734 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [February i, 1882. 
July at latest ; at lower elevations it may be applied 
up to the middle of August. At high elevations, i. e. 
4,200ft. and upwards, less nitrogen should be. used 
than lower down, as the trees do not require any extra 
forcing to make wood, having only too great an in- 
clination to do so naturally. I have seen a good 
many estates being manuied in the early months of 
the year, which appears to me an unscientific pro- 
ceeding, for, during the dry blossoming months, the 
trees are not drawing actively upon the soil, but 
living upon the food previously stored up, and, if the 
tvees were to find their stimulus at this time, tbe 
effect would be to throw them into full leaf just at 
the time when leaf-disease was becoming active. I 
may mention that the only pieces of coffee which seem 
to suffer after crop here are (hose which were manured 
before the commencement of the true growing season. 
As most of the Dimbula coffee is above 4,200 ft., I 
should say put in the manure before the end of 
June (unless you have at hand a very quick acting 
manure) and after that date resort to forking and 
application of lime for the occupation of the coolies. 
Though leaf-disease passed over all my manured 
fields, to a greater or less extent, yet where the manure 
used was a complete one and applied bef ore the end 
of June the trees appeared to suffer very slightly. 
One piece of coffee, in which I had experimented 
•with a patent manure sent to me for trial, stood out 
prominently, the coffee all round it suffering consider- 
ably, while this remained a dark green, losing but 
little leaf ; and it has since matured a crop of 6 cwt. 
an acre and promises to give a good deal more this 
season. In applying manure, 1 advocate strongly the 
forking-in system, which I have practised for over six 
years. I have increasing proof of its advantage over 
the old custom of holiug. I fear I may be thought 
somewhat conceited in thus giving out my views, 
but, as the majority of the ideas were taught me by 
better men than myself, and I have put most of 
them to practical proof on this and various other 
estates which have come under my control, I hope 
tbat, writing, as I have done, for the general weal, I 
shall be exonerated. Wishing you all the com- 
pliments of the season, — I remain, yours faithfully, 
W. D. B. 
TRAVANCORE AND COFFEE EXPORTS. I. 
Travancore, 2/th December 1881. 
Dear Sir, — Messrs. Alstons of Tellicherry have been 
sending you a list of exports of coffee from the 
Malabar coast. If their list is as inaccurate for the 
rest of the coast, as it is for Travancore, it may 
be, as you say, interesting ; but I question its 
being instructive. 
My coffee does not go to Colachel : it goes to 
Quilon. A neighbour of mine sends his to Tuticorin : 
another sends to Coimbatore ; northern estates, no 
doubt, ship via Alleppy. But Messrs. Alstons assert — 
and not only they, but you too, sir, who ought to 
know better— that Colachel is the only port for 
Travancore. This is very severe on Alleppy and 
Quilon. The inhabitants of the latter port, I know, 
are just making up their minds to their becoming 
inevitably the first port on the coast when they get 
their railway and harbour ; and yet you ignore their 
existence altogether. 
It is true we have not much to boast about in 
Travancore : generally speaking, we are despised and 
rejected of men. But we exist; we jog along: to 
ourselves, in our ignorance, we seem to do as well 
as our neighbours. On this side the Bam ban Channel 
wo certainly do not assert that, if a product is pro- 
duced in Travancore, it must, on that account, be 
immeasurably superior to tho same product produces, 
un^y where clae. Nevertheless we do acknowledge to a 
weakness for turning when we are trampled on ; and 
if you won't let us alone, we mu«t defend ourselved 
No doubt you have, on your editorial table, a copy of 
the last Travancore Administration Report. Kindly 
take it up, and you will see on page 26 that Travan- 
core paid during the year in question the sum of 
R22,084 in export duty, whieh r -presents at 8as. per 
cwt. an export of 44,168 cwt. You credit us with 
11,000 cwt. the Government have mulcted us at 
the rate of 4 cwt. per acre ; you say we only grew 
1 cwt. per acre. Do you think it at all probable, 
sir, if I went into the presence of the Dewan with 
Messrs. Alstons' list in one hand and the Ceylon 
Observer of Dec. 5th in the other, that he would 
refund to me any of the extra export duty I paid 
last year? Please print this and much oblige your 
obedient servant, A TRAMPLBO-ON POOCHY. 
[Once Pgain, why do our correspondents not send 
us the coffee export returns for Alleppy and Quilon as 
well as Colachel, for a series of years, in place of 
writing "long yarns"? It is impossible to do justice 
to Travancore until the statistics, which our corre- 
spondents can easily procure, are forwarded to us. — Ed.] 
II. 
31st Dec. 1881. 
Sir,— In a recent issue of your paper, I note a 
return of coffee shipped from the Malabar coast dur- 
ing last year, in which Colachel is given as the only 
port of export for Travancore, and the shipments from 
there, in an editorial remark, compared with the 
acreage under cultivation, in such a way as to show 
an average of only 1 cwt. an acre for Travancore. This 
return is misleading and incorrect. It takes no notice 
of AUeppey, Tuticorin and Quilon. From the latter 
alone, I know that over 10,000 cwt. were exported last 
year. Deducting abandoned coffee, the shipments from 
Quilon and Colachel alone would average over 2 cwt. 
an acre on the area now under cultivation in South 
Travancore. This is by no means all, however. On 
page 26 of the Travancore Administration Report for 
the year ending August 1880, the duty collected on 
coffe exported during the year is given at R22,084, 
which means an export of 44,168 cwt. or something 
over 3 cwt. an acre on the whole bearing area in 
Travancore. 
A return, such as that of Messrs. Alstons & Co., 
appearing with the authority which a prominent place 
in your paper gives it, is apt to convey a false im- 
pression of the country, and, although, we . have no 
crops which cause us in the least to feel proud, still 
we should like, when our statistics go forth to the world, 
that they bear some semblance to the truth. 
TRAVANCORE. 
NUTMEG CULTIVATION. 
Udagama, Jan. 15th, 1882. 
Dear Sir, — I have sent a pamphlet to Dr. Tri- 
men, on nutmeg cultivation, which was given to me 
by Mr. W. H. Reade of Singapore. It was written 
very many years ago, and describes the introduction 
of the spice from Amboyna into Sumatra and 
the Straits, and has a very practical description of 
the manner of cultivating that spice, and cloves. I 
have desired Dr. Trimen to forward it to you, as you 
may like to publish it in the Tiopical Agriculturist. I 
have now planted and well established in this district 
over 4,000 young nutmeg plants. In 1882 this number 
will be doubled, which, judging from the trees in the sur- 
rounding villages, will, when they come into bearing, 
give very large returns.— I remain, yours faithfully, 
T. S. DOBREE. 
[The information respecting nutmeg cultivation will 
readily find a place inthe Tropical Agriculturist,— Ed. J 
