My t, iPgi.l 
THE TROPiCAl AGRICULTURIST. 
69 
Great Beticknce is observed in r'^fereoce *o ihc 
Uui ed Planters’ Ct»mr*i^y of Ceylni» by ip er- 
ected in it. Tr»e saire i jsy be na.d 'fan 'hr'r n.b yo 
company f- rmiut: for the r urpofe .f scciuinuK e» pr • 
porty in your inland. I fhw tbc ^ke eton pr* spec^us ih«i 
otLor day ; ^ot, as it was orgiuaU^ devie- d * ■‘r ihe 
aoqusiti'ui of a larff© prop»r'y siuce arqu r* d by t ie 
C«j>lon Tea P antatinna Oompany— Y itt*rd — it oa n »t 
be m»nti‘'»od as ►ct 'ally in exi te ce, tbouitb o’h*r 
propf rties are TQ«nti ned t>s likely to be arq ired. 
The initiNiioij of the projert ie duo to Mr. Gri aon, 
of Mersrs. Geo. Sle art & Co,, and tl*6 pr- epecius 
onlv awai's cenain a'blitiuiiB and ampli6c»<ti**iiB in 
order to p!%re i' before the BritUh inrestinff poblio. — 
LocU “ Timea.** 
Trade it thr South Auerican Befublios. — 
ft meeting of the Lonoon Chamber of (Jommeroe, 
yesterday, Admiral II. D. Grant road a paper on 
the "State of Trade in the South Amenofto Bepub* 
hoe," and in the course of bis remarks expressed 
his surprise at the almost entire absence of English 
firms from Monte Video, and tlie decrease of the 
number in Buenos Ayres. The disappearance of old 
estabhsbr d houst a he attributed to the growth of direct 
trade with Eng and. Admiral Grant considors the 
trade piospeots gloomy, basing bis eBtimate on recent 
steps tHki:n in taxation and ourrenojr matters, more 
especially in the Argentine Kcpublio and Uruguay. 
— C/istnuf and Druggiit. 
Niger Gum Auabio.— Xu a paper on a trip along 
the Nuer and B uue rivers read before the Royal 
^^Oarapbioal ti ciety on M mday, reference was ma Ie 
to tho town of YoU, ouihe B*miuo river, a? the most 
importaut r.raiimg centre in that region— kiu, gum, 
barhio, and gum copal being the local products brought 
throR by the natives iu exchange for Maunbester 
referred to ia the Niger gum, 
which has duri< g the last two years arrived on the 
jjverpool amt Londnu market m such largo quantities. 
gum IB probably obtained from ttte Man ran^e 
M MiutainH, noi th of native villages of Lau, Dalti, 
ftuil DjHn, »<n the Benue river. With the establish* 
mom of more regular trading communications with 
^’ger Basin, Niger gum is, perhaps, under certaiu 
^houmsiaiiCee tisuned to booonid »h impor ant an 
ftriiole on our produce markets as th© East 1* diau 
gums are st the present n omeut. Yola, U e shipping 
port, Ih near the extreme eastern edge of tha Nigr r 
^ o^rany’e prest-ui sphere of ii*flu»^ijoe.— CArwitif aiirf 
Muy J6th. 
IJBHIOWIT. Divibion, Kelani ViLLKY, May 18— 
, >Ilon^ulll.lBh weather here. There waa a 
understorm here on Friday evening so- 
hy torrents of ram. Saturday forenoon 
j *ui ran onmo on n,nin in the evening 
u ooniinued siesdily to vour all night, and all 
ytsteriay (Sunday). Today itie rain I'ame on again 
I °*’**8Sng me to knock off the coolies 
mnnon" known such a penUtently rainy 
^Isulfical pheni mena too have been 
^ Bavere. I append rainfall record sincB 
as (plliiws ; — 
inohee, inches 
.. -17 May 6 ... '30 
rst of Ibis month' 
May 
•13 
.40 
•CO 
13 
175 
163 
6 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
16 
16 
17 
M.v... 
1891... 
Kainfail for 17 days 
Ho Jar nary 
Ho February 
Ho March 
April ” 
Rainfall this year to date . . 
. -Ill 
. 2 65 
. 1-83 
. 11 
. 198 
. 134 
. 1 63 
14 60 
6 93 
6 4 
14 2<i 
20-80 
62 47 
A Cocoa .'•tore Bornt Down. — VVe learn tha* one 
fvei.iug BSl week th' i rge store a- S'e ap .nga estete 
Mati'.e was destroyed by fi-e. It ir t siimatsd ,|,at 
several ibi ueand r pe. s damage vaa .lore .a the 
ooca-ioD, ai (I V h.h th'- oiig n ol the fir* is unknev vve 
are sure r.o hum' ran t anb to Sir. Las ie P I - iu- r the 
eiierpatie man> g. r i f tlio estate. — hooal “Indepe- d- t.” 
