8o8 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [June i, 1885, 
EXTENSION OF COFFEE PLANTING IN 
COORG AND MYSORE : AND OF OTHER 
ALLIED INDUSTRIES. 
Not only do our neighbours, the coffee planters 
of Coorg and Mysore maintain their own against 
the enemies which have devastated the planta- 
tions of Wynaad, Travancore, Ceylon and Java; 
but they are absolutely adding to their acreage 
under coffee and increasing their exports ! From 
the offioial Report on the Administration of Coorg 
for 1887-88, we take a couple of clauses under 
i ' Agriculture" which shew this very clearly : — 
TVifi areaundor coffee exhibits a further increase of 
4.088 acres. the total extent of coffee land beiner now 
84.658 acres, as compared with 72,334 acres in 1885- 
86. As shown in Inst: year's report, coffee cultivation 
in brines was assessed for the first time in thatypar, 
and the increase in tVip nast year consists cbieflv of an 
arpa of 4.269 acres of bane, whi>'h thonpb cn'tivatprl 
with cnffpp, is pxempt"d from asspssmpnt under tV.p 
ruVs. onH on this account his been hitherto excluded 
from tVip returns. 
The pxfpnt: of assessp^ coffee land held by Europeans 
and natives respectively is as follows : — 
Acres. 
European estates ... ... 39,239 
Native „ ... Wl ... 41.150 
80.389 
Add Banel&ni cultivated but not a ssessed 4.269 
84,658 
and further, — 
The demand for labor on the coffee estates was well 
maintained during: the v^ar. The supply from the 
TWvsoro country is more uncertain than formerly, fcut 
labor is rpadilv orocured from Mslabar and South Ca- 
nara. Th° ratps of wages have undprg-one no change. 
It will surely come as a pieoe of astonishing 
news to all old coffee planters on Eastern lands to 
learn that in Coorg, no less than 12.300 acres 
have bsen added to the area planted loith coffee 
between 1885-6 and 1887-8. Happy Coorg, and 
fortunate planters ! — we cannot help exclaiming ; for 
with the present prospects of the coffee market, 
there ought to be a sreat "financial success" if 
not a " fortune " b°fore every man with, say, 200 
aores of fairly bearing; coffee of his own. There 
are propri°tors and planters in Ceylon too, who 
oueht to take heart of grace, to try once more clearings 
of coffee under shade. There are no advantages 
of climate or soil in Coorg which cannot be para- 
lelle d in many parts of Uva. There is no mystery 
about the seed or the mode of planting and cul- 
tivation adopted in Coorg. The district is close 
by us, almost at our doors, and oan be inspected 
by any sceptic in our midst who gives himself a 
fortnight's holiday. 
The best test of the position of coffee in Coorg 
would be the actual crop or export returns and 
these do shew verv satisfactory figures for the 
latest year, although below those for a bumper 
crop in 1883 4. But on the other hand, it is stated 
that the statistics are probably bplow the real mark, 
as thpy are furnished by "toll-gate contractors." 
We quote as follows: — 
Exports : Coffee. — The exports of coffee produced 
in Ooorg for the past 5 years are as follows : — 
Tons. 
1883-84 .. .. .. .. 5,109 
1884- 85 
1885- 86 
1886- 87 
1887.88 
4,007 
3,377 
3,631 
4,662 
These figures are obtained from the toll-gate con. 
tractorti and are probably understated. 
The average selling price locally being taken at 
R45 per cwt. as in the preceding year, the coffee cron 
for 1887-88 is valued at about 41J lakhs. 
The quotations of the coffee market were well 
maintained up to the end of January 1888, when the 
price showed a tendency to fall, and before the close 
of the official year it fell to R36J per cwt., the result 
being beavy losses to the local traders. 
As bearing on the seasons and crops, it Je inter- 
esting to read:— 
Tbe rainfall registered during the year under report 
is as follows : — 
Inches. Cents. 
At Mercara ... ... 136 42 
„ Somavarpet ... ... 95 93 
,, Anandapur (S. Coorg) ... 78 
„ Fraserpet.. ... 40 22 
On the Western Coast (Kadawakal) 255 12 
The rainfall on the Mercara plateau was above the 
average, the mean for the past 10 years being 131-57 
inches. 
The " blossoming showers" usual in March failed 
throughout the province, and further mischief was done 
to the coffee crop by heavy showers which fell upon the 
blossom in April 1887. 
There are other portions of trie Coorg Adminis- 
tation Report of local planting and general in- 
terest and we give here what is said about products 
so closely allied to coffee, as cinchona and car- 
damoms : — 
The practice exists of planting Cinchona in coffee 
estates, but the plants are usually grown in local- 
ities where coffee does not thrive whether from 
excessive exposure or unsuitability of soil. Ordinarily 
the cinchona is cultivated as subsidiary to the coffee 
but in the Manjakolli estate at the head of the' 
Sampaji Ghat, the principal cultivation is cinchona, 
which thrives well at that altitude. 
The area under cinchona is based on the compu- 
tation of 800 trees to an acre. According tc the 
returns furnished the area planted with cinchona 
during the year under report was 1.971J acres. The 
outturn of bark amouuted to 87,874 lb. 
Caedamoms. — The cardamom crop was a small one, 
the outturn, as shown by the export returns, being 
580 cwt. as compared with 940 cwt. in the previous 
year. The selling price, which was about R160 per 
cwt. at the close of 1886-87, fell to R40 per cwt. in June 
1887, but rose again in January 1888 to K100. This 
commodity is subject to great fluctuations in price. 
It will be observed that of cinchona trees, the 
total number in Coorg does not seem to exceed 
1J million, the crop of bark for the year in review 
being so moderate as 87,874 lb. — It is strange to 
find the cardamom crop ^iven in cwt. and the price 
quoted accordingly. We suspect a great deal of 
the cardamoms laised do not get officially reported, 
but find a ready local market. Crops of from 
60,000 to 120,000 lb. do not fulfil our idea of 
the production of so favorite a locality for car- 
damoms as Coorg has always been known to be. — 
Under the head of " Experimental Cultivation" we 
have the following: — 
Favorable reports have been received of the " St* 
Michael Orange and Jamaica Lemon," plants which 
were obtained from the Government gardens and dis- 
tributed in 1885 for experimental cultivation. The Rev. 
G. Richter at Mercara reports that a number of cuttings 
have been takeu and established. 
The " Erythroxylon Coca" plants snpplied at the 
same time have also grown well, and from seeds of these 
plants 25 seedlings have been raised. 
Tunisian Date Palm. — On application from this 
office in compliance with the suggestions made by Doc- 
tor E. Bonavia, the Director, Botanical Department, 
Northern India, has supplied in March last, 3 lb. of the 
seed of the Tunisian Date palm, and it has been distri- 
buted to the Deputy Conservator and several gentlemen 
(European and native) in North and South Coorg for 
experimental cultivation. 
