 
in  1896.  Another  favourable  feature  for  holders  is 
that  the  landings  of  cocoa  in  London  since  the  opening  of 
1897  have  been  lighter  than  in  1896,  comprising  no 
more  than  48,300  bags,  in  lieu  of  50,600  bags ; while 
the  stock  in  the  bonded  wa.'ehouses,  instead  of 
being  excessive,  as  hitherto,  is  14,800  bags  less  than 
that  inthe  former  year. 
The  Rubber  Forests  of  Upper  Burma. — The 
Assistant  Conservator  of  Forests  in  Burma,  Mr..  H. 
N.  Thompson,  devotes  a section  of  his  last  report 
to  the  rubber  production  of  Upper  Burma.  It  ap- 
pears that  in  the  Hukong  valley  the  rubber  tree  is 
not  a gregarious  one ; sometimes  a family  group  of 
four  or  five  trees  may  be  seen,  but  as  a rule  a 
mature  tree  is  found  every  200  or  300  yards  in  the 
richer  forests.  When  the  tree  is  surrounded  by  dense 
shade  it  g^rows  to  enormous  heights  in  order  to  get 
at  the  light,  and  some  of  those  examined  by  Mr. 
Thompson  were  the  largest  trees  of  any  species  he 
had  ever  seen.  In  the  thick  forest  he  found  no 
seedling  in  the  ground ; they  were  invariably 
growing  at  a great  height  on  other  trees  and 
sending  their  roots  down  towards  the  ground, 
so  that  the  roots  finally  formed  great  sup- 
ports on  which  the  main  trunk  rested,  while  the 
original  tree  on  which  the  seedling  was  a parasite  was 
destroyed.  The  difficulties  of  transport  from  the 
Hukong  valley  is  increasing  as  the  more  accessible 
trees  are  being  worked  out.  A Chinese  has  a prac- 
tical monopoly  of  the  trade  here.  The  rubber  is 
taken  to  Moganug,  a route  across  the  mountains  to 
Myitkina  having  been  abandoned  owing  to  the  exac- 
tions of  the  Sana  Kachins.  The  forests  at  the  head 
of  the  Namkong  are  rich  in  rubber,  and  the  tree 
attains  a height  of  200  ft.,  with  an  enormous  girth. 
The  Kachins  go  from  far  and  near  to  collect  the 
rubber  in  the  dry  season,  and  the  chiefs  levy  toll  on 
the  produce  as  it  passes  down  the  rivers.  The 
Chinese  control  the  trade,  selling  provisions 
and  cloth  to  the  Kachins,  who  pay  in  rubber. 
The  produce  of  the  forests  within  the  drainage 
reaa  of  the  Tarou  River  goes  to  Assam,  across 
the  passes  of  the  Patkoi  mountains.  The 
Nagts,  having  got  in  their  crops  in  December,  set  off 
for  the  rubber  forests,  where  they  know  every  tree, 
the  knowledge  being  in  many  cases  passed  on  from 
father  to  son.  Rubber  in  this  district  is  said  to 
be  growing  scarcer,  and  it  often  takes  a man 
forty  days  to  collect  a coolie  load,  although  the 
Singpho  villages  levy  a tax  on  each  collector.  When 
first  collected  the  rubber  is  very  pure,  but  the  Nagas 
have  acquired  the  trick  of  adulterating  it  with  earth 
and  stones,  so  that  Assam  rubber  is  not  regarded 
with  favour  in  the  Calcutta  market.  The  rubber  that 
goes  to  Kangnoon  is  also  adulterated,  the  Cbiuese 
being  adepts  in  the  art  of  concealing  stones  in  it. 
Mr.  Thompson  thinks  it  useless  to  apply  legislative 
protection  and  regulation  to  these  rubber  forests, 
unless  the  districts  were  taken  over  and  administered 
directly,  for  the  Singphos  are  extremely  independent 
and  own  no  masters  while  some  of  the  chiefs  told  him 
they  could  not  enforce  rules  or  interfere  with  the 
collectors.  But  the  protection  of  the  trees  growing 
within  our  own  administrative  sphere  would  be  pos- 
sible, though  Kachin  opposition  would  have  to  be 
dealt  with. — II.  and  C.  Mail,  March  14. 
