February 2, 1885.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



607 



NORTH BORNEO. 



Towards the close of the year, however, there set in a 

 considerable influx of Sarawak dayaks, who have penetrated 

 far up the Kinabatangan River, near Sandakan, and have 

 tapped valuable sources of guttapercha. As a consequence, 

 the export of gutta during the latter half of the year was 

 more than double that of the first half. The Sandakan 

 gutta keeps up, so far, its reputation as being the best 

 quality in Northern Borneo. I may remark, as a novel 

 feature in Borneo, this incursion of hundreds of Sarawak 

 dayaks, the dreaded headhunters of former days, who during 

 the year nave spread themselves along the coast of North 

 Borneo in the peaceful pursuit of trade. Several have 

 enlisted in the North Borneo police. 



With the exception of rattans of the finest quality received 

 from the island of Palawan, nearly all the exports are 

 the produce of the territory itself, for the establishment 

 of the British North Borneo Company's enterprise has had 

 the effect of cutting off the Sulu trade from Labuan without 

 attracting it appreciately to its own North Borneo ports, 

 the reason being that two of the British steamers whcih 

 now trade to Sandakan continue their voyages on to Sulu 

 and carry the trade direct to Singapore. Sandakan con- 

 tinues to be by far the most important port of trade in 

 North Borneo. 



The trade of North Borneo is all carried to Singapore, 

 with the exception of an insignificant portion, which finds 

 its way to Hong Kong in a subsidised steamer, which makes 

 a voyage about once a month. During the year all import 

 duties were abolished, with the exception of those on 

 spirits, wines, &c, tobacco, and salt. — London and China 

 Express. 



PLANTING IN JOHORE. 



COFFEE — TEA — COCOA — CARDAMOMS. 



(From an ex-Ceylon Planter.) 

 About six years ago coffee planting commenced in Johore> 

 and coffee Arabica-was the kind tried, but, as you are poss- 

 ibly aware, it has turned out a failure. There are many 

 now who say that they never believed it would succeed 

 from the first (it is easy to be wise after the event), and 

 some of the pioneers have come in for a good deal of 

 blame, because they insisted on giving Arabica a fair trial. 

 I think they were quite right in doiug so, as even now 

 there are some good large patches of coffee Arabica to be 

 found on some of the estates, which would bb considered 

 fine even in Ceylon. I may here state that the failure of 

 coffee Arabica was not due to any neglect on the part of 

 the pioneers, as the estates were well opened, being roaded, 

 drained and holed in a most thorough manner ; indeed, the 

 wonder is how such good work was done, considering the 

 many difficulties the planters had to contend within a new 

 country. 



