May I, 1886,] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



77' 



iug is a ilescription of the various specimens exliibited: — 

 Mesua femx. — Assainese name, Nnhor; English, Irou- 

 wood ; specific gravity, \'2'i\ co-efticient of rupture iu 

 cwt. aud decimals, 27'0; loss of weight when chemically 

 dried 25 per cent ; maximum shriultage due to above 

 operation, S per cent. 



There are some good patches of almost exclusively 

 Nahor trees to be found here and there, growing on high, 

 well-drained ground, but they are not extensive. The 

 stem 13 generally straight, and the average size is from 

 25 feet from the foot to the first branch by 5 feet 

 girth, m.iximum height found 45 feet from foot to 

 first branch, maximum girth 12 feet 6 inches. The 

 branches are generally thin and of no use as timber, 

 but they produce excellent charcoal and make fir.^t-class 

 firewood. 



The timber is of a deep red colour, with very close 

 undulating fibre, rather brittle, warps and splits when 

 cut into planks or small scantlings, heartwood not at- 

 tacked by insects of any kind, and stands almost in- 

 definitely, both exposed and under cover, without deter- 

 iorating. Before being used it should be stripped of 

 all its sapwood, and thus prepared, forms an invalu- 

 able material for bridge piles, beams and thick scant- 

 ling generally ; in fact, it serves almost as a substit- 

 ute for cast-iron. 



Ai-tocarpiis Chaphis/ta. — Assamese name, Sam; English, 

 Monkey Jack ; specific gravity, 0'6'i ; co-efficient of 

 rupture as above, 12-3 ; loss of weight in chemical 

 drying, ,^2 per cent ; maximum shrinkage due to above 

 process, 5 per cent. 



This tree does not seem to have a preference for 

 any particular ground ; it grows in low land with aB 

 much vigour as upon the hills. It is never found in 

 patches, but is liberally scattered all through the jungles. 

 The stem is seldom very straight and branches off soon, 

 sometimes at a few feet from the ground, but the bran- 

 ches often produce good timber. It is of a bright yel- 

 low colour when cut, and deepens into a brown wal- 

 nut colour in the course of time. The fibre grows 

 pretty straight, not very close, breaks short, and receives 

 easily a clean polish. It warps and splits very little. 

 It stands well either exposed or under shelter, and 

 insects will not attack it. It is a very useful timber 

 for any purpose where great ftrength is not required, 

 being specially adapted for household furniture, as it is 

 ei|nal or superior to teak for this purpose. 



JSiicltoJjia Javaiiica. — Assamese name, Uriain; English, 

 none; specific gravity, 104; coetKcieut of rupture as 

 above, 15-2 ; loss of weight in chemical drying, 24 per 

 cent; maximum shrinkage due to above process, 10 per 

 cent. — Indian Tea Gazette. 



THE MANAGEMENT OF COFFEE SOILS. 



At the time of the Madras Agricultural Exhibition 

 of 1883 there were prizes offered for the best essays 

 on certain subjects connected with the objects of the 

 promoters. The two first articles in the volume, by 

 Mr. Olarke and General Morgan respctivelv, are on 

 the nuestion of the best way of treating laud that 

 has been planted with softee. The former of these 

 writers chiefly devotes himself to proving the tremend- 

 ous loss that is sustained by what he terms " waste," 

 or causes not connected with the exhaustion of the 

 tree from producing crop ; while General Morgan lays 

 before planters the e\ils that arise from the use of 

 iijiTt manures, and badly selected seed. Assuming 

 Mr. Clarke's figures to be correct (and as they are 

 based on those in the report presented by Mr. Hughes 

 to the Ueylon Planters' Association we may safely do 

 so), we imagine that most planters will be startled 

 to find how large the proportion, of this, presumably, 

 preveutible waste is. 



