April i, 1882.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
829 
more sparingly resoited lo than even was 
in former years in Haputale, where the t 
bore three times in succession. As our r 
aware, the general rule with Arabian coffee 
is that when secondaries have borne a full 
must be removed by the pruning knife to i 
for their successors. Not only is there no 
the Liberian coffee trees, but even handli 
fined to the removal of one shoot, when 
from the samo " eve." The eccentric mode 
towards the stem, of the secondaries of this 
coffee, was a trouble to the owners of this 
it 
to 
knife, if too freely used, would simp 
uudation of the trees, Mr. Jardine, wi 
blanche in the treatment of the en 
has successfully adopted the expedier 
secondaries with strings of unravelled 
principle of 
junuy, 
tree 's inclined." 
; I he natural din 
mble, but the nu 
sat as in the ca 
the Liberian coffee ci 
lined absolutely nece 
grown up, but such 
3 12 X 10 and even 
d the advice acted o 
ending now in the 
wood, that the 
. At the com- 
prize, not only 
ry, even after 
jposterous dis- 
X 12 were re- 
Experience on 
3 of the oldest 
has led to the 
is secured by 
least 700 good 
•'Just as 
No doubt this 
of growth hive 
of trees per a 
Arabian coffee, 
fruit is borne 
trouble and e: 
men cement of 
was shade dc 
the trees had 
tances apart ; 
commended ai 
Udapolla, ex 
trees to three years and 
decision that the best cl 
7x8. On an estace so 
trees may be expected to give an average of 2,000 
cherries each, the result being 2 cwt. of clean coffee 
from each 100 trees, or 14 cwt. per acre, as we have 
already slated. That such calculations are justified 
experience proves. At the commencement of the pre lent 
season, Mr. Jardine, determined to be on the right 
side, estimated only 1,100 bushels from Udatolla. 
That quantity had actually been gathered before our 
visit, so that to that, extent, we saw i bis spli ndid pro 
;perty at a disadvantage. The estimate of the season's 
yield had been raised t.i 2,000 bushels, but a gcu- 
B|ipan who took pail; in the visit, a planter of long 
experience and the head of one of the leading Colombo 
firms, declared that in his opinion there were 2,000 
bushels then ou the trees. Ho meant of this Beason's 
fruit, apart from that at all slag, s, which would con- 
stitute uoxt season's crop, and which closely covered 
the younger wood and the ends of branches and 
twigs. It is a peculiarity of the Liberian coffco that 
although it is affected by seasons, in one of which 
E it has generally three " big blossoms," yet it is al- 
most always, liku tho orange tree, shewing blossoms 
and fruit in all stages. This characteristic and the 
fact that the cherries of this species of coffee do not, 
in many cases, pnt on the rich ruby red which dis- 
tinguishes tho mature "palara" of tho Arabian 
coffee, have led many to doubl if tho fruit would 
properly ripen i indeed the belief thai it would not 
and could not ripen has been advanced U a fatal 
objection 
true that 
nd ap- 
tionally 
;, it is 
n were employed to recover about 
2 per cent of the parchment beans from the mass of 
cherry skins ; but this was not due to any want of 
ripeijess in the cherries. As to the quality of the 
coffee, all we can say is that wc have seldom drunk 
a better flavoured infusion than that contained in 
the cup served to us at' Udapolla. A gentleman 
high in local society has told us that twice were his 
guests served with Liberian coffee without its origin 
being revealed, and that they were loud in its praise ; 
and we know that more than one critic, who was 
fond of protesting that he could, under any circum- 
stance, detect the alleged coarser flavour of this 
coffee, mistook the beverage when supplied and imbibed 
for the product of best Arabian. So strong is pre- 
judice or tradition that the Messrs. Leeehman have 
actually been compelled to prepare this coffee specially 
for the American market, so tfat it may have, in- 
stead of the greenish blue hue of well ripened and 
properly prepared beans, tho dirty yellow colour, 
which the unripe and badly prepared coffee originally 
received from Liberia had accustomed consumers to 
expect ; just as the same yellow colour is desiderated 
in " best Mocha " coffee. Our friends are doing their 
best to imitate the outward signs of badness, but 
they warn their correspondents in America that, if 
sourness is the result, the preparers must not be 
blamed. We feel confident that well ripened and well 
prepared Liberian coffee will, ere long, assert a position 
on its own merits, just as Indian tea has done. 
The mistake of too wide planting having been dis- 
covered, its correction here, as elsewhere, has been 
effected by quincuuxiug as well as planting between 
every two trees in the rows in which they are widest 
apart. Of course, all these trees will not be permitted 
finally to crowd each other. The inferior trees — 
those which send up long stems before they think of 
primaries, and others which, although dug about and 
manured!, shew a spfcial predisposition to leaf-disease 
and a " shuck " ooudition — will be rooted out. Over 
a considerable surface, however, cocoa trees>, equi- 
valent to 70 acres if planted apart, are interspersed 
amongst tho Liberun coffee and look exceedingly well. 
As yel. these plants are perfectly free from any trace 
of disease, and a few are bearing at a rate which 
gives promise of most profitable returns. It is now 
evident that, so luxuriant is tho grow th of the cocoa 
trees, they will require considerably more space than 
the Liberian coffee : 12 x 10 or even 12 x 12 being, 
in their case, probably not too wide apart. Those in. 
teres ted in the estate say : "Even if leaf-disease 
affects the Liberian coffee as disastrously as it has 
acted on tho Arabian, wo cm fall back on tho cocoa." 
But although leaf disease is attempting its "letel 
best " against tho big-leaved cofleo, and has bceu 
successful iu shaking and douuding u few weakly 
trees, the vast majority of those wo saw covering tho 
uiululatious of I'l-.uvLLA (firojn 200 to o00 it, abovo 
