6i4 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



[March i, 1884. 



Liooking at the euterprize from a purely oommeroial 

 point of view, tixe writer will be careful to avoid 

 everything like faUe colouriug, and to present, as 

 far as he cau, a correct and truthful picture. Nearly 

 the svh'ile of what is known as the " bxinboo district " is 

 suitable for coffee. The soil, too, is uearly all rich, 

 though not equally so. Some parts have advantages 

 over others in point of climate. This last is very 

 important — perhaps the chief point to be considered. 



The intending settler would do well to look about 

 him and gather the beat information before ioveeting 

 his money. Better still, he should seek employment 

 under some able manager for, say, a couple of years, 

 when he will have learned the language, and fairly 

 mastered the details of his business. This arrange- 

 ment need not prevent bis acquiring land meanwhile, 

 or purchasing an estate if a favourable opportunity 

 ofi'ers itself. In the latter case the work had better 

 be entrusted to a manager while the purchaser is 

 gaini'.ig his experience on another estate. 



Now, with regard to the amo uut of capit:il required. 

 Crown land is plentiful enough, though not readily 

 obtained, the Government having adopted a rather 

 strict policy of conservancy. A great deal of land 

 is in the hands of natives, and this can be purchased 

 at from £3 to £3 an acre, occordiug to the situation 

 and quality of the land. Crown forest, when put up 

 to auction, generally brings a little more than these 

 figures. Coffee plantations in full bearing are to be 

 purchased at from £40 to £60 an acre. To bring a 

 plantation into full bearing, allowing for price of land 

 and interest on money, will cost from £30 to £40 

 an acre. The average siz3 of n plantation is 150 acres, 

 and to bring that into bearing, without borrowing, 

 would require a capital of £5, QUO. With half the capital 

 it can be done in this way. Say the land costs £1,200, 

 and thefii-fit year's expenditure is £1,200. If the plant- 

 ing is a success, sufficient money can be raised to 

 carry on for another year and a half, when the first 

 crop will be gathered. The rate of interest will be 

 from y to 10 per cent. Again, a property in bearing, 

 say 150 acres, may be bought for £7,500, a third of 

 whicli only need be paid down, and the balance, 

 £5,000, inmstaUnents running over three or four years. 

 la this latter case the interest would probablj- be 7 

 per cent. If it can be avoided, it is clearly the best 

 way not to borrow. 



It next comes to be considered how the investment 

 will pay. A choice estate in the bamboo district of 

 Coorg could certainly not ba bought for less than 

 £60 an acre. It is cheaper in the end, however, to 

 buy such an es'ate, with a suitable climate and rich 

 soil to work on, than to take one without th-^se ad- 

 vaiitages for half the price. Suppose an estate of 150 

 acres is bought for £9,000. If properly cultivated it 

 will continue to yield, on an average, (j owt. per 

 acre. The yearly crop will thus be 45 tons, which 

 will not, say, £75 a ton, or £3,375. The upkeep of 

 such a plantation at the outside would be £2,000. This 

 would give apiodt of £1.375, or 15 per cent per annum, 

 on a capital outlay of £9,000. These calculations are 

 based oa practical knowledge, and sufEcient margin is 

 allowed for unpropitious seasons and other contingencies. 

 Many of the best properties givs an average yield of 

 7 cwt. per acre, and under skilfn raioagement the work- 

 ing expenses will not be more than £10 to £12 per 

 acre, or say, £1,650. The price of coffee, too, is fixed 

 at a low rate, and the writer's last season's crop of 85 

 tonsbrought an average net price of £81 per ton. Under 

 favourable circumstances, then, it will be seen that 

 oome 30 per cent on the outlay may be obtained. 



Following a business that gives such good return?, 

 it will naturally be asked why all planters have not 

 made their fortunes. The question is answered thus. 

 In no sinulu instiuce has a planter started operations i 

 with sutUcieut capital, aad so bis euterprize is clogged I 



with debt. Again, all the companies and large propri- 

 etors opened laud in unsuitable districts, and profit i 

 from good estates were swallowed up in carrying on 

 unprofitable plantations. Furlhermore, it is only within 

 the last eigilt or ten years that a proper system of 

 cultivation was understood, far less carried out. At 

 one time the " borer" swept over the country like a 

 scourge, and it looked as if all coffee property would 

 have to be abandoned. At this juncture, on one or two 

 plantations, shade began to be grown, and a superior 

 style of cultivation to be introduced. The effect of 

 these new methods fell on the bewildered and well- 

 nigh despairing planters like a revelation. Gradually 

 the improved system came to be adopted on all pro- 

 perties, and with the most successful results. 



Prior to this new era, estates had fallen to a low 

 ebb, through debt and neglect. Several years of skil- 

 ful management were required to recover lost ground, 

 and it is only now that properties are getting freed 

 of their incumbrances, and the fortunate owners 

 beginning to enjoy the fruits of their labours. 



I have said nothing of the cultivation of cinchona, 

 which has been making rapid progress during the last 

 four years. It does not appear to flourish in the 

 more eastern and drier parts of tbe province ; it requires 

 moderately steep land and free open soil, and thrives 

 bfst of all on the Ghat land, which is not so well ad- 

 apted for coffee. Cinchona is being interspersed with 

 the coffee, for the double purpose of atfording shade 

 and yielding a valuable bark, which in a few years will 

 greatly add to the revenue of the planter.— J,C.—Fz'e?d. 



Essence of Pure Coffee. — We hope that at last 

 a genuine " essenc? of coffee " has been produced, for 

 from an advertisement in the Pharmaceutical Journal we 

 notice that Messrs. Ridgway & Co., tea and coffee 

 merchants, of London, have, in conjunction with 

 Messrs. Allen & Hanburys, the well-known chemists, 

 produced a preparation wliich they call cafi vierge. 

 We read : — 



This Essence is extracted at Allen & Hanburys' laboratory 

 by a new and very perfect process, by means of which the 

 delicate flavour and aroma of the Coffee are retained 

 without any of the coarseness and acridity which are ao 

 often perceptible in the ordinary brewing of the ground 

 berries. It is exquisitely soft and delicate in flavour, and 

 will be found quite unique, no essence at all comparahle in 

 quality and strength having heretofore been offered to the 

 public. By its use all ivaste is avoided, a.s it is ouly necessary 

 to prepare the exact quantity required, a single cup being 

 as easily made as a larger quantity. It may be made 

 entirelij nv'/Zt iKfi/i, and, thus prepared, is more nourishing 

 than the usual household coffee, which must of necessity 

 contain a considerable proportion of water. A very pleasant 

 and invigorating beverage is made by adding one or two 

 teaspoonluls of the Cafe Vierge to a bottle of Seltzer or 

 Soda water, or a glass of cold milk (with sugar to taste) ; 

 and used iu this way the Esseuce will be found of great 

 convenience to tourists, traveller.s, and sportsmen, more 

 especially as, being very highly concentrated it occupies 

 little bulk. The Esseuce will also be found extremely 

 useful for flavouring ices, creams, cakes, &c. 

 We give the propriet'ira tbis gratis advertisement on 

 account of the important bearing the subject has for 

 Ceylon coffee planters. In the advertisement under 

 notice the letters of the words of "cafi vierge" re- 

 present coffee bans, placed in various positions, 

 those placed sideways, however, being more like acorn 

 cups than coffee beans. 



SKINNY MEN. 



" Wells' Health Renewer " restores health and vigor 

 cures Dyspepsia, Impotence, DebiUity. B. S. Madon & 

 Co,, Bombay, General Agent*. 



