154 



.THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[August i, 1882. 



at a satisfactory variety iu the end ; but there is an 

 element of doubt iu the result, even when the seed 

 of the best varieties alone are used, eo long as the com- 

 paratively worthless varieties are permitted to remain 

 side by side with the valuable kinds. Whenever two 

 or more varieties of one species grow together, cross- 

 fertilization will almost certainly result, leading to a 

 still further multiplicaiiou of variety. 



An experiment is proposed to be tried aa follows : 

 — To select seed from the four varieties that have 

 among them all the good qualities required. Plant 

 them in a field by themselves, as far as possible 

 from any other coflee, and surrounded by some ex- 

 tent of jungle. As soon as any plant begins to 

 manifest bad qualities, weed it out, eo tliat in a 

 couple oE years none but the best varieties will re- 

 main. The prospect would then appear to be favour- 

 able to the hope that such treatment would yield 

 varieties [not inferior to the immediate parents, and 

 in all probability superior to any we now possess, 

 none of which have all the qualities that go to make 

 up perfection. Many of the smaller variesties are 

 early and heavy bearers, but some of them are 

 unequal to the ripening of their crop, and nearly 

 all of them are specially weak on the fungus point. 

 There is one rather common variety, with short, stiff, 

 upright primaries, not one of which escapes infection, 

 and, from the day on which it is attacked, it ceases 

 to be a factor in the prospective success of 

 an estate ; it only stands among better kinds a 

 leafless skeleton, and every fresh leaf it struggles to 

 produce is met by the enemy as soon as developed. 

 There are others of larger frame, but of an o]jen 

 atiaggling habit, that are not much safer from the 

 fungirs, and are much inferioras crop-bearers. Of 

 the varieties most worthy of the planter's attention, 

 we place on record the following notes of two distinct 

 types planted on 7th November 1S79 



No. 2, 7 feet 

 17 „ 



4 „ 6 in. high 

 2 „ 5 in. „ 



11 in. n 5 



1,500 



Topped at 6 feet No. 1 



Primaries 34 „ 



Length of primaries 3 feet 9 inches 

 Branched at 1 toot high 



Size of leaf 9inK3J 



Crop all sizes 3,500 cherry ... 



No. 1 has nearly all the good qualities to be desired; 

 the leaf is only rather narrow and the fruit-stalk short. 

 No. 2 is a straggling plant of its type, but its vast 

 leaves, its bold, long, and strong primaries, with their 

 wealth of fine, healthy secondaries, and the general \ngor 

 of its appearance, render it one of the safest kind.s to 

 propagate. 



It will be interesting to have this experience com- 

 pared with that obtained by other planters of Liberian 

 coffee in the Western, North-Western, Southern and 

 even Central Pro\'inces of Ceylon. There can be 

 no doubt of the great variety of coffee imported 

 from W^est Africa under the najne of ' Liberian ' in 

 the early days of the pioneering enterprize, for, as 

 Mr. Shelton Agar saw during his trip to Liberia, 

 every size of beau was available from the small pea- 

 like St. Thom6 coffee up to the largest size of Liberian 

 cherry. The planters who are beginning oper- 

 ations in Ceylon with the carefully selected seed now 

 made available from the best trees, may be con- 

 gratulated on the advantage they will thus have over 

 pioneers who had to take the imported seed very 

 much as it came to their hands. 



PLANTING IN JOHOEE. 



To the Editor of the [Singapore] JJaili/ Times. 



Dear Sir, — My attention has only lately been called 

 to the letter which appeared in yom- issue of the 29th 

 ult., signed " Ooftee," republished from the Cey/oii Qliseri'er 

 and to the correspondence which it called forth m your 

 columns. Having had upwards of eleven years' planting ex- 

 perience in Oeylon, and having been for some time engaged 

 iu planting in Johore, I ventm'e to offer ray opinion on 

 tire subjects referred to by ** Coffee" and your correspond- 

 ents. " Coffee" says that every Oeylon planter of expe- 

 rience who has visited Johore has condemned it. This is 

 not correct. I could name several Ceylon planters of ex- 

 perience besides myself, who, so far from condemning 

 Johore, have pronounced that it it is excellently adapted 

 for the cultivation of lowcountry products. " Coffee" 

 refers to Mr. Dobree as being of the same opinion as him- 

 self. Mr. Dobree no doubt stated in his report that Pulai 

 was at too low an elevation for the successful cultivation of 

 Coffee Arahica^ but he also stated that, iu his opinion, other 

 products, such as Liberian coffee, tea, pepper &c., could 

 be grown successfully. Mr. Dobree also spoke highly of 

 the soil and its capabilities for the cultivation of lowcountry 

 products. There is little doubt, indeed, as to the success 

 of tea, Liberian coffee, cocoa, pepper, sago and sugar, for 

 these are now beyond the experimental stage, and if it 

 should tm*n out that Cojf'ee Arahicn cannot be grown to 

 pay, either in the open or in the shade, we have the satis- 

 faction of knowing that the other products can. 



My experience of Johore is that the higher you go the 

 poorer the soil becomes. Fortunately there are but few 

 mountain ranges, the country consisting for the most part 

 of undulating land, which in Oeylon would be described 

 as " lowcoimtry" and the soil is as good as if not better 

 than the average Ceylon soil. 



With regard to labour, I do not know what they pay in 

 Butu Pahat, but I pay from §4 to §6 a month, and I 

 believe my neighbours do the same. By advancing from 

 S12 to S15 a head, we can get as many coolies as we 

 require at S5 a month . The cost of f elhng is considerably 

 less than in Ceylon, and other works, such as holing, fillmg 

 in, piling, burning, &c., can be done nearly as cheaply 

 here as in that island. It should be borne in mind that 

 this country is new to planting experience, and that prob- 

 ably in Ceylon labor is cheaper than iu any other country 

 in the world. I see from the Observer that in Fiji each 

 cooly eo.sts the planter from £16 to £22, and that in Queens- 

 land Messrs. Poett and Mackinnon are paying their C'hiuese 

 labomrers £1 per week ! ! In Johore, on the other hand, 

 I consider that we do not compare unfavourably even with 

 Ceylon. 



As to roads, it must be remembered that Johore is still 

 in its infancy so far as planting is concerned. The roads 

 are therefore few, the natives generally liviug near the river. 

 The river communication, however, is so ample that the 

 need of roads is not felt as it would be in Oeylon. Never- 

 theless, many miles of roads have already been made and 

 many more are in course of construction. The existing 

 means of communication are sidficient for our present wants. 

 If at any time a European has to go any distance, the 

 Maharaja, who is a most kind and hospitable prince, is 

 always wilUng to lend him one of his steam launches. 



The future success of planting in Johore is, 1 think, well 

 assureil, and is only a question of time. When the acreage 

 at present under cultivation comes into bearing, the public 

 wiU be able to judge of its merits; and I think there 

 need be little fear of the result. — I am, &c., L. 0. P. 

 Johore, 15th June, 1882. 



PAKACUAYAN TEA. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE " BRITISH TR.4DE JOURNAL." 



Sir, — With reference to your correspondent's letter 

 April number of the British Trade Journal on 



the 



the subject of Paraguayan tea, I may say that the 

 objection to Yeiba M;"ite is common to beginners, as 

 with sn.oking. But all Englishmen who h.ive lived in 

 South America will tell you that they very much mi^s 

 the Yerba Miite here. It is, in time, a most greatful, 

 and, beyond all ijuestion, a most healthy and invigor- 

 ating beverage, (iauohos work cattle all day without 