A Orvlon Pearl Otstkh in , .Lonoon.— Tbi Loudon 
Qveen I" bau'l b> the mail contains an account of 
rst er a lu.vel sbop-wiudow exhibition which it cays 
is ut present exciting a great deal of curloiuity in 
Boud Street. The oxhibition, so it ia said, coiisita 
of a perfect Oeylon pearl-oyster, in which sre no 'ever 
than seven pearls in a cluster. The pearls are de'acbed 
and are of excellent appearance, one being value i at 
£40 sterling. The oyster has been preserved in spirits. 
Wo do not know how it got there ; but we preenme the 
oyster is oue of those fi.bed ut the Inst Fishery. Still, 
no duo .1 given as to who sent it, and we should hardly 
think any of the native ,tradei. would have rioogonised 
what a curinsily it would be to the folk, at home. 
However, the pesrl oyster is there, affording yet an- 
other advcrtiaemeiit for our island, and the little oelers 
it is said draws people by the hundred. — Local “ Times.” 
Tea in Travanourk. — Mr. Forbea Lanrie, who 
returned from Travanoore about three days ago, as 
greatly impressed, we believe, with the excellent pros. 
peels before Trsvancore tes pisnters, and in a small 
way there is no doubt that Travancore will be one of 
the fulure rivals of Oeylon, though the acToage under 
tea will tiovet enable it to be a formidable one. The 
soil le good, and the Ua though most of it is young, ha* 
done excellently so fsr, yonng tea 3 yean old giving 
.lOO lb. an acre, while labour is plrnMfuI and obtap, the 
wiiges average being 26 cents, and th''re being no diffi- 
culty in recruiting. The ceaat advance system ha not 
S roved the bane to Travsnoore planters that it has to 
uylnn ones, and from all accounts Travancore is a sort 
of tea growers’ paradise. Hoads are not so numeious 
or good as they sr- in Ceylon, but transport to the coast 
is chea). and plentiful while the estates are easily 
worked. They are for the most part at a height of from 
2,000 to 3,00C Feet above the sea, though a giveu eleva- 
tiou is said to be sligUt'y warmer tban the same elera- 
tiou iu C* ylou at least on the western side of Nuwara 
Eliys. ih re are one or two Ceylon pisnters already 
iu Travancore and other Ceylon men have interests in 
the msiriot. The only thing aga'nst social life there 
is that the estates are at some distance from each other, 
and communication is not sc good as it is in most of 
the upcoiiniry districts of Ceylon ; but from an inves- 
tor's point of view Travancore leaves, it would seem 
little to he desired. — Ibid- 
A New PlantinoUompsny — I hear on good autho- 
rity that a compsuy has been lormed to ope>. up the 
blocks of fi rpst land in Bsmberabatuwa belonging to 
Mr. J. Dent Young and others. These blocks, Bapn- 
gssteni.e and Walawedowe, aggregate over 2,600 
acres, and will form a very fine property as they are 
situst. d at a fair elevation and iu a dne climate tor 
tea onllivation. They were originally purchased (or 
the purpose of cultivating coffee iu the forties, and 
a small portion wa" opened, but thiy were abandoned 
in the crisis ot 1848. Mr. J. Dent Young orieinally 
selerteil the laud, I believe, and opened it. H- is 
still to the front, although one of the original pio eers 
of coffee planting. The G.iveromeut are also adver- 
tising for sale on the 9tb June a number ol lots of 
laud suitable for tea, cacao, etc., and tlieso lo's in- 
clude some of tbo fittest land remaining in Govern- 
m>nt hands in tbe fills. This district is ssyetiittle 
known though only 2 or 3 mi es win h of Maskeliya 
snd shout th ■ same distni c- north t f the Poinisd'illa- 
Kstnspaia road. The distiict will now t o doabt,be 
rapidly oniiied no. as th« new oompany and the 
purchasers of the Oovernmeut bl cks will open up the 
roads cut over 40 years ago si.d wh ch re<)uirc oum- 
earatively little done to teem t*' pnt them in good 
oroer Tin re are ever 6,000 acres 'if land in private 
hands, well suited for le being prope- ties purchssed 
over 40 tears ago, anf with roads to help, these will 
be ip»aodnp The cutlet 'or th" Bsnibeiabatuwa 
district will be Batnapura. — Coe. Local “Times-” 
