482 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Jan. r, 1895. 
and that an era of " manuring" is fast approach- 
ing. Of course, not a few of our thoughtful, 
shrewd managers have sceadily cultivated after 
the most approved fashion and with perfectly 
satisfactory results (as certain letters in our 
Tropicxd Agriculturist in one instance have 
shown). But the time has arrived when the 
many will have to consider what only the few 
have hitherto attended to ; and to all such, Mr. 
Hu"jies' present letter should come with full 
force as showing them the aeeeaaary c m litions 
of successful cultivation. It will be for .Mr. 
Hu'dies to follow up his present letter with 
another indicating where planters can most con- 
veniently look for the supply of the potash and 
soda required to renew, maintain, or enrich their 
soils. Mr. Hughes writes as follows : — * 
In certain articles published in the Tropical Agri- 
culturist at the beginning of 1893, the writer gave 
the results of some analyses of Indian, Ceylon and 
China Tea, and drew attention to two important 
facts : — , , , . . m . . , 
1. That the amount of soluole ash in lea coincid- 
ed with the market price in Loudon, namely, the 
more soluble ash the higher the price realised. 
2. Tnat the chief constituent of this soluble ash 
was potash. 
3. That as a consequence potash was the most im- 
portant of the mineral constituents required by tea. 
4 That if the soil was naturally poor in potash it 
was necessary to supply this constituent artificially 
if continuous and remunerative crops of tea were 
to be expected. As mentioned in a communication 
dated NoV 23rd addressed to the Observer the writer 
stated that during a recent tour in Scotland he was 
greatly struck by the special luxuriance of Cue 
foliage in the woods surrounding the famous Falls of 
Foyers on the Caledonian Canal and with a view of 
ascertaining the probable cause of such luxuriance he 
picked up some ten specimens of the stones, consisting 
chiefly of red granite more or less soft in character. 
During the past few weeks very careful determi- 
nations by fusion analysis have Deeu made of the 
potash and soda in these stones, the results of which 
are now given in table I. 
Table I. 
Percentage of Potash and Soda obtained by fusion ana- 
lysis of °Stones picked up in the woods surrounding the 
Falls of Foyers, Caledonian Canal, .Scotland : — 
Potash 
Soda Total 
Description 
No. 1 
2 
3 
4 
S 
6 
7 
10 
Red Granite 
Soft 
6'3SS 
2273 
8-631 
Hard 
6-201 
2"0»2 
8-373 
Soft 
5 '905 
2-093 
7-998 
Hard 
5 -095 
3-360 
8-455 
Soft 
4-900 
2-618 
7 -578 
Soft 
4-496 
3-492 
7-98S 
Soft 
4-207 
3-736 
7-943 
Hard 
3-628 
3-0j8 
6'6S6 
Hard 
3-030 
4-452 
7-482 
Hard 
2-972 
4-293 
7'265 
Average 
4-697 
3-145 
7-842 
The proportions of Potash and Soda 
and the stones, if properly selected, 
easily ground, that with cheap water 
mot and convenient water carriage 
^ess available; it is quite possible 
might be quarried and ground up into 
7r,d sold as manure for grass land in 
a? Basic Slag from the blast farnac, 
largely employed. 
are so high 
so soft and 
power on the 
from Loch 
these stones 
a fine powder 
the same way 
;s is now so 
Bv way of comparison in Table II the proportions 
cf Potash and Soda in some fifteen samples of 
Ceylon soil are given, and the results are certainly 
rather startling :— 
Table II. 
Percentage of Potash and Si.da < btiined by fusion 
lysis of Ceylon Tea, Coffee mid Cacao SoiU : — 
Dried at 212* i. 
No. 1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
15 
Polish Soda Total 
103 acres Tea £73 Cacao 2-045 "355 2 *O0 
Formerly in Coffee 1563 '540 2 103 
242 arres Tea 100 acres Cacao 1 +08 1-425 2'833 
Chiefly iu Tea T4O0 1-2(10 MOO 
1,6*1 ai res cultivated 1-341 1-014 2 - 355 
Chiefly in Tea, 1T70 -»10 l-y&o 
Chiefly iu Tea 1158 -»64 2 122 
Formerly in Cacao dow Tea 1*110 2-294 3 413 
All in Tea 1110 "390 1 500 
All in Tea T080 -lisO T760 
690 acres cultivated -934 -291 l - 275 
From which no l ea has 
been picked -920 '480 T4O0 
Chiefly in Tea formerly 
Colfoe 714 1-293 2 007 
On which Coffee has died 
out (WO -524 1-160 
Chiefly in Tea 540 390 1*30 
Average 1145 "843 11A49 
The Potash varies trom *54 to 2045 in 
every 100 parts of the dry soil, in other words 
No. 1 soil which is chiefly in cacao contains four 
times as much potash as No. 15 which is in tea. 
In No. 14 the potash is only slightly more than 
No. 15 and on this estate coffee has died out. in 
this country clover sickness or failure of clover if 
grown too lrequeutly on the same laud, is generally 
attributed to an insufficient supply of potash in an 
available form as plant lood ; and it is, therefore, 
quite reasonable to conclude that the failure of coffee 
on certain estates may be largely due to deficiency 
of Potash in the soil. Speciul attention is now be- 
ing directed to the examination of more Ceylon soils, 
chiefly old samples accumulated, including specimens 
that have been specially sent because coffee had failed. 
Planters are only too familiar with the sad spectacle 
of a coffee tiee loaded with cherry, dying for want 
of proper nourishment under a severe attack of 
leaf disease. 
On page 143 of his official Report the writer gives 
full analyses of healthy and diseased coffee leaves 
which latter 'plainly show a deficiency of potash, 
there being only 1*392 iu the diseased leaves as 
against 2-078 per 100 parts by weight of air dried 
healthy leaves. Indeed special attention is drawn in 
the Report to the deficiency of soluble organic and 
mineral constituents in the diseased leaves ; in fact 
a wasting away of the original contents of the 
cellular tissues of the leaf. The percentage of ash 
in made tea is about 6 of which from 215 to 2 - 35 is 
potash ; while the percentage of ash in parchment 
coffee is only 3 - 30 of which, however, 135 is potash. 
Relatively therefore the ash of parchment coffee 
though smaller in quantity is richer in potash. It 
may therefore be that the inability of the coffee tree 
to concentrate sufficient potash in the seed arises 
from the natural poverty of the soil in potash. It 
is well-known that the formation and maturing of 
the seed is a most critical time, and it is just for 
this reason that the attacks of leaf disease are most 
fatal when they occur during the period of the 
ripening of the coffee cherry. 
According to Sir John Lawes, potash may be re- 
placed by soda in certain crops so that a soil though 
poor in potash if it contains a good supply of soda 
may produce crops which usually show a high pro- 
portion of potash. When, however, there is a poverty 
both of soda and potash, as for instance in soils 14 
and 15, it appears decidedly unwise to attempt to 
grow either tea or coffee in a soil naturally so poor, 
and planters who may be contemplating the opening up 
of new land may find it useful to bear this point in 
mind before risking their capital. 
JOHN HUGHES, F.I.C., Agricultural Analyst, 79, 
Mark Lane, London, E.G. 
Planters' Benevolent Fund has now got a 
start. I trust every planter will support it. — Go . 
good 
