Atbus* t, 1893.] TROPICAL AGRlCULTURlSt. 
129 
■ COFFEE CULTIVATION IN THE STRAITS. 
BuUt Nanas, Sungei Ujong, Malay Peninsida, 7tli June. 
To THE Editor of the " Steaits Times." 
Sir, — Your late articles, and the letters subsequently 
published in your paper lead one to hope that the 
public are taking somewhat more interest in the 
agricultural future of the Native States than has 
hitherto been the case, Herewith, you will find 
sundry crop returns for the year 1892, which I trust 
may prove of general interest ; in looking at them, 
it will be well in all oases to note the age of the 
field referred to. Whilst I was in England in 1892, 
certain estimates were published in connection with 
a proposed scheme for the opening of the Govern- 
ment Plantations in the State of Selangor, and in 
referrence to them it was stated that it would 
be more satisfactory to the public and more reliable 
if such returns were available from Government sour- 
ces. In reply, I would wish here to explain that the 
return per acre has always been open to Government 
verification both as to the areas from which the crops 
have been gathered and the amount of such crops ; 
indeed it was part of the original understanding 
upon which the concessions were made, and the 
Residents have been notified to this effect from time 
to time by me ; if therefore, the Government have 
not taken such steps, it is to be premised that they 
are satisfied of the correctness of such statements aa 
have been laid before them. The system that has 
been followed in arriving at the area of any given 
field is the number of plants that have been put 
out originally making no subsequent deductions for 
deaths ; and in all cases when surveys have followed, 
the area stated has been proved accurate or rather 
less than that stated thus increasing the yield per 
acre. One acre is 43,500 superficial feet, therefore, 
planted 9 x 10, would contain in a clearing of 50 
acres 24,200 plants and so on. With these remarks 
in explanation, I send a few notes on the yields 
for 1892 and other matters in connection with planting 
in the Native States. The system of cultivation 
followed has not been altogether in accordance with 
the more modern Ceylon school of absolutely clean 
weeding at all times, which in my opinion lias its 
cheapness as its chief recommendation ; for, para- 
doxical as it may sound, it is much cheaper to keep 
an estate clean, than in weeds if under control ; the 
more so in each series of years. Perhaps the re- 
sults have justified the means. The formulas fol- 
lowed for manuring have been, if I may say so, in 
accordance with the most advanced system of en- 
riching the soil at present followed in Europe. And, 
whilst ditfermg with the system of Monsieur George 
ViUe as to the manner of application, the actual 
manures used have been generally in accordance 
with the formulas recommended by him ; although 
the system followed was arrived at by correspondence 
held by a large proprietor in Ceylon with the late 
Baron Liebig anu which I had the advantage of 
having held at my disposal some years ago. I took 
the opportunity of my last visit to Europe to en- 
quire witli care into these matters, with the result 
that in a series of years for the future I should look 
with coutidence, always premising that the climate 
remained the same, of attaining at least equally 
favoiu:able results. Whilst there are many planters 
who disbelieve in what they are pleased to call 
" artificial manures," 1 would call their attention 
to the experiments at Kothamstead, by which it 
has been proved to be practicable, to grow the same 
crop on the same land for HO to 10 years in suc- 
cession with artilicial manures alone, and in instances 
the results, not a few, have equalled that of land 
jj^oarly (uauured \yitU cake-fod, farm yard manure 
n 
at 'the rate of 14 tons per acre per annum for the 
same term of years. These papers are open to the con- 
sideration of all by the great liberality of Sir John 
Dawes and Dr. J, H. Gilbert. In comparing these 
examples with a perennial cultivation like coffee, the 
value is very great ; owing to the same crop having 
been and continuing to be grown on the same 
land for a long term of years. On the other hand, 
we find further corroboration starting later on so 
far as I have been able to learn, only published 
in a more summarised form in the book published 
bv M. George Ville entitled " Artificial Manure." 
After looking carefully over the formulas, for manur- 
ing employed on Bothamstead, it is most reassuring 
to find that the nearer the manures employed ap- 
proach to that advocated by M. George Ville, not- 
withstanding the variety of the crops generally, the 
results are the most favourable ; thus, by an inde- 
pendent source proving the enormous value of the 
work ttat has been done at Bothamstead to the 
whole agricultural community of the world. The 
kindness, consideration, and liberal way in which Dr. 
Gilbert assists and lays his stores of knowledge open 
to visitors is worthy of the highest public gratitude 
and greatest praise. You will observe from the fore- 
going that I am of opinion that high cultivation is 
necessary to produce large crops and that the soil 
in itself is not rich enough to bear a succession of 
large crops ; this is so, and whilst nature has most 
richly endowed the Malay Peninsula with an ex- 
tremely fertile climate, the soils, neither by analysis 
nor results without cultivation, are found sufficiently 
rich to produce a succession of heavy crops without 
skilled manuring and careful cultivation. When it 
is brought to notice that for each picul of clean 
coffee (in which the returns are given) it has taken 
9 piculs of fruit to produce it, the desirability of 
high cultivation becomes at once apparent. On 
looking back ovf r a series of years of the crop returns 
from different fields it becomes plain that, for many 
years, I have been removing a gross weight of from 
4 to 5 tons per acre. The year 1892 was a late one 
and, owing to the concentration of the rainfall and 
the numerous unusual short spells of hot dry weather^ 
a good deal of coffee that would under ordinary 
circumstances have ripened and been gathered during 
1892, was not gathered until 1893 ; thus in all pro- 
bability if the year 1893 continues as favourable as 
it has been hitherto the yield will be large. 
LiNsuM Estate. — With regard to the yield of field 
No. VII during its third and fourth year, it is a 
remarkable indication of what may be done in four 
generations of selected seed from selected trees. No. 
VIII, a oleajing planted in 1891 October to December, 
will certainly give a crop of 10 piculs from the 50 acres 
within 26 months of planting and I shall be much sur- 
prised if in 1894 it does not beat the record of No. VII. 
S'liall Estate. — 77 piculs of clean coffee were 
gathered off, in January ; of course going into the 
1893 crop account. Although it was ripe previous 
to the 31st December, the labour was not available 
to pick it. 
Batu Caves figures speak for themselves and, having 
little cultivation, shew some falling off on the older 
coffee ; the durians are responsible in some measure. 
Weld's Hill.— This Estate is on an isolated hill 
near Kuala Lumpur and it shews some falling ofE 
also, there are also a very large number of durians 
on the estate which are now being removed ; and 
when this is completed I expect the crop to go 
back to what I consider normal, under the system 
of cultivation followed. In connection with this estate, 
I attach the Weather Eeport taken at the General 
Hospital within a mile as the crow flies, shewing 
that, against an average number of days on which 
rain fell for the preceding 7 years of 180 days per 
annum, rain only fell on 110 in 1892. 
This I submit is worth consideration on the part 
of the Selangor Government, as to whether it 
would not be to the advantage of the State to have 
the Inllaug fields and bare hills of mine-refuso 
lying exposed to the rays of the sun for a large 
area surrounding Kuala" Lumpur economically rn- 
afforcsted, either the Tumbooso ^aa seen in giugaporcj 
