\ 
596 THE TEOHCAL AGRICULTURIST. [March 2, 1903. 
PLANTING IN PHILIPPINES. 
Sir :— I came to these parts early in 1871, with the 
intention of devoting myself to agriculture and, after 
two years of inspection and study of different districts, 
finally located in Bangui, (to-day a town in this prov- 
ince, but then scarcely more than a settlement), where 
soil, temperature and situation fulfilled my aspira- 
tions. , , 3 
I secured from the state 600 hectares of ground 
which contained soils suitable for growing sugar, 
coffee, indigo, tobacco, cotton, rice and all the plants 
indigenous to the country, feeling confident that I 
should also be able to secure a large portion for those 
of colder climes. ^ , , , 
Many were the difSoulties with which I had to con- 
tend, but my courage was sufficiently great to enable 
me to do so. 1 canvassed among the farmers and in 
three years succeeded in coUectiog 200 colonists to- 
gether with their families from the various pueblos. 
The crops to which I devoted my attention at first 
were : rice, to supply food ; cotton, to furnish clothing; 
indigo, to provide colouring matter ; and tobacco, as a 
luxury. These imperative necessities having been at- 
euded to, I decided to grow. 
COPfEE. 
which had from the beginning been my main object, 
being encouraged thereto by the magnificent results 
aciiieved by early experiments. One difficulty presented 
itself wbich caused me many a misgiving ; this was the 
slight elevation of the land above sea level; but, taking 
into account the fact that the winds, before reaching the 
plantation, necessarily crossed a fine forest of magni- 
ficient trees and, therefore, had become purified of the 
elements prejudicial to the growth of coffee X decided 
to undertake its cultivation. 
In four years I succeeded in planting 600,000 trees, 
which were the envy of all who beheld them and which 
promised excellent returns for labour and money 
expended. In 1889, when the planation commenced 
to bear fruit, there appeared an insect known as the 
Bagombon (a species of grub), which entered the plant 
in a larval condition, leaving no external evidence of 
its mode of entrance. This insect completely destroy- 
ed the inner structure of the plant, though outwardly 
there was no visible sign of destruction, until the 
plant had been converted into a limp, serrated stalk, 
tiae plant then assuming a yellow colour and having 
been brought to so weak a condition that the slightest 
breeze was sufficient to overthrow it. The work of 
destruction, 1 have observed, takes a downward course, 
beginning at the top of the stalk, so that but little 
is left in a sound condition that would enable it to 
sprout again. This has been the cause of very great 
loss to me in three or four years, whereas a single crop 
would have reimbursed me for ail expenditures. 
After having replanted a large portion of the land in 
1889, another disease appeared, which has not up to 
the present time been identified, but which destroyed 
nearly all of the plantations of the adjacent country. 
On my own plantation I first noticed it in September 
1889- It made its appearance in sections and in a 
manner which greatly surprised me. I at first attri- 
buted it to the vast rainfall during the months of 
August and September, but was soon convinced of the 
seriousness of the matter. The weather improved, 
and new spots appeared. Then I undertook a series of 
experiments in my endeavors to efiect a cure, which 
consumed my savings and proved fruitless. I then 
Bolicited the aid of an intelligent person from the 
Agricultural School, who might study the disease. 
They sent an engineer, and he came to the conclusion 
that the trouble was caused by a fungus or a parasite 
the remedy against which was either sulphur or sul- 
phate of copper. I experimented with both of these, 
but with absolutely no result whatever, due in my 
opinion, not to the inefficacy of the sulphur or sulphate 
of copper, but to the fact that this ■vvas the season of 
the year in which the rainfall was greatest, and any 
•work done in the morning was washed away by the 
fMQ ia the afternoon. Uader these conditions and 
lamenting the continuous great losses, we discassed 
the possible origin of so fatal a disease and began to 
suspect (though somewhat tardily) that the almost 
total disappearance of the first insect which disappeared 
simultaneously with the appearance of the second 
evil and which, while tro'ublesome was not injurious, 
favored the development of the- disease. This coinci- 
dence did not occur to me until after the lapse of some 
time. I endeavoured to act the part of a benefactor 
and would have succeeded, but for the revolution which 
destroyed the entire work of thirty years. 
Another subject to which I have devoted much 
attention is the cultivation of 
CACAO, 
There being no large plantations in which to study this 
plant, and the half dozen trees usually affording shelter 
to the homes of the natives being insufiicient for my 
purpose, I did not wish to undertake the work of planting 
on a large scale. I planted some 29 trees at different 
points, in different latitudes and in various soils. This 
study caused me so much trouble that 1 was on the point 
of abandoning it, but my inclination for the work trium- 
phed and I succeeded in attaining my object. In 1894 
I found myself in possession of the land required ; 
after 18 J ears of investigation I succeeded in finding 
the soil. I planted some 20.000 trees and would have 
planted as many as 100,000 had I had sufficient funds 
to secure that number. This plantation is a beautiful 
one and bears well, though not for me, unfortunately. 
The cultivation of this tree requires conditions which 
are only to be found in large forests. If the plantations 
have a somewhat interior location and communication 
with same be somewhat difficult, it would be necessary 
in order to defend the fruit against the depredations of 
monkeys and other two and four-footed animals, to 
have six guns (impossible to obtain at the present 
time) and an equal number of men who would be 
willing to live there, the latter being even more 
difficult to secure than the former. 
One of the most important considerations in the 
cultivation of cacao is the selection of seed. Great 
care must be exercised in this selection, for otheiwise 
while beautiful treea may be grown, they will not bear 
fruit. This selection should always be made by the 
person interested and not-entrusted to another, if the 
owner does not wish to run the risk of failure. 
In my opinion, a plantation of cacao is one of the 
most profitable undertakings, if the soil be selected 
with care, permitting the white man to work with 
comparative comfort in shaded soils. 
As is the case with coffee plants throughout the pro- 
vince one may see cacao trees which thrive in the 
shadow of banana trees or of buildings. Therefore, no 
hard and fast rule can be laid down governing the 
point of location ; however, as I have said, the pueblo 
offering the best conditions for its cultivation, ia 
Bangui. 
TOBACCO. 
The cultivation of this product was monopolized by 
the State until the year 1882, when it was declared free. 
Until that time its cultivation was carried on under 
the direction of competent persons employed in all the 
towns by the State, and the output for the entire pro- 
vinces fluctuated between 500,00 and 300,000 bales of 
a quality superior to that produced to-day. After it 
had been declared free many of the labourers forqpok 
its cultivation and began a custom which soon became 
a vice, 
Commercial houses were not lacking to take the place 
of the planter, with advantage to the State, when 
suddenly appeared the great destroyer of Philippine 
agriculture, th>i China-man, who received the article, 
in any form whatsoever, though at the lowest price 
In view of the fact the planter, having but little need 
to economise labour, forsook every rule of careful culti- 
vation, simply trusting in Providence to bestow upon 
him the few pesos he required. The efforts of these 
commercial houses were fruitless to preserve the 
quality, if not the quantity / they found themselves 
compelled to reduce the prices— all of which caaag 
