Dec.  i,  1892.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
373 
best  wooded  in  Eizibe'h’s  time  are  still  so. 
Sussex,  for  examp'e,  etill  answers  to  the  description 
given  of  it  by  Camden  as  being  “pleasantly  shade! 
by  woods” — it  is  the  second  in  extent  of  woodland 
of  all  tho  English  oonnties,  and  there  is  a survival 
of  primitive  conditions  in  the  fact  that  the  Hants, 
Surrey,  Kent,  end  Sussex  have  between  them  nearly 
ooe-foUrth  ot  the  whole  English  Y/oodland. 
Old  ways  will  Dot  quickly  change;  and  it  is  not  to 
be  anticipated  that  young  trees  will  generally  take 
the  place  of  wheat,  cattle,  and  sheep.  What  i9  per- 
missible to  say  is  that  the  outlook  for  afforesting 
is  better  than  it  ever  was.  There  are  limits  to  the 
resources  of  the  Norwegian  and  other  forests,  upon 
which  even  distant  Australia  maker  a drain.  In  a 
quarter  of  a century  the  Baltic  ports  may  no  longer  send 
to  the  vast  supplies  upon  which  we  have  long  counted. 
Canada  and  the  United  Stales  have  growing 
home  demands  to  meet ; atid  there  is  no  new 
country  to  which  we  can  look  to  give  ns,  in 
abundance,  the  cheap  timber  needed  in  mining 
and  the  construction  of  railways.  Will  the  rural 
economy  of  England  and  Scotland  mere  and  more 
conform  to  the  altered  conditions  of  supply  ? 
Political  economists  have  always  admitted  that 
in  the  case  of  afforesting  there  might  be  a confliot 
between  the  interests  of  the  community  and  those 
of  a private  owner.  He,  as  a rule,  cares  to  sow 
only  where  he  will  reap  ; and  the  harvest  is 
very  far  off  to  him  who  plants  the  oak  or  beech, 
or  even  the  larch  or  pine.  If  rich  and  public- 
spirited,  he  may,  out  of  his  superfluity,  give 
wherewith  to  provide  for  bis  successors  f u.1  ’ - 
grown  and  valuable  timber.  But  ihe  temptation 
to  mest  men  to  prefer  returns  coming  io  at  ihe 
end  of  four  or  five  years,  or  1-ss  time  to  thoss 
postponed,  it  may  be  tbreequarters  of  a century 
is  strong.  He  may  have  an  estimate  for  plant- 
ing fi?  anl  larch  at,  say,  40s  to  50s  an  acre — 
that  given  by  Mr.  Nairue— even  at  less  ; ihe  work 
will,  at  any  price,  appear  t.-o  costly — the  public  benefit 
private  imprudence.  So  much  have  some  economist 
and  writers  npon  forestry  been  impressed  by  the  pos- 
sibility of  this  contradiction  th.it  they  have  argned 
that  the  State  should  insist  upon  continuity  of  pro- 
duction. Such  a policy  is  needl-'ss  ; something  might 
be  said  for  it  if  it  were  necessary  that  a sudden  change 
should  be  made,  and  that  large  tracts  should  be  with- 
out loss  of  time  turned  into  woodland.  Nothing  of 
the  sort  is  advisable  ; the  history  of  English  sgricul 
iure  is  full  of  warning  against  a policy  of  spasmodic 
“improvements”  or  changer  carried  out  in  aspiritof 
panic  What  is  required  on  the  part  of  those  who 
have  the  means  to  p'ant  is  that  they  study  of- 
tsner  thin  they  do  the  capabilities  of  their 
estates  to  grow  marketable  timber.  Some  of 
those  who  plead  poverty  when  counselled  to 
plant  trees  whero  generations  of  farmers  have  fought 
in  vain  cgsinst  the  stubborn  poverty  of  nature  have 
money  enough  to  invest  in  dubious  foreign  invest- 
ments, and  provide  for  their  families  in  ways  which 
will  be  worthless  by  the  time  that  goodly  timber,  a 
veritable  mine  of  wealth  to  its  owner,  would  have 
grown  up. 
It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  counties  best 
wooded  in  Elizabeth’s  time  are  etill  so;  it  would 
bo  mor9  satisfactory  to  hear  of  greater  variety  and 
fresh  experiments  being  ■ tried  in  districts  where 
wood  is  rare.  The  returns  which  wo  have  cited 
show  a considerable  area — about  311,351  acres  — 
under  woods  or  plantations  iu  Ireland.  But  as  to 
that  country,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  vast  tracts 
of  which  no  industry  can  make  much  as  arable  land 
are  well  adapted  for  the  growth  of  timber.  In  Wales 
the  additional  acreage  brought  under  wood  between 
1888  an  ! 1891  was  only  7,000.  Will  it  be  said  that  this 
is  all  that  under  a wise  rural  system  should  be 
ndded  ? From  the  growth  of  a taste  for  forestry  and 
the  spread  of  knowledge  respecting  it  more  is  to  be 
hoped  than  from  ernde,  ambitious  schemes  fostered 
by  legislation  and  oariied  out  by  a Woods  and  Forest 
Department  of  the  country  couucils.  For  twenty  ex- 
perts in  ordinary  agriculture  among  landowners  not 
one  is  acquainted  with  the  rudiments  of  woodcraft. 
