246 
THE TROPICAL AQRIOULTURIST. 
[October i, 1891. 
tbaugb not bearhig tbe H»ma proportion of profit 
as formerly, ia slill likely to i crease in quantity 
and, notwithstanding ibe various forms competition 
has taken, can still be made to bear a very fair profit 
and yield a good return to grooers who are in a position 
to know their ouslomers’ tastes better than growers 
in foreign countries, and othtrs who only affect this 
knowledge. 
COCOA IX CEVliOX. 
(From the Financial iVetn.) 
The shrewdest of the Oeylon tea companies are 
wisely showing tbeir appreciation of the maxim that 
no one ahou'd put all his eggs into one basket. T>a 
ia of necessity, tlio most valuable export at the present 
time, and will probably coulii ue to bo the at plopio- 
duco of Oeylon for another ten years to come. The 
West Kensington oorrespou lent whoso letters wo pub- 
lished on Mm day does not believe in “ tbe enormous 
estimate for future Ot-ylcn crops ot t-a." Tlie most 
•'enormous cstimsln ” is that tbe output will amount 
to too, out) 000 lb. pet annum in ten years time, which 
is about the quantity expofted today from all the 
Indian gardens. Our point in discussing •' Tea 
Shares as Invealnioiits ” was the danger of die supply 
ovorlakii g the demand. Quality rather than quan- 
tity should be the peremptory iustriiction of tho Lou- 
don oompauica to their local managers. When tho suo- 
ctss of a plantation ia measured by tho fineness aud 
lasting qualities of ite leaf rather than hy tho extra 
thiiusanda of pounds in weight sent out per annum, tho 
Ceylon tea gardens will have established thoir equili- 
brium, aud Ceylon tea will slill hold a commandii g 
place and a profitable price in “ the Lane but, apart 
from tea, tho natural rosouccos at tho island are auffi- 
oiently abundant to snstaiu the hopes of the investor in 
Oeylon scearilios. The disappointing rosult.s of Oeylon 
oolfoe aud the quinine hark may fairly bo said to 
have been couuterbaUnoed by the 6UCoe.«s which 
has attended tho experimeots in tho oullivatiou of 
indigo, of cotton, of a new flhro known in Iho market 
aB‘*sapok ’’ and,moro eapsoially.of tfiococoa plant, ot 
which tho Ooylon variety is outetrippiog the best 
growths of the West Indies, not excepting tlio famous 
nut of Caracas. 
It oau only be a coiucidence that (bo morcasing 
oonsumptioD of cocoa in the United Kingdom should 
be ocourring at tho same time as tho rise of tbe 
Oeylon 0000 a industry. There ia no possible couuoo- 
tron to bo found between the two facts that we 
are all drinking more cocoa than over, and that tho 
Ceylon snpply is inorousiug, and obtains the best 
prices in Mincing Lane. It is possible that Ooylon 
oocoa ia even now caviare to the general public. It 
hsa not yot become a special brand on tho gtooct’a 
counter ; it would bo uecossary to travel far afield 
to proouie a sample with which to try oxperimiuils 
on one’s palate. Its value, however, is rooognisod 
by the maoufaoturors of cocoa and chocolate 
in France and Bussia, as well as in the British 
islands. Its prime cost is higli, sn l it is bought, 
apparently, as an ingredient “ tco pure snd good 
for human nature’s daily food.” Its commer- 
eial value consist!, in fact, in its refining iulliienoe, 
wbioh lends colour aud Uavour to a blend with cocoas of 
a poorer class. It can ecarcely be said that tho intrinsio 
merits of Oeylon cocoa acoouut for the remarkable iu- 
croasein the general oousumptioi.. At 4s or 5i per lb., 
the price at which tho ro’ailet oouhl alfurd to diapo.-.e 
of it tho commodity would be almost out of tho roach 
of the nriidoiit hou-ewife. The oon.iimplioii of cocoa 
has, nevertheless, b'on a ooutininlly iuoreasing Item 
dur ng tho five years comprited in Messrs. U wis and 
Noye? Inst report. Their record, as regards the United 
Kingdom, runs, for the first half ol each year from 
3,9(10 tons in 1887 to 4,780 tons in 1890, and 6,370 tons 
in 18tn. Tho French— to whom cocoa lu one or another 
of its forms is at once meat and drink did not keep 
pace with onr own people during the same period. 
The consumption in France for the first half of the 
present year was Ij 910 tons, or only a trilling increase 
on the 6,070 tons ot live years before. Stocks wore large 
in France at the end ol .lunc, but prices were ateady.and 
Oeylon cocoas Si ill maintain their supermaoy. The re- 
lation which Ceylon prices bear to the commercial values 
of the West ludiim product will bo seen hy tho 
appended table, which wo have taken from Messrs. 
