347 
height, the stems will bend outwards by the weight of the crop 
and allow plenty of air and light into the tree.” Briefly the 
chief advantages claimed over capping are. (1) It requires less 
Jabour for pruning and handling. (2) The tree is more pliable 
and easily bent, hence extra facility in gathering the crop; 
(3) The formation of old wood is avoided, so there is less chance 
of the dreaded disease Phthora vastatrix, d’Herelle, attacking 
old trunk stems. 
It is stated that shade has been found necessary when growing 
Coffee in Central America, except at high elevations; at 2000 ft. 
and under, heavy shade is used. ‘“‘ The chief shade-trees used 
are “ Banana,” Inga vera, Willd.—the tree most in favour— 
“* Madre de Cocoa ”’ or “‘ Madera ” (Gliricidia maculata, H.B: & K. 
syn. Robinia maculata, H.B. & K.) and Erythrina costaricensis, 
M. Micheli—seen growing at very high elevations and suggested 
as likely to do well in certain districts of East Africa where a trial 
of the Inga vera and other shade trees is proposed. 
In reference to manuring it is stated that “ coffee has been 
grown in the countries mentioned for nearly a century. The 
soil in which it is cultivated is characterized by its richness in 
humus, due in part to original forest land, leaf mould from the 
plants themselves and shade trees; but the need for manuring 
of some description has been evident. It is usually deep and 
sometimes stony, in colour almost black when damp and the 
subsoil is similar to the red forest soils of Kenya.” Lime and 
natural manures are recommended in preference to artificial 
manures. Only very recently the Director forwarded a memo- 
randum (copy appended with further references to literature) 
on this subject to a firm in London on behalf of a large Coffee 
Estate owner in Costa Rica, who had found the matter, owing 
to the age and condition of the trees on his plantation to be one 
for urgent consideration. 
Particulars of Cultivation, me Preparing, Machinery 
and Diseases are also reported on 
Manures for Coffee Plantations.—There appears to be no 
information available as to the effect over a sufficiently long 
period, of the application of chemical manures on Coffee, to 
admit of a favourable opinion or a recommendation for general 
use being given. Such active artificial manures as Sulphate of 
Ammonia, Sulphate of Potash, Nitrate of Soda, Superphosphate, 
etc., are undoubtedly of value for annual crops, where immediate 
results are desirable and the temporary character of the manure is 
of secondary consideration ; but for Coffee—or any other perennial 
a similar value has not been established. It has in fact been 
stated that “‘ most decidedly the active artificial manures would 
not be suitable for the coffee tree ’’ (Sir John Lawes, ‘ Manures 
and Coffee,’ in Bull. Bot. Dept. Jamaica, March 1897, p, 57) 
