THE TROPICAL AQRIGULTURiST. 
[April i, 1891, 
^20 
luxury, but i,s now classed atnoriK the necessities of 
life. Hence notwithstanding that consumption in- 
crease s, production has not kept pace with it. The sup- 
ply now is therefore not equal to the demand, nor can it 
be expected to overtake the consuming powers of the 
world’s population even under a. vastly increased pro- 
duction for tho next two decades ot time. The outlook 
therefore is very favourable for the planter as regards 
a market. 
In casting about for new lands possestiu.^ all the 
eligible advantages of aspect and .situation, with the 
essential conditions of tcmper.ature and humid. ty, we 
can confidently invite his attention to the newly opened 
np table lands appro-ching Korat. We are told that, 
on these table lauds the surface formation is of a rich 
friable loam, with a deep sub-soii, that cracks and opens 
with the sun in the dry weather ; and that it varies 
in colour from dark brown or chocolate to a reddish 
yellow according to locality, the former indicating the 
presence of humus and the latter oxide of iron. Icdi- 
cation of the presence of the mineral ingredients is 
highly favourable in soils (or the cultivation of the coffee 
berry, as showing a soil less burdened wilh insect life, 
and the vegstation less liable to attack from iusects. 
It is also asserted that the railway will_ pass over 
oonntry of this chavaotcr. having an elevation of 1,200 
to 1,300 teet for a di.slanoe of over fif.y miles. 
Here the direct communication, which the railway 
will secure, places aJl (he obstacles of accessibility 
■which geneiT.hy impede plantation enterprise by 
liuropeous in eastern countries, cut of the question ; 
and at once makes c-asy the way for selecting a suit- 
able strip where operations may be commenced at 
once. Two conditions which face the planters at the 
outset are difficulties of access and the preliminary 
surface examination of a Jungle covered country. The 
railway hero sweeps away all obstacles involved in 
the former and aids in facilitating the latter by 
placing the planter at any spot_ along the_ whole line, 
obviating all delays in procuring supplies and the 
conveyance of plant and material, cooly labour, &c. 
And in respect to cooly labour for any kind of 
agricultural operations in Siam no greit trouble need 
be .’eared, and for the cultivation we are now con- 
sidering there is every probablity that all the labour 
required can be procured in the country abundantly, 
liid.fd, the cultivation of coffee Arabica would work 
in so well in this country as to gi?e employment to 
a large amount of labour which is not now in demand 
for move than half the year. The coffee plant being 
raised in nurs ;ries and transplanted out when attain- 
ing to nearly six m mths old, would naturally be town 
just after harvest and be ready to plant out_ in 
April with the commencement of the early rains. 
M.anwliiie the land would be cleared and prepared 
re.cdyto receive the young trees before the breaking 
u{) of the laud for paddy in May. Hitherto coffee 
has only born cultivated in a small way by native 
cu tivarors hut sufficiently extensive and ever a suc- 
ceeding number of years, to satisfactorily prove its 
cupabili'ies both in respect to s' il and climate: it 
seems, therefore, that were the cultivation entered 
upon by the skilful planters who proceed systemati- 
cally, enlarging their fields year by year, coffee grow- 
ing would be found to providv, an additional fource 
of labour without greatly increasing the demand, where- 
by its price would not be tendered any more costly to 
genera' emiiloyer, and at the same time Siam might 
hope, in tune, to he iucludod among the coffee-pro- 
duci g countries of the world . — British Manufacturer, 
4 " 
IIJJMA JX CniXA. 
V ptipti' Oil ‘The OuUivation atid Projiaration of 
I'.hca ill Oliiiia ’ by Mr. Hosie, H. B. M.’s Consul 
at, NV('iicli.'i.u, was forwarded by tlio 'Oircator of the 
li'-,ia tirifi't of Jjaiid Itocords and Agriculture, Bengal, 
wi'li ail eiurloi-ure fr„in tlie Coveriniieiit of India. 
The 'ipiiii'ii of the .Sociefy w s asked whctlicr the 
renewal of c-IFortf; on the p irt of Ooverninent, to iutro- 
t'rcj the Khea industry, is required or likely to produce 
practical results; the reply sent is given below. 
