MANUAL OP THE NtLAQIRI DISTRICT. 487 



Taking the area of coffee cultivatiou in the district at 12,000 CH. XXVIII. 

 acres roughly, of the quantity exported in 1876-77 probably coffbe 

 not less than 4,500,000 lb. came from this district, excluding Coltivatiun. 

 South-East Wainad, in value about 20 lakhs of rupees. 



In the following paper by Mr. Steedman the principal points Estimate of 

 connected with the cultivation are carefully and clearly sum- ^"^^j^*^^^"^^^'' 

 marised. It contains, at my desire, no elaborated estimate of form- profits. 

 ing a plantation, as the cost differs in various parts of the district 

 according to facilities of labour, natui^e of soil, and many other 

 conditions. In Mr. Hull's work on coffee planting in South India 

 and Ceylon a fairly approximate estimate will be found. It 

 may be roughly stated that, exclusive of cost of land but inclu- 

 sive of buildings, machines, roads, &c., it costs between 300 

 and 400 rupees an acre to bring a moderate sized estate of (say) 

 200 acres into full bearing. The cost of working may be set 

 at 130 rupees per acre. The yield maybe estimated at 4 cwts. 

 per acre. This, at 50 rupees net per cwt., gives 200 rupees, an 

 excess of 70 rupees over charges, or approximately 20 per cent. 

 ou capital expended, exclusive of shipping and brokerage charges, 



&C.1 



The works on the subject deserving especial mention are Mr. Books on 

 H. M. Elliot's '' Coffee-planting in Mysore and Coorg,'' Dr. J. ^ado^""'' 

 Shortt's '^ Hand-book to Coffee-planting in Southern India," Dr. 

 Bidie's " The Borer," and Mr. H. P. Hull's " Coffee-planting in 

 Southern India and Ceylon." A mass of general information 

 on the subject will be found in P. L. Simmonds' treatise on 

 " Tropical Agriculture." 



MONOGEAPH ON THE CULTIVATION OF COFFEE. 



{By A.. H. Steedman, Esq., Balcarres Estate, Wamdd.) 



Selection of land — elevation — opening out land — nurseries — shade — felling — 

 bui-ning — road tracing — lining — pitting — plan ting— weeding — draining — hand- 

 ling and pruning. — Manuring — composts — poudi'ette — fish-manuro — bones — 

 blood and slaughter-house refuse — guano — superphosphate of lime. — Irriga- 

 tion. — Buildings— bungalow — cooly lines — pulper-house and store — barbacues and 

 drying tables— cattle sheds. — Machineiy — sprouting — pulper. — Crop —picking 

 and curing. — Enemies of the coffee plant — bug — the borer — the coffee rat — leaf 

 rot — leaf disease — its remedies. 



In selecting a site for a coffee plantation a variety of consider- Selection of 

 ations must be taken into account, and, foremost amongst 1^^^^- 



' Taking the area under coffee in bearing in the Presidency at 190,000 acrea 

 (Mysore 125,000, Madras districts 50,000, and Travancoro 15,000), the exports, 

 including Travancore, at 375,000 cwts., the internal consumption at 75,000 cwts., 

 we have the average yield of coffee rather over 2,h cwts. per acre including native 

 cultivation. These figures would seem to indicate that the margin of profit can 



