726 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[April i, 1892. 
the form of a limited company, thus saving not only 
the wholesilb dealera’ profits, but also that of the 
planter. To Ulk of saving tho plintcr's profit is ridi. 
ouloas as the profit will, of oouree, still exist nhethec 
the produce is purchased by a stranger or by the 
owner himself in his capacity os dealer for the profit 
of the proprietor of the plantation is only that margin 
which exists between the working expenses of the 
estate and the amount realised by the sale of the 
produce, the purchaser being quite immaterial. Whe- 
ther tho company oliooeos to pay a dividend on its 
estates, or on its retail ahops is for itself to decide. 
It is merely a question of book-keeping. Perhaps 
the most (orciblo argnmeat that has been adduced is 
that if the ooDsumers eon be truthfully told that 
thoir grooets grow Ihtir own tea, and, therefore able 
to aell them a better article at tho price thau 
tho shop across the way, the dictates of oommonsense 
will iudaoe them to believe it and tho trade of “rotail- 
growera ” will consequently bo increased. Against this 
argument, however another correspondent writes 
as follows : — “ Auotuer phase of tho qnestiou of tea- 
glowing, wbiob perhaps furiiUhes tho moat powerful 
leaeou why ivtailers should consider well before entering 
on such a course, is the fact that, buying on the open 
market in combination, dealers will invariably bo able 
to select more suitable gcods from an assortment fur- 
nished by between tbirtoon and fourteen hundred 
gardens, covering an area at the present time in India 
and Ceylon of upwards of bslf-a-million acres.” 
The latter argumeot, is in our opiuion, the stronger, 
and we think it very doubtful whether larger profits 
are likely to be made by a Company in a dual capacity 
of eslute-owuer and retailer, which is obliged itself to 
disposed of its own pioduco to consumers, thsu would 
have been shown separately by tho planter and the 
grocer. Certain teas may and do acquire an enhanced 
value for the very reason that they blend well, and, it 
gold alaue, wonld not fetch anything like the same 
price. A clever buyer of tea in Mincing Lane, has 
given it out as his opinion that he can buy to greater 
advantagu in the open market Ilian lie could if he in- 
vested his capital in and took the risk of tea gardens 
about which he knew next to nothing. The converse bolds 
equally good, and the planter who opened a shop in bis 
native village or even in“ that little village,” London, is 
more likely than not to realise smaller profits than if 
ha had said in the usual way. Certain planters have, 
if we do uot err, sucoeoded in working up a good retail 
trade for their piuduco, but still we maintain that the 
rule holds good, and it would need a bold planting man 
to seriously contemplate turning grocer or even broker. 
Mr. Llewellyu-Hugbes, a planter \rbo has tried tea 
growing and tea retailing in oombinatiou in the oonrso 
of a long letter, points ont that teas of every grade and 
desoriptiou often get into tho bands of the retailer for 
less tliau the cost of the producer. So far^no onu has 
suggested that tho grocer should grow bis own coffee, 
doubtless because it ie necesssry to keep in stock so 
many different grades and qualities, Brazil, Esat India, 
Cuatcmala, & 0 -, and it ie chiefly by the judicious mix- 
ing of these diffcient growths that profit is made. In 
fact at the present time tea is the only plsntation pro- 
duced in connection with which such a scheme could 
have been mooted. 
The question which this discussion naturally sug- 
gests is how long is it wise for the planter to keep his 
interest in his produce, or when for his own sake is it 
best to sell. As regards tea, the nearest market to 
Southern India is practioally London, for with the ex- 
ception of the small quantity that is needed for local 
consumption, there is no demand for tea and no sales- 
rooms in Southern India suoh as exist in Oaloutta and 
Colombo. The same may be said about cinchona, for 
tliongheoch year merchants on the AVest Coast dabble 
a little in bark, tho demand is so small that it is to all 
intents and purposes nil. Pepper will always find a 
ready sale in this country, but it will be some few years 
yet before thie spice figures as anything but a very 
minor product when taking into account the whole 
industry. On the other hand a brisk trade in planta- 
tion coffee is carried on every season, and the planter 
is always able to dispose of this produoe locally 
if he wishes it. When sales were made in this 
country formerly, the system that everywhere pre- 
vailed was to fell on f. o. b. terras, and in most 
cases tile purobasers wire tlie cuiers, and in 
tho sales notes a certain percentage of tiiagef 
was laid down. Flauters may he forgiven then io 
they declined Io belie vo that the merchants wer 
auflioiently above the rest of mankind not to regard 
their own interests before the owner of the coffee. 
