December i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



465 



content to father tlieir miefortunes on it, and ask no 

 further question ; but there was no hemilei.i there, 

 and they liad tbereiore to confess their ignorance. We 

 seem very unwilling to make so humiliating an admis- 

 sion, and some of 119 prefer to assigu a reason which 

 is both insufficient and inapplicable, rather than grapple 

 wilh the difficulty and obscnrity of the question. 



W. 



WHAT AILS OUR COFFEE TREES ?— No. 8. 



Sir, — The precise meaning attached to the word 

 i/roicth in my letter No. 6, quoted by " Botanist, " is 

 shown by the context to be the period of life-chajigrs, or 

 that period during which the leaf exercises its proper 

 functions, whatever they may be. This period does not 

 quite coincide with the time the leaf retains its place on 

 the tree, na it often clings there for a considerable 

 time afterwards, till it is displaced by wind or olhur 

 causes. The measure of loss or injury inflicted on the 

 tree by hemilela must surely he limited to, and in- 

 dicated by the diminution of the ti rm of leaf roork. 

 In former letters it is admitted that a certain amount 

 of loss accrut^s. In the latter ones it is contended that 

 the loss is greatly overrated by those who "believe the 

 fungus to be au adequate cause of our diminished 

 crops. 



The object of these letters has throughout been 

 practical, and the argnineuts relied upon have been 

 drawn from the facts of our knowledge, independently 

 of scientilic theories, wheliier of leaf function, or of 

 circulation, so-called. The latter theory w:ia incident- 

 ally mentioned in No. 7. not I»y way of argument, 

 but to meet certain ideas I hiive heard suggested. That 

 subject would have been better omitted, as it in- 

 volves points that are dehai able, and it does not any 

 way affect the facts ot the case. Setting asu!e all 

 physiological theories whatever, we have before us the 

 broad fact of vigorous growth, and in many instances, 

 of a high degree of fruitfulneas also, following the 

 most virulent and repeated attacks of the fungus. 



Briefly recapitulated, the evidence afforded by the 

 coffee trees themselves of I he extent of the injury tluy 

 sustain after hnnileia has done its worst, is set forth 

 by (tirstbj) the luxuriant flushes of foliage the trees 

 put out ; secondly the attainment of full size, firm, 

 healthy texture, bright colour, and all visible signs 

 of matuie growth by the individual leaves of those 

 flushes ; thirdly, the fruit produced being of fine 

 quality, and still maintaining its superiority in the 

 market over coffee of other countries where no 

 hemikia exists ; and fourtlily individual trees and 

 groups of trees, and even whole fields and estates 

 producing heavy crops in .^pite of the fungus. Such 

 divested of all theoretical questions, are the practical 

 facts, of which every planter may judge for himself. 

 And, if recent accounts from Fiji may be oredited, the 

 hemileia in that country has not impaired the fruit 

 bearing powers of the coffee trees to any such serious 

 extent as ours are sufifering. 



Whatever hemileia may have done to our trees, it 

 has, happily for us, left them still full of vigorous 

 life and growth. They have not been swept off like 

 the nutmeg Irees in Penang. Experience shovis us 

 moreover that loss of fruit-bearing power is not 

 always a proof of impoverishment. Other causes are, 

 at least, possible.. What I urge is that they should 

 be sought, and if I have been betrayed into too great 

 insistaiice, I can only plead the deep feeling ivhicii 

 the importance of the subject has inspired, and crave 

 indulgence. 



Fmally, I am persuaded that our hope of success 

 is in the more diligent search and more cartful 

 collation of fact.i, as furnished not only by our own 

 smitten enterprise, but by the tides of agriculture in 

 other tropical countries. W. 



GUM LEAF DLSEASE. 

 Upper Abbotsford, Lindula, ISth Oct. 1882. 



Dear Sie, — I had one of th.; shrewdest and most 

 scientific men of the district with me yesterday, and 

 he was perfectly horrified at the gum-disease, of 

 which he says no one who has not seen its effects 

 can have any conception. He puts down my deaths 

 of gums at 90%, but that is a circumstance he re- 

 joices over, considering the havoc they have wrought 

 amon;; the other and more important cultivations, 

 especially cinohima. Tomorrow I have to put on men 

 to cut down pretty well all my young cinchonas, 

 than which, till this disease attacked them, there 

 could uot have been a more cheering si^lit for 

 vigorous and healthy growth. I was told thit I was 

 incurring a heavy responsibility by not making the 

 matter more widely known, but I protest that I have 

 from the first wearied your readers with my mention 

 of the subject. 



Mr. Marshall Ward's exceedingly clever and pro- 

 found remark, when specimens were sent to him, 

 will show the eucourageinent there is to ask the at- 

 tention of our svientists to this new blight to our in- 

 dustries. Mr. Ward's oracular words were (see Tropical 

 Agriculturist. Vol. 1. p. 462) :— " Why does your corres- 

 pondent dignify the spotting (which is a common enough 

 phenomenon, and which I have long observed on 

 mnny plants) with the name of leaf-disease?" And yet 

 Mr._ VVard may be astonished to hear that this gum 

 leaf-disuise is now considered by those who have seen 

 it to be infinitely worse than the coffee leaf disease 

 over which the Government and he thought it worth 

 while to spend years of thought, labour and money. 

 I have just received a letter from an estate 1000 ft. 

 lower tlian this, and I found enclosed for my opinion 

 three gum leaves. X could only reply that the 

 disease was there, so I warn ray brother-pl.anters that 

 the dis-ase is spreading. I cunnot again be blamed 

 for concealing the disease. — Yours faithfully. 



A. M. FltRGUSON, Jb. 



[We have written to Government submitting 

 whether Dr. Trimen or Mr. Nock suonld not be 

 deputed to investigate and repoit on this new and 

 fatal leaf-ilisease, more formidable than the coffee 

 fungus, in .Mome respects, inasmuch as it not only 

 kills the gums on which it first appears, but spreads 

 from them to cinchonas, tea, &c. We have, with 

 many a pang of regret, ordered the eradication on 

 Abbotsford, of the thousands of gum trees which 

 have cost so much trouble and money, but we do 

 not like personally to take the responsibility of 

 advi>^ing all other planters to follow our example, 

 especially na the blue gums in Nuwara EUiya and to 

 the eastward of that station are said to be exempt 

 from the mysterious and deadly disease, which 

 cannot as yet be traced to either insect or fungic 

 origin.— Ed.] 



" AND TEA AND CINCHONA REIGNED IN ITS 

 STEAD." 



Deai: Sir, — After a mouth's travelling on horseback 

 in the interior, I have returned to Colombo deeply 

 impressed that ere many years have passed by the above 

 will b; the state ot Ceylon so far as agriculture by 

 Europeans is concerned. My excursion led me through 

 the districts ot Pusselawa, Pundaluoya, Dimbula, Lin- 

 dula, the Agra Patanas, Ramhoda, Udapusseiawa and 

 Badulia, and it is only fair to say that my impres- 

 sions have been derived from what I saw in those 

 portions of the island. Having for the most part 

 gone across country by ni.tive minor roads and not 

 by public highways, ro:ida leading through the hearts 

 of estaies, I was able to note by tiie way the pre- 

 sent condition and working of the estates, and I 

 could not help arriving at the conclusion, that the 



