COFFEE ROBUSTA 89 



home market show that it must be heated and 

 ground in a manner somewhat different from 

 other coffees, and that as to quality, experts are 

 inclined to put it nearly on a level with best 

 Santos. At present the price ranges from $18 

 to $25 a picul = 2 2s. to 2 18s. 4d. per 

 1331 Ibs. 



" Pests of Robusta. Robusta has up to the 

 present shown itself fairly free from parasites, 

 but it can hardly be expected to remain so. 



11 Grown side by side with liberica at Kuala 

 Lumpur, it is almost, but not quite, free from 

 leaf disease. 



"As regards insect pests, it is probably as 

 liable as liberica, if not more so, to their attacks. 



" Robusta as a Catch-crop in Coconuts. 

 Many soils, especially on hard-backed steep 

 hills, are not over fertile, and it is probable that 

 it is the best in the long run to bring coconuts 

 into bearing without catch-crops, which all 

 compete with the principal crop and remove a 

 certain amount of available plant food. But 

 many private owners, small syndicates, and even 

 companies cannot wait six years for a return. 

 A desirable catch-crop should be a crop yielding 

 a good profit ; it should not be too severe on the 

 soil; it should bear early; it should admit of 

 weeding so as to leave the land in a clean con- 

 dition when it is taken out. 



" Tapioca has been tried and is hardly a success ; 



