July i, 1881.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
85 
That this estate ha* fallen off in crops cannot be 
denied, and Mr. Ross himself attributes the same to 
the effect of successive attacks of leaf disease, and the 
fact that manuring has not been carried out so ex- 
tensively of late as formerly. But your correspon- 
dent would have you believe that it was doing no 
better than any other estate, in fact not so well as 
.some which had got similar attention. Would he say 
what place or places he refers to, as I am not aware 
of any estate in that neighbourhood which has had 
the same amount of cultivation as Aloowihara has had, 
even of late? 
Is your correspondent aware that this estate for 
years averaged from 7 to S cwts per acre, so that if 
it has fallen off, there was some room for it to do so 
and still leave some profit over expenditure ? 
He may be right in this way : that it has 
(alien off more cwts. per acre than any other 
(state about there, as it was not possible for 
many of them to fall off 3 cwt. per acre, and con- 
tinue to give any crop at all. If it only gave 4 
cwt. per acre last season , it is nothing so very extra- 
ordinary, and was still sufficiently ahead of the aver- 
age of the country to justify the expenditure on manure. 
°And now, with regard to Venture and its crops: 
in the two years 1876 and 1877, the coffee in full bear- 
ing gave an average of Gi cwt. an acre, and in the last 
three years it has averaged 5| cwt. This crop is 
estimated to average, at least 6 cwt. per acre, which 
will bring the four years average up to 51 cwt. and 
tUe six years' to 6 cwt. per acre. 
Now, will your correspondent name any uumanured 
estate in Dikoya district that comes within li cwt. 
per acre of this ? I doubt it, and moreover, there is 
no estate in the neighbourhood, that has been without 
manure for that time. 
Again, the manure now in use has only been once 
applied over the whole estate — about August and Sept- 
ember 1879. Last year's supply has only now been ap- 
plied, and instead of its "consisting chiefly of bones and 
poonac" there is not an ounce of either in the com- 
position of the manure as prescribed by the agricultural 
chemist. 
Again, your correspondent says: — "Surely Venture 
(naturally the finest estate in Dikoya) would have given 
at least 4 cwt, per kcre without manure during 
these three years 1870, I860, 1881." Upon what does 
lie base this supposition ? What estate without 
manure has done so? As I said before, there is no 
place in the neighbourhood that has been without 
manure, and I deny tbat Venture is naturally the 
finest estate in Dikoya. The upper half or more may 
be. but the lower i()0 acres was chena land that, had 
been planted before and abandoned, and every planter 
knows what that means. 
Again, if Lawrence, until two years ago averaged 
within 14 cwt. per acre of Venture, why bas it fallen 
off since then ? I have shown that Venture for six 
years will show an average of nearly 6'cwt. pet acre. 
Will Lawrence estate, which your correspondent has 
taken as a criterion show nn average of 4 cwt. per 
acre for these three years 1S79, 1SS0, 1881, as he 
91 in- to infer a good estate ought to do without 
manure ; and has there been no cattle manure, lime, 
b »H88 and poonac, applied there during these three years? 
1 muet ask the proprietor of Lawvence estate to 
i XCUB6 my bringing in the name of his property so 
frequently in this letter, and I only do so, because 
your correspondent has pointed it out ns an example 
of an unmnnured estate adjoining Venturp. In con- 
clusion, I don't think Mr. Ross desires or stands in 
need "t any advertisement of himself, his estate, or 
his manure. I believe lie is content to take his ow n 
line and go hia own wny which, I think you will 
agree with me, seems to answer very well, judging 
from the figures I have given you nbove. — lam, 
dear sir, yours faithfully, PLANTER. 
A NEW RUBBER. 
155. Fenchurch Street, London, 14th April 1881. 
Deak Sir, — As I know you like to be to the front, 
I send you enclosed some seed out of a small "post 
packet " of a new rubber, Tabernarkontana Vrctssa. just 
received from Africa. I found this plant among some 
of my Landolpbias. I have had three lots of seed 
and fruit over ; all bad. I hope this may be sound. 
Some of the Ceylon agents here begged a few at 6d 
each seed. They go out to-day. 
I return half of all I get to the senders of the. seed 
to reward them for their trouble, and with the sender 
of this I have advances out (of) £400. Knowing he 
lived among those valuable plants, I hoped he would 
send me some carefully put up. This and other new 
rubbers kept No. 4 back of "Commercial Plants." Even 
one rubber I give the engraving of I can't name, as the 
base of the flower was off. I hope Dr. Trimen may flower 
it first. We have no similar plant in the Herbarium of 
this country. — Yours faithfully, THOS. CHRISTY. 
You will notice that the Taberncernontajia utrfis is 
the cow tree of British Guiana, famed for its milk, 
so this is part of the way on the road for proof that 
it yields well. I sent fruit, flowers and leaves to Kew 
early last year for their opinions, and for this name 
of T. crassa. [The four seeds received will have a 
fair trial given to them. — Ed.] 
COFFEE LEAF DISEASE : — MR. GRAHAM AN- 
DERSON'S EXPERIMENTS :— THE JAVA GO- 
VERNMENT OFFERING NO REWARD FOR 
A REMEDY FOR HEMILEIA VAST A TRIX, 
Barguni, Mnnzerabad, Mysore, 3rd May 1881. 
Dear Sir, — I deem it my duty to hand you an extract 
from an official reply which 1 have just received from 
the Government of Java with reference to my applica- 
tion to be registered as a competitor for the reward 
for a remedy for leaf disease (Hemileia vastatrix), 
Having seen frequent allusion made in the Observer 
and several other papers to the ' ' reward offered by 
the Java Government" I shall await with interest any 
information yon may obligingly offer in regard to the 
way in which we have all indulged in a popular 
hallucination. 
My own attention I may observe, was first attracted 
by a paragraph in an English paper in which it was 
clearly stated that extensive experiments on separate 
estates would be conducted with all remedies which 
might be suggested. 
Encouraged by the frequent allusions to the reward 
I have devoted much time, attention and money tc 
the conduct of numerous experiments and having for- 
warded detailed information in regard to all my re- 
searches to the Java Government, I now find there is no 
chance or prospect of any remuneration whatever. 
As you are aware agricultural experiments are most 
costly luxuries to indulge in, and my experience ojf 
voluntarily attempting to assist to the best of my ability 
will be scarcely of a nature to encourage others to 
imitate my example.— 1 am, dear sir, yours faithfully, 
G. ANDERSON. 
Extract from an official letter No. 2 925 dated 
Batavia, 2ud April 1SS1. Departement van Binnen 
laudsch Bestuur. "I am happy to say that the leaf 
disease on this island is not of such a seriou? nature 
as would warrant our Government making experiments 
" It is°outhis account that you will not be surprised 
on being informed that our Government lias not deemed 
it .necessary to advertise any reward for a remedy 
against the leaf disease [BemUeUt Vastatrix) so that 
the information you seem tc have had on 1 he subject 
is entirely erroneous." (Signed) 6. S. II. Hksn, 
Director for Aark cUu < - 
