THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
39t 
Dec. I, 1897.] 
If, however, you happen to pity one of these men 
and pay him something extra for carrying a heavy 
load, he is never satisfied, whereas, if you take no 
notice, he makes no complaint whatever,” 
Mr. Israel has now been in the country three years 
and says he has had practically no illness. He 
believes “ a really active life” and moderate living 
to be the secret of health in British Central Africa. 
Mr. Israels crop just picked is close on twenty 
(20) tons of parchment (from 60 acres). 
Around Blantyre, Mr. T. M. Hastings has an 
approximate area of 300 acres under coffee ; Bucha- 
nan Brothers at Chiradzulu, 80 ; the late Mr. Horace 
Waller at Naguafui, 50 acres; Buchanan Brothers 
at Lunzu, 200 ; Mr. Killer, Matope, 60 acres ; Kum- 
taja, 75 ; Blantyre Mission, 10 ; Sharrer & Co., a 
small plot at Blantyre of say, 20 acres ; Malotta, 
20 ; Pettitt Brothers, on their various plantations, 
more than 500 acres ; Lloyd, 30 ; Lamagna, 200 ; 
Hunter, 100; MoLagan, 100; Jonathan Duncan, 100; 
J. Lindsay, 100 ; AfricanLakes Co., Mandala, 10 
acres ; Bismarck, 10 ; and David Livingstone, 10.— 
British Central Africa Gazette, Aug. 15. 
BRAZIL COFFEE NOTES. 
There have recently been fires, supposed to have 
been caused by incendiaries, on several coffee plan- 
tations in the vicidity of S. Carlos do Pinhal, Hi- 
beirao Bonito and Araraquara. The losses reported 
are as follows : — Bento de Ahreu Vidal $20,000 ; Boro- 
neza de Dourados, $30,000 ; Capt. Aurelio Civatti, 
$200,000. In the fire on Capt. Civatti’s plantation 
5,500 arrobas of coffee were destroyed. The mer- 
chants who have been discussing the dep ession in 
the coffee market held their seventh and final meet- 
ing on Saturday. Before adjourning they adopted 
resolutions in which among the means re-commended 
are the following: — Cooperative banking societies; 
reduction in the export duties ; reduction in freight 
rates ; responsibility of railway companies for losses 
cansed by them or their employes ; more stringent 
and efficient measures for punishing and repressing 
the theft of agricultural labor laws : measures for 
inducing immigrants to come to Brazil and to remain 
in the country; agricultural instruction of the neces- 
sary measures for the execution of the Torrens law; 
measures for promoting the increased consumption 
of coffee in foreign countries ; negotiations for obtain- 
ing a reduction in the import duties collected in cer- 
tain countries on coffee ; cultivation of food products 
on a larger scale. — liio News, Sept. 7. 
On the Albertina plantation near Eibeirao Preto 
the buildings, machinery and 50,000 arrobas of coffee 
were recently destroyed by fire. — Ibid, September 14. 
CEYLON TEA IN NEW ZEALAND. 
We have a letter from the representative of 
one of the first houses in New Zealand — “the 
Hondai-Lanka Tea Co.” — to go in for Ceylon 
teas, complaining of the frauds which v, r now 
practised in reference to the packet trade 111 our 
teas and calling on the Planters’ As.sociaCon to 
deal with the matter. Our correspondent lells 
us he has sent to his agents in Colombo a 
sample packet of tea bearing the words “ packed 
in Ceylon and C. B. Hall, Printer, Colombo.” 
We know of no such printer here and it is 
quite evident as our correspondent declares that 
such packets and many more besides, sold in 
New Zealand, as “packed in Ceylon,” are really 
made up locally in Dunedin and other town’s 
with blended teas. In most c.ases, as our coire- 
spondent indicates, nothing can be done to stop 
this practice; but the packet he sends over with 
an unknown (false) printer’s name, gives an 
opening for steps to be taken, since the firm or 
linns selling such packets can be exposed and 
even prosecuted if our Planters’ Association 
choose to move in the matter. The tea in the 
packet we hope to have tested and reported on 
when it reaches the Colombo Agents: it has 
not yet come to hand. But meantime our 
correspondent adds: — “The best thing your 
Planters’ Association (or Committee of Thirty) 
can do is to send over an agent to prosecute the 
houses in New Zealand selling s[)urious or blended, 
as pure Ceylon teas. New Zealand is now one 
of the best markets for your teas; but unless 
this system is checked, the trade will speedily 
fall off; for blenders are rapidly importing Fiji 
tea and calling it Ceylon.” We commend the 
above suggestion to the “Committee of Thirty.” A 
single prosecution in New Zealand could not 
fail to have a good effect all over the Austra- 
lian Colonies as well. 

DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH BORNEO. 
Amongst the passengers who arrived in Colombo 
by the ss. “ Friedrich de Crosse” were Mr. and 
Mrs. fryer, who are returning to North Borneo. 
Mr. Pryer has lived there for twenty years 
and is the oldest European official in the 
island. He is the representative of the North 
Borneo Development Co., of which Lord Water- 
park is chairman, and which owns 100,000 acres 
of land, of which, however, only some 1,500 are 
brought under cultivation at present. He is also 
associated with the Borneo Trade and Planting 
Company, the chairman of which is Mr. H. A. 
Scrutton. Mr. Fryer’s errand at home has been 
to arrange for the further development of the 
large estates of the two companies and to engage 
European assistants, several of whom will join 
him en route or meet him on the island .shortly 
after his arrival. 
The large area of land, which the two com- 
panies have secured, is mainly situated on or 
near to the seaborde near Sandakan. This, Mr. Pryer 
claims, is one of the finest harbours in the 
world, almost landlocked, with an even depth of 
water and situate so as to be safe from violent 
winds. Vessels call on their way to and from 
Hongkong and Australia, but at present the trade 
is not sufficiently developed to enable them to 
call regularly at frequent intervals. The land 
that has been put under cultivation has been 
mainly devoted to coconuts and has been pro- 
fitably employed, but experiments have been 
made in 
COTTON CULTIVATION. 
And it is intended, in view of cotton mills, started 
or to be started in China and .Japan — the sup- 
plies for whicii are mainly derived from India — 
to make a commencement on an extensive scale. 
The cotton plant is indigenous to Borneo and 
the colt n that grows is much the same as 
Egyptian in staple, while it will realise in the 
home market a penny per lb. more than the 
ordinary American. That was the verdict at any 
rate of experts in Liverpool, who had the samples 
recently submitted to them. In Borneo, Ameri- 
can cotton cannot be grown because the rain 
that falls, spoils the produce, but this does not 
))rove to be so with the cotton indigenous to the 
island, which resembles Egyptian. Anoihei’ deve- 
lopment is to take place in the culti\ation of 
MANILLA HEMP 
xvhich is so largely exported from the Phillippine 
islands, where the export dnii'sare so heavy and 
the restrictions on trade si wxatious. There 
are also other exactions thc.e grievous to be 
borne, but at Borneo, under the British flag, all 
is free and everything that can be done to pro- 
mote trade is done by the representatives of the 
