October i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



325 



m a form in which the plant can absorb it, that is, in 

 a soluble form, or in a form which is capable ot uq(1<t- 

 gomg such changes in the soil as will rentier it soluble. 

 For the plant has to absorb its food through pipes in 

 the roots, stems aud leaves, which pipes are capillary, 

 and require the substances taken up to be in solution, 

 and not m the solid state. It is wonderful, what an in- 

 fluence saline solutions, and even water alone, have in time, 

 in decomposing the most refractory substances, and bringing 

 their valuable constituents into solution. The chief source 

 of potash salts m the soil has, no doubt, been the primary 

 rocks, the felspar of which has gradually got decomposed. 

 Hut there are many substances containing valuable nutritive 

 elements which are worthless as plant foods, because of 

 their insolubility and resistance to solution in the soil. 



If the ordinary farmer trusts to his own opinion as to 

 what is the proper manure to apply to his soil, he will, 

 in many cases, land himself in great expense and difficulty 



Some (many) farmers consider that a fertilizer is worth 

 as much as it smells, or rather, as much as it stinks 

 and such a one would reject .such really valuable fertilizers 

 as sulphate of ammonium and precipitated phosphate, in 

 favour of a highly odoriferous, exceedingly valueless manure, 

 such a.s, say, scutch, which consists usually ot a little bone 

 and hair, and a great deal of water, dirt, putrefaction, 

 and stink. A writer on the subject says, '• It is certainly 

 difficult to put domi the pecuniary cost of a stink but 

 if the farmer will take the value of one half of the 

 food, the loss of his cattle, the amount ot his farrier's 

 bill, and to these add the cost of medicine and attendance 

 rendered necessary by the sickness of himself, his wife, 

 and family, aud divide the gross amount by two, after 

 addmg about 25 per cent for loss of time and labour 

 he wiU arrive at something like the cost of this most 

 expensive and fondly cherished fallacy." 



A manure may be very rich in all the elements of 

 nutrition, and yet not have the slightest odour. The smell 

 IS a sign of putrefaction, and generally means loss ot 

 ammonia, one ot the most valuable constituents in a 

 fertilizer. The ordinary farmyard manure, che litter and 

 excrements of the cattle, is a very valuable fertilizer, aud 

 would be much more so, it the farmer had not such a 

 fondness for a stink. I have no hesitation in saying that 

 in many cases more than half the value of the manure 

 IS going away m that smell which so pleases the farmer's 

 olfactory nerves, and which is so detrimental to the health 

 of himself, his household, aud his stock. Not content with 

 losing the ammonia which escapes as gas into the air 

 he otten places his midden in the open yard, and makes 

 a channel running from it to an open ditch so that all 

 the liquid portion flows away and when the rain comes 

 it washes away into the ditch a great portion of the ammonia 

 which has escaped vaporization. He probably also has 

 in the same yard, the well which supplies his house with 

 water. The wasted nitrogenous compounds, so beneficial 

 to the plant, so injurious to the animal, find their way 

 into the water of the well, which water the family tbink 

 and thus plant the seeds of typhoid and other putrid 

 fevers. 



I incline to Alderman Mechi's theory that the dunghill 

 ought not to be allowed to decompose in the farmyard 

 jjut should be carted straight to the land, ami ploughed 

 in, or if not at once, as soon as possible, and allow the 

 decomposition to proceed in the soil. 

 _ But if the decomposition is to proceed on the premises, 

 it should certainly be done under cover, in a shed with 

 a false-bottom floor, most ]>erfectlv cemented, so as to 

 retain the liquid portion, which is exceedingly valuable 

 and so keep it from running to waste, and injurin" the 

 health of the family and stock by contaminating the air 

 and the water they have to drink. I think a little acid 

 should also be placed on the lower floor of the shed to 

 combine with any free ammonia. 



If the farmer took adequate means for preventing the 

 loss of the natural fertilizers produced in his own farm- 

 yard, and used these in the right season and the proper 

 manner, he would not need to so often have recourse to 

 the dealer, but could benefit his land by restoring to it 

 a portion of the actual sub.stancis which had been abstracted 

 from it. But the loss cannot, of course, be altogether 

 made up, however, careful he may be to prevent waste 

 for a large amount of matter is taken off the farm in 



the produce and stock which he sells, aud in the food 

 wliich the househol.l have consumed for their sustenance 

 This loss must be made up by artificial fertilizers, and it 

 was my intention to enter into the consideration of those 

 which are now in the market, and to discuss their different 

 advantages and disadvantages, hut the necessarv intrn 

 duction to this subject has fengthened itsel? so Such that 

 I must defer heir consideration to a future meeting - 

 Pluinaaccutiad Journal. ."couiug. 



