390 
THF TROPICAL AORIOULTURIST. 
[December i, 1891. 
We are great heliovere in cattle inannro iuthisdiE- 
triot, and when supplemented with, for Coffee, a jiuH- 
cioua admixtaro of bones, the most eatisfaetery resalts 
have been obtained. There is hardly a so-called "cbemi* 
cal manure ” known to planters that has not been tried. 
Phosphates, Eaiuit, Guano, Fish, l^uonao, ttia,, d'o., 
have all had a trial, but nothing has ever come up 
to cattle manure and bones. After all, as they say 
in Norfolk, “There's nothing like mtck." 
The Nortb-East Monsoon has fairly set in, during 
the last few days the wind baa veered round to the 
N.-E., and besides having occasional sonsationa of what 
is known as “ Land Wind,” wo are having heavy 
showers in the afternoons, accompanied by thunder 
and lightning. I hear too that good rain has fallen 
in Pandy, where, from all aooouuts, it was terribly 
needed, as the distress, which has been very severe 
for some months iu the Oumbum Valley, bad well nigh 
culminated iu famine. There has been quite a rush of 
Pandy carts across the hills, in quest ot poddy, as the 
hill harvest ou the ghats aud neighbouring hills is 
now in full swing, and prices at this season of tho 
year aro ordinarily low. I hear, however, that tlie 
cnltWators are disinclined to part with their grain, ard 
in oonscqncnce of Ibis unusual demand from Britisli 
territory, are combined to raise prices, and are likely 
to realise, on what has been rather a poor crop, larger 
E rofits than under ordinary cironmstsnces, they would 
ave obtained from a Id-anoa crop. Verily it is an ill 
wind that blows nobody uuy good ! — Madrof Times. 
[We OBD easily understand that no manure can 
exoel a oombination of oattlc manure and bones, 
whore both are plentifnl and cheap and where the 
cattle manure is within easy distanoe of the fields 
to which it is to be applied. Tho oost of oartago 
and carriage on coolies' heads ot this bulky and 
heavy material is, in many oases, prohibitive.— 
Ee. T. A.} 
INDIA AT THE WORLD’S FAIR. 
An unusual opportunity for advetlising Indian goods 
and manufactures in an effective manner is, says the 
London Correspondent ot the Pioneer, likely to be 
furnished by tho oomiug World's Fair at Chicago, of 
which io much has already beeu heard. 
It is eatUfaolory to be able to state that steps have 
already been taken towards arranging for the adequate 
representation of British India at Chicago. Early in 
the present year, Mr. H. Ballantine, Uouaul for the 
United State* ot Bombay, was summoned by his 
Government to America, m order that he might give 
his advices as to the best way of Beanring the co- 
operation of tho Indian authorities aud of Indian 
mannfactnrers of every kind. No better seleetiou could 
have been made, for Mr. Hallautino, born in tho Land 
of Itegrcts, has spent his life in acquainting himself 
with native languages, customs, and modes of thought, 
not to mention his large oommetcial experience. Before 
leaving the Slates, Mr, Ballantine was instructed to 
visit Chicago as Commissioner for India in cunneotion 
with the exhibition, and iu the fuluis capital of tbo 
West ho conferred with the directors ot tho show, 
afterwards leaving for London on his way back to tho 
East, to start his mission. l>. eming that some forecast 
of the probabilitU's of India being plsced well in 
evidence at Chicago might not be devoid of interest, 
I paid Mr. Ballantine a visit at his temporary ollioe iu 
Oueon Viotoria-sireet ou the eve of his deiiarturo for 
Bombsy Ho was evidently iu good spirits at the pros- 
nects of tho exhibition, aud spoke eutbusiastically. 
“For what class of oihibils do you consider there 
will the beet opening i' ” was uexl question. 
"Well, yon may say that Ibore will ho a ospital 
oprottunity for the Indian and Ceylon tea-growers to 
make their wares better known,” my informant replied. 
“ As I have just been explaiuing to one of the largest 
tea houses here, is quite free. But one thing should 
be remembered — tho tea must bo quite genuine. Thus 
far tho Indian and Ceylon teas, sold in America, have 
beeu pushed on to the market with a bleudiug of 
Ubiceao tea, whereas I think Indian teas so good that 
they osn stand entirely on their own merits. Ceylon has 
already voted a large sum of money to seoure proper 
represcutstion at tho fair, aud no doubt the Indixu lua 
planters, when approaohod, will do the sumo.” 
