Oct. 1, 1886.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



255 



COFFEE-GKOWING IN MYSORE AND 

 SOUTHE BN INDIA. 



('From Paper Read ia Confere/ice Hall, of Colind Exhib- 

 ition, July 2inii, ISSa, By Coluiid Campbell, Formerly 

 of the Mysore Cummiision.) 

 The coffee districts of Mysore are the furthest 

 north on the line of the Western Ghats ; next to them 

 on the south lies Coorg ; then AVyuaad and the 

 Neilgherrie.s, and further south again Travancore. 



The altitude at which coffee is grown varies from 

 2,000 to 3,50J feet above the sea, and the rainfall 

 from SO to 150 inches per annum. The months of 

 heaviest rain are June, July and August. This is the 

 period of the south-west mousoou, which begins to die 

 away in September, and is succeeded by the north- 

 east monsoon in October and November. The rains 

 of this monsoon are not heavy in a locality so far 

 to the west, and fortiinately so, as ra-n is by no 

 means acceptable at the time of picking and drying 

 crops. In December rain sometimes falls. In Jan- 

 uary and February seldom or never. In March occa- 

 sional showfirs are expected, and if none come till 

 the middle of April the coffee tree begins to droop, 

 except on WPU-sheltered estates, and anxiety is felt 

 about the blossom and the setting of the fruit. At 

 this time the heat is considerable, and thunderstorms 

 towards evening are frequent. But no period of the 

 year is in any special degree unhealthy, as compared 

 with other parts of India, and the mere discomfort 

 of hot weather is mitigated by the sea breezes from 

 the western coast at night, the distance from the 

 sea as the crow flies be'ng not more than fifty or 

 sixty miles. The rainy season is well known to be 

 the healthiest time of the year, and as there is plenty 

 of estate work to interest and occupy the planter 

 cut of doors, little regard is paid by him to the 

 weather. 



As was mentioned above, the three head-quarters 

 of the Slysore coffee districts are — Ivoppa, Chicmug- 

 loor, and Hassan. 



Tlie oldest coffee estates in Mysore — some of them 

 established between forty and fifty years ago — are to 

 be found on the slopes of the Bababooden Hills, 

 which project, in horse-shoe shape, towards the east. 

 In Munzerabad there are estates upwards of thirty 

 years old, and in Koppa, a few of nearly equal age. 

 J!ut numerous estates near Koppa, and in the Sulli- 

 byle portion of that talook and elsewhere, to the 

 number of about thirty, have been opened out within 

 the last ten years, and are growing trees, the seed 

 for which was obtained from Coorg, the "Wynaad ard 

 other places. The coffee from these plantations is 

 distinguished in Mincing Lane from that known as 

 " Old Mysore," and although more than rivalling the 

 l)rices fetched by other Indian coffees, the " Coorg 

 kind," as it is sometimes called, does not reach the 

 figures obtained for some well-known brands of the 

 •Cannon" description. But there is hope that prices 

 will level up, and that as it is found nece.ssary to 

 fill up vacancies in the old estates by plants of the 

 new kind, the distinction between them will, in pro- 

 cess of time, be obliterated. At all events, the satis- 

 factory conclusion may be drawn, that the coffee 

 plant can be made to reaew the promise of its 

 youth in a green and productive old age. 



The pay is four annas a day for a man, and two 

 annas for a woman. It would be unwise to attempt 

 to lessen it. As the coolie's native village is seldom 

 more than three or tour days' journey from the 

 estate on which he works, there has been no necessity 

 to burden the Mysore planter with rules and regul- 

 ations intended to protect natives of India, wId are 

 temjited by large advances and high pay to emigrate 

 to places far distant from their homes. 



