July 2, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



55 



ON THE CULTIVATION OF LIBERIAN 



COFFEE, COCONUTS, AND OTHER PEODUOTS 



IN CEYLON. 



Report by Major E. J. AVimberley, Officiating Deputy 

 Siiperintemleut of Port Blair. 



[For the following Report we are indebted to the Indian 

 Government.] 



LIBERI.\N COFFEE. 



This is almast a new product in Ceylon, planters having 

 only introduced it on a large scale since their plantations 

 commenced to suiter so severely from the " Hemileia 

 Vastatrix," or leaf disease ; it is therefore at present 

 almost in its infancy, but, after seeing a considerable 

 extent of land uiider this crop, and hearing the opinions 

 of men interested in its cultivation, I think that the 

 following information may be consiilered reliable. 



The Liberian coffee appears to gi-ow equally well in the 

 inunediate neiglibourhood of the sea and at considerable 

 distances from it ; it grows as well on level grounds as 

 on slopes, care being taken that on ~ slopes the rich surface 

 soil is not washed away, and on level ground that there 

 is no accumulation of stagnant water. As regards elev- 

 ation it will gi'ow from the sea level u\> to 1,7U0 feet, but 

 being essentially a low-country plant, it has shown a de- 

 cided preference for the warm, moist and stimulating 

 climate of the plains ; virgin forest soil is considered best 

 for it, simply because it contains siifficieut ])lant food and 

 saves the expense of manuring for several years ; onUnary 

 soil, however, will answer as well, provided it be of loose 

 texture, for the tree will not thrive in stiff clay soils. 

 The size of tlie holes is a matter of taste, the larger of 

 com-se the better, but a good practical size is two feet 

 cubic which, filled with surface .soil, gives the plant a 

 large quantity of the richest material the land affords to 

 forage in. Experience has not yet shown the proper 

 distance at which it should be planted, as it is not known 

 whether the plant produces best when topped, or when 

 allowed to carry out its natural vertical development. The 

 general concensus of opinion I find is that the tree will 

 require to be topped for the convenience of picking the 

 fruit, as it is found that where the trees are allowed to 

 grow up tall, they are frequently injured by chmbing 

 with ladders and pulling down the limbs, and much of the 

 blossom and young fruit is robbed off the tree, whereas 

 topped trees can be picked by coolies standing on the ground. 

 It is therefore considered that the most convenient size 

 to top at is 5' 6", and the best distance to plant 12x12. 



Although it actually possess no innuunity from the 

 deadly coffee-leaf disease, being of a much stronger growth 

 than coffee Ai-abiea, it has hitherto suffered very little 

 from it, and those trees which have been attacked have 

 borne the effects mnch more successfully than Coffee 

 Ai-abica. • 



With regard to its commercial value, Mr. Morris, a 

 great authority, thinks it will probably be lower than the 

 best varieties of Arabian, but he states that it is the opinion 

 of experienced coffee dealers that the Liberian bean would 

 ultimately find its level alongside Java and Native de- 

 scriptions sellmg at about 90s. a cwt., and he thmks that 

 from its more robust and proUflc character, and from the 

 generally more economic treatment to which it is amen- 

 able, it is quite possible that its cultivation will prove 

 even more remunerative than the high-priced varieties of 

 Arabian coffee. It is considered -that a market is ah-eady 

 assured m America where a trial shipment iir January 

 last realized 93s. per cwt. The ti-ees begin to bear at 

 three years, and it appears to have no very marked 

 blos.sommg season. The cherries ripening throughout the 

 year, and the crop is estimated when in full bearing at 

 4 to 7 cwt. per acre, which, judging from the promising 

 appearance of e.-visistmg Liberian coffee estates, is a very 

 safe estimate. 



The following rules have been kindly furnished me by 

 a gentleman interested in this product: 



(1.) Obtain good fresh seed. 



(2.) Biiild a shed that will admit light and air but 

 exclude sun and rain. 



