April 2, i888.j THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 
7it 
many months of almost continuous showery 
weather, which fortunately did no damage in the 
way of floods, or " breakaways," one can hardly 
expect a heavy crop from the topmost fields, which 
require very dry weather, such as we are now ex- 
periencing, to make them put out good blossoms. 
Aftor the long continued rains of 1887, December 
turned out a glorious month for coffee curing ; 
and the weather is still so dry that the coffee 
in tho low-lying lands is beginning to droop. This 
is by no means a cheerful prospect, as February 
is the driest month in Jamaica, so that, unless 
we get some good showers speedily, it may become 
a serious question for those possessing coffee at 
a low elevation. Since I last addressed you, I 
have carried out my contemplated visit to tho 
palish of Manchester, and will now write what I 
siiw for the entertainment of your numerous readers. 
The first part of the journey is accomplished by rail 
from Kingston; the line passes close to the old capital, 
the " St. Jago dela Vega " of the Spaniards, but not 
near enough to the town to see tho large public 
buildings for which it is celebrated ; the present 
terminus is at " Porus," and until the train reaches 
Calrendon Park the country is very uninteresting, aa 
seen from the carriage, the track passes through 
bush principally, probably portions of various cattle 
pens, where logwood and other indigenous trees 
have a home. After Clarendon Park, one again Sees 
signs of civilization and cultivation, settlers' houses 
dotted here and there, surrounded by coffee, cacao, 
coconut, banana, orange and other tropical vege- 
tation. From Porus, a 6teep road of a few miles, 
through pretty cattlepcn lands, brings one to the 
summit of the plateau, not far from a place named 
Willlamsfield, whence the road is undulating until 
it reaches the town of Mandeville, very prettily 
perched on the summit of a hill. There is a veri- 
table "village green," an old-looking church with 
a squat spire, and several substantial Government 
buildings, stores, shops, and lodging-houses surround- 
ing this nice open space. Mandeville ia a favorite 
spot for Kingstonians seeking a change ; and there 
are pretty drives in several directions. 
The ooffce property, J had been so anxious to 
visit, is named " Brockenhurst," after the well- 
known village of that name in the New Forest, 
Hampshire. It belongs to a family named Morant, 
descendants of one of the first " buckra " families 
that settled hero when the Spaniards got their 
" conge ;" it ia leased for a long term by tho present 
manager. I believe the place was opened in the early 
forties, a few years before emancipation, and sub- 
sequent free trade, both which helped to ruin so 
many colonial interests. Most of tho original 
ooffce fields have already been exhausted, as I was 
informed the trees do not last muoh over 20 years 
in the red clay soil, similar to Devonshire, which 
is characteristic of the Manchester Parish. Lime- 
stone also abounds, but unfortunately this fine soil 
has no groat depth ; and as soon as the coffeo roots 
reach the Bubstratum of marl, they como to pro» 
mature decay. The coffee fields of Brockenhurst are 
now some little distance from tho works ; tho land is 
most charmingly easy and undulating, reminding mo 
of tho lands at Gampola, first openod by Mr. George 
Bird, and 1 only wish I had l'>0 acres here, of the 
same evenness, then should I indeed possess a 
magnificent properly. The Manchester ooffue thrives 
under solf-grown shade of trumpet trees, — not 
tho datura, but a curious looking tree with 
long, (bin, horizontal branches with fow loaves, 
so the elmdo in by no moans dense, 
but quiii 1 sufficient for tho purpose. These trum- 
pet trees grow up as soon as the land is burnt 
off, Qud it i I reinarkablu that the conco will uot 
thrive where they do not exist. Brockenhurst is now 
180 acres in extent, a new field is usually added 
every year to make up for old land falling oil, and 
as there is still a largo acreage of virgin land 
belonging to the property, there are therefore, it may 
be safely inforred, many more prosperous years in 
store for this fine property, given of courso good 
seasons, with sufficient rainfall, and such prices 
as will make the expenditure remunerative. The 
only drawback is that every new field has to be 
farther away from the works, and makes trans- 
port longer and heavier, but the chief draw- 
back in Manchester, as against other advan- 
tages, is that there are no rivers or springs, 
the whole population is dependent on tauks 
and ponds : the water for pulping and washing at 
Brockenhurst has to be pumped out of the tank, 
and in times of drought Mr. Wynne has had to 
supply his work-people with a small allowance 
of water daily from his tank. Imagine the feelings 
of a Ceylon planter, at having to pump up tho 
water for pulping and washing, and having men 
to remove the tails by hand during the process of 
pulping, there not being sufficient water to carry 
them off into the pulp pit. The barbacues at Brocken- 
hurst are about one acre \ia extent, well sup- 
plied with huts, the store is larger than most I 
have seen on Jamaica coffee estates, and I was 
pleased to observe that notwithstanding difficulties 
as regards water, the coffee appeared to be very 
well cured, and from this having been such a 
favorable season, the sample was also very good. 
It is generally sold in London, and will, I trust, 
realize the fine prices the enterprizing and clever 
lessee deserves as tho reward of his labors. 
Tho Manchester coffee tree is not so sturdy or 
long-lived as its Blue Mountain brother ; the stem 
ia smaller and the primaries much thinner, but 
the yield is fairly good, especially in favorablo 
seasons, say 1 cwt. an acre all round, which, as 
the cultivation is not expensive, gives a fair 
margin for profit. A great advantage is moreover 
afforded by cart roads, and tho railway being only 
10 miles off, so that Brockenhurst coffee is cured 
and casked on the estate, and is sent direct to tho 
shipping place, thus avoiding heavy Kingston ex- 
penses. I have omitted to mention the Manchester 
system of establishing a coffee field : the forest is 
felled, burnt off, and cleared up ready for planting 
by the man who is going to lease the land. It 
is planted by the owner who of course has free 
access at any time, then it is handed to the leBseo 
for three years ; he has to keep the land free 
of weeds, and may plant bananas, yarns, 
coco8, and other products grown in native gardens ; 
meanwhile the coffee and the trumpet trees are 
growing, and the planter takes over at tho end of the 
three years. This plan must pay both the "Buokra" 
and " Quashie," or surely it would not still be 
carried on, and as regards the coffee itself all 
Manchester planters aver no harm is dono either 
to the soil or the coffee by the process, which 
tho comparatively poor soil of Ceylon could not 
have stood without injury. 
There is another largo property in the district, 
but the overseer thereof, though twice invited by 
my kind host to let us see the estato, gave ub no 
encouragement. This conduct appeared to us un- 
commonly strange, as coffee planters have generally 
a natural desiro to comparo notes, and are too 
liberal-minded to be influenced by any jealous 
motives. To give one an idea of tho oiisy lay of 
land at Brockenhurst, I may say it is quite 
guileless of cut roads through the coffeo, simple 
ridoablu tracks answor tho purpose. 
As regards cinchona, I have beon pleaaed to 
