juNii  I,  1897.!  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
85  r 
Nyassa  very  good  for  the  purpose,  but  transport  will 
cost  so'much  that  it  will  not  pay  to  open  up  land  there. 
Labour"  there  was  also  very  poor;  the  people  there 
do  not  know  how  to  work  properly  ; they  have  their 
banana  and  manioc  plots  and  rcmiiin  contented, 
doing  no  work.  Regarding  rainfall  in  B.  C.  A. 
the  rains  commence  in  October  and  conti- 
nue to  December  and  sometimes  commence  as 
early  as  September.  Five  months  generally 
in  the  year  they  have  rain  and  then  no  rain  at  all. 
ihe  dry  season  is  very  bad  and  the  weather  very 
much  hotter  than  in  Colombo.  There  is  water  in 
plenty  with  such  large  rivers  in  i^lantyre  itself,  and 
water  is  the  chief  mode  of  transport. 
COFFEE  DISEASE. 
The  trees  come  into  bearing  three  years  after 
planting,  and  the  first  crop  is  very  good,  but  the 
following  crops  are  uncertain.  Coffee  disease  has 
also  broken  out,  the  branches  dying  off  completely 
and  trees  gradually  dying  off ; they  could  not  ac- 
count for  it  though  some  experts  have  been  trying 
to  find  out  the  cause.  Some  planters  cut  out 
their  five  or  six  year  old  trees,  when  attacked  with 
the  disease,  about  a foot  and  a half  completely, 
and  new  branches  come  up,  the  trees  being 
quite  bushy  like  tea.  Trees  occasionally  recover 
when  attacked  but  a great  many  die  off.  On  most 
estates  in  British  Central  Africa  the  disease  has 
appeared.  The  estates  opened  up  show  a lai’ge  num- 
ber on  paper.  Though  a good  many  persona  have 
been  trying  to  form  Companies,  nothing  has  been 
done.  The  estates  are  all  owned  by  private  owners. 
At  present  you  can  buy  land  200  acres  in  coffee 
and  300  unplanted,  with  buildings,  etc.,  and  well 
laid  out  for  T2,000.  Most  of  these  estates  have  their 
pulping  and  other  machinery,  and  every  year  new 
machinery  is  being  imported.  [And  yet  we  are  to 
believe  the  estates  leave  no  margin  of  profit! — Ed.C.O.] 
The  coffee  is  of  very  good  quality  and  they  got 
the  best  prices  of  any  coffee  in  the  world,  realising 
£115  per  ton  in  England.  What  with  transport  and 
other  difficulties  the  planters  do  not  get  more  than 
£60,  a good  lot  being  eaten  up  by  middlemen, 
transport  agents,  etc, 
EXPOKTS. 
In  Tanga  (German  possession)  they  have  all  this 
while  exported  only  about  200  bags  coffee,  land 
being  planted  about  four  years  ago.  They  have  greater 
difficulty  in  the  matter  of  transport  and  labour. 
In  Blantyre  it  was  not  so  bad,  but  at  times  great 
difficulty  was  experienced  in  the  matter  of  food 
there  being  so  many  people  about. 
SUGAE  PLANTATIONS. 
Several  Companies  have  started  sugarcane  plan- 
tations and  very  large  tracts  have  been  opened  out, 
and  they  ai-e  doing  very  well.  These  are  chiefly 
in  Portuguese  territory  on  the  Lower  Zambesi,  tracts 
larger  than  the  coffee  estates  opened  in  B.  C.  A. 
They  must  have  at  least  about  1,500  to  2,000  acres 
in  course  of  cultivation,  and  there  is  a very  large 
factory  and  new  machinery  ordered  from  Natal  to 
double  the  output  of  the  sugar  factories,  so  that 
they  are  having  double  their  sugar  crops.  Two  Com- 
panies were  started — one  English  and  one  Portuguese 
— two  years  ago,  and  they  are  in  full  swing  now.  In 
the  matter  of  export  they  find  things  easier  and 
they  also  do  not  pay  import  duty  on  goods  imported, 
and  that  is  the  reason  why  their  plantations  are 
easier. 
LIBERIAN  COFFEE 
has  just  been  planted  on  the  lower  portion  of  the 
Zambesi  by  the  Portuguese  and  the  prospects  arc  good. 
Mr.  Hoff  leaves  this  evening  by  13. 1,  boat  for 
Tuticoriu  and  Madras,  proceeding  later  on  to  Rangoon. 
Planters’  Association  Coniniittee,  tlie  acre- 
ages in  each  ea.se  on  which  tliey  weie 
lused  From  these  again  ue  have  worked  out 
the  average  yield  for  each  district,  taking  only, 
of  course,  the  tea  in  bearing  into  account. 
