Oct.  i,  1892.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
29S 
working,  and  hope  to  have  over  100  next  week.  I 
pay  them  weekly,  and  find  them  capital  ‘ workmen,’ 
The  following  is  a report  on  the  estate  for  1891  with 
which  he  has  kindly  famished  me  : 
Aoreage  of  coffee 
Old  coffee... 
Acres. 
...  67 
Young  coffee 
...  159 
Grass 
...  8 
Total  plauted  ... 
...  234 
In  course  of  planting 
..  48J 
"282| 
Owing  to  the  illness  and  death  of  the  late  able 
manager,  Mr,  Thomas  Fraser,  the  clearing  work  was 
for  1891  unavoidably  delayed. 
Crop  for  1891  : — 
Bushels. 
Parchment  ...  ...  1,188 
Cherry  dried  ...  ...  564 
1,752 
Equal  to  330  cwt.  cleun  coffee. 
Prospects  for  1892  Crop. — It  is  as  yet  too  early 
to  give  an  estimate  ; there  is  a very  fine  blossom  in 
sight  but  do  blossom  of  importance  will  be  out  till  the 
end  ot  February  or  March. 
Estimated  Work  for  1892. — Completing  48J  acres 
now  in  hand.  Felling  and  reading  another  50  acres 
of  jungle.  The  most  favourable  time  to  commence 
felling  is,  I believe,  in  September.  Prior  to  felling, 
however,  in  view  of  successfully  planting  the  estimated 
50  acres,  roads  through  the  jungle  must  be  cut, 
boundaries  cleared  out,  and  a good  nursery  com- 
pleted. The  Kamuning  Liberian  Coffee  Estate 
is  working  very  well,  and  has  been  greatly  ex- 
tended during  the  year.  There  are  now  265  aores 
under  cultivation,  252  of  these  being  planted  with 
coffeo  and  13  with  pepper.  The  latter  and  about 
120  of  the  ooffee  are  now  in  bearing.  Picking  was 
commenced  in  March,  when  1§  boxes  were  obtained. 
The  quantity  of  crop  gradually  increased,  and  in  De- 
cember 296  boxes  were  gathered,  the  total  quantity 
picked  during  the  year  being  a little  over  100  piculs. 
About  12  piculs  were  cured  from  the  dry  cherry  and  sent 
to  Singapore,  where  the  price  realised  was  $37  a picul. 
The  estimated  crop  for  the  current  year  is  360 
piculs.  Cleaning  is  at  present  performed  by  drying  and 
pounding,  but  a pulping  machine  is  expected  shortly, 
and  the  building  for  it  is  in  course  of  erection.  The 
estate  has  about  three  miles  road  frontage,  that 
portion  of  it  to  the  north  of  the  road  having  a 
depth  of  about  two  miles  ,and  that  on  the  southern 
side  about  half  a mile.  A block  of  5,800  acres  was 
surveyed  during  the  year.  The  remainder  of  Mr. 
Hill’s  concession  of  10,000  acres  has  been  selected 
and  is  being  cut  out.  It  adjoins  the  present  block, 
and  extends  up  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Plus  river. 
The  estate  will  thus  be  particularly  well  situated 
as  regards  transport  and  means  of  com- 
munication, having  a cart-road  on  one  side 
of  it  and  a deep  and  easily  navigated  river, 
flowing  into  the  Perak  river,  on  the  other.  The 
total  number  of  coolies  employed  on  the  estate  is  135 
the  daily  out-turn  being  from  110  to  115.  The  last 
of  the  contracts  of  the  statute  immigrants  expired 
in  June,  and  now,  with  the  exception  of  eight 
female  coolies  lately  arrived  from  India,  the  estate 
iB  worked  entirely  with  free  Tamil  labour.  The 
health  of  the  coolies  has  muoh  Improved.  During  the 
last  three  months  of  the  year  the  daily  average  num- 
ber of  coolies  in  hospital  has  been  only  four,  whereas 
in  1890  it  was  between  30  and  40.  The  manager 
attributes  this  to  the  new  water  supply,  well  water 
being  used  instead  of  water  from  the  stream.  The 
total  expenditure  on  the  estate  for  1891  was,  I am  in- 
formed, 112,890. 
The  Cicely  and  Hermitage  Estates  have  been  greatly 
improved  during  the  year.  They  were  let  to  a Chinese 
company  in  1890,  but  for  some  months  afterwards  were 
much  neglected,  in  consequence  of  which,  and  bad 
pruning,  the  trees  were  considerably  damaged.  In 
March  last  an  experienced  tea  planter,  Mr.  F.  Watson, 
was  put  in  charge,  and  the  monthly  output  of  tea, 
which  was  then  only  600  lb.  and  produced  at  a cost  of 
30  cents  per  lb.  has  now,  with  a small  increase  of 
labour  and  judicious  penning,  been  increased  to 
1,500  lb.  at  the  reduced  cost  of  21  cents  per  lb.  The 
climate  and  soil  appear  to  be  in  every  way  favourable 
to  the  growth  of  tea,  Eight  months’  seedlings,  planted 
in  April  last,  are  now  four  feet  high,  and  will,  I anr 
informed,  be  picked  in  April  next.  The  average  local 
price  of  tea  is  60  cents  per  lb.  and  there  is  sufficient 
demand  to  warrant  a far  larger  cultivation  of  it. 
Invention  of  a New  Wood  Concrete. — A new  wood 
concrete,  according  to  the  Bauteclmische  Zeitschrift, 
has  been  invented  in  Germauy.  Shavings  and  plan, 
ing  mill  chips,  either  of  common  or  fancy  woods, 
which  may  be  stained  before  use  if  desired,  are 
mixed  with  cheese  or,  rather,  casein,  calcined 
magnesian  limestone,  glycerine,  silicate  of  soda  and 
a little  linseed  oil,  and  this  queer  mess  is  forced 
by  hydraulic  pressure  into  moulds,  where  it  is  al- 
lowed to  harden.  When  dry,  the  composition  is 
strong  and  solid,  and  can  be  sawed,  planed,  polished 
and  varnished.  It  is  expected  that  it  will  be  found 
useful  as  an  “ornament”  in  the  shape  of  panels,  or 
as  a covering  for  entire  wall  surfaces.— Indian  Engineer. 
OEYLON  EXPORTS  AND  DISTBIBUTION,  1892. 
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