July i, 1890.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
35 
COrFEE PLANTING IN THE STEAITS 
SETTLEMENTS AND IN CEYLON. 
An ex-Ceylon planter now travelling in the 
farther East writes as follows from the Straits ; — 
“ Will you kindly oblige by informing me, whether 
there is any really good virgin forest-laud in Ceylon up- 
country, in Hapufcale, or elsewhere, belonging to Go- 
verume t or private parties, that would produce good 
coffee if planted to pay, or would it be affected with 
leaf disease and not come well iuto bearing ? 
“ la it proved that leaf disease exists in the seed or 
coffee bean f Leaf disease on Liberian coffee in 
Johore does not appear to do any harm: the trees 
appear to winter, and the leaves drop off, but fresh 
ones come in their plaoe very soon afterwards and the 
coffee bears very well on very poor sandy soil close by 
the sea, but as you may know it is a large bulky tree 
and large cherry with very thick tough skin and the 
beau not large in proportion. 
“ From repor^ tea is not doing so well iu Johore ns 
might be expected considering the suitable climate: it 
does not flush well. Pepper and gambler appear to pay 
(he Ohiuese well. I trust that tea is doing well iti 
Ceylon.” 
There are no doubt some select blocks of forest 
land still left even in our hilloountry, notably 
one now offering in Haputale, and if our corre- 
spoudent or his friends mean business, let them 
send an advertisement with their address, and replies 
from proprietors or agents are very likely to 
result. Coffee planting with shade should do in Uva 
as well as in Dumbara. We are very much puzzled 
as to how Liberian coffee in Johore can escape 
injury from leaf disease : our old friend Mr. Turing 
Mackenzie should tell us all about it. In Ceylon 
the leaf fungus was so prevalent on Liberian coffee 
leaves in the lowcountry that it could be spooned 
off ! It is quite possible as trees grow older they 
may do better ; but unfortunately most of the 
Liberian iu Ceylon was cleared to make way for tea. 
^ 
CEYLON UFCOUNTEY PLANTING EEPOET. 
THE MONSOON AND EARLY PLANTING — COFFEE : GOOD 
CROPS — CACAO— TEA — COOLIES. 
June 6th. 
What has come over the monsoon? It is to be 
hoped it will turn up by-and-by ; meanwhile the 
times are rather rough on those men who, anxious 
to get in plants at the very first rains, began to 
put out a fortnight ago. It seems quite clear that 
in planting you can rise too early to catch the 
worm. When travelling the other day I met a 
man whose only reason for leaving his estate was, 
that he had started planting, and just wished he 
had not ! He found life pleasanter away from the 
suffering plants. When a planter tries to be 
smarter than his fellows, it would seem as if Pro- 
vidence somehow steps in, and knep him humble 1 
The Coffee this year is wonderfully healthy, and 
where it has been at all treated well there is a 
very fine crop indeed. There is hardly any leaf 
disease visible, and as for bug you have to look 
for it. I don’t know that I have seen coffee look- 
ing so well for ever so long : but then nobody has 
any faith in its continuing to do so, and it may 
be covered with fungus and blackened with bug, 
ere many weeks are past. There have been four 
or five blossoms, all of which have set well : the 
last was out about a week ago, and ought to 
have been washed oft' by the monsoon, but wasn’t. 
Caooa still keeps throwing out its wealth of 
blossom, iu a marvelous way, and is heaUhy and 
flourishing. The spring crop is coming in, and 
seems to be rather better than last year. The 
borer is about as usual, and wants a lot of steady 
hunting to keep it in its own plaoe. It is a sad 
plague. 
Tea flushes in a moderate way. There is a want 
of rain. If there was more moisture we would do 
better. 
Coolies keep coming in, and from some parts of 
the coast there is a willingnees to emigrate owing 
to the drought, which should be encouraged Ad- 
vances have shown better results this season than 
for some seasons back, provided the money has gone 
to the proper quarter. Where there is the least 
pinch in any of the recruiting districts of S. India 
the inhabitants thereof iustinctively turn their eyes 
to Ceylon. Peppercorn. 
TOBACCO PLANTING IN DELI. 
(Pinang Gazette, 28rd and 27th May.) 
A fermenting shed at Wamptoe Estate with 100 
bales of tobacco has been burned to the ground. As 
kerosine oil was discovered about the plaoe, the fire 
is believed to have been the work of incendiaries. 
The Committee of management of the Soekaboemi 
Agricultural Company have petitioned the Nether- 
lands India Government protesting against the 
recruiting of Javanese coolies for Australia, British 
North Borneo and the Straits Settlements. They 
ask the Government not to sanction the exportation 
of any more coolies to those places, basing their ob- 
jection on the contents of the Government Directory 
for 1890, and state that if emigration be allowed to 
go on they will in a short time be under the neces- 
sity of applying for Indian labour, which at present 
is not allowed by the Indian Govermnont to enter the 
Dutch Colonies. They therefore suggest the introduc- 
tion of a law prohibi'ing the export of coolies from 
Java for places outside of Netherlands India. 
Sumatra tobacco has been sold at Amsterdam at 
from 162 to 202 guilder cents per half kilo. The 
next sale will be held on the 3rd proximo, and 
the result will be known here on the following day. 
At the yearly meeting of shareholders of the 
Amsterdam Deli Company it was resolved to declare 
a dividend for 1889 of 72i per cent. 
The free immigration of Chinese ooolies direct 
from China has had no favorable results as yet, but 
what is a great thing is, that the Government have 
sent a Consul to the south of China, and judging 
from the ability of the person appointed to that 
post, a good deal may be expected in future The 
importation of Indian labour is, however, recom- 
mended to the Government with the view of imme- 
diate steps being taken in the matter. 
The Discovery of Eubbeh Trees in the great 
Aruwimi forest by the Stanley expedition is good 
news to electricians, for the existing supplies have 
been likely to diminish. In the meantime, an arti- 
ficial substitute, which, according to Mr. Latimer 
Clark, F.E.S., promises well, has been brought out, 
and is to be subjected to searching electrical teste. 
There are five sorts of this new material — three soft 
and elastic like cured rubber, and two hard and 
elastic like wood or ivory. A sixth variety is lighter 
than water, but is not intended for cltctrioal work. 
It is stated that the insulating proptily of the mate- 
rial is higher than that of gutta percha, aud nearly 
equal to that of glass, while the cost is only about 2d 
per pound. Another advantage is that it burns with 
diflioiilty. Its colour is brown, black, or datJ; 
blue.— Gfofic. 
