THE  i'ROPiCAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept.  2,  1895. 
19B 
to  be  sufficient  to  make  tbe  planters  pay  some 
attention  to  Mr.  T.  Christy’s  letter  appearing  in  the 
columns  of  the  Observer  of  the  19th  ult.  Mr.  Christy 
does  not  ireed  to  apologise  for  the  advice  given  as  it 
is  of  the  utmost  importance,  to  exclude  the  atmos- 
phere from  Ceylon  tea  owing  to  their  Hvdroscopic 
properties. 
EARLY  DAYS  ON  THE  AORAS. 
{Fro7)i  a Corresjiondent.) 
I began  on  Sutton  in  tlie  Agras  in  1871  and 
’72,  and  sul)sequently  on  Clydesdale  and  Ardlaw 
in  ’74,  all  in  coilee.  Perhaps  some  of  the  jiresent- 
day  jdanters  of  that  district  could  scarcely 
picture  to  themselves  tlie  rougli  life  led  by  the 
pioneers  in  those  districts  pof-a-century  ago. 
How  when  liuiiting  Elk  we  came  upon  (iliisgow 
estate  then  in  the  middle  of  jungle,  and  where 
we  killed  a Sambur  while  swimming  or  wading 
across  the  stream.  And  many  a liunt  we  liad  on 
Holmwood  (then  not  opened)  bordering  the 
Ropats;  when  the  meet  oi  the  Dimbula  Hounds 
with  Wiggin,  Tom  Rrabazon,  young  Renny, 
Pilkington,  MacCall  and  the  Grays  often  hun- 
ted on  the  plains — separately  with  packs ; 
when  the  melted  glass  of  the  burnt  down 
Duke’s  Hut,  could  be  found  on  the  Patnas,  near 
Fisher’s  Pool ; and  when  Atherton’s  bungalow 
near  Land’s  End  w'as  standing,  and  now  only  a 
chimney  marks  the  spot  as  you  say. 
^ 
INDIAN  PATENTS. 
Calcutta,  the  25th  Juiif,  1895. 
Applications  in  respect  of  the  undermentioned 
inventions  have  been  ;nled,  during  the  week  ending 
20th  .July  1895,  under  the  provisions  of  Act  V of  1888. — 
For  an  improved  device  for  Weeding  Nurseries  or 
Plantations — 230  of  1895. — William  Hose,  of  lioydon 
Rectory,  Diss,  in  the  County  of  Norfolk,  England, 
Planter  for  an  improved  device  for  weeding  nurseiies 
or  plantaions. 
Whereas  the  inventors  of  the  undermentioned  in- 
ventions have  respectively  failed  to  pay  the  fees 
within  the  time  limited  in  that  behalf,  it  is  hereby 
notified  that  the  exclusive  privilege  of  making  selling 
and  using  the  said  inventions  in  British  India,  and 
of  authorising  others  so  lo  do,  has  ceased  : — 
For  improvements  in  machinery  or  Apparatus  for 
Rolling  or  curling  Tea  Leaf.— 142  of  1.S88. — Mr.  H. 
Thompson’s  invention  for  improvements  in  machinery 
or  apparatus  for  rolling  or  curline  tea  leaf.  (Speci- 
fication filed,  17th  April  1889.) — Indian  Engineer. 
^ 
COFFEE-GROWING  IN  PERU. 
In  a consular  report  on  the  trade  and  commerce 
of  Callao,  Mr.  G.  W.  Wilson  has  embodied  a pam- 
phlet in  regard  to  the  coffee-growing  districts  of 
Peru,  printed  in  lima  last  .July.  The  writer  of  this 
says ; — Peru  has  been  known  for  many  years  as  a 
coffee-producing  country,  but  the  coffee  grown  on 
the  coast  has  been  absorbed  by  domestic  consump- 
tion, and  Peru's  appearance  as  an  exporter  of  coffee 
is  of  recent  date,  although  she  is  now  likely  to  be 
a considerable  competitor  with  other  countries. 
Coffee-planting  began  and  coffee  is  still  cultivated 
with  success  near  the  port  of  Pacasmayo.  But  al- 
though the  cultivation  on  the  coast  could  be  some- 
what extended,  it  must  always  remain  re.strictcd,  as 
there  are  only  certain  favoured  localities  in  which 
the  planter  can  hope  for  a good  return.  Tbe  region 
which  Peru  offers  to  the  coffee  planter,  unsurpassed 
in  fertility,  and  almost  unlimited  in  extent,  is  situ- 
ated on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Andes,  among  the 
network  of  streams  and  rivulets  that  find  their  way 
into  the  great  affluents  of  the  Ainazon.  This  re- 
giou,  known  as  the  moutniia  has  hitherto  been  shut 
off  from  the  world  by  lack  of  communications,  and 
above  all  by  the  difficulty  of  crossing  the  high  ridge 
of  the  Cordillera  that  bars  it  from  the  coast.  In 
spite  of  these  difficulties,  coffee  has  been  cultivated 
both  in  the  south  in  the  gold-bearing  districts  of 
Sandia  and  Carabaya,  and  in  the  centre  of  Peru  in 
the  valleys  of  Chanchamayo,  Vitoc,  and  Iluanuco. 
