The difficult economical situation which has become so marked 
in German Industry and German Trade has had a decidedly para- 
lysing influence upon enterprise on a large scale in our tropical 
Colonies; still a few Estate Companies have been founded during 
the past yeartho’ each only with a capital of £i 5,000, their financial 
situation therefore not appearing very brilliant. Also the Southwest 
African Stock-breeding, with a capital of A 3 5 > 000 a creation of 
the last year ; but it must not be forgotten that this would have 
never been achieved without considerable support from the Colonial 
Society. 
There is no doubt that the East African Coffee Estates as well as 
the Cocoa Estates of Kameroon will have to face very bad times. 
Most of these Companies have., in the hope of early dividends 
planted far too quickly and have now, at the most unfortunate mo- 
ment reached the end of their funds. Add to this a number of 
mistakes made: Coffee planters in Umsambare have planted freely 
away without troubling their heads about the depth of the soil : the 
consequence is that whole fields are dying out. Most serious, 
finally are the consequences of having formerly underestimated 
certain expenditure. 
In Kameroon the greatest drawbacks are the difficulty of obtain- 
ing labour, and the heavy cost and bad quality of the labour 
obtainable. If the labour question cannot soon be settled in a man- 
ner more satisfactory than heretofore by the combined efforts of all 
concerned, we have the most serious fears that, notwithstanding all 
the advantages of climate and soil in the Kameroon Mountains, a 
profitable cultivation of Cocoa on a large scale will not be pos- 
sible. 
The cultivation of Caslilloa Rubber cannot be recommended, as 
the caterpillar of a large beetle will gnaw into the bark of the young 
trees thereby killing them. As on one Estate experiments with 
this plant have been made on a large scale we hope to hear soon 
more about the amount of damage done by this pest and about the 
means of combating it. The growth of Castilloa as well as of the 
indigenous Kickxia leaves nothing to be desired. We have no re- 
ports yet how Hevea Brasiiiensis and Ficus elastica, which seems 
to do well, behave when grown on a large scale. 
The few Estates with Liberian Coffee and Coconuts in German 
East Africa progress steadily and favourably. The same can 
unfortunately not be said about the Estates with Coffee arabica. 
Newly discovered 1110’ yet unknown animal pests of different kinds 
seem to do enormous damage to those Estates and not knowing 
the ways of these pests planters have no means of combating them. 
It is high time that a Plant-Pathologist should visit these Estates 
to make experiments before it may be too late. 1 he Colonial 
Economy-Committee deserves praise for having first indicated 
the right course ; the news just only reaches us that Prof. Ziinmer- 
mann, who was for many ye-™ the chief of the Department for 
Coffee at the Botanical Gardens of Buitenz -g, a noted connoisseur of 
the enemies of the Coffee plant, is aireao on his way to German 
East Africa. Tho’ the most urgently wanted work has thus been 
