390 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Dec.  i,  1892, 
on  coffee  planting,  with  wonderful  estimates  of  crops 
and  profits,  and  also  a gun,  and,  finally,  I set  sail 
for  the  East.  I am  now  a middle-aged  man,  wlioee 
gray  hairs  are  becoming  impertinently  obtrusive,  and 
that  glittering  mirage  of  a fortune  is  eti  l as  distinct 
from  me  ns  it  was  20yearB  ago!  Travrncore  was  the 
happy  hunting-ground  I choose  for  the  pursuit  of 
Fortune,  In  those  days  planters  were  few  and  far 
between.  Land  was  to  be  hoid  at  the  upset  price 
of  one  rupee  per  acre,  and  there  was  r.o  competi- 
tion at  the  auctions.  Some  time  in  the  fiit:es, 
General  Oullan,  who  was  then  British  Resident  in 
Travancore  and  a good  botanist,  opened  small  ex- 
perimental gardens  of  coffee  and  spice  trees  on  the 
Assambco  Hills  Rnd  in  other  plaots  in  the  State. 
Most  of  these  little  garcenB,  after  helping  to  make 
a beginning,  and  to  start  the  idea  of  planting,  have 
been  abandoned;  but  even  now  in  out-of-the-way 
nooks  and  oorners  of  the  jungles  the  traveller 
sees  to  his  astonishment  a few  nutmeg  and  fruit  trees 
planted  long  ago  by  the  enterpri  ing  old  General 
Mr.  Maltby,  who  succeeded  Gem  ral  Cullen,  conceived 
the  idea  of  opening  a tea,  coffte  and  cinchona,  garden 
at  Peermaad,  which  he  called  “ Mary  ville.”  It  is  still 
in  existence,  surrounding  the  iron-roofs J Residency, 
though  there  is  but  little  left  of  the  c ffee  and  cin- 
chona, and  the  tea  is  of  the  China  variety.  It  was 
planted  in  the  days  when  a tsa  bush  was  simply  a 
tea  bush,  and  long  before  the  planter  vexed  his  soul 
about  the  quality  of  bisyoit. 
These  Residental  efforts  were  from  their  nature  ten- 
tative and  amateurish,  but  they  were  toon  followed 
by  professional  planting  over  large  areas  in  Peermaad. 
“The  Hope  ” and  “ Woodlands  ’’  estates  were  planted  in 
1861  by  Mr.  Munro  and  General  Stevenson  respectively ; 
“Stag  Brook’’  in  1862  and  “ Twy  'ord  ” and  “Fair- 
field  ” in  1863.  About  the  same  time  Messrs.  Cox, 
Grant  and  Fraser,  aud  other  pioneers  of  Travancore 
planting,  who'bad  come  over  fr<  m Ceylon,*  wore  busy 
in  the  South,  and  by  the  time  I airived  on  the  scene 
the  coffee-planting  industry  wss  fully  established.  Of 
course  it  was  all  cofke  i 1 those  days  for  no  one 
dreamed  of  planting  any  other  product.  There  were 
fields  upon  fields  aud  acres  upon  acres  of  glorious 
coffee  trees,  covered  with  dark  green  leaves  unsullied 
by  any  taint  of  leaf-disease,  glistening  white  with 
fragnaut  blossom  in  the  Spring,  end  red  with  ripened 
berries  in  the  Autumn.  No  wonder  that  the  heart 
of  the  old  planter  waxed  glal  within  him,  and  the 
young  planter  thought  that  he  had  but  to  plant 
his  coffee  seedling,  and  his  fortune  was  assured.  The 
industry  developed  with  enormous  rapidity.  Thousands 
of  acres  of  forest  fell  under  tie  planter’s  axe,  and 
applications  for  land  poured  in  on  the  Government. 
The  up6et  price  was  raised  from  Re.  1 per  acre 
to  RIO,  but  competition  was  keen,  aud  at  the 
last  auction — held,  I think,  io  1876— the  average  price 
was,  if  I remember  aright,  R22.  Since  then  the 
Government  has  stopped  all  public  sales,  but  why,  I 
cannot  say.  The  planter,  cne  would  think,  is  a person 
to  bo  encouraged  ; he  spends  all,  or  almost  all  his 
money  in  the  country,  and  draws  not  a cent  out  of 
i‘;  he  employes  the  natives  of  the  country  as  writers, 
conductors,  onngannis,  m iistries,  coolies,  not  to  men- 
tion the  servams  of  his  household,  and  enriches  many 
of  them  so  that  they  advance  to  the  status  of  taxable 
citizens.  Except  in  one  particular  I do  not  grumble 
at  the  Government.  It  has  been  kind  to  us  in  many 
ways,  and  it  gives  us  grants  for  roads.  It  is  our 
own  fault  if  our  private  roads  aie  in  bad  oruei  ; but 
who  is  to  blame  except  the  Government  for  a public 
road  beiug  almost  impassable?  There  is  one  road 
I wot  of,  along  which  the  whole  traffic  ol’  this  district 
passes,  which  a couple  of  mouths  ago  was  a 
disgrace  to  civilisation.  Foundation  it  tad  none, 
aud  its  “ surface,”  had  disappeared  into  deep  holes 
or  was  swamped  with  mud,  or  covered  with 
rocks  and  boulders.  Years  of  correspondence 
with  Government  Officials  failed  to  improve  the 
state  of  that  read.  Its  reported  vileness  was 
probably  put  down  to  “ Planters’  exaggeration.” 
