November i, 1889.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
34i 
popular belief, but we are by no means convinced 
that it is not a pure superstition," and Mr. J. Carter 
Bell, the oounty analyst for Lancashire, states in a 
letter to a contemporary : " I beg to differ totally 
from Messrs. Brooke, Bond & Co.'s experiments 
which I have made tend to show that water which 
has long boiled makes better tea than water just 
brought to the boil." Against these expressions of 
opinion we can put the popular belief to the contrary 
and the general practice of the trade. Undoubtedly 
it has been the rule for generations with Mincing- 
lane tea tasters to pour on the water immediately it 
boils. However, there seems to be a conflict of 
opinion where absolute unanimity might have been 
expected. The point has considerable interest and 
no little importance. Considering the vast number 
of hardened and shameless tea drinkers of both 
sexes who are interested in this subject, a positive, 
incontrovertible opinion from some of your scientific 
readers would be a boon. It would certainly be 
welcome to the trade and to your obedient servants, 
Brooke, Bond & Co. 
17 and 18, St. Dunstan's-bill, E.G. 
—Daily News, Sept. 27th. 
4> 
COCA CULTIVATION IN THE EAST INDIES. 
The director of the Botanical Gardens at Buitenzorg 
(Java), in his last report, makes some observations con 
cerning the cultivation of coca leaves in the Dutch 
East Indies, which go some way to confirm the view 
that before many years are over a not inconsiderable 
proportion of our requirements in this article may be 
supplied by the Java planters, unless indeed the market 
price of tbe drug should further depreciate to such 
au extent as to render the culture of the plant ab- 
solutely unprofitable. The climate of Buitenzorg, and 
presumably therefore of a very large portion of Java, 
is now proved to be excellently suited for the propaga- 
tion of the plant. A trial plantation of not quite 1 
bahoe (=J acre) area gave four crops of leaves during 
the year 1888 — viz., in February, April, June, and 
September, the total weight of dry leaves obtained 
being fully 360 lb. It would seem from these data 
that, given favourable circumstances and intelligent 
cultivation, an acre of coca plants might be m -de to 
yield a crop of about 400 lb. of leaves, which, if properly 
cured and of fair quality as the drug now goes, ought 
to realise at lea- 1 201. in Europe, and therefore be a 
far more profitable crop than cinchona is now. Last 
July the Buitenzorg Gardens were visited by a pro- 
minent German cocaine manufacturer, with whom 
the directors of the gardens had a long interview 
concerning the best way of growing and curing the 
drug, and making its cultivation a commercial suc- 
cess. As a result of the interview, two samples of 
ooca leaves were sent from Buitenzorg to Germany for 
analysis ; one of the samples (of about 451b.) consisted 
of slowly-dried leaves, the other of leaves which had 
been dried as quickly as possible in the sun and 
subsequently reduced to fine powder. The leaves sent 
to Germany were of the small varieties which, when 
previously tested, had been found to be of the greatest 
alkaloidalrichness. The slowly-dried sample was found 
to contai n 0 - 34 per cent, of absolutely pure cocaine 
alkaloid. The second sample of 60 lb. of sun-dried 
and powdered leaves only yielded 0'14 per cent, of 
absolutely pure cocaine. The latter shipment when 
received in Europe showed leaves of a bright green 
BO "nr. but without the characteristic smell. The 
-drying system, therefore, appears to exercise an 
unfavourable influence on the alkaloidal value of the 
leaf. Another sample of the second variety was sent 
to Europe through a Batavia shipping house, analysed 
by another firm, and gave the same bad results as 
the first, the sale price being one at which it could 
not possibly pay cultivators to grow the drug. The 
conclusion of these trial shipments has been to pr ive 
beyond doubt thut the mode of gathering and eur- 
'ny tLe leaves exercises a very decided influence on 
the percentage of cocaine yielded by them, and that 
in order to make the cultivation of coca a paying 
industry, the most scrupulous account must be taken 
of the variety of leaves grown, the time for gathering 
and drying the crops, and the mode of packing and 
shipment. But if these conditions are carefully kept 
in view, we should say that it ought to pay Java 
and Oeylon planters to grow coca to a modetate extent, 
not as a chief crop, but as one of those smaller 
adjuncts to their staple which, though not yielding 
riches in themselves, are specially useful in seasons 
when the receipts from the large crops show a decided 
falling off. — Chemist and Druyyist. 
«9> 
COFFEE-PLANTING ON THE NILGIBIS. 
Sib, — When the above catches the eye of men who 
have been planting in this district for the past twenty 
years, it will doubtless bring back to them vividly, 
the various vicissitudes the industry has undergoue ; 
doubtless, too, they sigh for the " good old times.' 
Coffee-planting in 1869 and the same in 1889 are two 
very different undertakings, Then, the shrub had 
only to be planted ; it grew and gave crops ; now it 
is a very different matter. The object of this letter 
is not to recall the happiness of the past, but seriously 
to look into the future of 'the industry in our 
district. There is no doubt whatever that a feeling 
of uneasiness exists among those concerned in Coffee 
on the Nilgiris, The primary cause, of course, is 
leaf disease — this has been unusually early and vir- 
ulent this year, but, as yet, there is no cause for 
alarm. As a Nilgiri planter I consider this year's 
virulent attaek the result of last year's terrible draught, 
for when it is remembered that estates literally ne irly 
died out for want of rain it stands to reason that 
the trees were weakened to such an extent as to make 
them most susceptible to the disease, and I contend 
that the bashes have not yet recovered those trying 
months of last year. This is borne out by the un- 
satisfactory way the trees have blossomed this year, 
for the wood which now bears the standing crop was 
in existence during the drought. Be the cause of leaf 
disease what it may, it behoves planters now to look 
it steadily in the face and cope with it. Every conceiv- 
able remedy for its eradication has been tried, but 
so far without success, and men are only now beginning 
to see the only feasible cure, viz., shade. If only 
they had tried this some five years ago the valuable 
properties on these hills would be now in a very 
different condition. H wever it is not too l>>t , th i 
majority of the estates a - e in good heart and very 
valuable still; let all c mcerned, then, wituou the 
loss of another year, see about planting all over ibeir 
coffee say at distance of 20 feet x 20 feet, shade 
trees, choosing of course the class of shade adopted 
to the elevation of their estates. Jack, &c, for lower 
elevations, and cedars, &c, for higher. It will be 
utterly useless to try partial shade. The whole estate 
must from the first be planted thoroughly and through- 
out, and it is my firm belief that, if every estate 
was under shade, leaf disease would receive a fatal 
blow. It may be contended that very small crops 
will be the result of shading high elevations, but this 
is a mistaken idea, for if the shade trees are kept 
trimmed up high and opened out a bit, the coffee 
under them will hear just as heavily <;nd not suffer 
so much as bearing a crop in the open ; but even 
granting that such heavy crops are not realized under 
shade, I am sure rhere is not a plauter who will deny 
that more regular crops will be obtained and the 
estates will las 1 " twice as long. Shade has other advan- 
tages ; not half the amouni of weeds will have to be 
contended with, less manuring will be required and 
pruning and handling will be far easier and cheaper. 
Some affirm (und it is so too) that trees under shade 
are not entirely free of leaf disease, but it is quite 
forgotten that when this has been found to be the 
case it is in a field of 5 or 10 acres of coffee riddled 
with the disease end perhaps only one shade tie* 
protecting 20 bushes. How can these latter escape? 
But even under this hard test, the f«w trees look 
decidedly healthier than those outside the influence 
of shade. To those whose estates are in a critical 