LIBERIAN COFFEE. 



KEPOHT BY CON-SDL-GENEBAL SaiYTH, OF MONROVIA. 



The description of the coffee tree generally will, with 



wiew"'^ "' T^""" "r"^''- ''PP'y *" *« Liberkn 

 variety. n- ♦ ^f. ^ 



The exceptions which the Liberian coffee forms to the 



vaHet '^^^^"^^°''' '""^ "''"'=11 constitute it distinctively a 



1. lU unumcd size~Wm trees are found in the forest 

 more than 30 feet high, and 10 to 12 inches in diameter 

 other varilty '"'*'™'"' ^''"' <'^'='='"1« '" ^i^e that oTany 



2. Its tendenq/ to vary in the nvmber of priman and 

 secomJaryhranches.-Wm the Liberian coft^e trrjene^ 

 ally the branches are arranged in pairs; but occasionally 

 one sees a single primary branch shooting from the trunk 

 and sometimes a single secondary one. Sometimes, also 

 three primary branches shoot out from one node and three 

 secondary branches. o ouu nuee 



3. The size and color of the herry.—In size both the 

 cultivated and the wild Liberian coffee exceed that of auv 

 other known variety. .Some berries from a wild tree in 

 the section of country beyond Careysburg, about forty 

 miles from the sea, were found to be one-third larger 

 than any hitherto discovered. As a rule, the berries fre 

 entirely red whe_n ripe; but some are red on one-halt 

 and yellow on the other. Some are read on one-half and 

 green on the other Others, when ripe are entirely green 

 on the outside, but have the blood-red color on the inside 

 of the first hull. Others, again, are enttrely yellow 



4. The characteristics of the ,ftower.~In other countries 

 the coffee tree belongs to the class and order Pentandria 

 Monmi/nm But while the Liberian coffee tree belones 

 to the order .Uonoyiinia, its cla.ss varies considerably It 

 may be described as belonging to the classes and order. 

 Pent. Se.v-, .Sept-, Oct-, Nan-. Uec-andria Monogynia; that is 

 on the same tree there will be flowers belonging to se- 

 veral classes. The flowers most frequently met with are 

 those of seven and eight segments and stamens (This 

 tendency to vary in the flower seems to point to the 

 conclusion that the Liberian coffee will degenerate when 

 remove, from its /,«/.,(„<. This .seems borne out by fact.s 

 for while m Java, Ceylon, and other countries, Liberian 

 coffee has been produced exceeding in size the coffee of 

 those respective countries, it has always lacked the sune- 

 nor quality of the coffee produced in Liberia and without 

 attammg the full size.) 



5. The divisions of the berry in to sections or "-heans "— 

 Here there is the pea-berry coffee, as m other countries 

 where one ot the beans is fully developed and round like 

 a pea, while the other is abortive. Then occa.sionally the 

 berry is divided into three beans. Some years ago a een 

 tleman from Careysburg showed the writer two berries of 

 enormous size. On removing the cherry-hull there were 

 seven sections or divisions in each cherry, like the sections 

 of an orange or lime, but the divisions"exceeding two are 



The virtues attributed to coffee generally are possessed 

 m a higher degree by the Liberian variety, it beinsr of 

 superior quality and strength. It is an excellent bevera.^e 

 in heat or cold, m rainy or dry weather. It prevents the 

 disagreeable effects of over-exertion or fatigue and the 

 too rapid waste of the bo.ly. It is said to po.ssoss. also 

 febrifuge properties, being allied to the family of the Vin 

 chonacea : and this virtue is contained in the leaf as well 

 as in the fruit. The coffee tree is admirably suited to 

 the niaIariou.s districts of the coast, not only absorbing 

 ma ana with its broad leaves, but also alleviating or ex- 

 pelling fever by the decoction of its leaves 



As to the origin of the Liberia c.'fee. opinions at first 

 varied, some supposing it to bo iudig; nous, others thought 



