August i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



successful. Pi-rliaps "A. J. S." can give us Mr. Storck's 

 promised Dew idea, re the .saviug, as he says it would 

 probably save considembie I rouble aud expense." 



We shall be much interested in hoaring of the re- 

 sult of the various experiments, and, if our corre- 

 spoudent "boils down" Mr, Storck's account of his 

 treatment, so aa to give the pith in a small space 

 for the guidance of superintendents, we shall be 

 glad to print placards for him, and give the sum- 

 mary prominence in our columns. 



We learn that experiments made with carbolic acid 

 among coffee at the Straits afford good promise of success. 



WHAT " CINCHONA " IS DOING FOR THE 

 CEYLON COFFEE PLANTER. 

 We lately gave several instances of the welcome 

 aid obtained by much-tried coffee planters from the 

 harvesting of cinchona bark ; but we think no case then 

 mentioned was, on the whole, so .satisfactory as the 

 one now brought to our notice. The owner of 

 11,000 succirubra trees, — four, five and six years old 

 — growing among coffee about 4,000 feet above sea- 

 level, began " shaving " in March and has since con- 

 tinued the operation at intervals. His first return was 

 2,0001b. dry bark, or rather shavings, which have sold 

 for £250 in London ; he has since got in about 

 7,000 lb., for which he is offered as much aa ten 

 thousand rupees locally, but which, he thinks, will 

 sell even better if shipped. Altogether his 11,000 

 trees, without cutting or injuring one of them, will, 

 with twig and branch bark, as well as shavings, 

 bring him in fully R14,000 this year, with the good 

 prospect of a still better harvest next season (provided, 

 of course, the French savant's " substitute for quinine " 

 does not come to the front) ; and all this, be it 

 remembered, from shavings of the comparatively des 

 pised red bark. 



PLANTING PROSPECTS IN JOHORE. 

 To the Editor of the [Straits] "Daily Timet." 



Sir, — No one who has seen much of Johore cau 

 read the letter talieu from the Ceylon Ohserncr headed 

 " A Devil's Advocate about Johore" without thinking 

 the writer had an object in sending to that paper 

 such a spiteful, and I thiuk, unfair accoant of one 

 of its districts. The anonymous writer, to give his 

 letter some weight with planters, begins by mentioning 

 the opinion of Mr. Dobree and other planters who 

 have visited Pulai, as being most unfavorable to tliat 

 district. Mr. Dobree, however, said nothiug in his 

 report as to the soil being "sand mixed with sour clay." 



I have just returned from a visit to the estates 

 which have been opened at Batu Pahat, and, whilst 

 there, I examined the soil in many places to a depth 

 of 3 feet. lean safely say I found nothing answering 

 the description, " sand mixed with sour clay." I 

 would call it a light, sandy soil. It is a free soil, 

 and all the low and sheltered parts will, I have no 

 doubt whatever, grow cocoa with very satisfactory 

 results. The cocoa and Liberian coffee I saw 

 growing looked very promising. I counted 37 pods on 

 a 2-year old cocoa tree, fiom whicli the superintendent 

 had but lately picked 10 ripe pods. The tree was, in 

 addition, covered with blossom. All the trees I saw 

 were perfectly healthy and as fine as any i have seen 

 in Ceylon of their age. 



Cocoa, as every plan er knows, is a tender plant 



when young, and the Cei/lon Observer has more than 

 once mentioned cases where there had been 60% to 

 70% of failures in the first year's planting. Now, 

 althongh I do not mention Batu Pahat as having the 

 best soil in Johore, I saw quite ()0°/„ of the cocoa look- 

 ing as well as could be desired. 



Liberian coffee could not well grow and crop better 

 than it has done up to tlie present in .Inhere, and nobody 

 can deny that it ut least is a suoce.s3 in the country. 

 I do not say anything of coffee Arabica, as, perhaps, 

 through Ceylon prejudice, I do not believe in it at low 

 elevations. I thiuk, however, that everything that 

 can be done is being done, in tlie way of planting shade 

 trees, to make it a success. 



In the way of labor, the average cost per man per 

 diem is only 24 cents. Communicatton with Singapore 

 is, as you know, by water. I believe H. H. the 

 Maharajah's steamer runs once aud often twice a month, 

 and the Maharajah is good enough to hold it, free of 

 cost, at the disposal of the superintendent or any 

 visitors wishing to make a special trip. Fresh beef and 

 mutton can be had only when the steamer goes up, 

 but tish, fowls and vegetables can at all times be pro- 

 cured in abuudance. There is, in addition, at Bitu 

 Pahat a well-stocked store, which can supply planters 

 with all kinds of tinned meat, &c. Water communic- 

 ation goes to within a quarter of a mile of the nearest, 

 and to within about 3 miles of the furthest, point of 

 the range. 



When sickness h.i.s nearly disappeared j>ud the cost 

 of labor has been reduced 20 per cent ; when the diffic- 

 ulties of pioneering have almost been overcome by 

 Mr. Watson after a trying struggle ; surely, it is not 

 the time to put fail h m a letter written annnymonsly 

 by a man who presumably left the cour.try dis- 

 appointed, and having a grudge against his employer. 

 It does not require a planter of great experience to 

 see that the luxurious growth und heavy produce of 

 the Durian, jack .and other fruit trees, that the magnifi- 

 cent pepper and gambier plantations, are not the out- 

 come of a soil consisting of "sand mi.xed with sour 

 clay. " — Yours faithfully, W. W. Bailey. 



Singapore, 1st June 1882. 



PENANG PLANTING NEWS. 

 (From the Slrniis Timcft.) 



The Penang Gazette of the 29th May gives the fol. 

 lowing account of a deputation of planters who lyid 

 an interview with H. E. the Governor in Penane on 

 the 25th May :— 



Plantkr.s' Deputation to H. E. the Governor. 



An important deputation representing planting in- 

 terests waited on His Excellency the Governor on 

 Thursday last regarding the imuiigratiou question. 

 The Hon. G. M. Sandil.ands, M. L. C, introduced the 

 deputation. 



Mr. Morrison, who acted as spokesman, said that 

 an almost total cessation of Indian immigration had 

 been occasioned by the illtreatmeut of coolies in the 

 Indian Government depots, as in them the coolies 

 were allowed no liberty ; they were herded together, 

 both men and women, aud were not even allowed 

 to cook separately. He su^igesled that, either the 

 planters' agents should be allowed to keep depots 

 under Government supervision, or that planters or 

 thi ir agems should be allowed free access to Goveni- 

 mc nt depots. 



Mr. Roberts assured the Governor that most stringent 

 orders exist to prevent access to the depots ; he spoke 

 fiom ex|jerieuce. 



Mr. Morrison went on to say that immigrants were 

 laxly looked after, and beinj dissatisfied with their 

 treatment abscond before enil^arkation. On one oc- 

 casion, out of 179 who entered the depot 97 only 

 embarked; the rest absconded, 



