March i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
8*5 
To the Editor of the Ceylon Observer. 
NEW FIELDS OF ENTERPRIZE : THE SOUTH 
SEAS. 
N;i Songo Plantation, Upper Rowa, Mataiiamtan, 
Viti Levu, Fiji, 21at November, 1881. 
g IR) — Noting, in nearly every issue of the Overland 
Observer which cornea to hand, the publicity which you 
give to " new fields for emigration," I have taken 
the liberty of forwarding you by this mail two letters, 
from a gentleman in the New Hebrides group, which, 
I think, may be of considerable interest to planters 
in Ceylon to peruse, and which may probably result 
in one or more planters turning their attention to that 
quarter, where everj thing seems to be to the advant- 
age of tho planter, with tho exception of hurricane*. 
Planters in Ceylon will he glad to hear that coffee 
is still doing well here in Fiji, and that little or no 
leaf-disease is to be seen. Some of my oldest coffee, 
about nineteen months old, which I topped at 3 feet 6, 
two or three months ago, had a magnificent maiden 
blossom last month, which set splendidly, and which I 
reckon at five or six cwt. to tho acre. — Yours truly, 
Wm. LAING MALCOLM SON. 
Rathmoy, Sandwicli Islands, August 21st, 1881. 
Wm. Laing Malcolmson, Esq., Fiji. 
Dear Sir, — Your letter requesting information about 
this island, and its capabilities for coffee-growing, 
reached me a couplo of days ago. I will preface my 
remarks by saying that I am a coffee planter, but in 
a very small way, and all the experience I have ever 
had with tho plant has been since I came hero. To 
try the capabilities of soil and climate for that 
article, I put in one acre at the back of my house, 
on jungle land, and at an altitudo of about 500 feet 
above sea-level, and about three-and-a-quarter miles 
distant from the coast. I planted this purely for 
experiment, and it, answered admirably. In 22 months 
pom the time tho seed began to come up in the 
nursery, I was picking my maiden crop of beautiful, 
well-developed coffee. (the seed came from Ceylon). 
1 did not weigh my crop either then or since, but 
I put it down in my own mind that tho yield (first) 
was from 3 to 4 cwt. to the acre. The following 
year we were visited with the most severe hurri- 
oanc yot experienced here, and tho coffee trees, at 
tho time it came, u ero 5 feet high, b> autifully shaped, 
and covered with blossom. Tho aero was white, like 
a Held of snow. You may guess tho effect; tho trees 
wero nearly all blown Hat, and, when they were put 
itraight and earthed up comfortably, I found that, 
from the sheer force of tho wind, all, or nearly all, 
tho piimaries were killed. I broke them off, and at 
tho time, not knowing what to do with it, I just 
left it to itself, tho consequence being that it threw 
out a lot of shoots, suckers and gormandizers, and so 
it lias been going on ever since, totally neglected, 
with the exception of cleaning tho ground now and 
then. It has since every year continued to give very 
fair crops, more than I ever could have expected, 
and the trees, although, as I tell you, a massoi shoots 
and gormandizers, are perfectly healthy, not a symptom 
of lcaf-disoaso or anything else. So far my experi- 
ment has been a great success, and, you will admit, 
a very severe test. Tho only wonder to mo has been 
that it has survived at all. 
In Ootobor last year, I commenced felling and clear- 
ing at Sea-view, diMta it the, !• nub s hack from my 
house, ar three-and-a-half miles from sea coast, altitude 
l,. r )00 feet by aneroid, heavy jungle laud, and com- 
menced putting out nursery plants of 15 mouths old 
in February, for experiment sake again. I put out 
about half an acre of whole plants, which then had 
two to three pairs of primaries out, but|while doing 
so, a burst of sunshine came out, accompanied by 
very strong wind, and, of course, down went all the 
tender tops and leaves. Although feeling very much 
disposed to take my knife and cut them down to 
stumps at once, I left them. They recovered amazingly, 
and they are now fine plants, well shaped, about, or 
a little over, four feet high, and budding out blossom 
for a maiden crop (somo have blossomed). With the ex- 
ception of a scale, which is identical with the scale 
on orange trees, and is on many of the plants in tho 
junglo here, there is no disease of any kind ; they are 
a beautiful, rich dark green, and growing fast. All 
the plants of six acres, which I put out in the 
early part of this year, I cut down to stumps, and 
find it the safest way. The shoots from those aro now 
about 2 feet high with 2 /or 3 pairs of primaries. This 
will convey all tho information, I think, you require 
on this head. This scale only comes on an odd plant 
here and there, and only on the green and tender parts, 
and does not appear to affect either the growth or tho 
health of the plant. Can you tell me anything about 
it? There is plenty of land on the island every- 
where, well adapted for coffee, but the streams of 
water unfortunately are few and far between. On 
my property there aro 3 running permanent streams, 
and so far I am well off, for they are suitable for 
pulping &c. ; and adjoining my land and for miles 
beyond there aro two splendid streams, and thousands 
of acres of coffee land, a little stony and broken, 
perhaps, but magnificent coffee land, in a valley, well 
sheltered, and all jungle ; but I know of no other 
part of the island where it is so. Certainly, I have 
not travelled about much beyond my own limits, but 
I am in my tenth year of residence here. All or any 
of this land can, I believe, be purchased from the 
natives, at the rate of say 2/6 per acre, paid for in 
trade. The general altitude of what I call coffee 
land may be put down, I think, at about 1,500 feet, 
and tho mountains which back it up on the east 
and north-east (the prevailing wind quarter) may 
be, or look like, 1,500 feet more. What may be on 
the top of those, in the shape of available coffee land, 
I know not* I get abundance of rain at Sea-view. 
Scarcely a week passes without showers. In fact, 
drying and burning off is often difficult. The general 
temperature may be put down at, in the shade, in 
summer from SO" to S6", and in winter from 60° to 70 3 . 
This is at Sea-view, On the low coast land it is several 
degrees higher. I have a thermometer at each place, 
and sometimes keep record, and compare notes, but 
I have seldom tried it in the sun. I have no 
hesitation in affirming that I do not think there is 
a more suitable coffee climate and soil in the world. 
The soil varies both in depth and colour. Somo is 
black, rich, loose mould for several feet down, and 
the subsoil chocolate ; and, in others, more reddish 
than chocolate. In others, I believe you could go down 
20 feet through rich, black, soil, and, in odd places, 
patches here and there, you will come in IS inches 
on a mineral-looking tenacious red clay; something of 
tho aluminum style. I dig all my coffee holes 2 foot 
each way. I can give you no idea what it costs to 
bring an aero of coffeo to maturity here, bat I should 
say it could not be done iu any part of the world 
cheaper. I do not want to tell you things I know 
nothing about. Labour has to bo imported from other 
islands in this group. The Sandwich natives, or any 
others in the New Hebrides, will not work on their 
own island. Labour costs at the rate of say £t> per 
annum, with every cxprn., addol; wage- only A'3 per 
head. Cost of procuring them IroniU.'- to i'7, food, 
clothing Sic, making up the num. Term of .servitude, 
