44 
THE TROPSOAL AQRlOULTURfST 
[JULV I, liSgi. 
We now turn to CaedA5iom3 and the Vieiting 
Agents here again differ greatly : — 
Exports op Oaedamcms toe 1891. 
Blaximnm. Minimum. Probable 
lb. 360,000 320,000 340,000 
lb. 270,000 230.000 250,000 
But here we find certain district returns aggre- 
gating no less tbaa 451,950 lb. — the district of htan- 
gala (including Medamahanuwara and Nitre Cave) 
alone being put down for 300,0001b. (?) Malale EatL 
75,000 lb., Hewabeta Lower 37,000 lb., Dolosbage 
10,000, Haputale 6,000 Jb.,Kurunegt4ia 9,500 lb, Ke)e- 
bokka 5,500 lb. An extent equal to oue-iourth ol the 
whole area planted, is not estimated for, so that 
would bring the estimate up to 560,000 lb. an out- 
rageous figure. Looking at the shipments, we think 
far too much was put down for the liangaia group 
o£ dittricte, and we do not think tne iota! expoit 
for the year is likely to exceed oiO.OOO lb., thus : — 
Upto 25th May. Kest oi Year. Total. 
1891 ... lb. 139,893 (say) 200,000 (say) 339,896 
1890 ... lb. 163,719 2-24.000 3»7,940 
1889 ... lb. 142,910 210,000 361,224 
1888 ... lb. 146,904 141,000 2»7,729 
Lastly, we have Cinchona Babk estimated by 
two planters, with the same result, curiously enough, 
as follows : — 
Maximum Minimum Probable, 
lb. 8,000,000 5,000,000 6,500,000 
lb, 7,000,000 6,000,000 6,500,000 
One of the estimators appended the following note 
to his estimate : 
" Cinchona will, of course, be influenced by the mar- 
ket. A strone; market would, naturally, throw a lot 
into the market; a weak prica will beep it oat." 
Our district returns, strangely enough, only make 
up 1,835,000 lb, of which 80^000 lb. (mostly fine 
Ledger bark) were to be from Nilambe, 450,000 lb. 
from Hapuiale, 250,000 lb. from Madulsima 
and Hewa Eliya, 22,000 lb. from Monaragala, 
60,000 lb. Matale East, 80,000 lb. Kotmale, 
65,000 lb. Kalebokka, 34,000 lb. from the Hewahela, 
40,000 from Dolosbage, 32.000 lb. from Alagala, 
10 000 lb. fro-n Balangoda; but wo had no estimates 
from Badulla, Udapuasellawa, Dimbula, Dikoya or 
Maskeliya. It is specially interesting under these 
circumstances to sea how shipments and totals 
compare 
Up to 25th May. Rest, of year. Total. 
1891 ... lb. 2,051.542 ... (say) 3,000,000... 5,000,000 
1890 ... lb. 3,490,574 ... 5,250,000... 8,72o,836 
1889 ... lb. 4,1(18,943 ... 5. .80,0-10... 8,283,729 
1888 ... lb. 4,647,379 ... 8,000,000... 12,697,146 
Of course "it the market improves," our probable 
5 millions may expand into 6 or 7 million lb. 
— It is of interest, to see in connection with the 
careful detailed estimates kiadly sent us for the 
Madulaima and Hewa Eliya district, that '' rubber " 
7,000 lb.), "tobacco" (200 cwt.) and "pepper" 
(re among the minor products likely to be exported 
tahence. 
COFFEE IN JAVA, CEYLON AND MYSOEE. 
Mr. B. H, Elliot, the well-known Mysore estate 
proprietor, and author of the " Experiences of a 
MyBore planter," w)ites to us enquiringly as fol- 
follows : — 
••Could you tell mo it' Dr. Trimru found that colfue 
in Javu is snffi-ring much from loaf disease? I infer 
that it is from the iritrodnutioa there of Liberian. I 
ask Ijoc.iusu I nm preparing for a ij<;w edition of my 
" Kxp jricuces of a rinuter," which was published 20 
yeaiK ago. I bball liavo inaoli to add in re cotfce, 
golii, e'c. I hear b;id accounts of le if-drsease from 
plurjlerfj on ai.d near the liihs, and iilno from Coorg. 
