Edible Products, 



32 



[Janoary, 1912. 



tions are found in the humid districts of 

 Bast Java where there is a large rain- 

 fall distributed equally during the year. 

 These estates are situated from 1,000 to 

 1,500ft. above sea-level and the soil is 

 deep and rich in vegetable matter. The 

 plant is capable of resisting drought to a 

 certain degree, but prefers an abundant 

 and regular rainfall. In the south of 

 Java, it has survived a dry period 

 lasting nearly four months ; the trees 

 suffered to some extent, but recovered 

 very quickly after the first rain. In 

 Java Robusta coffee is always planted 

 under shade ; in connection with this, 

 the shade given by Para rubber trees 

 would be insufficient on account of its 

 inequality, and its absence for part of 

 the year owing to the loss of the leaves. 

 The plant suffers severely if exposed to 

 the wind, and, where such exposure is 

 likely to occur, it is useless to attempt 

 to grow it unless measures are taken for 

 its protection. 



Soil. 



The roots of Coffea robusta are strong- 

 ly developed, and it is noticed in the 

 nurseries that they largely occupy the 

 top soil. It is on this account that 

 the soil condition should be as favour- 

 able as possible for the development of 

 the roots. It has been found that the 

 plant grows very quickly on volcanic 

 soils, and on those which are rich in 

 vegetable matter. The growth is much 

 slower in compact and clayey soils. 



Coffea Robusta as an Intercalary 

 Crop. 



The article summarises the advantages 

 that should be shown by an intercalary 

 crop, in the special connection, as 

 follows :— It should not injure the Para 

 plants in any way ; it should yield a 

 harvest as soon as possible ; it? cultiv- 

 ation should not entail any specially 

 skilled labour ; the preparation of the 

 products from it should not require the 

 employment of any costly machinery. 

 In regard to these matters, the cultiv- 

 ation of coffee is very simple, and Coffea 

 Robusta possesses a special advant- 

 age on account of its quick arrival at 

 maturity, by which it is enabled to give 

 a small yield two years after planting, 

 and, usually, a complete crop in the 

 third year ; under normal conditions 

 Robusta coffee planted between rubber 

 will give, at the end of the last-men- 

 tioned period, a crop of 15 cwt. per acre. 

 The most important matter, however, is 

 that the presence of the coffee does not 

 interfere with the development of the 

 rubber. Observations are given in 

 support of this, as well as of the fact 

 that coffee planted with rubber grows as 

 well as that which is being raised alone 



Nurseries for Coffea Robusta. 

 Nurseries for Coffea robusta require 

 much care. They should be capable of 

 providing a deep shade, which can be 

 diminished gradually as the plants ba- 

 come older, iu order to accustom them 

 to the sun before they are planted out. 

 The seeds should not be planted more 

 closely than 6 in. apart, as such a dis- 

 tance will enable the plants to be kept 

 longer in the nurseries, so that they will 

 not be planted out before they are ready 

 — that is, when they possess four or five 

 pairs of leaves. The best method is to 

 keep the plants in the nursery for nine 

 months, and then to place them out as 

 stumps- When this is done, the most 

 useful plan is to sow the seed very 

 thickly iu a germinating bed, and then 

 to put the best plants out in tne nursery 

 at a distance of 1 ft. apart. The chief 

 objection to the use of stumps is that 

 they yield their first crop later than 

 trees that have been put out as seed- 

 lings. If it is necessary to have the 

 plants in the grouud very quickly, these 

 methods are too slow, and it is of 

 interest that Coffea robusta can be trans- 

 planted at almost any age, for plant- 

 ations exist that have been made from 

 seeds that had just germinated as well 

 as from plants that have been raised 

 from seed at stake. In the examples of 

 this seen by the author, although the 

 plants were only six months old, flower 

 buds had formed in the axils of the 

 leaves on the lower branches. It is 

 pointed out that a similar method of 

 planting could not be employed success- 

 fully with any other species of coffee. 



Planting out. 



If seedlings are to be employed, these 

 should be planted out in the ordinary 

 way, with a ball of soil adhering to the 

 roots ; with stumps, this is not the case, 

 all that is required being to cut the tap 

 root back a little, while the lateral roots 

 are untouched. The distance for plant- 

 ing depends upon that between the Para 

 rubber plants. As a basis, (i ft. may be 

 taken as the least distance between the 

 coffee plants, and 7 ft. between the 

 rubber and the coffee. If the rubber 

 trees are planted in line well apart, it is 

 best not to plant coffee in the rows, 

 because this would prevent the rubber 

 from being seen as a whole, and to plant 

 the rows of rubber from east to west, in 

 order to ensure the largest supply of 

 light to the coffee between the rows. 



Topping, Pruning and care of a . 

 Young Plantation. 



Robusta coffee possesses a strong 

 tendency to form solely primary 

 branches, during early growth, so that 



