684 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[February i, 1883. 



second flushing of leaf will be only a new form of 

 weakness for the tree. To them I have only to say 

 that, if your soil is not healthy and strong enough 

 to grow your coffee on, then you must most assuredly 

 manure, but digging in the dry months (if you have 

 any dry months) immediately after the monsoons is 

 nntare's oiim mamiriiig, releasing ammonia to grasp 

 nitrogen and steadily making invisible deposits on 

 your soil daily unknown to i/ou, perhaps. 



Of course, unless you can look iqjon it as useless, 

 but if I have your kind permission I should like to 

 place my views of the destruction that the "removal 

 of suckers " from coffee plant has caused. In fact I 

 am just now somewhat prepared to believe that years 

 of the removal of suckers has had a good deal to do 

 with the sickening of the plant-leaf vitiating its sap 

 and permitting a feeding fungus as a result to help 

 himself. — Yours faithfully, 



GEO. HEN. KEARNEY. 



[This seems very ingenious and plausible, but surely 

 the enormous quantity of leaves removed in the grow- 

 ing stage must give a great shock to the trees and 

 prevent them bearing fruit. We quite grant that if 

 by our correspondent's process continued for two or 

 even three years, the disease could be eradic- 

 ated and normal fruitfulness restored, the sacri- 

 fice of fruit during the process would be wise and 

 beneficial. But we do not understand that the ex- 

 periment has been long enough continued to produce 

 results that would justify planters generally in adopting 

 it. Perhaps our correspondent will report farther on. 

 —Ed.] 



WHAT AILS OUR COFFEE TREES. 



Sir, — Interested as I am in coffee I cannot under- 

 stand the abuse of Heindeia viutatrix. It is provided 

 by nature to use up useless leaves — hasten them on 

 circuit, so that they may sooner be in position to 

 supply life giving food to vegetation. " What ails our 

 coffee trees" is not leaf dis-ase. It is an effect not 

 cause. The last is climatic — one of nature's secrets. * 

 Bug was said to be the cause of ruin, as cockchafers (!) 

 are at. pr^'sent said to he in one ilistrict w heic grub 

 cats up the roots. So they do, no doubt, but not 

 until decay has cnmmenced. + 



No nostrums of Storck's or "Schrottky's will avail. 

 The researches of M'Jrahall Ward have come to what 

 disinteresteil people expected. Only some said it. 

 With proprietors heavily mortgaged such opinion 

 would have been suicidal to give utterance to. The fact 

 now is patent to all : coffee is dying out every where. J 

 I don't believe in cultivation. It may prolong life, 



* There is no proof that there were any special climatic 

 causes to lead to the development of leaf disease in 1869 ; 

 any more than to that of bu^ in 1847, or ffrub in recent 

 times. The average climatal conditions were the same 

 all through. Coffee flourished wh- n the pests were absent 

 and suffered in proportion as tliey were present. The pests 

 were, therefore, and are the inn/tLtJiate cxvsE of the ailment 

 of our coflee trees. If it is cnntenuled that climate is the 

 remote causeof what is adverse to cultivation, vegetation and 

 fruitfulness. so it is of all which is favourable to stem and 

 fohaso and fruit — Bo. 



j- Nine out of every ten planters who have had experience 

 of the ravages of grub will dispute this proposition. We 

 know of none who uphold it except Mr. A. DLxon, Mr. J. 

 Cantlay and our correspondent. Grub, like Hemileia vaAtatrix, 

 is no respecter of trees : heahhy and unhealthy are alike 

 attacked ; the only difference being that while the healthy 

 suffer, thj unhealthy die. — Ed. 



{ Is that so i' That it is unfruitful is patent to all. But 

 .are the trees really dying out on other than very old 

 estates ?— Ed. 



but at what expense ? Here we are at the end of 

 .January, and what chance of crop does any place show ? 

 I have been through miles of coffee trees at various 

 elevations. Hopeful proprietors drew my attention to 

 "spike." Buf what was it? Generally three buds for 

 fruit, double that number for leaves ; formerly it would 

 have been a dozen for fruit and only a careful 

 search would have shown whether leaves were coming 

 or not. A mouth had elapsed since I had been in 

 coffee before, and on every side I saw a gradual change 

 for the worse. The sooner we make up our minds to 

 the inevitable the less our disappointment and loss. 

 Not that I wish to convey the idea that coffee will 

 never flourish again. But when? To many in the best 

 times its cultivation was the triumph of hope over 

 experience. 



Next thing we took up was cinchona. This is a 

 safer investment, for even when dying its skin will 

 sell. Its cultivation in Ceylon I fancy has reached 

 its limits. Everybody planted it at first who could. 

 Now we have discovered it won't thi'ive everywhere, 

 and where it does not the present plant.ations will be 

 the last. Can any of the purchasers of the R800 per 

 oz. seed tell us about their investment ? I have heard 

 of put out plants standing owner in two or three 

 rupees each. These will have to thrive and require at- 

 tention for some time before they can be aaidto be pro- 

 fitable. 



Some of the hybrids near to snccirubras seem tome 

 the best suited, for where you see the two together 

 the robusta has faiily earned its name — and has the 

 healthier appearance. I do not wish to detract from 

 C. succ. but in mixed plantations and where are the 

 new otherwise, if there is a shaken tree it is usually the 

 true bred. B. 



Alok Fibre. — We have now received (through 

 Mr. C. Shand) a sample of the Mauritius aloe fibre 

 which has been realizing £40 per ton in the London 

 market. The fibre is very white, smooth and long. 

 Alongside of it we have a sample of Ceylon Aloe 

 fibre prepared at Ballangoda, which is not so wliite in 

 colour and is coarser, but we have no doubt cultivation of 

 the plant and improvement in preparation would make 

 it equal to the other, As it is the Ceylon fibre (of 

 which a sample shipment of 2 or 3 cwts. has been 

 made by Messrs. Rogers & Co.) has been valued at 

 £30 per ton. 



Labour and Wage.s in South-East Wynaad. — 

 In a report of the proceedings of the Nilgiri 

 Planters' Association, the following passages occur : — 

 "Labour. — Mr. Pinching brought the question of the 

 rates of wages for ordinary labour before the meeting, 

 ■which evoked an animated discussion. It was generally 

 acknowledged that the mining indu.stry has been of 

 no injury to coffee intere.sts by affecting Can.arese 

 labour. On ihe subject of Moplah labour, there was 

 an almost unanimous opinion that ordinaiy labourers 

 should not receive more than annas 4 per diem after 

 existing contracts were worked off, as it was generally 

 found feasible lo employ Canarese at 4 annas in suffici- 

 ent numbeis to replace Moplah and west coast labnur. 

 who seemed to be generally considered inferior all 

 round to the average (.'anarese. It was resolved that 

 ordinary carpenters and masons should not be paid 

 more than annas 12 a day. An opinion that contracts 

 were feasible for all descriptions of coffee work was 

 met with an energetic negative from the chief repre- 

 sentatives of coffee interests The statement of aver- 

 age rates of wages ruling in the districts of the Nil- 

 giris was keenly scrutinized and revised, the rates 

 being frequently found unnecessarily liberal especially 

 by the Ouchterlony V,alley planters." — South of India 

 Ohservtr, 



