174 REV. B. ABBA.T ON HEMILEIA. TASTATRIX. 



Acreage. Production. Yield per 

 1872 ) cwb. 



1873 } 221,000 048,877 2'93 



1874 1 



1875 ) 



1870 J- 2G0,000 777,105 2'98 



1877) 



The present year (1878) is believed to be the most disappointing 

 the coffee enterprise has known, the average yield, according to 

 Ceylon statistics, being somewhat below 2 cwt. per acre. The 

 promise for next year, however, is exceptionally good if the trees 

 only have the strength and the favourable season for ripening 

 their fruit. 



It must be remembered that about one fifth of the above 

 acreage of coffee is not in full bearing, on account of the trees 

 being either too old or too young. 



During the earlier years of the ravages of the pest all traces of 

 it disappeared so completely in different districts, and the trees 

 when relieved from its influence so readily put forth new foliage 

 and'bore considerable crops, that confident hopes were entertained 

 that the mischief would soon and entirely pass away. This feeling 

 was increased by the fact that no tree had ever been known to be 

 killed by the " disease," however frequent and repeated the 

 attacks might be. It soon, however, became evident that many 

 of the trees so affected, more especially the old and decrepit, were 

 losing a portion of their vigour — the crop reaching maturity, as 

 shown by the statistics, being below the estimates formed by ex- 

 perienced men immediately after the blossom had set, an unmis- 

 takable sign that these particular trees were losing in some mea- 

 sure the power to perfectly ripen their fruit. Besides this, a 

 somewhat larger proportion of light coffee, i. e. of deaf beans, was 

 noticed. Planters consequently had recourse to a very liberal 

 application of manure of various kinds ; and the tree w r as thus 

 enabled to bear a good crop of fruit, as well as to put out new 

 leaves in the place of those of which it had been denuded by the 

 pest. This method has been successful to a considerable extent ; 

 but the older and more feeble trees have, as might have been an- 

 ticipated, in a large degree ceased to yield to the stimulus. 



The deficiency in the value of the crop for the present excep- 

 tional year (1878), particularly on the older and low-lying estates, 

 is greater than has been experienced before, and the average annual 