When it was found that coffee Arabica was not a suc- 

 cess, the majority of the estates opened were planted up 

 to some extent with Liberiau coffee, and I am glad to say 

 this kind promises to make good all that was spent and 

 lost on Arabica. The first Liberian planted in Johore was 

 an experimental patch of about five acres, I think, put in 

 by H. H. the Ma'arajah, who from the first has done 

 everything in his power to assist and encourage the plant- 

 ing enterprise in his territory. The experimental garden 

 is about three miles inland from the town of Johore Bahru, 

 and was a piece of old abandoned gambier land, overgrown 

 with lalang grass (illuc) ; yet a finer field of Liberian coffee 

 I venture to state can be seen nowhere. The majority of 

 the trees are from 8 to 10 feet high and bushy in pro- 

 portion, being, as a rule, beautifully shaped, and are simply 

 overladen with crop. I dare not attempt to give an estim- 

 ate of the crop on this patch, as I am afraid your readers 

 would not credit the statement, but I may mention that 

 a gentleman told me in all good faith that he had taken 

 nine catties of clean parchment from an average tree, and 

 he was of opinion there was as much left. The trees are 

 planted 12 x 12, so you can easily arrive at the rate per 

 acre. Adjoining the coffee there is a field of tea, also 

 belonging to H. H., from which most excellent samples of 

 made tea have been taken, and, on the other side of the 

 road, there is a cacao clearing under natural shade, which 

 promises to Jdo] well. In this clearing there are a few 

 cardamom clumps which are now producing fruit, the first 



which have fruited in the Straits, I am told, on both sides 

 of the road from Johore to the garden. There are clear- 

 ings of Liberian growing well, and beyond the garden there 

 are two or three estates, in all about 300 acres. I believe 

 there are at least 1,000 acres under Liberiau coffee in 

 Johore, and about 300 acres are this year giving their first 

 crop, the greater portion being in the Batu Pahat district, 

 which is about 80 miles from Johore Bahru, up the west 

 coast. There, stores are being put up, and two of Walker's 

 pulpers are at work, crop coming in quite fast enough for 

 the limited supply of Tamil labor which the planters have 

 at their command. I may here state that Tamil labor is 

 all that is wanted to make Liberian coffee a perfect success 

 in Johore. Chinese labor can be had pretty easily and is 

 excellent as far as heavy or contract work is concerned, 

 but Tamils are required where crop has to be picked. The 

 Straits Government have just passed the Indian Immi- 

 gration Bill, so there is every reason to hope that H. H. 

 the Maharajah will now be able to arrange with the Ind- 

 ian Government for the importation of Indian labor. Leaf- 

 disease seems to have little or no effect on the strong 

 healthy trees, only on the weak trees does it seem to 

 have any hold, but as these are few and far between, it 

 has hitherto done little or no harm. 



In Singapore a company has just been floated, called 

 the "Chasserian Land and PlantingCompany, Limited, "cap- 

 ital dols. 25,000, in 500 shares of dols. 500 each ; the object 

 being the purchase of a large tract of land near Singa- 

 pore, belonging to Mr. Chasserian. A large portion of this 

 is under tapioca and 100 acres are planted with Liberian 

 coffee, from 2 years to 10 months old. I believe it is the 

 intention of the Company to open up the greater portion 

 of the laud with Liberian, and certainly from the appear- 

 ance aud growth of the coffee already planted, there is 

 every reason to think that it will pay well. The clearing 

 referred to is really a splendid sight, and Mr. Chasserian 

 deserves every credit for the way in which the work has 

 been done. The Company is to be congratulated in hav- 

 ing secured his services as Manager. — Local " Times." 



OLIVE CULTIVATION IN TURKEY. 

 Consul Heap, of Constantinople, in his last report, states 

 that olives grown in Turkey receive little cultivation after 

 the young trees reach maturity. At the end of the autumn, 

 or early in winter, a trench of two to three feet in dia- 

 meter, aud from eighteen to twenty-seven inches in depth, 

 is dug round each young tree, and filled with manure, more 

 or less rich, according to the age and strength of the tree. 

 The manure is well covered with soil, so as to prevent it 

 being disturbed, and to keep it as long as possible in the 

 position best fitted to feed the roots of the tree. The 

 ground between the trees is generally neglected. The olive 

 tree generally comes into full bearing about its twenty- 

 fifth year when it has been grown from slips, but when 

 grafted it yields abundantly between its eighth aud twelfth 

 year. In both cases it continues to produce largely, every 

 alternate year, for about fifty or sixty years, and if cult- 

 ivated it will continue to yield, though less largely, up 

 to the age of one hundred years. Under ordinary circum- 

 stances a young healthy tree that has reached maturity 

 will produce about eighty-two pounds of fruit in a poor 

 year, and with careful cultivation the same tree will yield 

 in a good year double that quantity. The trees vary in 

 yield every alternate year. An acre will contain 120 trees, 

 and each tree will yield an average of 100 pounds of fruit, 

 so that the produce per acre will be about 12,000 pounds, 

 and as it takes about sixty pounds of fruit to produce one 

 gallon of oil, the yield per acre would be two hundred 

 gallons. When olives are intended for pickling, a small 

 portion is plucked while green to be pickled in that state, 

 but the larger portion of the fruit intended for preserv- 

 ing is gathered when it has fully ripened aud has turned 

 black ; in Turkey it is preferred in this state, and there 

 is a very large consumption of black pickled olives. To 

 preserve black olives for the table, the fruit is packed in 

 casks or boxes with a large layer of common salt, three 

 quarters of an inch thick at the bottom. On this is laid 

 a layer of olives, about two aud a-half to three inches in 

 depth, upon which a light covering of salt is sprinkled, 

 and so on until the cask or box is filled, the upper layer 

 of salt being deeper than the others except the lower one. 



