February i, 1889.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
575 
<» 
To the Editor. 
LIBERIAN COFFEE. 
January 22nd, 1889. 
Sir, — Would you kindly favour me with replies 
to thu following : — 
1. Can this product bo successfully cultivated 
at an elevation of from 3,000 to 1,000 feet in a 
warm locality '! 
2. What average crop may be expected after the 
fourth year, with good cultivation, planting 8' by 7' ? 
3. What is the best varioty. to plant, and will it 
stand leaf-disease ? 
•1. Is a rainfall of about 70 inches sufficient ? 
5. When C. arabica sells for £00 in London, 
what price would C. libetiea bring ? If less, why so ? 
(5. Is it necessary to import seed from Africa in 
consequence of deterioration of the plant wn 
removed from its native habitat ? 
7. Generally considered, is it a good investment ? 
— I am, sir, yours faithfully, EBOR. 
PIONEERING WITH TEA AND CARDAMOMS 
IN MEDAMAHANUWARA DISTRICT. 
Delpotonoya Estate, Teldeniya, 29th Jan. 1889. 
Dear Sir,— I notice in your last Overland Observer 
that you have given Mr. E. S. Anderson the credit 
of being the pioneer of tea and cardamom culti- 
vation in the Medamahanuwara district. It is not 
so : my friend, the late Mr. A. H. Macartney was the 
first to plant tea and cardamoms in the district, 
and it was he who introduced the Mysore variety 
of cardamoms into Ceylon, if I mistake not. 
Though, like most pioneers, I fear he did not 
benefit much by his enterprise, others have benefited 
largely, arid I think it only fair therefore that the 
credit should be given to whom it is due. 
Mr. Anderson has extended the cultivation of 
cardamoms in the district very successfully, but is 
not by any means the pioneer : I am sure he 
would be very unwilling to receive the credit due 
to another, and would have oorrected you, had he 
boon in the island to do so himself. — I am, yours 
faithfully, SPENCER SHELLEY. 
f If Mr. Shelley reads our paragraph again, he 
will sen that there is no mention of the "Meda- 
mahanuwara" district, and that we spoke of Mr. 
Anderson as " u pioneer in cardamoms, tea and 
other products," — that is one of the pioneers. We 
certainly did not mean to say ho was the jir*t to 
try new products in Rangala or Medamaha- 
nuwara ; but it is interesting to bo reminded of 
Mr. Maoarlney being the earliest to introduce tea 
and cardamoms in that neighbourhood — Ki>.] 
A CEYLON TEA GROWEKS' ASSOCIATION. 
Narangalla, Aranayaka, Jan. 31st, 1889. 
Sib,— I enclose specimen of circular addressed 
to the Chairmen, hon. Secretaries of District 
Associations, to others in unassociated districts, 
and to members of Colombo linns, Ac.. Yours 
obediently, BARRY WHITIIAM. 
Sir,— H in proponed to form a Tea Growers' Asso- 
ciition or Company, for tho purpose of pusbiug thu 
Halt! of Ceylon tea in America. 
Will yon kindly undertake to bring thu matter be- 
fore your Di«trict. and pot tb«- mm. - or Mib-.cril.crs to 
thn general i leu, with the oitcut to which they will 
t.lkc I) ... p 
Tho detail* of tho itchorua will naturully bo settle. I 
by a general mooting of aubaerib«rM, and tho suuho- 
qa«nt working by a Hoard of Dfrooton. 
It in hoped that a capital of not leas than K2()0,<>00 
may bo raisud, and it n nuggo-iUM that tho total lia- 
bility on each share should not exceed R50, in order 
that no one engaged in tea planting may bo debarred 
from taking one share at least. — Yours obediently, 
(Signed) H. K. Rutherford, Harry Whitham. 
January 26th, 1889. 
The following is a list of those who have already 
subscribed : — 
GREEN BUG ON COFFEE AND CINCHONA 
IN UDAPUSSELLAWA ; RAINFALL. 
Gampaha, 28th Jan. 1889. 
Dear " Observer," — In answer to your question 
" Does coffee under shade in Udapussellawa suffer 
from green bug?" In the first place we have no 
shade coffee so to speak : a few patches under 
original forest trees, have been but slightly alfeoted ; 
but then the nearest coffee adjoining in the open 
is almost exempt from it. I have not seen, nor 
do I know of, any coffee that could be said to be 
under shade of Cinchona officinalis. If it were close 
enough to give shade, coffee would not live long, 
and when it is only planted through the coffee it 
cannot be properly called shade, and in such oases 
I have not seen the coffee less affected. A patch 
here under rather dense shade of Cinchona succi- 
rubra was so bad, it had to be cut clean out, and 
even the cinchona took up the bug after the coffee 
was removed. Certainly a considerable acreage of 
cinchona ledgeriana planted in coffee got it so bad, 
it had all to be taken out to save the bark, the 
trees being quite killed out. This pest, green bug, 
seems to deiy all theory as to its propagation and 
progress; hero it seemed first to have come on the 
air from Matale or Medamahanuwara or carried 
by birds or some other agency ; and although it 
was first detected on sheltered ooffee facing the 
south, it was soon found on exposed ridges facing 
the north ; then it seemed to be carried to other 
parts by sticking to coolies' cumblies, Ac, and 
individual trees by roadsides were soon very com- 
mon, when all of a suddeu patches of good coffoo 
in the middlo of fields would bo found quite in- 
fested. These were treated for a time by syringiug 
with kerosene in water, and dusted with fresh iiinu ; 
in some parts with sulphur: the latter seemed most 
effectual, and for the time being seemed to quite stop 
its progress, but after a month thoy were bad again, 
and it had run through such an extent of coffeo 
it was impracticable to follow it up. It got very bad 
in September and October ; then tho cold wot N.-E. 
monsoon all but killed it out, till the tine warm 
days of March and April set it going again, and 
by Aagast it was worso than ever. On the whole 
it wart not bo virulent this past season, and at 
present it is hard to find a living bug , lha hue 
Total Liabilities 
Names. 
Address. 
of shares. 
Jas. Blackett 
Aranayaka 
1000 
H K Rutherford ... 
Nuwara Eliya 
1000 
John Drummond ... 
Dolosbace 
500 
Harry Whitburn ... 
Aranayaka 
500 
J Harvie 
do 
250 
J F Rea 
do 
2.=.0 
Whitham Bros. ... 
do 
250 
Collison&Whitham 
do 
250 
Gcorpfo Alston. ■■■ 
Dolosbage 
150 
E S Fox & Co. ... 
do 
150 
George Alston ... 
do 
100 
J A Burmester ... 
do 
100 
R Inues Berry 
do 
100 
J P Anderson 
do 
100 
Geo. Kyd 
do 
100 
James Allan 
do 
100 
W B Swan 
do 
100 
J Aymer 
Gampola 
100 
P K Shand 
Nawalapitiya 
100 
H Gordon 
Aranayaka 
100 
E Mant 
do 
100 
H L Harris 
do 
100 
J N Reid 
do 
50 
Chas. Laing 
Dolosbage 
50 
CP Atkinson ... 
do 
50 
L Stuart 
Aranayaka 
50 