There is not very much land suitable for coft'ee 

 cultivation remaining in the Mysore country, which 

 is not either occupied or secured by grant ; but 

 there is room — much room — for the profitable omi.loy- 

 meut of a great deal more capital than the majority 

 of planters possess. Nothing is more certain than 

 that in return for capital wisely laid out. coft'ee will 

 pay handsomely. It is doing so in individual instances 

 in which money and skill enable the fortunate 



owner to force a fair return in spite of all the well- 

 known drawbacks, which is neighbour, for lack of 

 sufficient means, is unable to overcome. In one word, 

 judicious manuring is the secret of success, not, of 

 course, neglecting the important operations of pruning, 

 digging, kc. "Without liberal manuring, the large 

 returns of former years are not now obtainable. 

 But perhaps these returns, if regarded per acre, were 

 not so heavy as is often supposed. The yield from 

 large estates of from 500 to 700 acres was not, as a 

 rule, calculated at so much per acre. The ordinary 

 yield being well-known to the owner and his neigh- 

 bours, it was sufficient to quote the number of tons 

 more or less in any particular year, and these were 

 obtained sometimes from one block and sometimes 

 from another. But in the more modern estates of 

 from 200 to 300 acres, the calculation is per acre, 

 and large blocks out of this comparatively small area 

 cannot be allowed to remain fallow. It is not economy 

 to open out an estate of less than from 150 to 200 

 acres, although the question is sometimes asked, why 

 not restrict the area to 80 or 100 acres of choice 

 land cultivated in as nearly a perfect manner as 

 possible? But this risk, for reasons not difficult to 

 imagine, no one is disposed to run. 



Take an estate not less than six years old, of 

 average quality in all respects. The outlay in up-keep, 

 including superintendence, but excluding all crop 

 operations on tbe estate, may range from K50 to K80 

 per acre. Under the head of crop: — 



R. 

 The cost of picking and pulping is . 56 per ton. 

 Transport to coast . . . .26 

 Curmg, shipping, and insurance . .78 „ 

 Total expenditure on crop, from R150 to R160 per 

 ton. 



For R50 per acre spent on careful cultivation, but 

 with little manuring, a return of 3 cwt. per acre, or 30 

 tons, may be expected in good years. But for R70, 

 ov R80, which means liberal manuring, at least 5 cwt. 

 per acre, or 50 tons, oh an average, should be obtained. 

 Prices are now showing a tendency to recover from 

 the depression of the last three seasons, and may for 

 present purposes be quoted at £65 per ton net (a 

 reduction of more than 20 per cent, on the prices 

 of 1SS2-S3). 



At R50 per acre, the yearly expenditure under all 

 heads in India would be — R. 



Cultivation and superintendence . . 10,000 

 Crop expenditure at R160 on 30 tons . 4,800 



Total . . RI4,800 

 The price of 30 tons at £65 would be £1,900, or 

 R25,350, at 1*. Q^d. exchange. Profit, R10,55(), or 

 £811. 



At R8(i per acre, the figures would be — R. 

 Cultivation and superiutendence , 10,000 

 Crop expenditure on 50 tons . . 8.000 



Total . . R24,oOO 

 Price of -jO tons at £65 ^ £3,250, or K42.2,')i) 

 Profit, R 18,250, or £1,403. 



An income of, say, £1,400 a 5'ear, when capitalized 

 at 5 per cent, would be £28,()00. But for money 

 embarked in a distant land, with attendant risk.s. 

 from 15 to 20 per cent, should be looked for witli 

 some confidence, and from £7,000 to £10,000 wo dd 

 therefore probably be the approximate valuation of 

 an e'itatein full bearing, such as has been now described. 

 The value of a property brought into paying con- 

 dition, after years of labour, anxiety, and residence 

 in a foregin land, represents, of course, a sum much 

 larger than the actual outlay upon it. An individual 

 ijitending to open out an unfelled forest, and to 

 bring gradually into cultivation an estate of 200 

 acres, should have at his disposal at least £4,000, to 

 be expended during the first four Oi- five j-ears. Out 

 of this money he would support himself at tlie rate 

 of £150 a year. ]Uit if he were po.ssessed of no ex- 

 perience in planting, or had not the help of an 

 efficient partner, he woidd do well to go into train- 

 ing by working as an assistant on some well-man- 

 aged estiite, for. say, two years. Many men have' 



