132 



THE AGUICULTURAL NEWS. 



April 29, 1911. 



FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES. 



OOFFEA ROBUSTA IN PARA RUBBER 



CULTIVATION. 



The following information is taken from Dr. P. J. S. 

 Cramer's paper on Cofea roi/Ufta as an intercalary crop 

 with Para rubber, which.appears in the Bulletin de la Socieli- 

 Eehje d' Etudes Coloniales, for February 1911. This com- 

 mences by referring to' the origin of Cofea ro'juHa, which 

 Dr. Cramer considers to be identical with Cofea Laure7itu: 

 this species is as distinct from Cofea arahica and Coffea 

 iiberica as these are ditterent from one another, and requires 

 conditions quite other than tho.?e needed by these, for its 

 proper growth. In the- history of the distribution of the 

 species, it was first obtained from Brussels in 1900 for 

 planting in the east and centre of Java, where it was consid- 

 ered as a curiosity until two years later, when its large 

 power of production came under observation. Since 1907, 

 there has been a great extension of the area of Coffea robusin 

 in Java; the estimated area in 1907-8 was 5,000 acres, and 

 1908-9 from 20,000 to 30,000 acres, and it is jirobable that 

 this estimate is below llie actual extension. No other kind 

 of cofl'ee is being i)lanted at present, to any extent, in Java. 



CLIM.\TE. Experiments in Java show that this coS'ec 

 will flourish from sea-level to an altitude of 3,000 feet. The 

 best plantations are found in the humid districts of East 

 Java, where there is a large rainfall distributed equally 

 during the year. These estates are situated from 1,000 to 

 1,500 feet above sea-level, and the soil is deep and rich in 

 vegetable matter. The, plant is capable of resisting drought 

 to a certain degree, Imt prefers an abundant and regular 

 rainfall. In the south of Java, it lias survived a dry period 

 lasting nearly four months; the trees suffered to some extent, 

 but recovered very quickly after the first rain. In Java, 

 llobusta coffee is always planted under shade; in connexion 

 with this, the shade given by Para rubber trees would be 

 insufficient on account of its inequality, and its absence for 

 part of the year owing to the loss of tiie leaves. The p'aiit 

 suffers severely if exposed to tlie wind, and where such 

 expo.sure is likely to occur, it is useless to attempt to grow it 

 unless measures are taken for its protection. 



SOIL. The roots of Coff'ea rotmsta are strongly developed, 

 and it is noticed in the nurseries that they largely occupy the 

 top soil. It is on this account that the soil conditions should 

 be as favourable as pos.sible for the development of the roots. 

 It has been found thai the plant grows very (]uiekly on vol- 



canic soils, and on- those which are rich in vegetable matter. 

 The growth is much slower in compact and clayey so^ls. 



coFKE.Y RoiiusTA A.s .\N ixTKECAL.^Kv CROP. The article 

 summarizes the advantages that should be shown bv an inter- 

 calary crop, in the' special connexion, as follows, "it .should 

 not injure tlie Para plants in any way; it should yield 

 a harvest as soon as possible; its cultivation should noi entail 

 any specially skilled labour; the preparation of the products 

 from it should not require the employment of any costly 

 machinery. In regard to these matter.s, the cultivation of 

 coffee is very simple, and Coffea robusta possesses a special 

 advantage on account of its quick arrival at maturity, by 

 which it is enabled to give a small yield two years after 

 planting, and, usually, a complete crop in the third year; 

 under normal conditions, Jvobusta coffee iilanted between 

 lubber will give, at the end of the last-mentioned period, 

 a crop of 15 cwt. per acre. The most important matter,' 

 however, is that the presence of the coffee does not interfere 

 with the development of the rubber. Observations are given 

 in support of this, as well as of the fact that coffee i>lanted 

 with rubber grows as well as that which is being raised alone. 

 NURSERIES FOE COFFEA ROBU.sTA. Nurseries for Coff'ea 

 robusta require much care. They should be capable of pro- 

 viding a deep shade, which can be diminished gradually as 

 the plants become older, in order to accustom them to 

 the sun before they are planted out. The seeds should 

 not be planted more closely than G inches apart, as such 

 a distance will enable the plants to be kept longer in the 

 nurseries, so that they will not be planted out before 

 they are ready; that is, when they possess four or five 

 pairs of leaves. The best method is to keep the plants 

 in the nursery for nine months, and then to place them 

 out as siluniiis. When this is done, the most useful plan is 

 to sow the seed very thickly in a germinating bed, and then 

 to put the best [.hints out in the nursery at a distance of 

 1 foot apart The chief objection to the use of stumps is that 

 they yield their first crop later than trees that have been put 

 out as seedlings. If it is necessary to have the plants in the 

 ground very quickly, these methods are too slow, and it is of 

 interest that C<ff'e<f, robusta can be transplanted at almost any 

 age, for plantations exist that have been made from seeds 

 that had just germinated, as well as from plants that have 

 been raised from seed at stake. In the examples of this seen 

 by the author, although the plants were only six months old, 

 flower buds had formed in the axils of the leaves on the lower 



