1886-87.] Experimental Planting in Central Africa. 115 



asked Mr John Moir to take them away with him to the 

 Shir6 Higlilands. In due time they arrived ; the fittest sur- 

 vived. Too much happiness perhaps killed the other. The 

 survivor took a new lease of life, struck deep roots into the 

 warm red soil of the hills, and burst out with berries and 

 cuttings in the glorious air of the Highlands." 



But to this old patriarch of the Edinburgh Garden is every 

 berry traceable. It is computed that 100,000 trees claim 

 direct descent from him, and Scotland may claim to have 

 put some of her own energy and pluck into his fibre. 



This plant shot up two fine stems, both of which were 

 allowed to grow. In 1882 we might have about 300 plants 

 from the seed of this tree from the Mission, which my brother 

 planted, as in Ceylon, 6 feet apart every way, and in little 

 holes the size of a hat. These had to be pretty much left 

 to themselves from the exigencies of our other work, and 

 were worked at diligently by the insects ; when I arrived, 

 I found most of the seedlings with from three to seven 

 stems. Being a town-bred boy myself, I knew little or 

 nothing of gardening, but was most fortunate in having 

 at hand a good friend, the late James Stewart, who sent me 

 a volume of Spon's most valuable Encyclopaedia, con- 

 taining a splendid article on coffee, which I carefully read 

 and thoroughly digested. 



I dug a goodly trench round each tree, and manured them 

 rather liberally, pruned them carefully, and irrigated them. 

 These trees shot up marvellously, and bore heavy crops. 

 But I rather overdid it. For as the cold dry season of 

 1885 came on, finding the foliage falling off a bit, owing 

 doubtless to the enormous crops such young trees had just 

 borne, I thoughtlessly kept flooding one patch with water, 

 when it should have been left alone, and soon found that 

 the roots were rotting off. 



In 1883 we got about 2000 plants from the Mission, 

 which I planted out in terraces, two rows of trees in a 

 terrace, with a small canal for irrigation between the rows. 

 Those trees throve splendidly. 



Some thousands of plants got in 1884 were planted more 

 nearly according to the Ceylon plan, in rows only 12 inches 

 apart. Between each row a stream of water could be run 

 as often as desired. These were planted out in the rainy 



