^Tov. I, 1893.] THE TROPICAL 
AGPJCULTURIST. 
353 
I am told, it wovilcl be well foi^ pi'oducers 
to endeavour at such a time to put matters 
on a sound footing even thougli there may 
be less immediate necessity for doing so 
than has lately been the case. On the other 
hand, I have ' had grave doubts expressed to 
me as to the principle and practice of 
"private contracts" being advantageous to' 
the producers. It is asserted by not a few, 
that there is nothing like open competition 
to determine values and secure fair prices ; 
that private offers and contracts induce sus- 
picion and jealousy ; and. that prices must 
always in the long run be governed by the 
laws of supply and demand. Still it is ad- 
mitted, even by the strongest opponents of 
a change, that private contracts are useful 
and feasible even now in certain cases ; that 
is, when a dealer, having bovight an invoice, 
is offered and agrees to take two or three 
more invoices of the same tea — not as yet 
put in auction— at the same prices as the 
invoice offered in sale. With this exposition 
of both sides of the qiiestion, I must now 
leave the matter for the consideration of the 
tea planters and merchants of Ceylon, assiired 
that, if a change is desirable, it will find 
advocates amongst their number, ready to 
do what they caa to improve the present 
condition of affairs. 
THE IMPROVEMENT OF GOFFEE-II. 
(Bfi a Planter.) 
There can be little doubt that tlie quality of 
coffee must be put into the bean on the tree, before 
it can be developed by the very best metLoJ of 
curing. The most important quality is the flavour 
when roasted, and coffee bought for the Home trade 
is always tested by roasting. For the Continent, 
coffee is chiefly bought on its appearance, it being 
presumed that boldness and evenness combined 
with colour ensure a good flavour. As regrads 
East India coffee, it is certainly the case that no 
coffee that does not combine all these qualities can 
be expected to re.ilise a high price, either for the 
Home, or export trades. The flavour of coffee de- 
pends entirely ou soil, climate, and species. All 
East Indian Arabics, Mocha, and most Central 
American coffees rank as mild coffees, while all 
Brazilian aud Liberian coilees rank as rough coffees 
English Companies have recently introduced Indian 
methods of pulping and washing into Santos, and 
claim to have increased the price some 4s a cwt. 
This leaves it, however, at 30s a cwt. aginst 52s. for 
middling East India, in the first half of this year. 
We may conclude, therefore, that Something in the 
climate of, or in the variety of plant cultivated in, 
Brazil produces a distinct flavour which, fortunately 
for us, "is considered decidediy inferior to the cjffee 
we produce. Further, within India itself, as is 
the case with wine in France and Germany, the 
produce of certain Districts and Estates is deci- 
dedly superior to that of others. As regards the 
Disrict, this superiority is probably due to the dry- 
ness of the climate and the elevation above sea 
level, while in the case of the Estate it must be 
due to soil. In both cases, probably, some of the 
superiority is due to the vaiiety of plant cultivated. 
Admitting that the improvement of the produce 
of any particular Estate or District is limited by 
the above conditons, it remains to be seen what can 
be done to obtain the greatest improvement pos- 
sible in the produce of any given Estate or District. 
It will be generally allowed that the quality of 
the bean in a crop of any size depends on the 
vigour of the tree, and that careful handling and 
pruning to keep the tree open, and thorough culti- 
vation to keep the soil sweet, are essential condi- 
tions of such vigour. For the latter purpose '^drains, 
45 
1 feet deep by 1 foot wide and 10 feet aprt are 
preferable to digging the soil, as it is found that 
too frequent digging interferes with the roots too 
much. The V/ynaacl Committee of 1S85 found that 
shade improved tire colour of coffee, and shade is 
now almost universal, though it was introduced ohifly 
to ward off attacks of borer and leaf disease Lastly, 
the use of manure is also almost universal now ; 
but, when we come to consider the effect of manure 
on the quality of the beau, we enter on a very 
diiflcult question. For there are two very dis- 
turbing factors in calculating the effect of manures : 
firstly, the law that the larger the crop the wor&e 
as a rule is the quality of the bean; and secondly the 
varialion of the season, which may cause a detrior- 
ation in the bean in spite of every care bestowed 
on the cultivation of the tree. The following results 
obtained by the Wynaad Committee in 1885 seem to 
show that the price depends entirely on the size 
of the crop, and not on the manure used : — • 
Sample. How manure. C-P-'^^-l 
No. 
1 
Young coffee 
never manured 
4 
Little or 
none 
01/ 
No, 
2 
Cattle manure 
once in 2 years 
5i 
Severe in 
parts 
50 
No. 
o 
Bones and poonac 
once in 3 Years 
5i 
Severe 
56/ 
No, 
4 
Manure yearly § 
cattle ; ^ boues 
. 3i 
Severe 
69/6 
and poouac 
No. 
5 
Once in 2 year 
Slight 
56/ 
best cattle; best 
artificial 
No. 
6 
Small part cattle 
manure yearly 
2i 
Very 
mild 
64/ 65/ 
No. 
7 
Once in 3 years 
chiefly artificial 
3 
Mild 
56/6-. . 
No. 
8 
Highly with cat- 
7 
S 
57/6 
tle and artificial 
An 
Agent wrote to 
the Committee : — 
"I have 
already got prices for a good number of Estates, 
and it is very curious how they vary, and still more 
curious how the coffee from well cultivated Estates 
has fetched a much lower price than crops from 
poor semi-abandoned ones." The explanation of 
this also is, probably, that the crop from the 
semi-abandoned was much smaller than from 
the well cultivated Estates. Recently complaints 
have been made as to the poor quality of crops from 
Estates on the Nilgiris and Shevaroys, heavily 
manured with chemical manures. The deterioration 
is more probably due to the heaviness of the crops, 
and to excessive drought, than to the use of chemical 
manures. A dry climate favours agood bean, but there 
must be enough moisture during the formation of the 
berry to develop it properly. Possibly the appli- 
cation of too much nitrogen, and of phosphates 
in a form which the tree cannot readily assimilate 
may have had something to do with the deterioration 
—for the former manure might force a heavy crop 
unsupported by the letter. The writer's experience 
is that a steady application, of steamed bone-dust, 
combined with the proper proportion of nitrogen in 
poonac or cattle manure, does undoubtedly improve 
both the quantity and quality of the crop over a 
series of years ; and that purely chemical manures 
do not support the tree under a heavy crop as 
manures of organic origin do. Some of the most 
successful Estates in Mysore and Coorg rely chiefly 
on manures of organic origin. The main point to 
attend to is to promote the vigour of the tree by 
the use of suitable phosphates with the proper 
proportion of nitrogen to make the phosphates most 
efficacious, and not to force on the tree a heavier 
crop than it can mature properly. The Wynaad 
Committee concluded that, though it cannot be said 
that manures affect the colour of the bean directly, 
there can be no doubt that high cultivation im- 
proves the boldness and weight of the bean, These 
agian are intimately connected with colour, and in 
