778 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[May 2, 1898. 
Restaurants and Hotels would not the penalty 
be bindini{ equally in such a case? Then what 
is the position in regard to cofl'ee ? When people 
ask for coffee, what sort of a mixture do they 
{generally get in answer to their demand ? And 
ought not the vendor to he liable in this case 
quite as much as the farmer who sells had 
milk ? 
The analogy was obvious, but the Society 
hedged in an ingenious manner. Government 
they replied, hail given them no instructions on 
the point, and they had no rule to guide them. 
Individually they admitted the justice of the 
question and the difficulty experienced in get- 
ting pmte coffee, but as a body they were unable 
to take any steps. 
The brokers and merchants however went 
further. In order to prove that the thing couhl 
be done, and that a retilly splendid beverage could 
be sold at the price mentioned, they offered to 
aapply several of the large establishments in Lon- 
don with 
COFFEE FREE OF CHARGE 
if sold as genuine, but their proposal met witii hut 
a cool reception. It was loo much trouble foi' the 
Conservative retailer to be bothered with, A written 
application was also made to the Army and Navy 
Stores Company, this establishment being supposed 
to be one which only looked for a reasonable pro- 
fit on the goods in supplied, to see if they 
would be willing to put 28s to 30s pure Brazilian 
first quality coffee before their customers at 7d 
to 8d a pound freshly roasted whole beans, the 
fact to be notified to the London press, so that 
tlie public might be made aware of the fact. 
However, the secretary after consulting with his 
•talf wrote that the Company could not sell coffee 
at these low prices, and there as T understand 
the matter stands at present. There is no question 
that the brokers have got the right eml of the 
stick, but whether they will be able to make 
progress with it remains to be seen. To get 
people educated up to buying a pure article at 7d 
INSTEAD OF A MADE-UP CONCOCTION 
at Is seems at first sight the .simplest thing in 
the world, but lie was so thinks, little knows 
the Great British jmblic. Once the man in the 
street has got a notion he will stick to it through 
thick and thin, and it will be a clever person who 
can get it out for him ."gain. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Coconut Oil. — Me.ssrs. Lever Brothers (Limi- 
ted), of Pnt Sunlight, have a large oil-mill neal 
Sydney, N S.W. , where they press coconut oil 
from copra imported from the South Sea Islands. 
The oil-cake residue is entirely consumed in the 
colony . — Chemist and Druggist, April 2. 
Liquid Fuei. is being introduced largely in 
England for locomotive engines on the Great 
Eastern Railway. Thirty-seven engines on that 
railway are burning oil fuel. The form of the 
engines is not different but the tenders carry two 
long cylinders of oil on the to]i of each side of 
tha tender. — Indian IVitncss. 
The Rurber Estates of Para, Limited, has 
a ca))ital of £.350,000, half in 7 per c;nt. cumu- 
lative and hr.lf iii ordinary shares of £1 e.ach. The 
company is formed to ])urcliase and work Para 
Rubber Estates in the municipal district of Anajas, 
State of Para, Brazil. The purchase price is 
JS300,000, leaving only £50,000 as working capital, 
The Sowrashtra or Silk-weaving Com- 
munity OF Madura intended holding , a Confer- 
ence at that city during the first week of 
April. Among the subjects for discus.sion was 
a scheme for a textile school in which weav- 
ing and dying can be learnt, for, which the 
leaders of the movement have sought the help 
of Mr. John Wallace, C.E. 
The Nuwara Eliya Tea E.statks Co.m- 
pany’s Report reaches us at too late an hour 
to do more than call attention to the splendid 
array of figures afforded for yield per ,ac.e, 
average price and |)iotit jier acre of the different 
estates. The average yied is 5181b. per acre; 
the average nett price 9-28d., and the average 
profit i>er bearing acre £8 10s lid. The Com- 
jiany have now 2,632 acres in lea out of a total 
of 3,C47. 
Cocoa.— The allotments and mo.st of [the re- 
grets in Tibbies Vi Cocoa were posted on April 3rd, 
This expedition has been attained by a large staff 
■working in shifts, and by the adoption of an 
elaborate system on the part of Me.ssrs. Wil- 
liamson, Murray, .and Co., who made the allot- 
ment. To all ledger customers, who cpjrliedfor 
more than 10 shares, an allotment has been 
given on a liberal scale, and the bulk of the 
shaies were absorbed by them and traders. 
Only a small balance remains for the general 
public. — Globe, April 4. 
Plantain Culture in Ceylon.— A nativ 
corres|iondent writes urging that the larger culti- 
vation of plantains by villagers might well he 
encouraged by Government, for the reason that 
there is a big demand for this fruit, and many 
a man could make a profitable living, who, for 
the ])resent, resorts very frequently to crime to 
eke out a living. He makes a ratlier good sug- 
gestion, which is that a Government botanist 
from Peradeniya gardens might be a.sked to make 
a scientihc investigation into the system largely 
followed in the N.-W. Province, of planting up”th’e 
land between young coconuts with plantain trees. 
It it can be carried on wdthout impovei ishing the 
soil, he thinks the method should be extended. — 
Local “Times.” 
Fiji : A New Customs Tariff— The “ Fij 
Colonist and Levuka Gazette,” of March 19th 
announces the introduction of a new Tariff by 
Governor O’Brien, the main features of wiiic'h 
are : — 
The increased Revenue to bs derived will be ex- 
acted mostly from the natives, the Indian Coolies, 
the Polynesians, the Rotuir.ans, and all the other 
coloured races who have elected to make Fiji their 
home, while the European settler is affected only 
in one or two particulars, tinned meats and biscuits 
for instance, but it is the Fijian and Coolie who 
will practically have to pay the piper. The second 
scheme which suggests itself is, that these import 
duties constitute as nearly as possible a thorough- 
paced Protective Tariff. Sugar M 13s 4d p«v ton, tea 
6d per lb, meats Id per lb, rice £2 per ton and flour of 
all sorts £1, while in many minor details the local 
producer of marketable commodites will find his wares 
more valuable. 
We add a few more items : — 
Coffee, chicory, cocoa and chocolate per lb. or re* 
puted package of that weight, and so in proportion 
for any such reputed weight 3d. 
Spirits, of all kinds imported into the Colony, the 
strength of which can be ascertained by Sykes’ hydro- 
meter, and is under proof, per liquid gallon 14s, 
Tobacco, manufactured, per lb. 3s. 
Tobacco, unmanufactured, 