* Mr.  Oox  did  not  go  from  Ceylon  to  Travancore. 
but  had  been  for  years  resident  there.— Ed.  T.A. 
In  spite  of  carts  beiDg  upset,  and  tea  cheats 
and  bones  broken.  That  was  two  months  ago. 
Now,  it  is  as  if  a fairy’s  waud  bad  paB-red  over 
the  wLo’e  of  its  ODce  fouflength,  for  it  is  a beautiful, 
hard  firm  and  well-drained  thoroughfare!  Why? 
B c uee  notice  was  rtceived  that  H.  E.  the  Governor 
was  to  pass  along  it.  Tte  D.  P.  AT.  was  atirred 
to  its  innermost  depths,  and  thousands  of  coolies 
were  sect  to  embellish  and  b autify  tbe  slough. 
May  He&ven  bless  His  Excellency  1 Tbe  use  of 
the  road  for  or.ee  only  in  his  lifetime  lias  achieved 
more  good  than  the  protestations  and  petitions  lor 
years  of  us  poor  pb  liters  who  use  the  road  every 
day.  And  H.  E.  probably  thinks  it  a very  good  road, 
which  it  is  now-  If  it  is  allowed  to  relapse  into  its 
normal  condition  we  might  do  worse  than  petition 
another  Governor  to  come  and  visit  us. 
Looking  back  e.t  the  piot_eers’  far-away  days  it  is 
wonderful  to  think  what  boys  we  all  wen.  In  this 
district  there  was  hardly  a man  over  30.  We  had 
a'l  the  energy  and  hopefulness  of  youtb,  and  aviry 
b.igbt  future  loomed  before  us.  The  young  man 
of  tte  present  day  seems  a far  more  sober 
and  serious  being  than  we  were.  Av.tres  temps, 
autras  mccurs,  I suppose.  But  they  were  good  friends 
and  merry  companions,  these  old  by-gone  comrades, 
and  it  is  sad  to  think  what  has  become  of  maDy  of 
them.  I can  count  ju  t fifty  men  who  had  come 
and  gone  in  this  district  alone  since  I have  been 
here.  Of  these  1 know  for  certain  that  eleven  are 
dead,  and  probably  many  more  who  have  wandered 
away  beyond  cur  ken  have  joined  tbe  great  majority. 
For  many  years  coffee  flourished  exceedingly,  aud 
extensions  of  estates  were  made  on  all  sides.  But 
the  enemy  was  within  our  gates,  and  leaf-disease, 
slowly,  insidiously  but  surely  was  sapping  the  indus- 
try to  ils  core.  W.  r was  waged  against  tbe  foe; 
analytical  chemists  prescribed  remedies  ; all  sorts  ot 
experiments  were  made  with  various  manures,  and 
with  different  methods  and  times  of  pruning  ; 
volume  s of  correspondence  were  published  od  the 
subject  iu  the  planting  journals.  But  it  was  allot  no 
avail.  The  enemy  was  sometimes  repu'ssd and  seemed 
about  to  retire  altogether,  but  it  was  only  to 
advance  again  with  redoubled  vigour.  The  planter 
was  beaten,  and  had  to  admit  it.  But  he 
did  net  sit  still  with  folded  haads  and  be- 
moan his  fate.  If  Lot  utterly  ruined,  as  he  some- 
times was,  he  cast  about  with  characteristic  pluck 
for  some  new  product  with  which  to  retrieve  bis  past 
disasters.  His  choice  of  products  was  limited,  and  the 
tea  and  cinobona  were  these  most  generally  chosen. 
The  latter  thrived  well,  partioular’y  on  the  High 
Range  in  the  extreme  North  of  Travancore,  where 
the  oldest  trees  were  planted  twelve  years  ago  and 
yield  of  bark  is  from  500  to  900  lb.  per  acre.  At 
lower  elevations  Succirubra  was  the  variety  principally 
gronD,  and  tbe  harvesting  of  the  bark  paid  well  for 
many  years,  till  prices  steadily  dropping  through 
over-production  rtached  their  present  low  level,  at 
which  cultivation  of  this  variety  hardly  pays.  There 
is  still  a good  deal  of  coffee  left  in  Travancore.  Some 
men  have  stuck  boldly  to  it  in  spite  of  leaf-disease, 
and,  cheered  by  present  high  prices,  refuse  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  tea.  Otters,  who  when  they 
gave  up  coffee  and  replanted  their  estates  with  tea, 
have  several  fields  and  patches  of  coffee  still  left  on 
sheltered  bill  sides  where  the  soil  is  good.  These 
relics  of  the  past  represent  the  rurvival  of  tbe  fittest, 
and  yield  good,  though  perhaps  irregular,  crops.  But 
speaking  gem  rally  of  Travancore,  King  Coffee  is 
dead,  and  Tea  reigns  in  his  stead.  Peace  to  his  ashes, 
and  long  life  to  his  successor  ! Totum. 
—M.  Mail,  Nov.  2. 
Castor  Oil  is  made  palatable  by  repeatedly 
treating  it  with  hot  water,  and  the  addition  of 
saocharin,  until  it  tastes  like  a thin  syrup.  Then 
email  quantities  of  tbe  aldehyde  of  Ceylon  oinnamon 
oil  and  Borne  essence  of  vanilla  are  added  until  all 
traces  of  the  scratching  taste  disappear.  Its  action 
is  the  same  as  that  of  the  ordinary  castor  oil. — ■ 
Pharmaceutical  Era. 