Lewis and Noyes’ August report: — 
UoJU-AliATIVK ritlCK.S PEIt CwT. 
ISUI. 1S90. 1899. 18S8. IKS'. 
Ceylon iH)/-i25/ aa/-io8/ ss/ 98/ !i0'-«.s/ uoz-ioo/ 
Hiinyaqull (Attlba) «9/-97/$ eO/- 83/ 7S/-bW 70'-7H/ 7.V- 80/ 
Triuidal 0S/-7U/ C.i/- HU/ 6'i/-7l)/ 7U/-7.'i/ 80/- 8-1/ 
Grenada 59/-63/ 00/-G.')/8 t)9/-«.|/ e0/-6e/ 69/- 73/ 
Aud this does cot complete ttie tale, for at one time 
this yeatCeyluu "gooil red ” fetched as much as 133s 
per cwt. ill open auction. 
'I'lie cocoa industry in Coylon, promising as it is, ro- 
qiiiriH of its oultiv.itor that “ great capacity of taking 
pains” which Garlyle de.sciibnd ns the quality ol genius. 
It asks from all who know anyth ng about it faith, 
hope, and oharity. It iiiakis a demand upon one’s 
faith beesnse five years must pass beh rc it is possible 
to say that the outlay on the ninsetios ia likely to 
prove a profitable iiiv.stmeiit; it aaas for oharity in 
the sense that it must he tenderly nurtured npon a rioh 
alluviil soil, somewhere by a river's brink, and under 
the shade of such shrubs as those which leturu their 
value ill tho “ kapok ’ pool, or such trees aa are being 
raised to come into our timber ma ket as good teak wood . 
Tho three or four plamarioua which are cultivating 
the cocoa plant are even now only at tho tbreaheld 
of tho good fortunn wbioh appearn to await their 
outerpriaing proprietors. Tho root of tho growth must 
have been urigiiially at Caracaa ; it wss trausplan'ed 
to Oeylon, and, so f .r, it has increased and uiuliiplied 
iiinsxingly. Tho ouco famous cocoa of Venfxuela, ihe 
fruit ot Iho equally cels bratod grow h iu Mexico, tho 
special varieties (or whiuli Tiiiiidad was wont to ho 
noted, have liad to giva way to ihenew corapelitoc— 
the imniigraut shrub wliicb ia fructifying iu Coylon. 
It involves some .sacrifice, no donbt, to let one's 
mnney rest for half a dov.eii years until the oocoa plant 
matures. Everything seems to depend upon tho suita- 
bility ot tho soil; but when the location is rightly 
selected, tho plant is robust, end enjoys a remarkably 
longlife. It is too soon tota'k of the longevity of the 
C'ylou description of the Theobi-oma Cacao; but in 
Trinidad there are two thriving est ites cn which the 
cocoa trees are creditably reported to bo over 100 
years old. 1’e.iliaps the reason why so little informa- 
tion as to the pos.-ibilities of Coylon cocoa reaches 
the investing pnblic is that tho holders ot atotkiutho 
prosperous companies arosati-fi.d wilti their securities, 
and prefer to keep tho good things to themselves. 
With a View ot encouraging the fruit industry 
in Victoria, tho llailway CommiasionerB of that 
Colony have agreed to carry fruit nt epeoial rates, 
with a minimum ot Is for caoh consignment for 
any distance. This concession is n Isvg • one, ns it 
will enable growers at a considerable distanoo to 
send single boxes of fruit to different persons at 
a very muoli reducid rate, provided tho boxes do 
not exoeci 1 cwt. in weight , — Giilunies and India. 
IvoiiT. — When passing through tbe Exhibition, 
tho other day, wo noticed a splendid display of ivory 
in its raw and manufaotured states. The ‘‘teeth,” 
as they call elephantine tusks in the trade, in- 
eluded some very fine speoimens, and it was 
apparent from some of them that Ilos Incan baa 
been a great martyr to that ache which invari- 
ably reminds us that our maatioating members ore 
a plague to get, a plague to keep, and a plague 
to lose. One pair of mammoth tusks weighed 
2 owt, and was valued at "JCf. Mammoth ivory, 
hy the way, ia not hunted for nowadays. It is 
found as on ‘‘ alluvial depos.t ” in tho rivers of 
Siberia, and is rarely fit for oomineroe, being too 
discoloured. The speoimous at the Oerman Exhi- 
bition, however, are, curiously enough, quito white. 
A couple of elephant's tusks are also shown which 
weigh 1 owt. 3 qr,, and which are priced at 1751. 
This lot came from the Kdima-Njaro district, 
tho happy hunting ground of tbe searcher after 
ivory.-n-Furo/iean Trade AMI, 