It  is  the  Chanchamayo  district — for  most  of  the 
coffee  that  passes  under  the  names  of  Yitoc  or 
Huanuco  comes  from  Chanchamayo— which  is  the 
real  coffee-planting  district  of  Peru,  and  it  is  the 
production  of  this  region  that  has  elevated  Peru  to 
the  rank  of  a coffee-exporting  country.  This  is 
due  to  the  completion  of  the  central  or  Oroya  rail- 
by  the  Peruvian  Corporation  to  its  present  termi- 
nus at  Oroya.  . . . • The  output  ol  coffee  from 
the  whole  region  w'as  about  1,500  tons  in  1893.  but 
extensive  planting  has  lately  taken  place,  and  pro- 
duction will  shortly  be  trebled. 
It  is  considered  that  coffee  can  be  raised  at  the  ex- 
pense of  5 Peruvian  soles  per  quintal,  or  1001b.,  the 
yield  of  a tree  after  the  thircT  year  being  about  3 lb. 
Clearing  ground  is  easy,  the  hill-sides  being  covered 
with  dense  but  light  timber,  easily  felled  and  burned. 
The  average  cost  of  clearing  may  be  taken  at  05  soles 
(Of  10s)  a hectare,  or  20  soles  (2f  12s)  per  acre.  The 
number  of  plants  that  can  be  introduced  with  advan- 
tage on  a hectare  is  about  1,700  to  1,800,  or  ray  700  to 
the  acre,  although  a larger  number  are  often  put  into 
the  ground.  Young  plants  can  be  obtained  for  5 soles 
(10s)  per  1,000. 
Coffee  is  usually  bought  at  the  planter’s  door  by 
Italian  houses  in  Tarma  at  prices  varying  from  18 
soles  (1/  16s)  to  30  soles  {31).  and  the  cost  of  trans- 
port of  a quintal  from  Chanchamayo  or  from  the 
Peremi  to  the  port  of  Callao  by  mule  and  railway  is 
from  4 to  5 soles  per  quintal.  Recent  lots  have  been 
sold  in  New  York  at  22c  (gold)  per  lb.,  a price  which  is 
equal  to  that  of  the  best  Mexican  or  Central  American 
with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  favoured  qualities,  and 
will  improve  when  the  coffee  is  better  cleaned  for  the 
market.  Freight  to  New  York  from  Callao  by  the 
Merchant’s  Line  is  3l  per  ton,  while  the  British 
Royal  Mail  Company^  have  recently  put  down  their 
rates  from  5/  to  4.1,  in  expectation  ol  increased  pro- 
duction. 
The  principal  difficulty  of  cultivation  in  the  Peru- 
vian montana  lies  in  the  broken  character  of  the  ground. 
Thi-  in  itself  is  favourable  to  coffee  cultivation,  as  the 
hill  sides  afford  slopes  where  the  young  plants  can  be 
raised  without  being  exposed  to  the  sun  all  day  long, 
and  the  expense  of  protecting  the  young  plants  by 
artificial  shade  is  avoided Besides  coffee, 
cocoa,  tobacco,  indigo,  rice,  sugar-cane,  maize,  drc.,  can 
be  grown  on  the  Perene,  while  wild  vanilla  is  found  in 
the  forest,  and  could  be  brought  under  dome.stic  culture. 
An  experimental  plantation  ol  tea  is  also  being  made. 
— Grocer,  .June  22. 
FASHION  IN  TIMBER. 
For  many  years  there  lias  been  a falling-off 
in  tlie  (leinaiul  for  many  varieties  of  ornamental 
timber  such  as  were  at  one  time  generally  used 
liy  cabinet-makers  in  England.  The  effect  of  this 
has  been  especially  noticeable  in  the  periodical 
circulars  issued  by  the  lar;re  timber-broking  firms, 
such  as  Mos.sr.s.  Churchill  and  Sime  and  others. 
Our  own  local  sales  are  also  evidence  of  this 
fact.  Not  very  long  .ago,  ebony  offered  for  sale  here 
failed  to  obt.ain  anything  like  satisfactory  bidding. 
A corres])Oiident  rein.-irking  upon  the  failure,  ob- 
serves that  there  must  be  some  reason  for  this 
falling-off.  He  finds  this,  he  tells  us,  in  the 
unsatisfactnry  character  of  the  work  now  done 
in  hard  wo.ads  generally.  He  .«ays  that  ho  re- 
cently imported  some  of  the  antique  ebony  fur- 
niture offered  for  .sale  at  the  London  curio 
auctions.  In  his  opinion  there  was  no  compari- 
son to  be  drawn  between  the  work  in  such 
wooil  of  a century  or  two  back  and  the  modern 
exemidars  of  it  to  be  obt.ained  from  the  London 
(uibinet-makers,  cvmi  of  those  of  the  highest  stand- 
ing. It  is  rather  difficult  to  decide  why  this  should 