I mn.ly believe tbat Mysoro i« the only oott'ee coun- 
try that will hold out, and it will do bo b( cause 
coffee oun be treated tbera as (or what it is iu nature) 
a Bhade plant, and becaus i the dryness of the climate 
in our long rainless season is uutavourable to the 
disease, which by the way we have always ha.f, in 
all prubabiliiy for nearly 100 years. Then Mysore 
18 in the same latitude as Abjssinia, the origiual 
home of the plant, and I am told ihat it is gene- 
rally found that plauta do best if not taken out of 
their native latitude. Ceylon is out of the coflfee 
latitude." 
Dr. Trimen did not travel much in the coffee 
districts of Java; but undoubtedly Hemileia 
vastatrix some years ago did nearly as much 
mitiChief to ordinary coffee in Java as it did 
to it in Oeylon and the greater part of Sou- 
thern India, and that is one reason why Java 
ana Btraits planters have taken to Liberian coffee. 
As regards Mr. Elliot's remarks on Mysore and 
Ceylon and his reason for the continued successful 
cultivation of coffee in the former, we cannot help 
thinking his idea la rather fanciful. Mysore lias good 
soil and a. climate which permits culture unaer 
shade. That is the reason, we suspect, why coffee 
suffers less (tor it certainly does suffer) from leaf- 
disease, than in other parts of Southern India and 
Ceylon. We notice, however, in the statistical 
returns just published by the Indian Government 
that Mysore has still 123,250 acres under coffee 
(Hassan division 49,000 acres and Kadur over 
74,000) against 62,465 acres in Ooorg ; 55,618 
in Madras Presidency ; and less than 60,00 ) 
acres in Ceylon. In 1886, Mysore was offioialiy 
reported to have 134,149 acres under coffee ; Coorg 
71,994; and Madras Presidency 93,873 acres. Java 
and Sumatra are etill credited with a large area 
under coffee, perhaps 300,000 acres, but how much 
of this may be ' Libeiian ' it is hard to say. The 
export of coffee from Java alone after reacning its 
lowest point in 1887 (263,000 cwt.) has begun to 
increase again, the half-milhon cwt. being nearly 
reached in 1889. 
LABOUR SUPPLY AND COAST AGENCIES 
FOE COOLIES. 
We have not the slightest faith in the success 
of an agency on the Coast for the supply of coolies 
for Ceylon plantations. All experience in the past 
has shewn the utter futility of any such attempt 
to meet the varied, the multiplied and conflioting 
requirements oi planters. Even if all ttie pro- 
prietors of the island joined to support a special 
fund for the establishment of such an Agency, 
we should anticipate nothing but disruption, failure 
and a winding-up within a twelvemonth. It is 
when the details of working out such a scheme 
come to be considered that the diflioulty begins ; 
and in conjuring up a Coast agent with 50, or 100 
or 500 orders for coolies from planters eager to 
get full value for their money, and jealous of 
priority, while in urgent need of reinforce luent, we 
can readily realize how the trouble would ar.se. 
As well try to work all the plantations in Ceylon 
from one joint " Upkeep Fund," as get coolies 
supplied through a Labour Fund and Cooly Agency, 
in our opinion. On the other hand, we have no 
objection to giving some extracts from the letter 
of a planter who is a strong believer in a Cooly 
Agency as follows : — 
The idea of a cooly agency is nothing new. I believe: 
one was tried before, and proved a failure, but that 
is no I'eaoon why it should be a failure if thoroughly 
couHidored and curried out. In a few days P. A. 
meetings will bo held all over the planting districts, 
and the opporluuit> should not bo lost to bring this 
important matter up for Uiacusciou. There is 
nothing of more importance to estate managers than 
