8i6 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March i, 1882. 
3 years. Cost of returning to their homes, 10s. to £1. 
Free trade, and no taxation. The latter is what will 
tickle you Fiji people. Title to land good, if properly- 
bought from the proper owners, and paid for in full. 
All the labour I have came to me under " the stars and 
stripes." I ain a subject of Queen Victoria. Labourers 
can be obtained here, if a man has ili-3 cash ready to 
pay for them. Direct communication with Sydney 
can only be had t«ice a year by missionary schooner 
'' Dayspring" and for letters only. They will not carry 
anything else for a planter, even if he pays for it. 
Sydney is distant about 1,200 to 1,300 miles, and New 
Zealand a little less. New Caledonia is about, I think, 
400 miles or 2 to 3 days' sail for a schooner. Captain 
McLeod is an old and very regular trader between this 
and Noumea, and his schooner makes trips every two 
months, from and to Noumea and Sydney ; there is a 
large steamer, the " City of Melbourne," twice a month. 
We are subject to hurricanes about January and Feb- 
ruary every year, and they happen, and are of about 
the same strength as those you have in Fiji, neither 
more nor less. The island of Sandwich, or any other 
of this group, isnot?o healthy as Fiji. There are fevers 
here sometimes, but, if a man is temperate and works 
hard, there is nothing here to injure him. This unfort- 
unate island has in some way got a much worse 
name and reputation than it deserves. Every malady 
under the sun here is called fever and ague. If a 
man kills himself by emptying a gin bottle, people will 
have it that it is fever and ague that has brought 
about his collapse. No man, who comes here with a 
determination to succeed, and erects his dwelling on the 
high lands, need be more afraid of Sandwich than any 
other place, and that is the truth. Any one who is 
afraid to meet it had better not come. I have seen 
too much here of that sickening rubbish. If you, or 
any of your friends, are desirous of settling here, the 
best way would be for you or one of them to come over 
in one of the labour vessels, and see and judge for 
yourself. I will be happy to give you or them accom- 
modation and all the assistance in my power in arriv- 
ing at a true comprehension of Sandwich and its belong- 
ings ; and, as far as coffee is concerned, as you know 
very well, to a man of experience, seeing is believing. 
Mr. Leefe of Fiji has been over a large portion of 
my coffee land, and, if you can drop on him, he can 
describe it to you exactly. I trust I have told you 
all you wish to know. I cannot think of anything 
elee, which would enlighten you now, but upon any 
question you may address me in the tuture, 1 shall be 
most happy to give you all the information in an 
honest way, neither exaggerating nor concealing, and 
I will conclude this by saying that I believe with all 
my heart in the success, ultimately, of coffee-growing 
in Sandwich, and, if I did not, I would not remain a 
day longer in it. — I remain, dear sir, yours truly, 
Robert Glissan. 
P. S. — I forgot to add that Captain McLeod has 
about 15 acres of coffee planted on his estate in Villa 
Harbour or South West Bay, on the southern end of 
this island. I saw it about two months ago, and it 
was looking very healthy and well, although badly 
and carelessly planted ; it was then about 15 months 
old. There were also a f< w trees about 5 to 6 years old, 
all jumbled together in what had been an old nursery. 
'They bad never been pruned or attended to in any 
wa} , %ut Lhey were looking blooming, and laden with 
ripe fruit. All are growing about ?> mile from the salt 
water and at about 200 to .'iOOfcef. altitude. Unfortun- 
ately there is no stream of wat<:r tlvre for pnlping &c. 
Latitude of Sandwich 17'30. 
Hatbmoy, Sandwich Island, New Hebrides Group, 
September 10th, 1SS1. 
Win. Laing Malcolmaon, E- q. 
bear Sir, — I wrote, in answer to your letter, about 
a fortnight or so ago, and sent it into the harbour, to 
Mr. Salisbury, to forward by first opportunity offering. 
I do not know whether it has left there yet. On con- 
sidering the matter c ontained in your letter, about 
the probability of some of your Ceylon friends coming 
here to settle, if my report of the place proved favor- 
able, I think it as well to lay a proposition before 
you and them, which might greatly tend to confirming 
that inclination, and it is as follows : — If I could 
meet with a Ceylon man of good sound coffee experience, 
I would be glad to enter into partnership with him, 
giving up to him all the management of the coffee 
plantation. To make the matter clear, I hold some- 
| where about 10,000 acres of land here, 3,000 of which 
is first-class coffee land, and on which are three run- 
ning streams of water. I have about 6 acres of coff e 
already idanted out, the greater portion of which is 
at this moment in flower for a maiden crop. I have 
about 10 acres more cleared and burnt off, and about 
two-thirds of that pitted or holed, ready for favorable 
planting weather, and hope to have 10 acres more 
chared and ready for planting next February, the 
rainy season. I have 4 different nurseries, containing 
something like 8,000 plants over a ye ir old, and have 
another nursery in the middle of my clearing con- 
taining 26 beds of 4 x 60 feet each, or, , as I estimate, 
about 40,000 plants, planted this year, and which are 
all up and throwing out their second leaves. I bis gives 
me an unlimited supply of plants to carry on with. 
I have put up a nice comfortable three- roomed cottage at 
Sea-view, and there are huts for the men also ; there 
is a large quantity of tools for the men, and carpenters' 
tools also. In fact, there is everything needed both on 
Sea-view and Kathmoy for the efficient and sepirate 
working of both places— everything but pulpers and 
machinery for working up the coffee. I have 33 head 
of labour, 23 of which have nearly 2 years yet to serve, 
and 10 recently got, which have their 3 years of time 
to serve. I am also going to receive 20 more at the 
end of this year. In fact, I may just bnadly state 
that the whole place is formed and in good working 
order. 1 will take a partner for a half share in the 
whole estate of 10,000 acres, and all working implements 
on the place, for everything but my own per«onal 
property. If he pays me in cash the sum of three 
thousand pounds (£3 .000), I will then place to the credit 
of working expenses of the estite £1,000, against the 
same amount placed by my partner, and together work " 
the property, share and share alike in every way. I 
will carry on maize-growing down at Ralhmoy with 
a separate gang of labour, to cover all the labour 
expenses (which I am at the present time doing) and each 
gang can be made available at times of push at either 
place. The maize pays well here, and the ship comes 
to the Corn House and lakes it away whenever it 
is ready for shipment, and I have gathered crops here 
giving a yield of 80 bushels to the acre. So that I 
deem it advisable to continue the maize-growing for 
a few years with the coffee. I have received many 
offers (and favourable ones) of partnership here, but 
would not tako any one that was not experienced in 
coffee culture. 
It is, as you know, a very different thing for a man 
to come to a settled place and home, with every- 
thing ready-made to his hand, to settling down on 
new grouud in some lonesome spot, with labour, tools, 
buildings aixl in fact everything to provide, and any 
person joining me would do so under most favonrable 
auspices. If \ou know of one to do this, let him first 
come and visit the place aud judge for himself, and 
do nothing iu the dark, and if it is to be done, let 
it be done quickly. 
I may tell you, that I have years ago secured the 
best, most convenient, and most valuable land in my 
neighbourhood, and, previously to settling here, I ,! 
made two trips of inspection from Queensland, and 
