THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Dec. 1, 1898. 
effect of the duty being Mduoed 23. Mr. Gow is now 
away on his holidays, but we shall have much pleaaure 
ia placing your letter before bin; on his return when 
lie will doubtless address you fully on the subject. 
—We are, &c. (Signed) Gow, Wilson & Stanton. 
COFFEE PLANTING IN "SWITZER- 
LAND" (SUMATRA.) 
Oct. 7. 
Sir,— It ia ratlier a start ing idea, isn't it? 
Bat the explanation is that tiie sub-district of 
Upper Serdans on the East Coast of Sumatra, is 
locally known in two dis'isions, viz., Serdaiijr 
East and Switzerland : and as these remarks are 
intended to refer cliieliy to Mr. Van der Poorlen's 
admirable notes on "Serdant; and the CoH'ee 
Enterprise': and as Mr. V D.l\ visited only the 
estates in Switzerland, I have eliosen the above 
somewhat siartlinp; head line. 
These notes have been read with interest and 
very well received tlnouf^hont the district. Tlie 
Manager of Begerpaiig writes as follows in reply 
to a query of mine as to wliether tlie statement 
that his estate was the largest is correct. '?That 
Begerpang will he the 
LARGEST KSTATE OF SERDANG 
is tlie verity, because I will have 400,000 trees 
till the end of the year, and plant 100,000 more 
during the next year. 
♦'I would like to see in another article the cost 
price of one picul of cottee sold in Europe. I think 
that this price will not he more than tl 2') (guild- 
ers) a picul (including 5 per cent rent of cajiital) 
on a fully bearing estate where the younge*** 
trees are not less than three years old. The 
prices now in this bad season paid in Europe are 
tl 36 to ti 38 (guilders) a picul. B B estate sold 
lately for 62 to 65 centimes per 500 gr. in Havre. 
This will be H 38 75 to fi 40-62 per picnl. So 
we can always reckon that we will get an aver- 
age of fl 35 to fl 37 over a long period." Now 
the above is most interesting taken in this con- 
nection. It is dated 2Sth August 1898, while a 
few days ago I received a letter from a friend 
in Ceylon dated 5tli Sept. 189 <, a difference of 
only seven days, and writing of 
LIBERIAN 
he says i^" The prices are too very bad! Here 
it sells at R20 per cwt. or R3'87 per bushel 
parchment." Another estate that I know has 
never netted during all this time ot depression, 
less than $29 per picul. Again, a few days ago 
I was visiting a friend, and I said, in chaflF, 
" E'olks say that you put a picul on to the 
price of your coffee." He went straight to his 
office and showed me his last account sales— 50 
bags— (fr 64 nett.) 
THE BATTLE OP THE DISTANCES 
rages here nearly as savagely as the Battle of 
the Gauges with you in Ceylon. Reg.ardiug it, 
niy first-quoted correspondent from Begerpang 
writes: — "I have myself adopted the distance of 
10 feet by 10 feet and think that this will be 
the best. 12 feet by 12 feet would be very nice, 
but regarding the wealthy growth of o>ir weeds, 
I would not be brave to use this distance. Less 
than 10 feet by 10 feet is certainly not enough. 
The soil in the lalang (illook) is quite the same as 
in the forest. Altitude 300—600 feet. Rainfall all 
right. Returns of 10 to 12 cwt. per acre after four 
years (two katties per tree) all right." 
As to distances, as I have said, the battle 
rages. My Begerpang friend sticks out for 10 
by'^lO feet. Another man says 12 by 12 feet. Yet 
another 12 by 12 feet with a quincunx, and 
{igain 14 by U f^et witli a (juiDcunjif, y« his 
way to Ceylon, Dr. Treub, of Buite'izorg, bad a 
glance at the district. I'nfortunately he had no 
time to go through it ; but he is reported to have 
said that, taking into cou.-<ideration soil and 
climate, 15 by 15 feet was the distance for Liberiaii 
coH'ee in Serdang. And here your humble servant 
slips in. From the first time 1 saw cofl'ee growing 
here, I advocated 7 by 7 feet. Take off two croj*. 
and thin out till you are 7 by 14 feet. After- 
wards thin out as occasion calls, until you are 14 
by 14 feet. Some friends adopted my views, ami 
are now growing in spirit. They confe"* that the 
returns are grand, more than could have been 
anticipated. But what cut.i them to the heart j« 
the prospect of liaving to cut out i-Hch magnificent 
coffee. " Throw sentiment to the winds my <lear 
boy, and look at the Bank-book." Tliis, it is con- 
fessed, is the right view, but still sentiment ha« 
its sway. The idea of the soil being exhausted 
under tiiis treatment cannot tor a moment be 
entertaiiiecl in this district, 
When I first knew Serdang three and a half years 
ago, there were 
FOUR COFFER ESTATK^, 
all in the initial stage, aggregating about 600 acres. 
There are now 
T \V E X T V T H R E E EST A T K.S 
(possibly more) with fully 8,(KI0 acres planted in 
coffee, and extension is still the word. Two or 
three estates there are ihat began with small 
capital when coffee was $40 upwards at Singapore, 
looking forward to easy borrowing times later on : 
and of course depression put these into a quandary 
for a time. But every one of them has struggled 
through the raiiids. Switzerland lias started iis 
Ober-Scrdang club, which gave its house-warming 
last month. A bowling-match, a dinner, an 
entertainment, concluding with dancing. Ther.i 
were over 40 people present, including four lailie* 
and two conlroleours (ma^^isirates). I was udd 
afterwards that one piece was staged of which Mis. 
Ormiston Chant would not have approved. But 
I was in the green room, dreshintr at the time, 
so I can't speak from personal knowledge. 
W.T.McK. 
THE INTRODUCTION OF THE GOURAMI 
FISH INTO CEYLON. 
Ratnapura, Oct. 22. 
Dear Scr,— I am glad to .see that the Gourami is 
again attracting attention. Several attempts have 
been made to introduce it into Ceylon. Some were 
imported by Sir William Gregory which arrived 
safely, and were placed in ponds in Kandy ; but so 
far as I can learn, were no more seen. Another at- 
tempt was made later (by Mr. LeMesurier, I believe) 
and a solitary specimen was to be seen for some 
lime in the basin in the Gordon (hardens, Colombo. 
In 1804, with the kind assistance of Messrs. Bois 
Bros, and of the late Capt. Bayley, I obtained a 
consignment from Mauritius. They were most 
carefully shipped and cared for cn route- but most 
unfortunately were all sent off to Nriwara Eliya at 
once on arrival, and next m;irning all were lead. 
Messrs. Scott & Co. of Mauritius had warneil 
us that it was doubtful whether the fish woula 
thrive in such a cold climate, and we had intended 
to distribute them at different elevations. I in- 
tended to try again ; but was moved elsewhere a 
few weeks later. 
The Gourami has been introduced into India, 
and the Hon. Secretary of the Nilgiri Game Asso- 
ciation told me that it had been a great success. 
I believe that it is quite common in Java.— 
Yours faithfully, 
