Sept. i, 1886.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



191 



— Under the influence of the chronic damp, doubt- 

 less, a pretty emerald green, aquatic or semi-aquatic 

 plant, of very minute foliage, has spread from 

 the streams over the cultivated- land to some extent 

 in this district, giving at a distance the idea of 

 moss, which is also beginning to show. The green 

 plant does not seem of any consequence as a weed, 

 but our staple weeds are, in this weather, giving 

 work to the contractors. 



A trip to Nuwara Eliya, yesterday, was very 

 enjoyable, although a good deal of what the Scotch 

 call " coorse " weather alternated with glimpses of 

 comparative clear atmosphere. The forests were 

 brightened by the profuse blossoming of white- 

 fiowered trees, purple nillus and white balsams, and 

 Lake Gregory was a lively sight when the wind- 

 squalls lashed the water into waves and produced 

 the effect of a mimic sea. All round the plain, 

 the presence of masses of slag here and tliere gives 

 evidence of the former preparation on a rather 

 extensive scale of metal from the ironstone which 

 abounds. A piece of land near the bund having 

 been cleared, two furnaces were revealed, one of 

 them a well-built and very perfect furnace-pit, 

 with ventilating opening at its base, in which 

 doubtless a good deal of ironstone was formerly 

 roasted. This pit will be preserved and good speci- 

 mens of the iron stone and slag will be brought 

 to Colombo for the Museum, as representing a 

 native industry all but extinct, from imported iron 

 and steel being obtained at prices so moderate. 



PLANTING IN CENTRAL AMERICA : 

 GUATEMALA. 



A MODEL COFFEE ESTATE. 



{Extract.^ from the Letter of an ex-Ceyhv Planter 

 in Guatemala.) 

 I will try to describe to you the estate of the 

 late President (General Rufino Barrios) which may 

 interest you. The estate is situated about 180 miles 

 from the City (of Guatemala) immediately, next 

 the Mexican boundary. There are about 1.5,000 

 acres altogether, situated at an elevation of from 

 1,000 to 6,000 feet. There are about 2,400 acres 

 planted up with coffee, the oldest being nearly 

 eight years, the rest all younger; so you see it 

 is quite a young estate. 



A Uttle over 2,000 acres are laid down in grass 

 for the use of cattle, mules, horses, &e. There are 

 2, .500 acres of fine virgin jungle at about 4,000 

 feet elevation eminently suitable for coffee ; the rest 

 of the land is at high elevations, or the opposite, 

 hot and low. There are .80 barbecues for drying 

 the coffee on, 25 yards square, made of brick and 

 ceaiented over (750 square yards of drying Patios). 

 These barbecues are all very well arranged from 

 the receiving or parchment cisterns ; the parch- 

 ment can be conducted to anyone of the bar- 

 becues by water. Eight Gordon Pulpers for pulp- 

 ing the coflee and eight wet parchment cisterns 

 6 by 8 ft. and H by 10 feet. The coffee is washed 

 by machinery, two machines of the Guardiole 

 patent, and one of Mason's patent. There 

 is also a very large cistern for receiving 

 the cherry straight from the field. The bottom 

 of this cistern is a little above the level of 

 the tops of the to ters, so that the cherry is con- 

 ducted by water to he pulpers; then, by water, the 

 parchment is conveyed pulpthe washers after fer- 

 mentation, and from the washers direct to the 

 drying barbacues or patios, as they are called here. 

 So you see there is nothing lost to facilitate oper- 

 ations or save labour. After the p irchment is half 

 dried on the patios, it is i taken into the store and 

 thcronghly finished by artficial driers. 



These driers are patented by one Guardiole, a 

 Spaniard, and very intelligent man. They are cap* 



able of drying 75 to 100 quintals at a time (one 

 quintal — 100 lb). The drier is a round barrel - 

 shaped machine which revolves very slowly ; the 

 heat is generated from a charcoal fire, and the 

 heated air is forced into the machine by blowers of 

 great power. (How would this do for tea drying?) 

 El Porvenir (the name of the estate) has four of 

 these driers. The next i^rocess is peeling and 

 sizing the beans. There are five of these (one 

 Gordon peeler, three Sraoot's and one Mason's 

 peeler ?) also a complete set of the latest improved 

 Gordon's sizers. 



There are 400 oxen and 65 carts ; and 37 mules 

 and 15 carts. 



There is also a saw-mill, lathes, and all tools 

 and other implements connected therewith. The 

 power to drive all this consists of one water- 

 wheel 40 feet, one 24 feet, and one 12 feet in 

 diameter. The building which contains all this 

 machinery, also storage room for the cofl'ee, and 

 the peleetors of bad beans (the same as is done in 

 Colombo) is formed of two sides of a square, each 

 side being 200 feet by 40 feet. For the accommod- 

 ation of the extra labour force there are about 

 150 ranches of various sizes ; besides these there 

 are scattered throughout the cofl'ee 18 large open 

 houses 120 ft. by 24 ft. ; these houses are for the 

 accommodation of the extra labour required during 

 crop time. There is also a large house for the 

 managers and a teJeyrnph office. There are 12 miles 

 of good cartroadsO and two fine bridges to cross rivers 

 Last year 18,0t0 quintals of cofl'ee were picked,, 

 and from 8,000 or 10,000 quintals were estimated 

 to have been lost fgom want of labour to pick it ; say 

 25,000 quintals altotther. This year 30,000 quintals 

 were expected, but I suppose they will lose one- 

 half at least. 



The President, had he lived, would have made 

 one of the finest fincas or estates in the world, 

 but he died shot in battle, and so the place is 

 almost lost for want of labour to pick the crops. 

 120,000 bushels of parchment is rather a big 

 thing from an estate, the oldest coffee of which is 

 not more than eight years of age. Can you match 

 this in Ceylon or Madras ? 1 guess not. I ought 

 to state that there are 100,000 cinchonas planted 

 along the roads and throughout the cofl'ee : 10,000 

 Liberian cofl'ee trees planted in the lower portion 

 of the estate ; also a small sugar mill and cane and 

 a number sf cacao trees, I don't know exactly 

 how many. 



The oxen and mules I mentioned are employed 

 solely on the estate, carting cherry to the store and 

 coffee to the railway. 



THE CULTIVATION OF IRONWOOD. 



Seeds of " the famous Nahor trees of Assam " 

 having been lately advertised for sale, it may be well 

 to state that the na-hor of Assam is the na-yaha 

 of the Sinhalese, the true ironwood. Apart from 

 its value as a timber, especially as posts for 

 telegraphs and like purposes, the living ironwood tree 

 is in every respect so exquisitely beautiful, that we 

 are glad to see facilities afforded for its extended 

 cultivation. The ordinary foliage, a dense covering 

 of thin, green pointed leaves, covering the branches 

 and stems in a pyramidal fashion, is strikingly elegant, 

 while the scarlet hue of the young leaves and the 

 large, white, sweet-scented flowers, with rich orange- 

 coloured stamens, constitute truly " a thing of 

 beauty." Very fine isolated specimens of this tree 

 are to be seen near Buddhist wiharas in the 

 lowcountry and pretty high up in the mountain 



