May a, 1892.] 
THF TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
80s 
NOTES ON PRODUCE AND FINANCE. 
The Pbodoce Olearino Housk. — Elsewhere wo 
give B report of the prcceedings held at the iiunaal 
geuerel meetiog of the Loiidou Produce Clearing 
House. This organisation has become b very iiu- 
poitsnt f«otor in Minoing Line, and one which it is 
impoesiblo for the most conservative of the frater- 
nity in the Lane to ignore. The fact that as large 
a qnautity as 112,000 chests of Indian “typtj” joa 
passed through the books of the company during the 
year is remarkable, while in the report special re- 
ference is made to the increased dealings in Indian 
tea. A more important matter, however, is that the 
operations in this *'futare market” are likely in course 
of time to exercise cousiderable iiifluonoe on the 
actual market on the spot for Indian teas, and it will be 
for producers to consider in what way they can, in their 
own interests, best utilise the organisation. To show 
that it might not be altogether withont its uses let us 
only imagine that last spring, when prices for Souchong 
were pence per lb. over what they now are, that some 
prodnosrs had seen lit to aell their produot of that 
grade forward, uodor tho Olearing House oon'raots, 
and an easy calonlatiou will show to what extent they 
might have gained thereby. Whether, liowever, 
planters use or do not use this organisation, there is no 
doubt, as already montiooed, that the dealers through 
this company will have widcly.exten iiug inAuenoas 
upon the inarkit. It is a sigo of the times to And con- 
servative Minoing Lane at last waking np to new 
methods of doing buslue s, long familiar to our neigh- 
bours beyond the sea. 
Last Week’s Tka Sales. — The supply of Indian tea 
brought forward still consists principally of earn- 
mou grades of much inferior qutlity to those of- 
fered a few weeks ago (says the Produce Mar- 
ieti' lievieio), while prices have been irregular, 
and occasionally lower, for the less desirable pnrcelt. 
Unless there is a muoh stronger demand for these 
grades, current rates oau hardly be maintained, 
uotwitlistaudicg their present low prices. On the 
other hand, teas of good useful quality are scarce, 
aud are eagerly sought after at higher pciecs. This 
has betn particularly noticeable in the past week’s 
Publio sales, more especially fur nhule-leaf kiods, 
which allowed considerable adsanao from the lowest 
point. Brokon I’okoes have shared in the upward 
movement, bnt to a smaller extent, wh le the Aucat 
grades oontinuo to be actively competed for at 
prices showing a further rise. The enquiry, in fact, 
during tho past aosson has been for tea with 
quality, wliicli provea that the demand merely for 
price is docliniug. Importers would do well to note 
this, aud instead of hooding the market with tea 
of uadusirable obaraotor, they should turn their 
attention to procuring a larger proportion of good 
medinm and Ana descriptions, in doing wbioh their 
interests would undoubtedly be better served. If, 
however, they persist in the present course, which will 
largely augment the supply in tho coming season, 
conpled with a probable import of nearly 80,000,090 lb. 
from Ceylon, they mnsl be prepared to face the lowest 
prices yet recorded. At the public sales 02,623 pack- 
ages were brought forward, aud the bidding was brisk 
fur all good grades, but the ooinmoii sorts were compa- 
ratively neglected. The Ceylon sales, in accordance 
with the reports from Ceylon as to the quanlity expor- 
ted, have again been rather smaller than was generally 
antioip itod by the home trade, and priucs have been 
full maintained, and iu most oases have exceeded 
the J,anaary quotations. Tho quality has boon 
fairly good, but porleot exoelleuoo in this respect 
Is hardly to bo expected until rather Dior on 
in the season. Strong elforts are evolently to be 
rnado not only by moroliants aud dealers, but also 
by representatiyes sent direct from the island, to push 
tleylon teas at the forthcoming Chicago Exhibition ; 
and when the snoccss which atieivdel the elforts made 
atthelato Colonial Exhibition to bring Ceylon teas 
into general favour is considered, it is hardly to be 
doubtol that a great stride will also bo made by 
these means iu the United States. This iiuestion, 
KltUongh not of immediate importance, must ultimatoly 
101 
have a strong bearing upon the future price of tea 
in general. 
