July 2, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



69 



official iflea that the Polynesian is more favoral>ly 

 impresstd with quantity than the quility of the goods 

 he receives. Tuis is only true within certain limits, 

 bat it is a groat mistake to aupjiose that he does not 

 know the ilifference between a good, axe and a bad 

 cue, a kuif« witli a steel blade aud its iron counter- 

 feit, or print of decent fabric and texture, and that 

 which is mainly composed of "dressing." lie does 

 know the differeuie rijjht well, and under no ciroum- 

 btance can he be induced to place a value on any quantity 

 that may be offered him of the inferior goods. 

 To ensure greater satisfaction amongst these people, 

 and to prevent disappointment and morliBcation, it is 

 necessary that the system of payint; them off shall be 

 more closely assimilated to the Queensland practic-. 

 There the men have the money given them, and make 

 their purchases wherever the} please, buying what- 

 ever th''y like. These transactions ure .subjected to 

 the supervision of a Government officer whose duty it 

 is to see that the meu are not imposed on, and und-r 

 these conditions the laborers return perfectly satisfied 

 with their payment. iSubject to certain restrictions 

 the same practice could bo adopted here, aud if the 

 business could not be disposed of so I'xpeditiously, the 

 loss in time would be more tlian compensated by the 

 benefits accruing from tlie laborer's couteuiinent. The 

 money need not be given liiin, but a credit note issuid by 

 the department would enable him to purcha-e anjwliere 

 to the extent of the sum it represented, aud the 

 furuishini; of accounts to the immigration otBce would 

 sufficiently protect him against unfair treatment. 



Coffee and Cinchona.— The Java news given on 

 page 46 is of more than usual interest because 

 it shows that the Netherlands authorities are 

 to cause, a thorough enquiry tn be made into 

 the condition aud prospects of coffee-planting in 

 Brazil ; aud wc get also an idea of Mr. Moens 

 opinion of cinchona prospects as given in his new 

 liDiik. He does not aniiuipate any great fall iu 

 price for four years ; after that the South Americm 

 bark to a great extent will be shut out; and in 

 12 to I.') years Java, will supply the world ! We 

 shall see if Ceylon and India do nut hold their own 

 for a share of the hus n^jss. 



The y. A. : Planting in Tuavancore. — A corre- 

 spoudeut writes :— "The T'. /I. is indeed a great treasure 

 of useful matter. You refer to 'crops,' Alas ! that 

 is now a melancholy note. They are very short 

 again, generally, this year ; I mean, of course, in 

 coS'ee. 1 hfive some under shade of the old jungle 

 trees at an elevation of 1,500 and upwards wliicli 

 has a fair crop now, and hi. 3 borne pretty regularly 

 year by year. 'This is sheltered from wind; higher 

 places on the same estate are exposed to wind and 

 though they bore for some years are now abandoned. 

 They are now nearly 20 years old. I «as deputed 

 by our T. P. A., together with our Secret'iry, t.j 

 represent the failure of our crops to the Sircar ; 

 and to ask for a rt-mission of land tax which 13 assess' d 

 at Kj. per acre per annum, and now the Sircar' has 

 replied tliat the tax will be hidd in ' abeyance this 

 year. We ciuiiot accept this, if it implies that he 

 tax is to be paid up next year in arreurs. The thing 

 looks alisurd, aud a mere mockery. 1 am going iu 

 loi'cocca, or cacao, pepper, dividivi aud Ceara. These 

 on low elevations. We have lots of rain and mi-t now." 

 Mk. J. K. Howard will shortly receive from 



Mr. E. G. Harding, Manager of the Lanka Company 

 a series of plates drawn and coloured frnni nature 

 by Mr. G. de Alwis, showing the various types 

 of cinchona gi'owing on the Company's properties 

 in Dikoya. These will enable the veteran Quinol- 

 ogist to form a good idea of the character of the 

 different varieties of cinchona growing in our higher, 



iibtricta. The Lanka Company has been especially 



fortunate iu its cinchona investments : Gonagalla and 

 Fordyce (in soma parts a perfect forest of cinchona) 

 giving large returns last year, and again this season. 

