282 
The labour question is another matter that ought to be carefully 
considered, but I suppose anything beyond a general reference to it 
would be out of place in the Bulletin. 
Yours sincerely, 
D. Morris, Esq., F.L.S., (Signed) T. H. Hir. 
Assistant Director, Kew. 
[Enclosure ]. 
The returns from these Liberian coffee estates are interesting as 
showing that under favourable circumstances the yield is not showing 
any tendency to decrease. Linsum and S'Lian, in Sungei Ujong, estates 
are surrounded by forest, and the atmosphere there is generally laden 
with moisture (rainfall from 90" to 120") and rain falling on over 200 
days in the year, with heavier and more continuous rains in October, 
November, and the early part of December. The older fields on these 
estates are manured yearly, and weeds are allowed to grow and have 
been for many years for a large portion of the year. At certain times 
tes are, fo g from 
kept serupulously clean. The cost of cultivation i is from $70 to $90 per 
acre perannum. The soil isnot particularly rich, but the a from 
moisture, makes the estates very oem oductive. The pedes duty 
of thirty (dollars) cents per picul produces to the Government an 
t of a quit-rent of $2:40 per acre, on the Gad in full 
“The. you nger fields on this estate are finer than the old coffee was at 
the — age, they all having been planted from selected seed from 
fine trees, thus getting a eligi ee seed, some of the clearings being 
pid from the 4th generation of seed so selected, and "the óth 
generation of seed is now in the ireren y« 
Weld's “Hill Estate is in Selangor, and owing to the growth of the 
town of Qualla Sumpor a and its sur "rowdings i is in an open plain, so that 
although the rainfall is much the same, the evaporation is very much 
more rapid, and the yield of erop is "not so large.. This may partially be 
accounted for by the estate being more on the slopes of hills and there- 
fore unsuitable for the growth of weeds. The boundaries of this 
estate are now being planted up with Inga Saman, Albizzia oe 
and other quick-growing trees to alleviate this dry atmosphere as much 
as is possible. It suggests itself as a matter of grave their 
for the Governments as to how much the capital of these fertile 
countries is due to their gren climate produeed by the large area of 
forest, a how much to the 
Batu Estate has not been puse until 1891, because the soil was 
so much — to that of the other estates as to render it theoretically 
unnecessary t e — In future the same system. will be 
followed as on ene ot es. 
ming Estate. —The e yield is very much decreased, wm to the 
e number of vacancies in the fields, the full areas which are 
given, the supplies here are ae luxuriantly, and in a few yea 
these fields will be regular, and fi the appearances of the briant 
planted trees, the sarg and the sii the yield should not be less "— 
that on the older es 
T.H. H. 