(3.) Prepare a compost of equal ■ proportions of loam 

 sand and well rotted cow-shod manm-e, and lay it in beds 

 four inches deep in the shed; smooth the surface and 



lay the seed down 2 2 to 3 inches apart and cover mth 

 con- ,hLst or fine sand, in no ca,se putting more rf 



fromTe"s;^ed"'""' '"''" " """^"^^ *° e.?clude 'light 



(4.) Put into a tub, holding from20 to 25 gallons watter 

 one quart of qmck lime and a wine glass of kerosiue 

 ml; stn- the mLxtm-e well and give the beds through a 

 watermg pof with a fine rose just as much as will settle 

 them and repeat the operation as often as may be neces- 

 sary to keep the surface moist. 



With this treatment of fresh and soundseed, plants will 

 begm to appear about the 25th day. 



(5 ) As soon as all the plants in a bed have thi-own 

 off the parchment husk and fairly expanded the seed 

 leaves, they should be transplanted into*^ bamboo-baskets 

 mne inches high and six inches wide at the top 



The baskets should lie filled with the .same compost as 

 the beds, with a httfc more loam and a little less n anm-e • 

 they should be kept m the shed and regularly watered 

 for ten days, alter which they may be%,xposed to the 

 mornmg sun .ind t.aken m as soon .as the leaves show any 

 symptoms of th-ooping, but may be left outside entirely as 

 ■soon as they can sbuid the sun without tU-ooping 



(b.) The plants may be put out m the field when they 

 have three pairs of leaves, but of com-se at the proper 

 season during the early part of the south-west monsoon, 

 nti , T™S fi,*" ^'^f''"^ ""ff^e fistatesl found that 

 attempts had been made to propagate the plant by cut- 

 tings and by suckers; both attempts had been successful 

 but the trees raised from cuttings appeared dwarced and 

 unsightly plants. Those raised from^ suckers, however 



he l1.« ""•^{, w""^' '^°' 'l^U-^'^Ped ti-ees, and could not 

 be ibstinguished from seedlings. 



On the whole, I feel confident that Liberian coffee if 

 introduced at the Andamans, .viU be a decided success 

 the rainfall and teniper,ature seem to' be identical with 

 that of much of the low country of Ceylon, where Liberian 

 coffee IS now benig successfully grown. Much of the soil 

 m the low parts of Ceylon is similar to that around Port 

 ],lau- harbour; m both places the soil is decidedly poor 

 and if any difference exists, the Port Blair soU, in mv 

 opimon IS the better. As leaf disease is now attracting 

 much atteufaon and seems to appear spoutaneou.sly where- 

 ever the coffee plant is grown, I have thought it advis- 

 able to extract the following inform.ation regarding the 

 progress of the disease from a jiaper by M. Scheffer, 

 Director, Agriculture and Botanical Gardens in Java 



Ordmardy the disease is not noticed except when the 

 parasitic plant is m fructification. The lower sin-face of 

 the leaves IS then covered with a yellow orange dust which 

 can be ea.sily removed with the hand. The dust is formed 

 by the spores which afterwards germmate and jn-oduoe a 

 large quantity of filaments, "mycelium," which penetrate 

 the stomata and develope speedly in the intercellular dusts 



home of these filaments again leave the interior of the 

 leat and produce new fruit. 



The "mycelium'' soon extends not only over the entire 

 surface of the leaf but over the stem. 



The spores p;-oduce mnumerable new filaments which 

 by their rapid growth require abundant nourishment, which 

 they draw from the shrub. The consequence is that the 

 leaves, the young berries and the extremities of the .stems 

 mther and finally die. The tree usually produces fresh 

 snoots, but the disease immediately renews its attacks 

 The young leaves again die. The second attack is very 

 daugerous, and few plants, without a long enoueh resnite 

 survive. ■ i > 



The general pubUc do not believe in the attack except 

 when the .spores are visible, but the presence of the 

 fungus can be recognised at other times also and with the 

 naked eye. It may then be noticed on the leaves in almost 

 transparent spots which are caused bv the de.struction of 

 the cellular tissues of the leaves on which the filaments of the 

 "mycelium" feed: no remedy has yet been discovered. 

 Ihe preventives will be to uproot and bm-n the infected 

 trees, and to prohibit the introduction from places where 

 the disease exists. But after all high cultivation is the 

 best preventive. 



I brought with me 4,fiOO Liberian coffee cherries from the 

 the Botanical Gardens, Kandy, and 1 0,000 cherries from Galle 

 and if wc have any luck, we should, I think, get 10 000 

 plants from this seed. I opened the boxes containing 