 On the lower portions of these properties, there 

 is also a very good coffee crop ; but Mr. Harding 

 bears testimony to the correctness of Mr. G. F. Walker's 

 observations as to the adverse seasons lately ex- 

 perienced. Coffee on "slab rock," usually burnt 

 up, is doing splendidly in the present over, 

 wet year. Again Yattawatte iu lower Matale 

 is giving a very good coffee crop, while cocoa 

 already flourishiug over 400 acres here is being 

 argi-ly extended acd all " waste land " jjlanted up 

 with Cearii rublier. The men who are doing hard 

 work have no tim« to croak. 



Blossom and Ceop. — A lengthened experience of mon- 

 soons and crops enables me to lay before your readers one 

 reason for tliis faUiu-e of crops, which apjwars to have 

 escaped the observation of the querists. The fault has 

 generally been laid on the weather at thetime of blossoming, 

 the want of a spell of fine weather iu January and February' 

 or heavy rain at the time of the blossom. In regard to the 

 latter it may be observed that now-a-days, the blossom 

 hangs on the tree, unopened, uutU the rain comes and de- 

 sti-oys its fertility ; it seems to require moisture, to cause 

 it to unfold, instead of its being opened by the strength 

 of the tree's^ own sap and moisture, as it used to do, 

 and then being so strong and healthy as to set iu spite 

 of rainfall or di'ought. But, I cannot hell) coming to the 

 conclusion that the inf ertihty of om' trees is in gi'eat measure 

 caused by the extraordinary length of the south-west mon- 

 soon, accompanied, as it has been for several years past, 

 with more than ordinarily cold rain and wiud. From the 

 middle of May to the end of August, was the usual term of 

 this monsoon. We then expected fair weather for a 

 month. Clearings which unluckily had not been burnt in 

 due season, had a chance then, and a marked iutei-val 

 was observable between the monsoons. The roots of 

 the trees were warmed up, the soil dried, and the tree 

 prepared for the flush of leaf and young wood which 

 came as soon as the heavy .afternoon rains set in, iu the 

 the middle or end of October, The mornings being blazing 

 hot and the thunlerstorms in the afternoon lasting only 

 a limited time, and running off the surface of the ground 

 with but little .sinking into the soil, the whole atmosphere 

 was steamy and extremely forcing for vegetation. The 

 foliage that covered the tree softened the older wood, and 

 freshened it up ready for blossom, which came in the 

 folbnving January, sooner or later, according to elevation of 

 the estate. In any case the trees prepared in the .5 mouths, 

 October, November, and December, for doing their duty 

 in the next ensuing three mouths. Even trees that had 

 been bearing heavily, aud were comparatively weakened 

 and had lost their leaves, began to come round immediately 

 the crop was gathered. It was then the preparation our 

 trees underwent for comiug crop. A\ hat has it been 

 since 1878? Almost without exception, commencing iu 

 May, the monsoon,has gone ou till October and November, 

 without any interval of rest between the two monsoons! 

 The ground has been saturated with cold moisture for 5 

 or 6, nay 7 mouths in succession. There has beeu no dry- 

 ing of the soil, no warmth to the roots, no furciug out 

 of foliage on the older wood, which has for years past 

 shown white and bare over nearly the whole of the estates. 

 There has been no handling to be done iu the .autumn 

 months, except on manured trees, consequently, the flush 

 of wood and leaf which is absolutely ueces,sary to enable 

 the trei'S to produce crop, comes ou only when the warmth 

 of January and February forces it out, too late by a quarter 

 of the year to iiifliieuee the following crop. In some vears 

 this necessary .stimulauce has never come at all, — varying of 

 course with the condition of the est.ate, its age, and elevation. 

 Warm weather so late in the season is of no avail unless the 

 trees are ready to make use of it. Blossmns which sliould 

 have come in January and February and March, are kept 

 back till March, April and May, and consequently exposed 

 to the usual April rains. Years ago, I came to the conclu- 

 sion that in the higher districts, unless j our crop was on the 

 tree,s iu Mareh, you ueeiln't look lor any till the followini^ 

 season. If you have a good crop by the end of March, a 

 continuance of fine weather would make au addition to it 

 I and the result be a very good crop.— D. E. in Local " Times.'' 