Coffee is not in itself an exhausting crop ; com- 

 pared with wheat, or turnips, the actual formation 

 of the bean takes very little nutriment from the 

 soil. The comparison is of course not a fair oue 

 though so often made, for in these analyses the exi.^t- 

 eiiCB of the tree which bears the bean, and has to 

 uiiiintain itself in vi'^'our, is alwiys neglected. If, how- 

 ever, the w.iste could have been avoided, or at least 

 minimise.!, many estates which are now abandoned 

 would still \»- ■,Hvin5r good crops. Of the four most 



Sniportant elements of the soil, namely, nitrogen, potash. 

 lime, and phosphoric acid, an average crop is cal- 

 culated on one acre to use up but 21 lb., while a 

 moderate estimate of the amount of loss by wash on 

 the same surface is no less than .S22 lb., or in 

 other words enough to produce sixteen crops of 

 |colTee. Mr. Clarke adds to this a loss of 169 lb. 

 for leaf; but as this is, in the nature of things, 

 unavoidable, it may be left out of our present cal- 

 cqlatious. Of the wastefulness of a mode of cultiv- 

 atiou such as this, there can be no doubt, and the 

 only question is, how can it be remedied. Mr. Clarke 

 strongly advocates draining, by cutting catch drains 

 at short intervals across the face of a new clearing, 

 by making wash-holes between the trees, and by 

 forking. As to the first of these cures, there are estate* 

 on which drains answer well enough ; but there is, for 

 some reason, a strong prejudice against them amou jst 

 planters in Southern India. General Morgan, for in- 

 stance, utterly condemns them as worse than useless 

 in the essay that is printed immediately after Mr. 

 Clarke's; and yet in Ceylon no planter who could 

 ■possibly afford it would leave his estate undrained. 

 Whether it is from some difference in the soil, or 

 from the heavier rainfall which causes them to be- 

 'come choked, drains do not appear to answer iu our 

 planting districts. Besides this, they add enormously 

 to the '• opening charges." Mr. Clarke estimates the 

 cost of drains and wash holes on his system to be 

 KlOO per acre. Now a proprietor who thinks K50 

 per acre a liberal estimate for felling, pitting, read- 

 ing and planting, would neither consent, nor could 

 afford to treble this expenditure to "carry out a work 

 that all his neighbours would assure him was use- 

 It ss. The expenditure on manure, too, which Mr. 

 Clarke points out would be saved by conserving the 

 .soil, need not be incurred till at least after one crop 

 has given the planter some return for his capital. 

 The plan of making wash-holes is, however, recom- 

 mended by both these essayists, and as it has been 

 tried on many estates, is worthy of some attention 

 from those interested in the matter. These pits are 

 to be cut iu the intervals between the trees ; they 

 are 5 feet long by 2 feet broad, and \h feet in depth ; 

 they are useful for preventing a gre'at rush of rain 

 iu the monsoon storms, and the leaves, weeds, and 

 prunings should be collected in them, removed from 

 to time, aud forked in over the surface of the field. 

 Mr. Clarke gives some remarkable iustances of the 

 efficacy of the prunings when returned to the soil 

 of vineyards. A great deal of a planter's success 

 depends, however, on the careful selection of land. 

 Twenty years ago it was supposed that any land in 

 a coffee district was sure to do well, and u large 

 number of estates were opened, only to be abandoned 

 after dragging out a hopeless existence for a few 

 years, and ruining their owners. Very steep land 

 should certainly be avoided. General Morgan gives 

 an instance in opposition to this, but in the Ouchter- 

 l(juy Valley, and the behaviour of coffee in that 

 favored locality cannot be accepted a.s a guide in other 

 districts. 



Neither writer has a word to say about shade, and 

 this is a serious omission in writing of the treatment 

 of soils, for the shade trees not only protect the coffee 

 from the sun, but enormously fertilize the soil by 

 shedding their leaves. General Morgan strongly in- 

 sists ou the necessity of procuring good seed for 

 coffee nurseries, and instances several estates in 

 Wynaad where the neglect of this precaution has 

 had disastrous results. Wyuaad, indeed, has recently 

 been a fruitful theme for the agricultural morii'i t from 

 other districts : it has been somewhat in tin- p sition 

 of the drunken man at the temperance meeting, " the 

 frightful example" of the vengeance of outraged 

 Nature on the pl.inter who disbelieves in George 

 Ville. Be this as it may, there is no doubt a great 

 deal of truth in General Morgan's warning, aud the 

 fact that planters iu one tlistrict now endeavour al- 

 ways to procure seed from another, or even from 

 .Java, .Jamaica or Krazil, shows tiiat they have appreci- 

 ated the fact. There is one suggestion of Mr. 

 Clarke's which we will notice in conclnsion, iiamelv 



