and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society.— April, 1912. 371 



Among the crumbs of wisdom which are pro- 

 vided for the planter iD this volume are : — " In 

 soil where a plant cannot obtain its food and 

 water in sufficient quantity it becomes pale and 

 weak." "Whenaplaut has been injured by a 

 pest, it is advisable to manure it to give it a 

 fresh start." "Bordeaux mixture as used on 

 root fungus of trees may be made stronger and 

 merely poured on the ground." "Stable 

 manure in the tropics, requires rotting for 

 several years before it can be used." (The 

 author does not state where it should be stored 

 — in tin-lined cases presumably.) "Burnt earth 

 is a most useful manure, and is widely used in 

 the tropics for different crops ; it is a necessary 

 manure for pepper.'' " The planter must have 

 his eyes everywhere, letting nothing escape him, 

 and using common sense in his work." A nur- 

 sery bed for nutmeg seed "should bo well dug 

 and monwrerf." " The plant (in clove planting) 

 is then put into a hole in the earth which 

 • tills up the largo hole, and the soil heaped up 

 round it." 



The author, as will have been seen, affects a 

 loose grammatical style, of which the following 

 are examples : — " The chilies are fottdised with 

 liquid manure once a week." " When the plants 

 (cnilies) have established themselves, .... 

 their roots should be partially exposed by re- 

 moving the earth from their bottom." "Be 

 careful not to strew them (chilie seeds) over one 

 corner of the prepared ground only, as the seeds 

 (meaning seedlings, presumably) will become 

 spindly and drawn up." Catty is sometimes 

 spelt 1 kati.' A maund is given as 28 lb. instead 

 of about 80 lb. 



The characteristic energy of the author is 

 manifested in the pages upon pages quoted 

 jrom other works and writers, often unreliable 

 and irrelevant, and sometimes unacknowledged. 

 Ferguson's books on Spices, also the Tropical 

 Agriculturist, have obviously been largely availed 

 of. In one case (cloves), 10^ consecutive pages 

 are taken from the latter journal, though it is not 

 mentioned in the list of literature at the conclu- 

 sion. Altogether the book, written iu a warm 

 climate and on a warm subject, appears to show 

 some signs of rapid work ; but allowance must 

 be made for the difficulties under which the 

 author doubtless laboured, amongst them being 

 pressure of official duties. 



PLANTING AND DEVELOPMENT 

 IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



INFORMATION OF DIFFERENT STATES 

 AND PRODUCTS. 



Brazil and Coffee. 



South of Rio lies the State of Sao Paulo, which 

 is one of the rich and most important iu all 

 Brazil. The rapid growth of this State is prin- 

 cipally due to the extraordinary development 

 of the cultivation of coffee. Sao Paulo exports 

 sufficient of this valuable commodity to supply 

 three-quarters of the world's demand, the average 

 value of the coffee annually exported from this 

 State being approximately £14,000,0001 The 

 staple industry of Sao Paulo is the cultivation 

 of coffee. The many fazeudas, with thousands 



of acres of brownish-red soil hidden beneath 

 the olive green of the coffee tree, cover by far 

 the largest portion of the 112,311 square miles 

 which compose this rich State. The plauting of 

 young coffee trees commences with the wet 

 season, which lasts from November to the end 

 of January. On new estates three years must 

 then elapse before the first crop is produced. 

 The "picking" season starts about May and 

 continues well into the month of September. 

 Santos, the chief port of this State, now pos- 

 sesses one of the finest harbours in Brazil. Trans- 

 atlantic liners call almost every day, and the 

 maritime activity is very great. The annual 

 exportation of coffee) from this port alone aver- 

 ages 8,000,000 bags, weighing 1 cwt. 20 lb. 



Brazil furnishes more than three-quarters of 

 the world's production of this commodity, and 

 coffee represents the principal wealth of the 

 country : altough this is the case, few people 

 are aware of the country of origin when con- 

 suming it. The reason for this is that Brazil 

 grows more than can conveniently be sold, and 

 in proportion to the comparatively small out- 

 put from all sources, also to the speculations 

 in the distributing centres, which often causes,, 

 for commercial reasons, the place of origin to 

 be suppressed, and is detrimental to the pro- 

 ducing state. Owing, also, to the enormous 

 bulk to be handled, it is not found easy to in- 

 duce planters to limit the exportation to 

 standardized grades of the finest quality only. 

 Not clearly understanding their own ultimate 

 interests they are often tempted to export in- 

 ferior kinds. 



The Brazilian Government, in face of the low 

 prices obtained for this commodity when grown 

 in that country, and of its sale under the de- 

 nomination of other origins when once it has 

 reached European markets, has devised a 

 scheme for the protection and popularization 

 of Brazilian coffee. No important beneficial re- 

 sults have, so far, been felt. This, however, is 

 in no way due to any deficiency in the origmal 

 idea, but is apparently caused by the inability 

 of those responsible tor its application to exe- 

 cute it in the most efficient manner. Impar- 

 tially expressing an opinion on Ahis matter, I 

 should say that there is no doubt that the grie- 

 vances of planters are well founded, because 

 their profits are very small in comparison with 

 the gain of the numerous intermediaries. In 

 Brazil, as in many other countries, all measures, 

 even those directly affecting the iuterests of 

 any and all industries, are left to the care of the 

 State. Coffee planters and agriculturists, in- 

 stead of organising themselves into a strong 

 body to devise the best means for ameliorating 

 the pros-out state of affairs, have forced the 

 State to become a merchant, a most prejudi- 

 cial step to their cause. Their salvation lies 

 in the increase of consumption, and that in- 

 crease cannot be obtained unless coffee is sold 

 at a price within the means of the labouring 

 classes. Although it is impossibe within these 

 limits to deal with this subject in detail, a few 

 figures may be given with regard to the production 

 and cultivation of coffee inBrazil. The chief pro- 

 ducing States are:— Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, 

 and Minas Ueraes, but coffee lis grown also in, 