The Exchange Bcgbesr.— The silver problem and 
the nps aud downs, obielly downs, in the rates of 
exchange between this country and the Far East 
have become too bnrdensome. It is no wonder, 
therefore, that in India business man are becoming 
restive on the subjeot. The position of a business 
man in India is a trying one, A decline in exchange 
tends in the Arst instance to stimnlato the buyer of 
imported goods, becanse he feels that with every fall in 
the gold equivalent of rnpee prices there is the Isas 
probability of his being able to buy later on at 
lower rnpee prices ; in other words, he is the more 
disposed to think that prices in llie silver eorrenoy, 
with wbioh be alone has to do, have in oommercial 
parlmoe, “ touched bottom.” But tho very feat of a 
decline which is purely arbitrary, as it is due to oon- 
ditious absolutely outside the oironmstauoes of the 
trade in which he is engaged, and is quite inaalou- 
lable, makes him doubtful as to whether a reverse 
moremont may not ensue, and mark his parchasea 
relatively dear. No wonder, then, that the fall in 
exchanges has become (he chief topic in buaineia 
circles in India, for, with either a falling tendency 
of exchange snoh as has been now praotically oon- 
tinuons sinos October, 1890, or a rising tendeooy 
of exchange sueii as was experienced from May, 1889, 
to September, 1890, the importer and exporter alike 
are equally uncertain bow to act. However acecrate 
may be ftlioir calculations, of demand and supply in 
regard to the commodities in whieh they deal, how- 
ever shrewd their forecasts of the seasons, they are 
still as likely to Aud their uperalions end iu loss as if 
they were mere gambl-rs. 
A Supposed Rio — There is talk of a French rig in 
cofluo. Its home is iu Havre, Neither New York, 
London, nor Hamburg isi mplioated in the busine, bt 
Antwerp is said to have an intorest, in ib.—H. aiui O' 
Mail, Feb. 19. 
AN J'iX-CEYLON PLANTER IN 
AUSTRALIA, 
live of a “jackaroo” — paddocks and BHBEP-aUMa 
—IN THE INTERIOR — MILDURA — SCNDAV OBSERVANC* 
— A DAV AND A H.U.F OF WORK. 
Feb. 16tb. 
I liavo several items to write about, and will likely 
oncloso papers which you may be pleased to publish. 
I am here living on a station in N. S. Wales. The 
Afe of a “ jackaroo ” or gentleman apprentice, or 
what you call in Oeylon a “ creeper,” is a pleasant 
mixture of pleasure and pain, of rough jobs and 
glorious riding over the Aat grass paddocks. A 
"paddock " is a Aeld, but a very largo Aold. Soma 
are 2,000 acres otliers aro 8,000 acres. Sheep-runs 
go from ao.lXk) acres to ,900,000 acres, and the gazing 
power of the land is very Anely adjusted since uni- 
versal fencing took tho place of ahopliarding in days 
one by. Mohs aro placed in paddocks, and thonnm- 
er of slieop per acJe, or the iiunibor of acres por 
shoop, is nicely arranged. The breeding and select- 
ing IS so easily managed in paddocks, and fewer moa 
are necessary'. FormerW sliepharda lost their sheep 
like little Bo-peep and didn't know whore to And 
tliem. Rams and cows aud Iambs wore all mixed np ; 
aud what was worse, neiglibours found their sheep 
getting mixed. Now everything is orderly and me- 
thodical. 1 am not, as you will be sure, capable of 
explaining the inaiiagoment of a sheep-run after a 
week’s expecienco, bnt a sliort sketchy description of 
the scenes and scenery might interest your readers. 
After Auding that Molbouriio did nut exactly wel- 
come me, in fact the times were so hard that now 
comers seeking employment Were not likely to be 
welcomed wlion those already on the spot wera 
(iiiding it a dilflcult thing to live, I journeyed into 
“the interior,’’ as a Ceylon conductor would say, 
and found myself across the Murray, niy old friend 
at Mildura, and speeding across New South Wales 
across a flat, liot, dry, plain. I arrived at Donilil 
quin anti sveutually fouutl the Btalioa which waa 
