56 COFFEE I ITS CULTIVATION AND PROFIT. 



not included in the leased half of a pastoral run, 

 who states in his application that he intends to 

 use the soil for the cultivation of sugar or coffee, 

 shall be allowed to select a block of agricultural 

 land not less than 320 acres, nor more than 1,280 

 acres ; and on proof of his having cultivated one- 

 tenth of the land in either sugar or coffee within 

 three years, he shall be relieved from the obliga- 

 tion of residence," which means the land is free 

 to settlers. In some other places land is to be had 

 on equally easy conditions, and in others it goes 

 up to fancy prices. 



The labour question always has a great deal to 

 do with this. Scarcity of labourers ruined Natal 

 Coffee ; in the South American estates they are 

 working plantations to death before "dark" labour 

 finally sets up for itself; and in Fiji the owners are 

 grumbling and will entirely desert those charm- 

 ing islands unless the ridiculous coolie laws are 

 amended. 



The intending settler would do well to look about 

 him and gather the best information before investing 

 his money. Better still, he should seek employment 

 under some able manager for, say, a couple of 

 years, when he will have learned the language, and 

 fairly mastered the details of his business. This 

 arrangement need not prevent his acquiring land 

 meanwhile, or purchasing an estate if a favourable 

 opportunity offers itself. In the latter case the 

 work had better be entrusted to a manager, while 



