724 



THE TROPICAL AGR ICULTURIST. 



[March i, 1883. 



PLANTING OF OLD AND NEW PRODUCTS 



IN NOBTH MATALE. 



The Kowdapolella Geoup : Coffee, Rainfall, 



Cinnamon, Grub and Kapok. 

 As already mentioned, the Kowdapolella group of es- 

 tates — iiiclnding Kowdapolella, North Matale. Auquherie 

 and Sundcrlii;,.; -comprises some 1,200 acres in cultiva- 

 tion. C'oti'ee was tirst planted here in 1867-S. The experi- 

 ment was considered a doubtful one on account of the 

 supposed deficient rainfall, and the possibility of irrigat- 

 ing was one of the questions wliicli had to be originally 

 considered by the proprietors. But althougli the ab- 

 sence of a stream of water sufficient in the dry 

 season to drive a waterwheel, necessitated the use 

 of steam-power for the store machinery, the actual 

 fall of rain has seldom or never been below the re- 

 quirements, and tlie annual return according to the 

 following figures — unfortunately imperfect in some re- 

 spects — shews that Matale North is not the very dry 

 district that people at one time supposed : — 



•onjaf O '.!> CJ t' <M 00 U3 -H , 



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 ^^ e£>eDC!5^00^t^CO 



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 H 



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a 



o 



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t^ t^ t- 



Taking the five-years for wliich the monthly returns 

 are complete we get an average annual fall of 82 

 inches which, thougli below the quantity usually con- 

 sidered best fitted for cofiee, yet when well distributed 

 over the year cannot be considered unfavourable. 

 At any rate as regards the growth of 'new products," 

 North Matale during the past three years (with less 

 than this average) leaves nothing to be desired. [The 

 average annual rainfall in Trinidad is only 66-39 



inches : the highest 83 29 inches, the lowest 44 '02 

 inches, the record extending over 19 years.] 



For several years coffee in North Matale fully answered 

 the expect J tions of the proprietors. Tlie same system of 

 high cultivation practised on Aluwiharie was followed 

 here, only on a much larger scale as respects the extent 

 of the grassfields and cattle establishment. Considerable 

 fields of coffee were planted undir shade or with 

 shade trees — chiefly jak — planted simultaneously, and 

 one of the best and most pleasing parts of the coffee 

 (Arabica) is a fine field on Auquherie under shade with 

 cocoa interspersed, the latter growing ui a way that 

 seems to show that liigh shade suits it well. Some little 

 patches of black l)Ug on the old coffee were noted ; 

 and very bad they were too — but no leaf disease; 

 The bug, a strange visitor, appeared to be very persistent 

 and if it only drove oft' the other enemy, the change 

 would no doubt, be welcomed. In the young districts, 

 we have heard a great deal about grub of recent 

 years, and some planters imagine that nowhere in "the 

 days of old" had their brethren such an enemy to deal 

 with. Mr. Nietner's notes shew how mistaken is 

 this notion in respect of Kaniboda district; and here on 

 KowdapoUela, on a piece of flat land, no possible 

 expedient in digging out, draining, liming, etc. could 

 prevent a field of coffee from being so damaged as 

 to induce its supersession by cinnamon, to save ap- 

 pearances, by the roadside. The philosophy of grub on 

 this spot was seen to be in accordance with Liebig's ex- 

 planation :— an excess of moisture in the soil to begin with 

 causing the plants to hang back and not cover the soil 

 wliich as H consequence got baked on the sm-face, thus still 

 further preventing evaporation and leading to the dying 

 back of the roots which then became food for grub. Bu^ 

 it was almost worth while to lose a piece of coffee in this 

 way in order to obtain sucli a magnificent show of cinna- 

 mon ! No doubt the bark is coarser than that grown on 

 the silicious soil of the Ceylon Cinnamon Gardens, but 

 quantity ought to make up for quality, and if prices 

 only offered inducement we believe a good many 

 bales from the Central Province could be added to 

 our export of the spice. Another experiment in tliese 

 early days was to plant as a boundary fence as well as 

 an ornamental tree along the roadside, the cotton tree 

 [imbul-jndan of the Sinhalese) and tlie readiness with 

 which it has grown at close quarters, forming in some 



rojjs 



parts a complete fence (almost wall), and the 

 borne of cotton pods (kapok) shew that some- 

 thing could be made out of this new, or rather old 

 product. Probably the Australian market will be 

 tried with a consignment of kapok from North Matale 

 during the jiresent year. 



The Introuuction of Cocoa and Rc;beek among 

 Old Coffee. 



As we have said, for many years liberal manurinff 

 answered its purpose on Kowdapollella, giving veiy 

 handsome crop returns. Leaf-disease came and went 

 here as elsewhere, but at first made little difference. At 

 length one or two unfavourable seasons were experienced 

 in addition to a great show of the leaf fungus, the 

 crops fell off' and the diminished returns prevented the 

 usual liberal expenditure being continued in what 

 seemed an unequal fight. After mature consider- 

 ation, it was decided to devote part of the 

 outlay on the plantations to the introduction of 

 "new products." Cocoa and Liberiau coffee were 

 the two fixed upon and the proprietors wont to 

 great expense in importuig seed direct from West Africa 

 and South America. The shelter of the coffee was 



