592 
THE TROPICAL AQmCULTUmST, 
[February i, iSgi. 
School of Agriculture foreshadow a scheme for the 
larger emp'oyiuent of lustruotors. The policy of main- 
taining a School of Asriculture and exptctiug that the 
educating of a few lads in it will benefit the maests 
through the percolation to them of the instruction 
afforded there, is aa shortsighted us the restoration 
of gigantic irrigation works in uninhabitated wastes 
without improving meaoe of transport, so as to induce 
Bettlement uodcr them and encourage the raising of 
paddy beyond the persooal wants of cultivators. Both 
undertakings will uot yield adequate retaras to Uovcrn- 
Dient for the money expended. 
My principal object in writing this letter is to at- 
tempt to remove from your mind i the coQvictioQ, which 
you say the perusal of the communication of " W. A 
D. S. " has left on it, that the small returns of p.tdd 
cultivation is moro often due to "perfunctory husban- 
dry" than to soil or to too much or too liitle water, 
lam sure your correBpoiident could not have intended 
.to create in jour mind an impression ^o damaging 
to his oouatrymeD. 1 am LOt a b ind admirer of the 
goyiya, nor do I believe him to be a model of indus- 
try; but this I do say, and say it with emphasi-, 
that though his methods may be primitive and un- 
scientifio, yet they cannot, in connection with paddy 
cultivation, with truth be said to be " perfunctory." 
Surely, sir, y^u have seen and admired the core 
and skill with which he prepares his rice fields, in 
your frequent railway trave's aloiig the main line of 
railway. B. 
[No doubt the mud i? well worked aud nicely 
smoothed: hut query, if less water and more "elbow 
grease " would uot result in greater returns of better 
grain ?— Ed. T. .1.] 
CEYLON TEA SEED EXPORTED: 
GEttMIls'ATION EESULTS. 
Jan. 12lh. 
Deak "Observer,"—! promised in my letter 
to you of 27th July to let you know the results 
of tea seed exported from Ceylon compared with 
that from Assam which has eo much longer 
transport delay. As I said the seed I took with 
me to Java was only 10 days from my seed- 
bearers here (Ratnapura) to the 'S lands Flantentuiii, 
(Government Gardens) Buitenzorg. My adviois 
from Batavia are :— " The long drought we have 
had has been very unfavourable to experimenting 
with new descriptions of seed, and planters' 
attention has been solely given to keeping their 
growing plants alive. The 'Jjisalak report on 
the outturn of the seed not yet received." Not- 
withstanding this unfavourable weather, &o., in a 
letter Dr. Treub, the distinguished botanist ia 
charge of the Government gardens, has favoured 
me with, he says : — "The seeds were sown (100 each) 
on 25th July. The youag plants were counted today 
(3td Nov.) 
Lot A has produced TO^eedlings per 100 
Lot B ,, „ 78 „ &o." 
so I think I can safely guarantee 75 per cent plants 
tot Java and say 80 for Singapore and the Straits 
Settlements generally ; and shall do so in my nfxt 
blazer* in your Iropical Agriculturist (Feb. 1892 
number). My agents in Singapore (iVIe-^srs. Paterson, 
Simon & Co..) can do the same in the Straits 
newspapers.— Yours truly, 
WILLIAM GBIGOB SANDISON. 
Sana Estate, Ratnapura, Ceylon. 
Proobebs of Bbiti-ii North Borneo. — Mr. Henry 
Walker writes to us :— " North Borneo is going ahead 
and I am glad to say attention is being paid to many 
new products. The Government is stimulating the 
cultivation of |/arabier which has shown itself to 
be well adapted to our climate and of pepper by 
oilering rewards for tho cultivation and prop er up 
* ^laze away !— Eli, T.J', 
keep of certain fixed ateas, and cotton also has been 
introduced, the small sample so far obtained being 
remarkably fine and strong. CocoDuts and fruit are 
also receiving attention. Those of your planters 
who are nervous aud cannot meet the fluctuations of 
the tea market calmly, should come here and see 
our Liberian cofiee — it would do their hearts good 
to see it." 
F0CD3 THAT BENEFIT THE SoiL. — Of all foOds ptO- 
cured off the farm and fed to stock, cotton seed 
meal possesses the highest manurial value, as a 
ton of cotton seed meal contains 135 pounds of 
nitrogen, 39 pounds of phosphoric acid, 56 pounds 
of potash, bran containing 30 pounds of nitrogen, 
28 pounds of phosphoric acid, and 54 pounds of 
potash. These Eubstances are the most evenly 
balanced of all foods that enrich the land, and 
the farm will suSer but little loss if they are used 
as a portion of the ration for the stock. The 
farmer can, by noting the effects of certain crops 
on the soils, and growing such crops as may bo 
best adopted thereto, with judgment in the selec- 
tion of hi-f stock foods, return to the soil all that 
the heaviest yield of any crop may carry away from 
the t&xm.— Exchange. 
The OorFEE Proddction of Brazil. — According 
to a recent bulletin of the Bureau of the American 
Republics in Washington, the coffee plant was 
imported to Brazil from Africa, and found there 
the conditions necessary for a marvellous growth. 
In 1800 Brazil expo; ted 13 bags of coffee ; in 1817, 
66,985 bags; in 1820, 97,498 i in 1830, 484,222; 
in 1840, 1.037,981 ; in 1876 3,765,122, The annual 
production now is about 6,000,000 bags of lb21 lb. 
each. The United States takes aa much Brazilian 
coffee as all Europe. For its cultivation virgin 
forest lands on hill sides are preferred, as it is 
known that extreme heat and cold are unfavour- 
able to the growth of the plant. In four years 
the plant begins to produce, and from that time 
forward the itroduction continually increases. The 
tree attains the average height of about 10ft., and 
its head a diameter of 5ft. It reaches its maximum 
productiveness at about nine years of age. and con- 
tinues in bearing for 40 yesrs it carefully pruned. 
There are three annual bloomings and correspond- 
ing crops of which one is vastly more important 
than the others. The cofiee is gathered in baskets 
and carried to yards of hard beaten clay, where 
it is dried in the sun, or in drying pans by arti- 
ficial heat. The outer shell is separated from the 
beans by machinery and the thin, inner husk by 
other machines, and the ooft'ce is then ready for 
market. Its quality is greatly improved by age, the 
aroma increasing as desiccation goes on. The 
best Brazilian cofiee when dried is usually of 
a pale colour, while the new immature beans 
are green, 'Ihe different varieties possess 
different qualities, though from the same crop are 
obtained Mocha, Java, and other varieties that figure 
in the market reports. The beans of diflerent sizea 
and weights are separated by machinery, and sold as 
Mocha, Java, &o ; according to the taste or gulli- 
bility of the consumer. For those who do not know 
that a green colour is usually an evidence of 
immaturity the light and spotted beans are dyed to a 
beautiful green, which is easily washed off irj warm 
water, as it should be before using. It is probable 
that not a ton of tiua Mocha enters the United 
States annually ; but thousands of pounds of 
Brazilian " pea-berry" are sold every month in the 
New York market as genuine Mocha, The character- 
istic constituent of coffee is caffeine, whose chemical 
formula is identical with that of theine; of tbeo- 
broraioe of cocoa, and of guaranine,— London 
Tivies, Deo. 26. 