B.  CENTRAL  AFRICA lN  CURRENT  CHAT, 
A good  waggon  road  is  in  course  of  construction 
from  Zomba  to  the  Upper  River.  To  be  a good 
level  road  it  is  necessary  to  keep  lower  down  than 
the  old  Domasi  road.  It  will  probably  pass  close  to 
Songani  plantation  which  will  give  this  district  a road 
all  the  way  to  Blantyre,  that  is  allowing  it  is  kept 
clean.  It  is  little  good  making  a road  in  this  country, 
if  it  is  allowed  to  take  care  of  itself  for  the  future. 
A curious  coincidence  happened  on  Deer.  30th  at 
Mr.  Lloyds  plantation.  In  40  minutes  it  rained  41 
of  an  inch  when  there  was  a pause.  The  rain  then 
came  on  again  for  another  40  minutes  tne  gauge 
registerieg  exactly  41. 
The  question  of  growing  coffee  profitably  in  Natal 
is  again  being  revived.  A correspondent  of  the  Natal 
Farmers  Magazine  remarks  that  trees  whicli  were 
diseased  are  now  by  proper  ti'eatment,  healthy  and 
full  of  fruit.  Shelter  seems  to  be  the  main  point 
to  consider. 
We  hear  of  some  record  planting  at  Gala  estate, 
Namadsi,  130  acres  has  already  been  planted,  and 
other  70  which  was  cleared  last  year  is  now  being 
pitted.  Graviliia  Robusta  will  iDrobably  be  planted 
as  a shade  tree. 
We  deeply  regret  to  hear  of  the  death  of  Mr.  .John 
L.Nicoll  from  dysentery. 
It  will  interest  our  readers  to  hear  that  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Murray  who  was  so  severely  wounded  by  a 
leopard  at  the  station  in  Agoniland  in  the  beginning 
of  last  year  is  at  present  in  South  Africa  lecturing  on 
Nyasaland  Missions.  He  had  to  go  to  England  to 
get  his  eye  properly  attended  to  and  is  not  even  yet 
in  the  most  robust  health.  He  and  his  wife  may  be 
expected  back  in  April. 
A syndicate  has  been  formed  in  Southern  Hungary 
for  tire  purpose  of  laying  down  lai'ge  castor-oil 
plantations. 
Lemon  and  Lime  trees  make  excellent  hedges  and 
are  recommended  by  the  Queensland  Department 
of  Agriculture. 
Belgium  sends  600,000  cwts.  of  chicory  to  France 
yearly. — Central  African  Planter,  Feb.  1. 
■ ♦ 
NYASA  NEWS. 
Mr.  C.  C.  Bowring  has  given  us  the  following  notes 
of  a recent  journey  irp  LakeNyasa 
“ Going  through  Lake  Malombe  in  the  beginning 
of  November,  there  was  not  a hippo  to  be  seen. 
Returning  in  the  end  of  December,  however,  there 
were  literally  dozens  at  the  south  end,  near  Mvera. 
They  appeared  to  be  mostly  young  animals,  and 
showed  no  fear  of  our  barge.  Two  or  three  repeatedly 
rose  within  thirty  or  forty  yards  of  us. 
On  Christmas,  Capt.  Rhodes  and  the  staff  of  the 
naval  department  gave  a dinner  at  the  naval  depot.  Port 
Johnston.  The  “Adventure,”  “ Ilala,”  “ Domira,” 
and  “Monteith”  had  left  only  a day  or  two  before, 
or  we  should  have  been  over  thirty  in  number.  Capt. 
Beddoes,  who  sailed  dow'n  in  the  dhow  from  Fort 
Maguire,  took  only  22  hours  on  the  passage.  The 
dinner  was  followed  by  fireworks  and  a native  dance, 
which  was  continued  late  in  the  following  day. 
At  Kotakota  a football  match  was  played  betw'een 
the  Universities’  Mission  and  the  gunboat  “ Pioneer.” 
The  Mission  team  gained  an  easy  victory.  Several 
Europeans  played  on  each  side,  but  the  best  player 
was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  Mission  teachers,  who 
h{id  beep  a prominent  member  of  the  native  team  at 