Hosie's paper on the extraction and preparation of 
Shea fibre applies more especially to Western China, 
and to the Province of Chekiang, and deals but 
slightly with the Central Provinces where the bulk of 
China gra^ss is grown. 
The cultivation of Khea is referred to in works 
written before the Christian era, and from these 
early records downwards there are numerous references 
to the subject. Mr. Hosie gives an original translation 
of an article in the The Nung-Che.nrj ch-uaii shee or 
complete treatise on Agriculture, published in 1640, 
net having M. Stanis as Juiien’a translation to reler 
to (M. Julien’s trauslaticn was re-jirinte.J in the Society’s 
.Journal in 1850). The treatise gives what may be 
called the standard sys'em and Mr. Husie’s object 
is to show how the practise differs from this in the 
Province with which he deals. His notes treat cf (i) 
Soil and climate; (ii) Cu'tivation of the plant; (lii) 
Harvestimg the crop; (iv) Extraction of tee fibre; (v) 
General: and very full Meteorological Tables are 
attached by way of appendix. In section (,iv) of hi-s 
notes Mr. Hosie makes tte following inteiesting state- 
ments; — “ 1 can coLfideutly assert that a Chinaman can 
extract fibre from the peel, at the rate cf 12J ounces 
an hour. There is no cleiniug rtquired: the fiore is 
chaned in the process of extraction. I give the 
results of my experiments. A buuule of peel colleoied 
from one biiudred stems in fifteen miuutes, weighed 
og lb.; after being steeped in the tub of water 
for some time, it was taken out and found to weigh 
lb. The workman at ouce commenced upon it and in 
thirty minutes extracted the fibre, which, in its wet 
state, weighed lb. It was then hung over bamboos 
ia the open air and left to dry for six hours, when 
it weighed 6J ounces. A similar bundle of peel pro- 
duced exactly the same result. Woikiog ten bou.s 
a day, therefore, one man can ]iroduce 125 ounces, 
or nearly eight pounds of fibre ready for the niarket, 
in a day. As a matter of fact, tha workman told 
me that he could extiact eight catties or lOJ pounds 
a day ; but I prefer to give eight pounds as a maximum. 
Mr. Hcs.e then enters into some calculaTous os to 
the probable outturn per acre. He estimates, from 
repeated measurements and calculations, that a crop 
of 80,000 stems cju be reckoned per acre giving, on 
the data .shewn above 312J lb. of dry fibro. As three 
crops are cut annually, Mr. Hosie considers that the 
outturn may be held at under 937J lb. ; the third crop 
being inferior iu produce to the two others. 
Mr. Hosie’s paper will appear in the Journal, Part 
I, VolIX. 
The following is an extract from the Society’s letter 
to the Director of Agriculture, Bengal, in reference 
to Government taking further steps to introduce the 
Khea iiidusiry ; — 
The Director, 
Department of Land Kecords and Agriculture. 
Sir, — I have the honour, by direction of my Com- 
mittee, to refer to your office memorandum Ho. 2153 
(Agricultural), Proce-dings iu Original Kevtnue De- 
inrtment, Bengal, No. (Mis. P.), dated 8th 
September 1890, with enclosure, regarding the Khea 
plant in China. 
2. Iu my letter, dated the 27th November, I had 
the honor to state that the Society would have 
pleasure in publishing Mr. Hosie’s interesting report 
ill the next issue of the Journal, and asked that some 
time might be allowed for the Society to make 
inquiries before repljing to the last paragraph of the 
Government of India’s letter, wliich formed one of 
the enclosures, vi,:., whether a renewal of the efforts 
on the p.art of Government to introduce the Khea 
industry is required, or likely to give practical results. 
3. I am directed to say that the Couucil of this 
Society are of opiniou that little benefit is likely to 
retult from a renewal of Government efforts in the 
direction indicated. The Council consider that it is 
already so widely known tint the cultivation ot Rhea 
off .rs no diffieultie.s, that it is needless to take further 
steps to prove this ; and as regards the offer of Prizes for 
mautiincs, which can prepare the fibre cheaply anil effica- 
ciously the form which Government encouragement has 
