THF TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[March i, 1890. 
COCONUT CULTIVATION AND MANURING' 
In my last, I promised to give the best means I 
have found of manuring coconut trees. There may 
be good fertilizers and the best soils, but still manur- 
ing should be done in such a way as to get the most 
out of the least expenditure. The heaping of rubbish 
round the trees is proved to be injurious to them 
in the long run. A system of manuring the whole 
land cannot be carried out, on account of the heavy 
expenditure it would entail on a cultivator. The best 
and the cheapest way would be to manure round in- 
dividual trees. But with what manure, and how 
should it be applied ? There are a host of manures, 
oil cakes and special fertilizers, but the common kind 
of manure we find in our coconut-growing districts 
is cattle dung. Unlike other cultivators, the coconut 
planter has the advantage of keeping a pretty good 
number of c 'ttle on his plantation. Without enter- 
ing into either special manures or compounds of 
different fe. tilizers, I shall dwell upon the simp'e 
clung obtaine 1 from our cattle. 
Before applying manure to trees, it has been found 
useful to dig a trench round them. The trench should 
be made just a font and a half away from the stem 
of the tree. If it is cut nearer, it might impair the 
growth of the tree by giviog it a severe shock from 
the loss of so many roots. I have seen cases where 
trees have been damaged for a number of years by 
digging round too near the stem. So a space of 
nearly 1| feet should be left untouched round the 
stem. For ordinary purposes of manuring, the trench 
should be dug about 3 feet or more wide and from 5 
to 8 inches in depth. 
The cattle should be tied to the trees overnight 
till the trenches are sufficiently stocked with manure, 
and then the trenches shoul 1 be covered up. This 
method of manuring has an advantage in utilizing the 
urine, which is generally al'owed to run to waste in 
this country for want of suitably built cattle shells. 
The manure obtained by tying two pairs of buffaloes 
from 5 da>s to a week is considered sufficient for 
one tree, and in the case of neat catt'e, an additional 
pair should always be employed during the same 
number of days. 
There is another, though a trifling operation, which 
adds material value to the manure. It is the spread- 
ing of a little earth every morning over the deposits 
until they are finally covered up. This prevents the 
loss of much valuable material, which would other- 
wise escape from exposure. W. A, D. S. 
—Ceylon " Examiner." 
PLANTING IN PERAK. 
Batang Padand has made very satisfactory pro- 
gress during 'he year. A great many _ sei tiers have 
come in, and have formed gardens in different places, 
especially round Tapah. They extend for three miles 
along the Teluk A"son road, and will, I think, com- 
pare favourably with any similar plantations in the 
S'ate. I have distributed about 14,000 Liberian coffee 
plants, and small quantities of pepper, tea, and Para 
rubber, besides coconut plants, during the last two 
years. They all seem doing remarkably well; some 
of the coffee is very fine indeed, and that first 
planted is now coming into flower. So far I have 
seen no sign of leaf disease. I have now some 20,000 
1 130 000 Liberian coffee plants growing in the nur- 
b»iies, and am planting more seeds, as I have appli- 
cations for far more plants than there are in the 
nurseries. On the hill on which the Magi-trate's 
quarters stand I have planted out several acres of 
land, which is making very good progress. On the 
hill behind the bungalow I have cleared six acres of 
land, which is being planted up with pepper, as I 
get the plants. My intention is to use this pepper 
garden chiefly for propagating purposes, as the great 
difficulty at present is to get healthy plants. The 
pepper planted by Haji Ali in June, 18^6', is now 
very fine, and is loaded with fruit. That planted 
last year by him and others is also doing very 
well. I find that pepper planted against dead wood 
posts is far finer than that planted against having 
dedap trees. In every place where the two supporls 
have been tried together the result is the same. It 
appears as if the routs of the dedap rob the pepper 
of moisture nourishment. This may account iu some 
measure for the miserable, sickly appearance of the 
pepper I saw recently at Ohangkat Jong. There are 
about 130 gardens in all round Tapah, and a few of 
the first settlers were assisted to the extent of about 
§290 in all ; of this they have repaid about half, and 
will repay the balance this year. The padi crop has 
been good, and there were two abundant fruit crops 
during the year, durians being particularly plentiful. 
The district is now receiving considerable attention 
from miners, and there are several prospecting parties 
at work. The, mines are doing well, but have hitherto 
been much hampered by the heavy cost of trans- 
port. I have done what I could to improve certain 
of the tracks to different mines, and the miners them- 
selves have been very active, and have now got v ry 
goo 1 ju gle paths to the chief mines- The bridle 
road to Kachu will, I ihink, prove a great conveni- 
enc e and help to the people working in that valley. 
It opens up a large amount of land, both mining 
and agricultural. I hope hereafter to continue this 
path from Kunoh, past Brumin to Kwala Woh, a 
distance of abou 1 ; 3£ miles. The cart road to Pahang 
hill country is opening up many mi'e-i of splendid 
land, and I hope to see the road very largely used 
when completed. The so-called plateau should, and 
I hope will be, the sanatorium of the Straits. Having 
a mean elevation of 4,000 feet, with a good cart 
road up to it from ^apah, and railway communica- 
tion between there and the port, it will be within 
easy reach of every one. I should think that most 
of the European vegetables could be grown there for 
the supply of the Straits markets. From what I 
have seen of the climate, it is far superior to that 
of the more isolated and exposed hills, such as those 
of Penang and Larut. The rainfall appears to be 
less, and it is not . swept by the winds which make 
a sojourn at some of the present hill stations so 
unpleasant at times. — Perak Government Gazette. 
China Tea for London, — The following iin 
portant pi?ce of news occurs in a London letter 
to the Indian Planter's Gazette 
A very important item of news was announced in 
the room this week, when it was officially given 
out that Mr. Thorne would retire, and import no 
more Tea after this season. It is currently reported 
that he has recently been very successful upon the 
Stock Exchange, aurl that there are also other private 
reasons for the step. This piece of news means a 
great deal. The heaviest importer by far of Chi> a 
Tea is thus withdrawn from the market — and further, 
the one too, whose huge sales were so frequently 
rushed forward at the last moment, as to be a con- 
tinual source of anxiety to all sellers. The effect of 
this will be felt in many ways. Chinas will be in 
diminished supply, as the Chinamen on whose account 
so much of Mr. Thome's Tea was reputed to be 
held, are said to be sick of losing money, and will, 
not improbably, considerably reduce their speculations 
with Mr. Thome's retirement. Indeed, some China 
"hands" go so far as to say that this is the beginning 
of the end of China Teas. That they cannot be made 
and sold at present prices without loss, and that they will 
cease to ship, or even to manufacture . for London 
unless prices recover. The removal of the most dis- 
quieting factor from the market is, however, quite 
sufficient in itself to justify the Bense of relief which 
is felt on the strength of the above news, without 
going so far as thefe China pessimists in proclaiming 
the approaching doom of China Teas. Indian Teas, 
too, will gain in a lesser degree, by the retirement 
as the uncertainty was also felt occasionally on the 
Indian market : to say nothing of the gain which 
must accrue to Indian Teas by the foretold reduction 
of the China imports — if that does not turn out to 
be a case of counting one's chickens before they are 
hatched. 