From  two  districts  alone —Nilambe  and  Pnn- 
dalnoya — have  we  failed  to  get  the  required 
acreage  returns.  It  will  be  observed  that 
without  these  two  districts  and  native  gardens, 
the  total  area  cultivated,  in  our  table,  is 
814,776  acres  and  in  beaiing  246,901,  show- 
ing 68,875  acres  of  young  tea.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  a certain  amount  has 
to  be  added  to  all  these  figures  to  get  the 
exact  totals  for  the  island.  But  meantime  the 
vast  majority  of  districts  are  fairly  represented. 
It  will  be  observed  that  the  maximum  average 
yield  per  acre  is  567  lb.  for  the  Kelani  V^alley  ; 
while  Uda])ussellawa— strange  to  say — gives  the 
minimum  in  381  lb.  We  should  suspect  some 
blunder  here  ; but  we  must  go  by  the  figures 
published  and  sent  to  us.  Dimbula  and 
Dikoya  are  wonderfully  close  in  their  averages 
— 457  and  459  lb.  respectively.  The  table  is  as 
follows  : — 
District. 
T3 
<L> 
o *-13 
< c 
O 
biO 
CO 
oj  ce 
o U 
o . 
(D  o 
-*-3  ^ 
a 
■■ios 
w 
Sd^ 
> ^ 
Ambagamuwa 
13,862 
12,565 
5,416,000 
431 
Badulla 
12,348 
9,121 
3,461,625 
379 
Balangoda 
5,011 
2,211 
831,000 
375 
Dikoya 
27,577 
25,261 
11,600,000 
459 
Dimbula 
Dolosbage  and  Yak- 
45,059 
42.232 
19,323,510 
457 
dessa 
15,927* 
* 
5,726,000 
Haputale 
13,794 
9,556 
3,618,250 
378 
Kalutara 
14,000 
12,000 
5,000,000 
416 
Kelani  Valley 
28,303 
22,956 
13,021,200 
567 
Kotmale 
8,262 
7,643 
2,853,000 
.373 
Maskeliya 
18,806 
18,128 
7,143,500 
394 
Maturata 
6,160 
5,100 
1,833,400 
359 
Upper  Hewaheta 
3,899 
3,436 
1,463,350 
425 
Lower  Hewaheta 
3,771 
3,355 
1,050,000 
313 
Nuwara  Eliya 
5,‘=72 
4,600 
1,922,600 
417 
Northern  Districts  ,. 
39,178 
34,217 
14,114,981 
412 
Nilambe 
2,000,000 
Pasaara 
10,000 
7,000 
2,800,000 
400 
Pussellawa 
17,845 
16,135 
6,534,600 
404 
Pundaluoya 
, 
1,395,000 
Rakwana 
4,000 
3,565 
1,284,600 
360 
Udapussellaw'a 
9,877 
6,684 
2,203,000 
331 
Udagama 
Native  and  unesti- 
1,425 
1,136 
525,000 
462 
314,776  246,901  119,120,616 
* Insufficient  figures  furnished  to  give  correct  area 
of  tea  not  in  bearing. 
ft  scarcely  looks  from  our  Fxjtort  table  so 
far,  as  if  the  total  estimated  crop  for  1897 
was  to  be  fully  secured  '!  Up  to  27th  April, 
our  exports  of  tea  are  rather  over  84  million  lb. 
or  3 million  in  advance  of  .same  date  bast 
year  ; but  the  excess  must  be  11  millions 
over  1896,  to  give  us  a total  crop  of  119  mil- 
lion 11).  for  1897.  Fvery thing  deiiends  on  the 
current  (juarter,  the  .second,  which  is  always  out 
busiest  in  tiic  shipments  of  tea. 
THE  TEA  CROP  ESTIMATES  FOR 
1897-BY  DISTRICTS. 
By  applying  to  the  Chairmen  and  Secretaries 
of  the  various  District  Associ.ations,  we  h.ave 
been  enabled  to  add  to  the  estimates 
of  the  current  tea  crop  furnished  to  the 
PICKINGS  WITH  A LOCAL  APPLICATION. 
Coffee  is  advancing  in  popularity  in  the  Mackay 
district  of  Queensland.  There  is  little  doubt,  says 
the  (,)ueenf:lamler,  that  its  cultivation  will  go  a long 
way  tow'ards  saving  the  Mackay  planters  who  can- 
not make  sugar-growing  pay.  It  is  well-known- 
bitter  experience  has  taught  the  lesson  over  and  over 
