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THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Aur..  r,  1895. 
respond  to  the  efforts  of  nature  to  throw  out  new 
wood  or  to  mature  the  ci-ops ; and,  further,  tliat 
before  this  happened,  large  returns  had  been  obtained 
from  the  Estates. 
In  certain  localities,  although  affected  by  disease, 
coffee  is  still  being  successfully  cultivated  in  Ceylon, 
and  many  planters,  afraid  that  Tea  is  bein'  over- 
produced, are  returning  to  their  old  love. 
The  supposition  is,  that  even  though  the  trees 
may  eventually  succumb  to  the  effects  of  the  disease, 
a sufficient  number  of  remunerative  crops  can  be 
obtained  to  justify  the  initiatory  expenditure. 
Unfortunately,  there  is  very  little  virgin  forest 
left  ill  Mauritius,  so  that  the  culture  would  here 
be  handicapped  In  respect  to  soil,  from  the  comnience- 
meot ; but,  on  the  principle,  “ nothing  venture, 
nothing  win,  ” we  see  no  reason  why,  at  suitable 
elevations,  small  areas  should  not  be  put  under  coffee 
on  land  which  has  been  cropped  with  sugar  cane. 
The  cost  would  be  very  small  compared  with  that 
which  has  to  be  incurred  when  opening  up  primeval 
forests  in  new  districts,  where  the  timber  has  to  be 
felled  and  cleared  away,  W'lere  bungalors,  cooly-liiies, 
stores  itc.,  have  to  be  built  and  roads  and  drains 
have  to  be  made.  On  very  many  Sugar  Estates  all 
these  are  already  provided.  The  formation  of  nur- 
series, and  subsequent  lining,  holing  planting,  and 
periodical  weeding,  comprise  the  whole  of  the  abso- 
lutely necessary  expenditure,  until  the  trees  come 
into  bearing. 
We  are  not  prepared  to  say  positively,  that  land 
which  has  already  been  under  sugar  cane  is  suitable 
for  coffee  cultivation,  but  we  considr  the  experiment 
is  worth  a trial ; for  if  only  four  cwts  per  acre  be 
obtained,  the  return  would  far  exceed,  acre  for  acre, 
any  that  has  ever  been  in  the  past  or  ever  will  be 
in  the  future,  derived  from  the  growing  of  sugar 
cane. 
How  the  coffee  would  be  affected  by  hurricanes 
is  entirely  speculative. 
Fortunately  visitations  such  as  that  of  1892  are 
few  and  far  between  and  frequently  many  years 
elapse  without  Mauritius  experiencing  a stronger 
blow  than  is  annually  felt  in  some  of  the  Coffee 
districts  of  Ceylon.  There  are,  at  certain  seasons  of 
the  year,  the  air  has  been  known  to  be  thi  -k  with 
leaves  torn  off  the  trees  by  the  wind,  jet,  the  crop 
suffered  but  little  In  such  exposed  places,  the 
trees  were  topped  lo.v,  from  2 feet  to  3 feet,  and 
the  plants,  when  young,  were  carefully  staked.  Were 
this  to  be  done  in  Mauritius,  and  wind-belts  judi- 
ciously planted,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  ordinary 
hurricanes  that  visit  the  island  should  have  any 
more  effect  upon  the  coffee,  than  have  the  strong 
winds  which  prevail  in  other  countries  wh.re  the 
bean  is  grown. 
We  invite  those  of  our  readers  a"d  their  friends, 
who  are  sceptical  about  the  growth  of  Coffea-Arabua 
in  Mauritius,  to  visit  the  Experimental  Tea  Garden 
at  Curepipe,  where  a small  clearing  of  this  species 
may  be  seen  in  a perfect  state  of  health  and  vigour. — 
Mauritius  tlanters'  Gazette. 
^ 
AGKICULTUIiE  IN  BRITISH  HONDURAS. 
In  continuation  of  previous  information  on  this 
subject  {Kew  Bulletin,  1894,  p.  97;,  the  following 
extract  is  taken  from  the  Annual  Report  for  1893 
(Colonial  Beports,  Annual,  No.  116,  1891)  on  the 
agricultural  resources  of  British  Honduras.  It  is 
noticed  by  the  Governor  that  a valuable  impetus 
has  been  given  to  the  cultivation  of  fruit  for  ex- 
port by  the  organisation  of  a i ew  steamship  com- 
pany by  local  rapi  alists  A'ready,  owing  to  ibis 
cause,  increased  applications  have  been  mule  for 
the  purchase  or  lease  of  Crown  la.  ds,  anil  b ttor 
facilities  are  affor  lcd  f.>r  the  dipo-al  of  agricultural 
produce  : — „ , , it- 
pri iici piil  protliiGts  uf  ilic  f olony,  in  iiciclitioii 
to  mahogany  and  logwood,  are  sugar,  rum,  Indian 
corn,  bananas,  coconuts,  an-i  planiain.s,  and,  ac- 
cording to  the  returns  supplied,  the  quantity  pioduccd 
durin"  1893,  and  in  the  case  of  bananas,  coconuts, 
and  plantains,  the  quantity  exported  for  the  same 
period,  are  as  follows : sugar,  1,490,920  lb.  ; rum, 
.57,178  galls.;  Indian  corn  or  maize,  47.607  bushels; 
bananas,  189,420  bunches;  coconuts,  1,177,315  ; plan- 
tai us,  506,400  fruits.  The  returns  for  sugar,  rum,  and 
Indian  corn  cannot,  however,  be  considered  as  strictly 
accurate,  and  probably  are  very  much  below  the 
actual  quantity  produced. 
