October i, 1890.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
railway from Bukit KudR. In the neighbourhood of 
Kwala Lumpur there are two Liberian estates in 
bearing and a number of promising young properties 
lately opened. The largest of the two estates in 
bearing is Weld's Hill, some two hundred acres more 
or less in bearing and some young clearing. The 
lay of the land is (generally speaking) of an easy 
gradient on both sides of a valley. The oldest eofiee, 
a few acres, is about ten years old, but the bulk of 
the bearing coffee is from six to seven and is planted 
rather too close to allow of the trees doing their best 
in crop, say seven and a half to eight feet square 
and topped at five to six feet. These fields of dark 
green coffee, covering the slopes of the valley, are 
really a fine sight for a planter, who has seen the 
best estates in Ceylon. It is difficult for an 
outsider not accustomed to Liberian coffee — to 
make an estimate of the crop on the trees, but 
it must come to a great deal, considering the 
picking goes on all the year round. There has 
been some correspondence in the Singapore 
papers about this estate and others belonging to 
the same proprietors calling in question certain 
statements which had been made about the crops. 
You have doubtless utilized this correspondence 
for your Tropical Agriculturiit. There can be no 
doubt that large crops have been gathered, but 
there was no hesitation in admitting that they 
were produced by the aid of manure, so that 
putting them forward as an example of what the 
land is capable of producing in the way of eofiee 
is not altogether a fair proceeding. Manure of the 
right description and properly applied can be made 
to produce almost anything you like in the way 
of crop, provided the experiment is made under 
favorable conditions of climate, position, &o. Wbat 
capitalists want to know is what the land will do 
byl itself unaided by manure and stimulants. 
The soil of Selangor taking it all round is no 
better than that of Perak, especially as regards 
lowlying undulating country where new clearings 
are being opened up. In all probability a better soil 
will be found further away from the coast, at the 
loot or on the lower slopes of the higher hills. 
The railway is now being pushed on twenty-seven 
miles or so beyond Kwala Lumpur, and would be 
available by the time estates came into bearing, 
were any now commenced in the direction in which 
the line is being made. 
In spite of the poor appearance of the soil on 
the knolls, the young Liberian plants are coming 
on fast and doing extremely well. In fact the 
younger estates are very promising indeed and 
should give handsome returns in a few years. 
The other property in bearing is Batu Cave 
estate, and here again large crops have 
been taken off a twelve-acre field. In the 
present year, as far as could be learned from 
inquiry on the spot, the yield will be about 
eight hundredweights an acre or thereabouts. It 
must not be forgotten that this little field is 
about five years old, and lies at the foot of an 
enormous limestone rock, in which are the famous 
oaves full of bats’ dung manure. One of these 
caves is open at the top, and the rain washes 
out the manure into the jungle at the foot. In 
fact this field may be raid to be a “ pocket” of 
the best possible sod, most favourably situated, 
with only one drawback, if it may be so termed ; 
and that is its being on a level instead of on a 
slope. There are no long spells of very wot, cold 
weather in Selangor as there are on the hills of 
Ceylon ; if there were, in all probability, the coffee 
in the field now under reference would die fiom 
“wet feet.” The yoir ger coffee on this property 
promises to do as well as that which is now in 
bearipg ; but in the same way as Weld’s Hill the 
Batu estate has been manured, and the yield can 
hardly be quoted as a fair sample of what coffee 
should do unaided. On the principle of taking 
advantage of a favourable market manuring in 
order to insure handsome returns cannot bo taken 
exception to ; with present crops and current prices, 
a few years should give the proprietors a very 
handsome profit indeed. The greater part of the 
soil in Selangor is laterite, in various forms and 
stages of decay. There is plenty of limestone in 
huge masses cropping up m various directions. 
The principal rock is the white and grey granite, 
which seems to be present in all parts of the 
Peninsula. It may be added that the limestone is 
of very close, fine grain without presence of 
other gritty material ; some is pure white 
and some of dark slaty blue. It seems rather 
unfortunate that the authorities at Selangor do 
not see their way to the appointment of a Super- 
intendent of Agriculture, part of whose duty it would 
be to report upon the agricultural capabilities of 
the several districts of the interior of the country, 
with notes of climate, trees, indigenous products, 
&c,, &a. Such reports would be of interest to all 
who had any wish to make investment in the 
country. It will be remembered that the Ceylon 
planters found such difficulty in pulping Liberian 
cherry, that it was said no pulper that had been 
invented was of any real use. This difficulty arose 
from the absence of the juicy saccharine matter 
so abundant in the berry of the Arabian variety. 
On tlie estates at Selangor and other places in 
the Straits this difficulty does not seem to exist, 
at any rate in the same degree as in Ceylon. It 
naturally requires more powerful pressure to break 
the tough, thick skin of the Liberian berry than 
the Arabica does ; but when the skin is broken, 
the bean easily separates itself, there being a 
sufficiency of juicy mucilage to admit of its being 
squeezed out. Consequently an ordinary pulper, 
especially adapted for the larger berry, is made 
use of, and the bean can be sifted out in the 
ordinary Ceylon method. The pulper at Weld’s 
Hill is an adaptation of the “ Gordon’s Breast ” 
principle, the movable grooves being adjusted by 
screws. 
Leaf-disease and green bug are by no means conspi- 
cuous by their absence, and on soma of the fields pow- 
dered lime has been sprinkled over the trets, and acts 
in a double capacity at the same time being a manure 
and an agent for destroying the inseots and fungus. 
There is but little Coffea Arahica in the vicinity of 
Kwala Lumpur, a few trees only in a native garden 
having fallen under observation. 
It would certainly be wise before entering upon any 
venture of the kind in Selangor to wander further 
afield than the pioneers in coffee cultivation have 
ventured to do ; that is, of course, if a permanent 
settlement is required. If it is thought sufficient 
for the coffee to last ten or fifteen years, and to 
get as much as possible fruit by manure or other- 
wise, after which it may be sold or abandoned, 
then, of course, by all means take the 
best piece of land you can get close to the 
source from which supplies can be drawn, say 
immediately around the Batu caves and on the 
neighbouring hills. There is plenty of fine jungl* 
in that direction which the Selangor Government 
is prepared to lease or sell on easy terms, and 
there are roads of various kinds either made or in 
course of construction in a'l directions. Labour, 
no doubt, is dear, but not so much so as it was at. 
one time, and a number of old Ueylon coolioa are 
taking employment for a ouhLation they have been, 
accustomed to and which they prefer to learning 
something new as they have to do in Ceylon at 
the present day. 
