<A MONTHLY. 
Vol. XVIII. 
COLOMBO, MAY 1st, 1899. 
No, 11. 
REPORT ON COFFEE LEAF DISEASE 
IN COORG. 
[Including Desckiftion of Cooeo ; Culti- 
vation OF CoFFEii— Shade, Weeding, Man- 
ures,— Seed, Varieties, Hybridising.] 
BY MR. JOHN CAMERON, f.l.s.* 
ARRIVAL IN COOEG. 
Y arrival in the province on the 
15th November was happily 
timed, as the N. B. monsoon 
had just subsided, and the coun- 
try was, therefore, seen to the 
best advantage. 
Coffee was also in its prime, 
crop beginning to ripen in the 
drier and more exposed parts of the planting zone. 
Mr. Parsoua, Honorary Secretary of the Coorg Plan- 
ters' Association, who had kindly made all arrange- 
ments for my tour, met me at the Pollibetta Club, and 
accompanied ma to his Bae residence at "Beechlands," 
which subsequently becimo the base of operations in 
South coorg, or what is losally knowa as the 
" Bamboo" district. 
Daring the following fifteen diys of iaspectio-j'and 
touring,°I must have pissed through 50 miles of fine 
coffee in full bearing, most of it in the "Bamboo" 
being in one continuous stretch. 
The crop this season is also considered well above 
the average. It is needless to say that this was an 
unique and impressive sight such as one does not 
forget. A sight such as the former rulers of Coorg 
had never dreamed of ! 
It is also ray (irst experience of the kind, as on for- 
mer occasions when visiting planting districts in 
Maujaraba;!, South Wynaad and the Nilgiri Hills 
the coffee was not in crop. 
rilYSICAL ASPECT OF TUB COUNTRY. 
Coorg la a hilly pliteau girt on the west and south 
by the western ghats, tho highest boundary peaks 
being Subrahmanya in the North (5,518 feel), Ta- 
diaudamol in the west (5,GS2 feet), and the Brah- 
* Reprinted from "Planting Opinion," March 18, 18'J'J. 
magiris in the south (4,500 feet). It is situated 
between north latitude 11° 55' and 12° 50', and east 
longitude TLO 25' and 76^ 11', covering an area of 
1,585 square miles. Mercara. the capital of tha pro- 
vince, occupies a commanding site at an elevation of 
3,800 feet. The view from the spot called " Rajah's 
Seat" is one of the finest I have ever seen. The 
average elevation of the upper plateau is 3,500, bat 
gently sloping towards the eastern frontier, where tbe 
elevation in same places does not exceed 2,700 feet. 
Minor mountains and hills intersect the whole country 
beautifully, and are mostly clothed with interest- 
ing trees of varying tint. In most parts of the 
'' Bamboo" one feels rather over-shadowed by trees; 
but commanding situations, as at the Pollibette Club) 
Mr. James Gerard's Bungalow, and Elk Hill, afford 
fine views of this part of the country. 
In North Coorg, the finest views observec are at 
Peremboo Coolly, Mr. S ilisbury Trelawney's charm- 
ing place, Mercara, and Hallery, where I was the 
guest of Mr, and Mrs. Sprott and had the pleasure of 
meeting Mr, t?rank Mangles, one of the most success- 
full pioneers of planting in North Coorg. 
The principal rivers and streams have an easterly 
course and flow right across the peninsula into the 
Bay of Bengal. These are the Kaveri,— rising on 
the Brahmigri Rmge at a sacred spot called Tala- 
Kaveri, or head of the river, — Hemavate and 
Lakshamanatcrtha, The Barapole is the principal 
river flowing to the western coast. Mountain streams 
are abundant and rapid during the monsoon season, 
but at other times they are not so apparent, and the 
planters mostly complain of the difficulty they ex- 
perience in watering floower gardens around their 
bungalows daring the dry season. 
But this is of course due to the bungalows being 
mostly situated on high ground, where thero.is less ma- 
laria to contend with. The little alpine province of Coorg 
is justly described as one of tho prettiest spots in India. 
aEOliOOICAL FORMATION. 
The geological formation is eminently favourabl* to 
the creation of good soils. This is due both to tha 
mineral couatilution of the indigeuoui rocks and of 
their age auJ mechanism. In nearly every part to 
the country one sees au abundant outcrop of dia- 