Under  bana  las,  coconuts,  and  plantains  only  the 
quantity  exported  has  been  given,  as  no  reliable 
figures  could  be  obtained  as  to  the  quantity  grown. 
In  tudeavouring  therefore,  to  arriv-s  at  an  approxi- 
mate estimate  of  the  bunches  of  bananas  and  the 
number  of  coconuts  aad  p'antaius  annually  produced 
in  thrt  Colony,  a reasonable  allowance  must  be  made 
for  home  consumption  by  a population  of  nearly 
33,000  souls.  There  is  a very  considerable  decrease 
in  the  quantity  of  bananas,  c iconuts,  and  plantains 
exported  in  1893  as  compared  with  the  four  previous 
years,  but  this  d-.'crease  is  almost  entirely  attribut- 
able to  the  diastrous  effects  of  the  gale  of  the  6th 
of  July,  which  wrecked  or  very  seriously  damaged 
nearly  all  the  plantations  in  the  southern  districts 
of  Stann  Creek  and  Toledo.  Considering  ths  geo- 
graphical position  of  British  Honduras,  the  fertility 
of  its  soil,  and  the  g-meral  salubrity  of  its  climate, 
it  is  surprising  that  the  number  of  its  agricultural 
products  as  articles  of  commerce  is  not  greater  than 
it  is.  By  the  establishment,  tlirough  the  efforts  of 
his  Excellency  Sir  Alfred  Moloney,  k.i'.mu;.,  in 
1892,  of  a Botanic  Station  at  Belize  attached  to 
the  grounds  of  Government  House,  an  attempt  has 
been  made  to  create  a nursery  for  the  cultivation 
of  plants  of  economic  value  of  all  kinds.  But  the 
condition  of  the  soil  in  Belize  and  the  proximity 
of  the  station  to  the  sea  have  proved  the  present 
site  to  be  not  altogether  suited  for  its  purpose, 
and  it  is  hoped  to  shortly  transfer  the  Botanic 
Station  to  the  Stann  Creek  district,  whereas  site 
of  some  75  acres,  admirably  adapted  for  its  purpose, 
has  been  g nerously  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Government  by  the  board  of  directors  of  the  British 
Honduras  Syndicate.  Even  at  Belize  the  Botanic 
Station  has  proved  of  value,  for,  from  the  experi- 
ments made  there,  and  from  experience  gained  of 
the  resources  and  capabilities  of  the  Colony,  it 
seems  clear  that  the  following  products,  addition  to 
those  which  have  already  proved  successful,  can  be 
grown  with  advantage  and  with  profit  to  agriculturists  ; 
cacao,  castor-oil  plants,  coffee  (liberica  for  the  low- 
lands, arabica  for  the  higlrands),  rubber  (CastiUoa 
elastica),  Cola  aruuiinata,  coit-jii.  grape-fruit,  ground 
nut,  henequen,  jute  lemon,  lime,  nutmeg,  pine-apple, 
pimento  sipodilia,  shaddock,  tobacco,  and  van!  la. 
In  addition  10  the  above  the  following  kitchen- 
garden  products,  as  they  are  generally  termed,  can 
be  readily  cultivated  : artichoke  (.Jerusalem;,  as- 
pariagus,  beans  of  various  kinds,  cabbage,  carrot, 
cauliflower,  celery,  corn,  cucumber,  edible  gourds, 
Indian  kale,  lettuce,  melon,  mint,  ochro,  parsley, 
potato  (Irish  and  sweet',  peas,  .spinach,  and  tomatos. 
Bearin'  in  view  the  short-sighted  policy  of  depend- 
ing on  logwood  and  mahogany  as"  the  staples  for 
the  Colony’s  trade,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  oft- 
rep  ated  exhortation  of  his  Excellency  the  Governor 
that  the  future  of  British  Honduras  must  depend 
on  its  agricultural  development  will  be  borne  in 
mind,  and  that  in  time  this  Colony  will  b come, 
what  it  is  erainetly  fitted  by  its  climate  and  fertility 
to  be,  the  garden  of  Ceii'ral  America.— A'eiu  /lulletin. 
l>El>PER-RArSING  IN  (’AMBODI.V. 
The  pepper  plant,  says  M.  Adhemard  Leclere,  in 
the  lle.vae  i^ciculi/u/ue,  is  not  a bu.sh,  as  some  writers 
siy,  but  a vine,  wnic  i h.as  to  bo  supp  orted  by  a tree 
when  wild,  and  by  a ftrong  stake  when  cul  ivated. 
T'he  author  has  .so  n the  vin  s growing  nearly  wild 
near  Chandoc  in  Canib.'dia,  where  they  had  been 
planted  by  the  villagers  and  1 ft  to  themselves.  They 
grew  vigorously  and  to  a cousiderable  length,  but  bore 
only  a few  hunches  of  fruit,  and  that  of  an  inferior 
quality.  An  abundant  crop  of  good  Pepper  can  he 
obtained  only  by  careful  aad  skilful  cultivation. 
The  industry  thrives  in  the  province  of  Ixampot, 