Evelyn  deplored  in  his  time  the  “ disproportionate 
spreading  of  tillage,  caused  through  that  prodigious 
havoc  ” wiought  by  those  who  would  raze  the 
“ many  goodly  woods  and  forests  which  our  prudent 
ancestors  had  left  for  the  ornament  and  service  of 
their  country.”  A diffusion  of  the  tastes  which  the 
author  of  “ Sylva  ” cultivated  would  be  a blessing  all 
round.  Thero  would  be  the  oertainty  that  there  would 
be  no  “disproportionate  spreading  of  tillage,”  that 
forest  trees  of  all  sorts  would  have  their  fair  share 
in  our  rural  eocnomy,  and  that  there  would  be  no 
wasteful  use  of  timber  without  taking  care  to  re- 
plenish the  stock.— London  Times,  Oct.  21. 
— 
COOL  III  LABOUR. 
Sir,— There  is  a letter  in  your  issue  of  August  27 
on  the  coolie  labor  question  which,  though  moderate 
in  tone,  yet  does  not  deal  with  the  matter  from  the 
broad  political  point  of  view  from  which  politicians 
require  to  look.  Humanitarians  and  social  reformers 
are  not  always  the  best  political  guides,  as  in  the 
instance  of  the  C.D  (woman’s)  act  in  ((England  and 
India.  But  I do  not  desire  to  argue  the  rights  or 
wrongs  of  that  Act,  or  the  repeal  of  the  same.  My 
present  object  is  to  controvert  some  of  the  argu- 
ments used  by  Mr.  Kirby.  I have  spent  19  years 
in  Ceylon  and  India,  and  during  that  long  period  I 
have  been  engaged  in  various  planting  enterprises, 
and  all  the  time  I have  employed  colored  labor; 
hence  I may  be  considered  .competent  to  give  your 
readers  the  other  side  of  the  subject.  Mr.  Kirby 
deals  with  the  danger  of  a half-caste  progeny  arising 
in  our  midst,  which  is  the  sure  result  of  the  ming- 
ling of  the  dark  races  with  those  of  the  white,  and 
the  terrible  demoralisation  and  degeneration  which 
will  ensue.  He  says  the  result  of  bringing  a num- 
ber of  coolie  women  to  Australia  will  be  the  flood- 
ing of  Australia  with  the  lowest  sort  of  half-caste, 
and  the  Australian  blood  will  become  abased.  This 
cannot  but  help  raise  a smile  at  the  extremely 
narrow  horizon  which  confines  the  views  of  Mr. 
Kirby.  Let  us  widen  out  the  matter,  and  see  fairly 
how  the  introduction  of  coolie  labor  will  be  a bles- 
sing instead  of  a curse.  Missionaries  and  others 
have  an  idea  that  the  heathen  are  governed  by  low 
morals.  Mr.  Kirby  may  be  surprised  .when  I tell 
him  that  the  ordinary  coolie  class  suffers  more  injury 
from  contact  with  the  white  man  than  the  white 
man  could  possibly  suffer  from  contact  with  it.  They 
are  guided  by  the  stern  rules  of  caste  which  act  as 
a hereditary  moral  principle,  and  in  their  villages 
these  rules  are  strictly  enforced.  It  is  only  when 
the  coolie  tries  to  imitate  the  European  vices  that 
the  power  of  caste  ceases  to  restrain  him.  If  Aus- 
tralia included  only  countries  of  temperate  climate 
Mr.  Kirby’s  arguments  would  have  more  weight,  but 
large  tracts  of  tropical  lands  lie  waiting  for  tropical 
agriculture,  and  Mr.  Kirby  only  proclaims  his  ignor- 
ance of  tropical  matters  when  he  soars  into  utopian 
dreams  of  mythical  labor-saving  machines  which  will 
enable  the  white  man  to  cultivate  tropical  lands. 
The  Tamils  are  an  intelligent,  docile  race,  and  it 
is  a base  libel  to  say  that  their  women  are  so  im- 
moral that  they  would  contaminate  the  people  here. 
The  coolie  prefers  to  have  his  hut  and  domestic 
happiness  to  himself ; but,  as  in  all  communities  in 
all  countries,  even  iu  Australia,  there  are  women  (and 
men,  too)  “ of  the  baser  sort  ;”  the  presence  of  these, 
however,  does  not  corrupt  the  others.  Careful  selec- 
tion of  labourers  and  good  fair  treatment  will  result 
in  a most  useful  class  of  labour  being  introduced  into 
the  tropical  regions  of  Australia,  and  thereby  releasing 
the  latent  locked-up  wealth  which  awaits  the  enter- 
prising planter.  Then  Australia  would  be  dependent 
on  no  outsider  for  her  supplies.  Coconuts,  cocoa,  rice, 
coffee,  tea,  arecanuts,  spices — all  these  products  and 
many  more  would  be  produced  in  the  country.  Em- 
ployment as  managers  and  overseers  would  be  found 
for  your  educated  youth,  new  and  remunerative 
channels  would  open  out  for  your  money,  and  fair 
sensible  laws  would  control  the  coloured  immigrant, 
and  prevent  any  clashing  or  inharmonious  contract 