Oonseqncntly, unless a roan was pressed for money, 
sales were few and far between, the planter profi r- 
ring to take bis chance cf the open market at houje. 
Latterly, however, a new sysieiii Ima been iutroouced, 
where the puruiiosor takes delivery of tlie patebment 
at the planter's store and when the latter has rtceived 
his money, oil intenst in bis prodnee at onoe ceases. 
There is, we consider, little doubt tliat unless a roan 
is a large proprietor, this is the best course to pur- 
sue BO long ae he can obtain a fair price for his 
prodnee, provided always that it is undorslood that 
he merely sells his coffee and rot the name of hie 
Thie is a very necessary stipnlation in view 
of his making sabsequint shipmeuta on hie own 
aoccnnt, os tie purchaser, when ho buys a small 
jrop, is certain to mix it wi’h other ooffeea. We 
bold that, all things considered, the planter who has 
a small or medium-^ized crop, protects his own 
interests best by selling to the purchaser who will 
give him fair value and will take delivery of the 
eofiee at the eatate store , — Madras Times, Fob. 23. 
» 
BORNEO PLANTING NOTES. 
Coconuts in North Borneo bear in five years, and 
the betcluut palm in four years, but the demand is 
so groat that ccooBut trees in bearing in Sandakau 
lot for $2 a year each. We nndeisland thsl Mr. 
Abrahamson has leased 600 acres at Kudat for a coco- 
nut planlatiou. 
Tho experimental planting cf colinn seed in the 
garden at Quvernment Houae by His Excellency Qo- 
vetnor Creagb, and the success attending the eamc, 
was made known to our readers at the time. A fur- 
ther development ia now being made of this industry 
by the Government, who are now diatribnting seed 
01 a very high olasa of Sea Island cotton of long staple 
called the “ Alien ” variety a snpply ol wbioh was 
arranged for by tbeCommisaioner of Landa when he 
viaitod Liverpool in tbo early part of this year. 
The information then obtained iby Mr. AValker waa 
of anch a nature that the Court of Directors autho- 
rized a small expenditure on seed, and on a ootton gin 
which lately arrived and has jnat been fitted up by 
Mr. Walker at Kndat. Vio understand that 
at tho suggestion of the Acting Keaidcnt, Mr. K. M. 
Little, His Exoellenoy the Acting Governor baa au- 
thorized the purcliase of a small quantity of clean 
cotton in order to stimulate the industry and to euaute 
a fair sample being obtained for the information of 
the Liverpool market. Mr. Walker informs us that 
the expense of production in the United States is 
“bout six ceuts per pound, and that the value of Sea 
Island cotton in the English market is somewhere 
obout the round shilling, b’our pounds of cotton yield 
ne pound of clean cotton and three pounds of seed, 
which last ia worth £7 a ton in Liverpool. In Ceylon 
tho seed, mixed with coconut poonao, is given to the 
cattle or to the piga, and our Chinese should bear 
this in mind, aa cotton seed is well known for its 
fattening qualities. 
The Cummiaeioner of Lands has juat returned from 
visitiog Kndat, and infoime us that tlie advancement 
of agrioultnre by ihe Chinese settlors is becoming 
very noticeable. The banana ouitivation has now iu- 
oreased to auoli a degree that, unless some cutlet be 
found for the sale of the fruit, it will cease to be 
profitable. Mr. AFalker made a trial purchase ot 
ii'i bunobea of bananas at six cents a bunch and 
found a rapid sale awaiting them at ISandakan at ten 
cents, which were retailed at from twenty to thirty 
oentSi and we understand that the two men in ohaige 