“With regard to raw materials,” Mr. Ballantine 
pursued, ‘‘these, too, are more or less free, aud so far 
trem the McKinley Bill doing auy harm iu this direc- 
tion it has actually modified the duties, where existing. 
There is no market iu the world, I believe, that will be 
found to pay so well as that of the United States. 
Oriental fabrics are getting more and more popnlar on 
tbo other side of the Atlantic. Instead ot carpets being 
spread down in the houses uf the well-to-do, the teu- 
denoy now is to go in for Oriental rugs. That has been 
a great feature of the carpet trade, in which India 
justly occupies a very high position. Why, look at her 
oapabilitUs uf producing rugs which 1 claim today are 
(he wonder and beauty of that class of goods, as the 
beautiful samples in South Kensington Museum will 
prove! With regard to art work, I consider tho so- 
called pictures of India rather faulty in pprspeetive, but 
the miniature paintings on ivory are very fine. There 
would be a large demand in America for this class of 
goods, if they could bo obtained . — Times of India. 
■ ♦ 
NOTES ON PRODUCE AND FINANCE. 
Indian Tea Companies ab Investments. — In the 
course of an ariiole on the positum of Indian tea 
compauios as shown iu Mr. EArnshaw's ii,t to which 
we recently referred, tho Pinancial Times says : — 
"It would be safe to say that no class of iudns- 
trial investments has shown such uniformly good 
results as the ludiau tea companies. We leave out 
of account thoie with their head-quarters iu Cal- 
cutta, although by lucludiug them the case would 
bo strengthened, some of them having yielded 
continuous dividends on a generous scale. But, 
taking tbo list of tweiily-seveu companies re- 
gistered in Loudon, which are inc'udod in a 
comparative table, compiled by Mr. Henry Earn- 
shaw, secretary of the Jokai Tea Ootnpany, we 
find there are only three non-dividend paying com- 
panies, of wbiob one is the Land Mortgage Bank of 
India, presumably holding tea-gardens which have 
beeu foreclosed on. Mr. Earusuaw's list loaves out 
some of the smaller couoerns, which aro to be found 
in that published by Mr. George tSoton, an indefati- 
gable statistioian of tbo ludinu tea industry, who is 
doing his utmost to attract public uttonliou to the 
exoellont opportnuUios for investment offered by 
these oompauics. Mr. Seton gives partionlsra of thirty- 
three seiiarate properties known in this market, of 
which only two failorlto pay dividendsiu 1S‘J0. Taking 
the two seta together, we find details of thirty six 
companies, of which only five, though showing 
credit balances, wore unable to declare dividends 
last year. As those declared ranged from 8 to 
20 per cent., and as the average was not tar short 
of 9 per cent., there can be no denial ot the claim that 
no cla<8 of industrial investments shows more uniformly 
good results. 
Investors Shodld Note, — “Objection,” says tho 
writer in the Pinancial Times, “might bo taken to tho 
use of the word uniform in conueotiou with three dcEsn 
oompanies whoso dividends range from three to twenty 
per cent., but if wo rostriot ourselves to those com- 
panies which recommend tbomeelvcs most readily to 
ini ostors as having the advantage of aii official quota- 
tiou iu Lendon, wo find an exceediugly satisfactory re- 
gularity iu the rate of the dividends paid. Most pro- 
minent of these is tho Jokai (Assam) Tea Company, 
which though it has never approached the twenty pec 
cent, paid last year by the Brahmaputra, is untitled iu 
every respect to rank as tho premier Indian tea com- 
pany known in London. Year after your it pays ten per 
cent with unvarying regularity on its capital of 
£200,000. The capital value of the estate is only £38 
10s per acre, and the shareholders’ profit per mature 
acre last year was £8 16a, or nearly sixteen per cent. 
The Lebong, quoted in London, and paying six per 
cent for some years hack, is in tho exceptional posi- 
tion ot possossing a sum equal to mote than a third 
of the capital in reserve, but thii prqoeeded (tom 
