July i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



51 



vines up. Anoth'er small portion of this clearing lias been 

 planted with the crotou oil plant, which, like all the other 

 products, is growing well, and the same remark applies to 

 the sago. 



The nursery has uow nearly done its duty, the only 

 products remaining to he put out being cinchona ledgeriana 

 and hybrid, para and landolphia rubbers, divi divi and 

 nutmegs. There are, however, some surplus plants of Lib. 

 coffee, tea, &c., which are being sold off ; among the pur- 

 chasers being, I am glad to say, some Chinamen. 



Expenditure. — It is to be expected in the case of open- 

 ing up an estate in a new country, where experience has 

 to be gained in nearly every branch, the work done will 

 naturally be more expensive than in another 

 country, and the Experimental Garden has been 'no ex- 

 ception to the rule. I have, however, gone carefully over 

 the expenditure, deducting charges, such as superintendence, 

 AYardian cases of plants, &c, which are rather unfair items 

 to place against the garden. 



The expenditure, therefore, for 1882 amounts to ... $2,653'90 

 And expenditure for 1883 ... ... ... 3,822-05 



The total being therefore 



$0,475-95 



The Future Upkeep I estimate at §150 per annum, 

 which includes pay for a Mandore and a few coolies to 

 keep the garden free from weeds, roads and drains clean, 

 and sundry other necessary little works. 



Estimated Value of Garden. 



Cacao, 11 acres at $209 §2,200 



Coffee (Arabica) 1 acre 100 



Cardamoms, lacre 150 



Lib. Coffee, 6 acres at §200 ... 1,200 



Tea, 12 acres at $150 1,800 



Miscellaneous Products 2,050 



$7,500 



Above, I give an estimate of the approximate value of the 

 gardeu, but it is, nevertheless, a very difficult matter to 

 decide, there being so many points to take into consideration; 

 for instance, in a new country like North Borneo, where 

 all the necessary seeds and plants have to be imported, a 

 gardeu such as this one would give a very handsome re- 

 turn from the sale of seeds, &c, for it stands to reason 

 planters would prefer even paying a little extra to get 

 plants and seeds fresh rather than import them at con- 

 siderable risk and delay. Should it be the wish now of 

 Government to hand over the garden to some planter at 

 a suitable figure, I see no reason why they should not 

 do so, for it does not much matter who owns the different 

 products so long as they are in the roimtri/. As an in- 

 vestment it would, I feel sure be remunerative, it being 

 the most advanced clearing in the country and would there- 

 fore have ths monopoly in selling seeds and plants for 

 some time to come, while its value to those proprietors 

 who have large extents of land in this country to open 

 and plant up would be immense. 



Should, however, private enterprise not step in, I con- 

 sider it is the duty of Government to keep up the garden. 

 Even during the 3hort time in which the garden has 

 been opened, experience has already been gained, nut only 

 as regards the different products planted, but also the 

 proper labour to employ, rainfall and other climatic in- 

 fluences which cannot fail to be of use to planters coming 

 to this country. I am quite prepared to hear that, say 

 for instance, Sugar is the product everyone is going to 

 plant and what is the use of Liberian c iffee, 

 Cacao, &c. ? Quite so. In many parts of Borneo sugar 

 will, I have no doubt, be cultivated to advantage, but 

 even in those parts the day may come, as has happened 

 in Ceylon, when disease destroyed the staple product and 

 there was then a general rush to the Botanical Gardens, 

 whose judgment had been exercised in introducing a variety 

 of different products, and planters were then able not 

 only to judge as to suitability of the different products 

 for their estates, but also to procure plants and seeds 

 from trees in some cases twenty years old. 



I was told one day that the garden at Silam was out 

 Of the way, and too f jr off for people to see : the speaker 

 never made a greater blunder in his life, but in fairness 

 I must say he had no pretensions to being a planter, for 



I maintain that no Experimental Garden in North Borneo 

 can be too far out of the way for a man who comes to 

 the country with the intention of investing hiB or other 

 people's money. Speaking for myself, I know I should 

 go direct there before selecting my land, duly noting any 

 peculiar advantages it might have as regards soil, climate, 

 &c. compared with other parts of the country and draw 

 my own conclusions. The reasons Silam was selected as 

 the site for the Experimental Garden are as, follows : — 



1st. On the score of economy the mountain being suitable 

 for the growth of both high and low products and thus 

 saving the expense of keeping up two distant establish- 

 ments. Since then I have travelled over most of North 

 Borneo and have not seen a more suitable place, though, 

 I must say, I anticipated finding more high land suitable 

 for hill products than I have done. 



2nd. The soil iu Darvel Bay was superior to that I 

 had seen elsewhere and will yet be, possibly, the site of 

 the first large plantation in North Borneo. 



3rd. That Government had already started a station at 

 Silam. 



Rainfall Return for Silam. 

 1882. 1883. 



January ... — 9'55 



February ... — 7'89 



March ... — 519 



April... ... — 318 



May ... ... — 1656 



June ... ... 513 745 



July... ... 10-49 4-91 



August ... 9-74 4-31 



September ... 13-01 10-32 



October ... 14-06 5-05 



November ... 898 8-79 



December ... 16-34 10-04 



Inches 



77-75 93-23 Total Rainfalls 



(Signed) L. B. VON DONOP, 



Superintendent of Agriculture. 



TAVIUNI. 



[from a correspondent.] 

 I visited some of the coffee estates of Taviuni a 

 short time ago. Delta (Mr. Phillpot's) is one of the 

 best cultivated estates on the Island of Taviuni. 

 The coffee trees are pruned to perfection, and the 

 plantation is beautifully clear and free of weeds. 

 There is a very good bridle path, two or three miles 

 long, which goes from the main road to the estate. 

 This has been made and is kept clear of weeds by 

 Mr. Thillpot. 



An immense amount of work has been done on 

 the Alpha estate (Mr. Mason's). I found Mr. Ste- 

 phens, the manager, deep in the mysteries of tea- 

 curing. On the day of my visit a "flush" was being 

 picked, and Mr. Stepheus explained to me the process 

 by which the leaves are converted into tea ; but I 

 will not venture to repeat it as I am certain I 

 should make a blunder over it. The tea estate is 

 looking well, and is well cultivated. The acreage 

 under tea is being increased with all possible des- 

 patch. Mr. Mason intends to push the imported ar- 

 ticle out of the local market. When his new cur- 

 ing machinery, which has been ordered, arrives he 

 will very much improve the quality of his tea, and 

 will have no difficulty in supplying the whole of 

 Fiji. At North Taviuni most of the planters not 

 only u-e the Alpha tea, but prefer it to the im- 

 ported article. 



Forest Creek (Mr. Wilson's estate) was also visited. 

 In passing through the various coffee fields I saw 

 many of the trees loaded with berries, and I should 

 judge a fair crop will be picked from the estate. 

 Mr. Wilson has every convenience for pulping, dry- 

 ing and curing his coffee with all poss.ble despatch. 

 Mr. Wilson has cut and made a road, wide enough 

 to take a horse and dray over, from his pulping 

 house to his coffee curing establishment, « distance 





