July 1, 1898.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST; 
33- 
S 0 r r f 1' s c ti ^] 6 0 1?. 
To the Editce. 
COFFEE IN MEXICO BY AN EX- 
CEYLON PLANTER ; 
ALSO TOBACCO-RUBBEK-CACAO. 
Mexico, 15th April 1898. 
Sir, — Under a separate cover I send you a 
copy of the " Mexican Herakl" and as the 
article referring to coll'ee growing in Mexico may 
reach you and appear in your paper, I thiult 
some explanation is necessary. The writer is 
evidently one of the many Americans who 
come here and have been disappointed as 
they tliink all they have to do is to stick in a 
coffee plant into the ground and allow it to take 
care of itself. Cotfee here in Mexico with ex- 
perienced attention, as in the old days of Ceylon, 
will beat the world, both for production and 
quality, and the present prices or high grade 
coffee attest this. For production, I have seen on 
estates lately visited by me, coti'ee trees which 
produced last year from trees only five to six 
years old, 60 lb. of cherry or equal to 15 lb. of 
clean coffee. 
On an adjoining property to this and under 
the management of Mr. E. O. Darley an old 
Ceylon iilanter, I send you the photograph of a 
coffee tree, two and half yeais from the seed with 
Mr. Darley standing beside it, which was topped 
at feet, which lias a croj) upon it equal to 
21b. of clean cotfei^. This will therefore, show what 
coffee will do under proper treatment in Mexico. 
The property I write from is jointly owned 
by Mr. Darley and Mr. Evans and myself. 
We propose this year placing a considerable area 
under coffee and looli to our getting a crop of 
tobacco which we intend planting between the 
ro>vs (and which last year we successfully ex- 
perimented with) for one season only. That will 
pay us at least fo'' our expense in opening up 
and planting our land. 
Tobacco cultivation in Mexico, is one of the 
finest paying investments in this or any other 
country. Whilst Rubber planting also pays hand- 
somely. Mexican cocoa is known all over the 
world and commands the higliest price, Messrs. 
Menier & Co. of Paris securing nearly all the 
crop grown in Mexico. 
Since I turned my attention to I\Iexico, some 
two years ago, I have been the means of draw- 
ing the attention of some well-known Ceylon 
men to the country, these include Mr. Joim 
Clark, of Wattegode ; Mr. J. Fort of Eltofts, Bn- 
gawantalawa; whilst I enclose you the photographs 
of Messrs. P. F. Hadow and C. O. Naftel taken 
on this property. These four gentlemen have all 
been in this country. Mr. backville has lately 
paid a visit to Mexico in the interest .of a Syn- 
dicate in London, headed I understand by Mr. 
James Sinclair of Dimbula. I may mention that 
outside of Mr. E. 0. Dirley being in Mexico 
there are also at the present time Mr. Iv. E. Piueo 
and Wm. Forsyth late of Lindula both of 
whom are looking out for investments, in this 
country. I may al^o state that Mr. Wickham paiil 
a visit to Mexico some few weeks ago, so it 
will be seen some considerable attention is being 
taken by Ceylon men in Mexico. 
I consider this country oilers unusual in- 
ducement to planters of experience. Land is of 
the best and cheap. Whilst labour is moderately 
plentiful. Although if extensive areas are placed 
under tropical products labour will require to be 
drawn from Japan. Tliere are already some Japa- 
nese labourers in Mexico and they work most satis- 
factorily, their rate of wages being for men Is per 
day, women 6d to 9d. and boys and girls less. 
I shall be glad to hear from any Ceylon plan- 
ters who should think of turning their attention 
to this country. 
V/M. LAIiSG- MALCOLMSON, 
Late of Campion Estate, Bogawantalawa. 
We quote the essential part as follows 
COFFEE IN MEXICO. 
(From the Mexican.) 
All the coast States of Mexico south of the 2.5 de? 
are suita.ble for coffee culture, and the finest plan- 
tatioas are found about Vera Cruz on the east coast 
the States of Colima and the Michoacan on the 
west coast, and the Isthmus of Tehuantepsc. 
One of the most successful coffee growers in the 
J^ep"hhc gives his experience iuits culture as follows :— 
^ "Vvhea I came to Mexico, ten years ago, I had 
»20,000 m gold which, by the way, is as small a 
sum as anyone should ever undertake the business 
with. Most of the failures in the coffee business 
and they are many, are due to the fact that the' 
parties have insufficient means to wait from five to 
seven years before realizing anythiug from the crop, 
i had had some experience in coffee-growing in the 
Hawaiau Islands, previous to coming to Mexico, and 
learned some very dear lessons there, having planted " 
my trees at too low an elevation, and lost the entire 
plantation fiom the rust which prevails at an altitude 
of xrom 1.000 to 2,000 feet above sea level, where most of 
the plantations located in former days. 
"I selected 500 acres of land in' the State of Veri 
Cruz, among the primeval forest, at an elevation of 
3,000 feet, paymg S]2'50 in Mexican silver per acre. ' 
i'he land was a rich loam, rather rocky, and cost 
me S8 per acre to clear. Thus, you see, the first 
outlay, was about 810,250. I left trees at a distance 
of about twenty-five feet, as they were large, and I 
calculated that one tree woixld shade three or four 
cofl'ee plants. All of the land was on a side* hill, ■ 
where drainage would be good, thus preventing too 
much dampness about the roots of the plants. I 
selected young plants frora a nursery, paying about 
gSOO for sufficient plants for my 500 acres of ground. 
Of course, the cost was much higher than ten years 
ago than now. The distance at which to set trees 
is a mooted question, some claiming that they may 
be set as close as three and one-half feet, others 
say that the proper distance is eight to ten feet.; ■ 
In ludia and Ceylon the average distance is six feet,' '< 
with the trees topped at about four feet. la-- - 
Guatemala; they are set at about nine feef 
and the trees allowed to attain their natural-' 
height of about twenty feet. Each planter has hia - 
own opinion, but from my experience, lam convinced 
that ten foet is_ the proper distance in this State, 
where the conditions are somewhat different from . 
the west coast or the Isthmus of Tehuantepec I set 
my trees in boles eighteen inches deep by eighteen 
inches square, carefully removing all stones and , 
roots from the surrounding soil. The holes were left . 
open tor about three weeks, and the plants placed 
in them just at the beginning of the rainy season, 
"When the tiees attained the nge of eighteen 
months, I had them topped to a height of four feet, ' 
which caused them to throw out more vigorous 
branches, and from these sprang "suckers," most of 
which I had removed. It requires a good deal of ex- 
perience to understand the principles of successhil 
pruning, that is, to remove all ?upei ti'.ious wood and 
leave such branches as will produce the best crop. 
In the WOi'k of pruning comes ope of the greatest ofa. 
