338 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Nov. 1, 1898. 
COFFEE "HYBKIDS" AND "DISEASE." 
A rather curious discussion took place in Com- 
mittee duriti}^ the iasr annual meeting' of tlie Uuiied 
Planters' Association of Soutlieni India on tlie 
KuhjccD of Leaf Di.-easc and Hybrids. As retjartLs 
tlie'foriner, it is a pity that all concerned do not 
take Mr. Marshall Ward's Keport as linal, in 
regard to the lite-liist«jry and action of hcun/cia 
vastatrix, and save themselves the trouble^ of 
describing jippcarances and attacks. Kut 
certainly there ti^ust be a wonderful dillercnce 
between Mysore coffee and the best left in 
Ceylon in view of what Mr. Graham Anderson 
states : — 
I should like here to give it as my opinion that 
little if any deterioratirn has set in with regard to 
our coffee. We have coffee in Mysore on some oi the 
eld estates opened as much as 50 years ago, which is 
as healthy and productive now as ever. In addition 
to this, I believe all the original Babubuden temple 
trees which are about loU years' old, are still to the 
front'. Far from being anxious about the matter, 
there" is nothing in the world that I can think of which 
is more hopeful ihan coffee. There has not been 
a single horticultural arrangement applied to it, and 
yet we can regard it with entire conlidence. We 
should be happy that it is an industry that involves a 
certain amount of trouble. Otherwise it would be 
taken out of our hands altogether. (Cheers ) 
One would like to know whether Mr. Anderson's 
crops per acre over his estates for \S9:i 8 as 
compared with those of 1883-8 justify hi.s 
eheertulness. The coffee crops in Mysore 
as a whole have, we snjipose it will be 
admitted, fallen off greatly in the period named. 
Mr. J. Cameron of the Mysore Government 
Gardens was very enthusiastic at the meeting 
about the importance of changing seed, ami culti- 
vating hybrids. Here is one passage :— 
Mr. Parsons : — Mr. Cameron has told us one thing 
Wliich U indeed serious, and that is that if we co on as 
we are doing now, it is quite possible our coffee may 
become altogether sterile. 
Mr. Camheon , — Yes, if you are going on as vou do 
uow. ' We have in India about 105 varieties of rice 
planted in different parts of the country, which would 
indicate that the natives have found out the benefit 
of introducing new varieties. 
Mr, HARRIS :— How about coftee ? We never go in 
for rotation of crops ; but we do go on feeding the 
°°Mr. Cameron -.—That is whit 1 say. Going on that 
principle, a time wdl come whea the soil will get 
exhausted and you will gradually get loss crop. It is 
not only the soil we bava to consider, but tlie water 
and atmosphere generally. You have also certain 
factors which you can never change. 
As to hybridisation, Mr. Brooke-Mockett is the 
most advanced and Mr. Cameron was so much 
impressed with what he saw on his estate, that 
he started a small experiment of his own :— 
I have about 130 bushes, in three different kinds 
of coffee, under irrigation. When these begirt to 
flower I shall at once begin to fertilise, and when, 
after being fertilised, these plants come into fruit 
I shall be able to cultivate and judge the results of 
hyb'-idisation. In this case it would not take more 
than three or four years. I don't mean to say the 
most favourable results will come from these young 
plants. I think, perhaps, that the experiments should 
be made with older plants and not with young seed- 
lings. Of course, there may be results from seedlings 
giving their maiden crop ; but it is a good deal 
more probable that better results would ensue from 
plants of ten to fifteen years. , , ,r 
Mr. Graham Andeeson :— With regard to Mr. 
Brooke-Mockett's hjbr.d s I may say that the experi- 
pj§Q^ hftfl HOW entered upon its sscond phase. He 
has got now trees which he has named the Improved 
Nak Nad and others the Improvt-d Coorg. It is really 
wonderful what sports these hybrids have prodaced. 
By a system of carsful maDageinent, he has picked 
the fruit of all the second generation of a promisiDg 
nature and has planted the seed separately in marked 
baskets, and so this very useful cxpcnmeut is pro- 
ceeding. In regard to a number of trees, some are 
true to the parent stock, and others are f porta or diff- 
erent strains altogether. He bad an idea that if be 
kept the dillereut atraiiis separate and planted th<-m 
out under auspicious couditious, it would be posi-ible 
to perpetuate them. Mr. Brooke-Mockett's manager 
is au extremely clever man and lias taken a great 
interest in this experiment. He has now got to the 
stage that when the young seedlings have grown to a 
certain extent, he is able to discriuiicato between 
them and say that they will be in accordaQce with 
one type or another. 
Mr. J. W. HocKiN : — As we have had considerable 
experience of hibrids in Wynaad, the meeting may 
like to hear of it. About half a-dozen hybrids, die- 
covered accidentally, are now large trees beating 
crop. Two are, I believe, no good, as the crop gene- 
rally fails. Tlie others are grand trees filling a space 
about nine feet cube at five or *ix years of age, and 
bearing heavily without any signs of leaf-disease. 
They have, of course, been taken every care of and 
manured heavily, but eren so, the growth and vigour 
is very remarkable. Their seed has beea used for 
planting out. Some gentlemen tell ine about 1.5 to 25 
Eer cent of the second generation come true to type; 
nt one genilemaa has a clearing in which he says 
all but a small percentage are good vigorous trees 
free from leaf-disease, though not all, I take it, of 
the same type as the first generation. It will pro- 
bably take a long course of careful selection to estab- 
lish a fixed type. I myself bad Liberiau nurseries 
for five years without finding a hybiid. List year I 
found three hybrids, which were easily distinguished, 
as they were two feet high when the Liberiau pUnts 
were only one foot high. The rapidity of the growth 
of the hybrids is very remarkable: At two years from 
seed my plants have the following measurements : 
one 6i feet hi^h by 5 feet high by 5.^ feet high by 
6 feet across ; one 5 feet high by 5* feel across one ; the 
second tree has a few berries on it. All hybrids of 
whatever generation will grow when it is quite impos- 
sible to get Arabica supplies to grow. I had another 
experiment which promised well, but turned out a 
failure. In the parchment CDffee, picked from Ara- 
bica with Liberian coffee growing lu it, I found a 
considerable number cf very large canoe-shaped 
beans. These from their extraordinary size I 
concluded must be hybrids of which Liberian 
was the father and Arabica the mother plant. 
I thought this an extraordinarily good disco- 
very, as I had a very large bold seed with a good 
Arabica colour and appearance. Unfortunately, the 
plants raised from these seeds got leaf-disease as 
badly or worse than ordinary Arabica, and turned 
out of no value. This would soem to prove that the 
vigour to resist leaf-disease only belongs to hybrids 
of which Liberian is the mother plant. 
Mr. H G P.vusoNs : — Are we quite right in selecting 
Liberian as a means of improving our strains, or 
would you suggest any other varieties ? 
Mr. J. Cameron : — It is difficult to say. I do not 
know that we have had enough experience in the 
matter. 
Mr. H. G. Parsons : — Are there any other strains ? 
Mr. J. Cameron: — Oh yes, these are the va'ieties 
that can be got from Jamaica, Johore, Mocha, and 
West Africa. 
Mr. H. G. Parsons: — But these must all have come 
frcm Arabia orginally. 
Mr. J. Cameron : — Possibly in most cases ; but it 
must have been so long ago that they are bound to 
have incurred some sort of change from the original 
type. 
iUr. B. G. WiNDLE :— In Jamaica, as ar as I know, 
coffee does not suffer from leaf-dissase ; but with us 
Jamaica coffee suffers almost as badly if not W9rse 
than the otber varieties. 
