^82 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[Dec. 1, 1898. 
The claims in favor of husbandry are that a great 
number of trees can be planted on one acre, and 
that all are within easy reach, while better returns 
can be expected from cultivation than from the 
natural conditions of the forest. It must be borne 
in mind, however, that Castilloa elastica is a tree of 
the shade, and that the fiow of sap, and not beautiful 
proportions or an abundant yield of fruit is the 
object sought. Another important point is that the 
tree has a comparatively tender bark in the shady 
woods, which in an open cultivation becomes much 
heavier as a protection against the sun and dry 
air at the expense of the flow of sap, and the pro- 
visions of nature which permit the tree to grow 
anywhere defeat the objects of the planter and makes 
rubber-cultivation a doubtful undertaking. Uence in 
many cases the thousands of dollars that are being 
invested in such enterprises will be the source of 
grievous disappointment. On the other hand, a 
careful selection of a run of forest property where 
rubber-trees reproduce themselves naturally, must 
yield returns that will surprise even the moat san- 
guine expectations. 
Castilloa elastica reproduces itself freely. It has 
been compared to the pine— a slow-growing tree 
which does not propagate itself rapidly. It should, 
however, be compared with the chestnut of our 
northern forests. If a stretch of well-aituated land 
were allowed to grow up wild here at the north, it 
is certain there would be a fair proportion of chest- 
nut-trees that would probably come up on tha 
property. If, besides these natural results one or 
two camps were established on the place and a few 
men were kept working about through the wsoda 
planting chestnuts and looking after the trees, it is 
certain that the care and attention would result in 
a heavy percentage in favor of the planter. Similar 
results can be expected in the tropical forest, using 
the same methods but substituting the care of rubber- 
trees for the chestnut-trees that I have taken as 
an illustration. 
I have noted strong evidence in the tropical 
forests that rubber-trees will reproduce themselves 
whenever the locality is naturally adipted to such 
reproduction, and with a little care such as 
could be given by three to ten men according to 
the size of the property taken in hand the results 
will be beyond the most sanguine expectations. The 
great question is to secure a good run of healthy 
forest laud in a suitable location. This being done, 
but little more is required. A few ordinary labor- 
ing-men and the investment of a small amount 
each year will after a time return thousands annually. 
In the forests the rubber-tree can be relied on to 
produce an abundant flow of sap. In open culti- 
vation it must protect itself from the sun and dry 
air and the results are doubtful, though some well- 
situated plantations will certainly yield bountifully. 
Another important point is that forest land is cheap 
in most rubber countries, and it is no object to 
secure a maximum yield from a given amount of 
land. The object should be a minimum cost of 
production without regard to the amount of land 
employed. 
After having travelled through all the desirabl* 
rubber regions in Central America and northern 
South America, I am satisfied that suitable tropical 
forests which can now be had at a low price— often 
for a few cents an acre — present an opportunity 
for the profitable employment of capital such as 
has seldom been offered in the world's history, but 
the serious point is to secure the proper laud. 
Those who acquire it will have more than they 
expect, but natural rubber lands are not to be bad 
by simply making a chance location. Though the 
tree will grow almost anywhere, it is only the most 
favored spots that will yield those spontaneous re- 
turns that are so very profitable. It is fair to 
state that if people go to taking up tropical 
forests promiscuously ten will be disappointed 
to every one who secures a ■pnze.—IncUaruhber 
NOTES ON COFFEE IN AND FOR 
CENTRAL AFRICA. 
Now that the sale of Shire Highland Co£fee has 
closed in the London Markets for the season, 6ever»l 
inquiries have been received regarding it. One is: 
" How do you account for tho superior Idivour and 
delicate colouring of the first class samples of coffee 
sent from the Shire Highlands?" I have no hesita- 
tion in answering that this is due to the parity of 
the water used in pulping and preparing, and to the 
careful personal euperviaion of European planters 
from the gathering of the berries to the packing 
of the cofifee for exportation. 
It is not merely a matter of soil. No soil could 
be better fitted for the growth of coffee in perfection 
than that of Guatemala, Bolivia, Colombia, or Brazil ; 
but in neither of those countries have you a water 
supply of such genuine purity as that of the Bhire 
Highlands, Take for instance the three great cofifee 
estates at Zoniba, viz, Messrs. Buchanan Brothers, 
at Mlungusi; Messrs. Hyude & Stark of Singers and 
Messrs Sharrer & Co. of Cheralumbee. The rivers 
that run through these estates take their rise iu 
Mount Zoraba, and there are no native dwellings in 
in the basins to taint the water. The pulping is 
done on the banks of these rivers, and the water 
in the mill race is so clear amd pure that Europeans 
drink it without filtering. The same may be said 
of the Mlanje water supply. Nothing could be 
more perfect. If possible, it is even better than 
the supply on the Zomba estates, while at Cholo 
and Namasi the water supply is equally good. 
This fact should bo made widely known, as it gives 
confidence to the consumer to know that the very 
purest water has been upcd in pulping the coffee. 
Another matter of great importance is the personal 
supervision of the European owner. In the Shire 
Highlands the owner has generally only a email estate, 
and is always present to see that everything in con- 
nection with the coffee is scrupulously clean. In 
Brazil and other countries, on the contrary, we are 
told that the owner seldom if ever visits the coffee 
estate — his business being principally in connection 
with the rate of exchange and the current prices 
in the London market. The home consumer can hardly 
form an idea of the extent to which planters in 
this country carry their supervision. A personal visit 
to the estates at pulping time could alone convince 
them of the efforts made to perform all the processes 
with perfect cleanliness. Not only in the pulping, 
but in the curing and drying on the bamboo benches, 
the packing and sorting, — in fact everything connected 
with it. Under these circumstances it is not sur- 
prising to heir that many English families buy Shire 
Highland coffee in prefei-ence to all others. 
BoLrviA. — Next to the Shire Highlands, it is said 
that the best coffee in the world is grown in the 
province of Yungas, which is situated to the north- 
east of La Paz. The quantity how'ever is inconsider- 
able, being hardly more than sufficient for the 
planters' own wants. 
GuATEM.A-LA. — The coffee industry has long been 
established in Guatemala, and last season's export 
totalled 68,773,633 lbs, of which about half was sent 
to market in husk. Every country in Europe got 
some of this crop, with the exception of Spain, but 
then Spain has coffee growing colonies of her own, 
or instance, Porto Rico, and she gets the bulk of 
her requirements from them. Britain might do well 
to follow her example and patronise her own young 
colonies a little more than she does, esnecially as 
Britain goes to heavy expense in lives and money 
to bring some of them into existence and maintain 
them till they are self-supporting. According to the 
reports issued by the Foreign Office, England figures 
as a buyer in all the coffee markets of the world. 
LoANDA. — Planters are said to be extending their 
coffee plantations, but the great fall in the European 
markets has been very discouraging to them. The 
larger part of the coffee brought in is grown by natives. 
Mexico. — The planters around Vera Cruz gather 
their crop between December and April, but theo 
