150 Timehri. 
AGRICULTURE. 
Agricultural labour is largely supplied on the cocoa, coffee and sugar planta- 
tions by East Indians. The Chnese are mostly, as with us, city-dwellers, shop- 
keepers and so forth. Most interesting to a visitor to Surinam is the Javanese 
labourerer with whom I first met in Nickerie, where I heard him estimated as a 
good labourer but of thievish inclination. A prison squad at work cleaning 
the parapets certainly contained a fair proportion of that race. In Para- 
maribo the general opinion seems to be that with the shovel he is scarcely so 
efficient as the British East Indian, but in work about a cocoa, coffee or rubber 
estate he is immensely cleverer. I had the pleasure of accompanying Dr. 
Cramer, Director of Agriculture— to whom I carried introductions from some 
Demerara friends—on a visit to Wederzorg and Slootwyk Estates. On the 
first named place the Javanese were at work cutting back cocoa for witchbroom 
disease and no one, seeing them at work, could help being struck with the 
amazing agility and deftness of this people in the wholesale pruning 
which had proved so successful in combating disease in cocoa wherever 
it has been carried out. This trip on which Dr. Cramer was accompanied 
by the Administrator (Commissarie) of the Saramacca, several officials 
of the Department of Agriculture and about 30 planters and settlers 
was a most interesting one. Twenty of the company had been brought 
down on the Commissarie’s launch from Saramacca the previous day. 
The Customs launch was put at our disposal and about 6.30a.m we 
started for Wederzorg. Here we were met by Mr. Gerling, the manager, 
a gentleman of high reputation as a planter, who cultivates a scholarly 
taste in the classics of his own and several other languages. Skifis and corials 
were in readiness to carry us aback after a short walk through the factor, and 
fields near the yard. In these fields the cocoa, cut back for witchbroom 
three years ago, showed vigorous recovery and beautifully healthy fruit without 
a trace of disease. Further aback we passed fields in various stages of recovery 
and it is notable that at one year from cutting back some of the trees were 
already fruiting, while at five weeks signs of leafage were appearing on recently 
cut shrubs. 
The treatment is very drastic. In the cutting back only three or four primary 
branches are left, every leaf and twig being removed and burnt. A spraying 
with copper sulphate disposes of thrips and fungus after which the fields are 
kept thoroughly clean till the new growth has been established. The cost is 
about six dollars per acre. 
The extent of the damage done by disease in Surinam was enormous. <Ac- 
cording to figures quoted in the British Guiana Board of Agriculture Journal 
the crop decreased from 87,500 cwts. in 1895 to 16,700 cwts. in 1904. The 
success of the method of treatment is however equally remarkable. A typical 
case is that of an estate on which in 1905 there was no crop. In 1906 a year after 
cutting back 77 lbs. per acre was reaped and, in 1908, 515 lbs.—a full crop. The 
manager of Wederzorg spoke highly of the cleverness of the Javanese in this 
class of work, and there is every sign of renewed confidence in the cocoa industry. 
