October i, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
243 
faoe mould entirely preserved. In the next place, 
from the preservation of such a portion of this 
vegetable matter, and from the land being an- 
nually recruited by the fallen leaves, the rain 
water, instead of running off, washing the land 
and so depriving it of a great deal of its most 
valuable constituents, soaks gradually into and 
lodges in the soil, without the loss of a single 
drop. [The italics are mine. — Aberdonensis.'] 
Thirdly, the forest trees afford shelter to in- 
numerable birds, which aro not only pleasant to 
see, and many of them to hear, but which are 
of incalculable service as insect-eaters. [My 
italics.] Then the planter with his shade, if he 
does not altogether laugh at dry seasons, in a 
great measure neutralizes their influence by pre- 
venting the sun and wind from drying up the 
soil and parching the plant. And, finally, both the 
planter and his people can work away all day, and 
seldom feel the fierce rays of the tropical sun, 
and this consideration alone is of immense money 
value to an estate." (Hear, hear 1 — Aberdonensis.) 
I notice Mr. Elliot confuses suckers with gor- 
mandizers. A gormandizer is a hybrid between a 
sucker and a branch as all planters know. It arises 
from cutting the heavy wood too drastically. Our 
author has an original idea to prevent the branches 
or primaiies having too much of a curved set, 
thus bearing on their fellows below. He nips off 
the primary points. What would a V. A. say to 
this sacrilege 'i These holy primaries— sacred to 
the Sinna Durai ! Nipped as to their points ! just 
think. 
There is too much knifing young coffee in My- 
sore. A little " judicious neglect " would help 
many fields of young coffee, you must have lots 
of leaves. Some men keep picking away as if 
they were busy at tea flushes. Control, but do not 
maim the energies of your tree. Mysore men lay 
great stress on not leaving more than a certain 
number of secondaries and tertiaries, and never 
allowing pairs of shoots. They have to be far 
more careful in selection than in Ceylon. In many 
districts in Ceylon the primers have to tear away 
indiscriminately before they begin serious work so 
redundant is the wood. Some men like to prune 
early, others are in no hurry. Some men use men 
only — others prefer women. Tastes differ. Mr. 
Elliot rightly is of the idea that as there is a great 
deal of wood grown to be cast away after selec- 
tion, that as a large growth and rush of wood 
is essential to the well-being of the coffee-plant, 
therefore nitrogenous manures are best. I would 
go farther. In the tropics heavy weeds are the 
result of nitrogen in the soil. A heavy growth of 
weeds promotes nitrification, so that a clean weeded 
estate has its nitrogen washed out of it like a sieve. 
Thus Hemileia fungus results from au un-nitro- 
genous area.* 
Mr. Elliot objects to Tytler's Sombrcorum as con- 
taining such a percentage of potash. That, being 
a result of combustion in tho plant, phould not 
necossarily bo a food. Tho carbonio acid gas we 
breatho is a result of combustion but is deadly if 
breathed again. Sombreorum contains 40 per cent 
potash. It is a strange but true fact that this 
manure succeeded only in tho immediate neigh- 
bourhood of Mr. Tytler's estates. Mr. Hughes re- 
commended it, did ho not ? 
Aa regards cattle manuro, I must bo dumb beforo 
you, a* I remember tho very splondid fodder, the 
palatial Bhrds, tho vast heaps of steaming, reok- 
* A vrry confident opinion, with no scientific Imsis 
to support it. Ti.o leicntbtl who reported outuo funguM 
were np. cinllv Ktrou; in r cmiin n. I iny tho removal of 
wood* nml all growths likely to form a uidus for tho 
spores).— Ld. 
ing muck, applied one basket to a tree in days 
gone by in Ceylon. It was not all climate, but 
tremendous manuring that shut up your Cuffeo 
stores. Such manuring the world has never seen, 
I truly believe. You had a rotten soil but " lash- 
ings " of muck. The Mysore men do not realize 
what two men to seven head of cattle means. 
Maana grass and Guinea grass, overflowing poonac 
tubs or troughs, reepered floor and pigs below re- 
velling in the litter thrown down, the fresh guinea 
grass, the boiled jak fruit and the bubbling troughs 
of rich poonac. Alas! alas. All that fine organiz- 
ation, and beautiful results are gone. I saw the 
empty sheds in Matale not long ago. 
In Ceylon they used generally to apply white castor, 
cake biscuits and steamed bones : the latter brown, 
tho former white. In Mysore they use crushed 
bones and rich poonac half crushed by native 
machinery and full of oil : bones white, poonac 
brown. Castor cake is almost black and is liked 
by many — but " Hongay" is the favourite, I be- 
lieve. I agree with Mr. Elliot that farm-yard 
manure is the king. I don't mean cattle manure 
but everything— cattle shed, stables (and here more 
horses are kept as horse-keep is so cheap), bun- 
galow and garden sweepings, ashes, A:e. Ax., but I do 
not agree with him in thinking that bones and 
poonac should be mixed with this. The plan on 
the estate I am now in charge of is good. Es- 
tate divided into three parts A, J! and 0. First 
year field A gets farm-yard compost, previously 
carted out to depots near the field. B gets bones 
and poonac (one part to two), C gets nothing. 
Second year B gets compost (bulk), C artificial, 
A nothing. Third year C gets compost ( bulk), 
A artificial, B nothing. 
Manner ov Application. — We will say before the 
first year renovation pits between the lines of 
coffee missing alternate squares have been closed, 
and in tho missed alternate squares new pits have 
been dug. Well, in putting bulk to field A — tho 
first cut pits which are now closed are partially re- 
opened. The next set of pits which are now open 
aro filled with leaves, litter and weeds. Half a 
basket of bulk is put on the top of the leaves, &c, 
and half a basket is put on the partially reopened 
old pits. Then men come and cut new pits in 
the lines in alternate spaces. The next pits will 
bo cut in the remaining spaces in the lines. 
Do you follow this account, or have I mu idled it ? 
Mr. Elliot thinks that £5,000 will start a man 
here. If you like, I will send you particulars as to 
acquiring land and cost of opening. 
Now come some remarks on enemies of collee : — 
" Towards the end of I860, and throughout tho 
three years following, large numbers of coffee trees 
in Southern India, and in many instances wholo 
plantations, perished clean off the face of the earth. 
On cutting open the dead trees, large numbers of 
an insect called by the planters the coffee- borer 
were found, and as these insects were almost in. 
varibly found in the dead trees, it was concluded 
that tho borer, and the borer alone, was tho cause 
and origin of decay and death. Thereupon thero 
was a tremendeus fuss made about this interest- 
ing insect. Not even after a man-eating tiger was 
there ever such a hunt. Pages were written on tho 
inseot. The Government was loudly called upon 
to exort itself, if it did not want all revenue from 
coffee suddenly to ceaso. Nor was the Government 
long in responding to the call, and accord , ly 
Dr. Bidie was commissioned to go after the b I 
As for the unfortunate insoct it was bnrnt in 1 
killed in all possiblo ways and towards the 
of 18<>7 even sent to London to have its history 
inquired into. It arrivod there by the I ' 
route, sulo\y embedded in two coffee n 
