Nov.  I,  1895.] 
THE  TitOPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
3or 
than  the  nnrsery  from  which  the  young  plants  were 
Whv  not  try  and  obtain  as  nearly  as  possi- 
blSe  Til  .e.ul‘uo»  .h6e.utc.,ho„shof  course 
K.MVAT.ON  P>Te.-The 
nearest  approach  I can  recommend  is  the 
over  the  whole  area— when  the  estate  is  hrst  planted 
large  renovation  pits,  commencing  w'tli 
every  other  row.  Fork  them  a full  fork  s depth  at 
the  Lttom,  leave  them  open  for  2-3 
till  them  up  aifixln  with  the  same  soil.  W 
block  rfiihibeh  pit  again  over  the.  alternate  rows, 
Thus  every  four  plants  have  a pit  in  their  centre. 
Almoli  eveS^  s^are  food  of  the  land  is  thus 
du^  up  in  time,  say  in  the  first  three  jea^s  from 
Sre  orplanting  Mis  gives  young  coffee  ^ 
from  the  very  first  a free  acpess  to 
proportion  of  the  soil.  The  ground  is  well  aerated 
Ld^Us  physical  coirdition  improved.  The  stones  of 
food  in  the  ground  can  be  easily  tapped, 
rendered  more  soluble  by  ^helvy 
soil  ef  air  and  ram,  saving  the  cost  of  neavy 
manuring.  Being  porous,  the  soil  ab^rbs  every 
shower  in  the  dry  weather  and  drains  off  the  excess 
in  the  monsoons  readily  through  the  subsoil.  In 
drou'^hts  the  coSee-roots  can  obtain  the  moisture 
reaufred  well  below  the  surface,  and  in  the  wettest 
of\eather  ate  not  iroubled  by  any  esoese.  It  is 
clear  that  in  all  ways  the  estate  with  a cultiva  ed 
denth  of  3 feet  (for  this  is  what  the  above  system 
cornea  to)  has  an  immense  advantage  of  those 
estates  which  have  their  soil  only  partially  stirred 
up  to  the  depth  of  15  inches  or  less. 
Results  op  Careful  Cleaeino. — There  is  another 
pornt  TLve  not  ye.  tonched  on,  and  yet  m the 
example  before  me,  i.e„  the  nursery,  it  is  a most 
imnortant  one,— I mean  the  careful  removal  of  all 
roosts  and  stinea  which  would  prevent  the  free 
growth  of  the  tender  rootlets.  On  estates  th®  presence 
of  atunjDS  and  large  stones  h^  yet  a .othei  eul. 
it  ren^s  cultivation  appreciably  more  expensive 
and  a great  deal  less  efficient.  Were  the  siuface 
of  an  estate  quite  clean  and  fnable,  it  would  be 
r.Lsible  to  do^  a great  deal  more  in  the  way  of 
fertility  to  the  soil  than  is  now  dreamed  of. 
F^r  one  tW^^^^  amounts  of  fodder  for  cattle 
mffihrbe  grown  af.er  the  plants  have  reached  their 
fourth  or^fiftli  year  and  borne  their  first  good 
crop,  any  excess  being  preserved  in  the  shape 
of  hay,  or  better  sCill,  ensilage.  As  tffis  would  all 
go  back  as  manure,  the  result  would  be  a gained 
not  a loss.  If  the  cultivation  were  carefully  mana^d, 
the  olants  would  suffer  very  little,  and  were  the 
Sop  a rgumffioua  one,  the  roots  left  in  the  soi 
3d  greatly  enrich  it  m niteogen  Inst  ad  of 
TakC  it  off  the  land,  it  might  be  cut  and  dug  in, 
or  buried  in  pits.  The  change  m tie  nature  of  the 
soil  in  green  manuring  the  estate  would  be  simply 
marvello^us.  The  effect  of  the  humus  would  be  far- 
rSing  and,  u dike  cattle-manure  would  furnish 
SS?d  for  a number  of  years  before  becoming 
Lhausted  Some  «U1  scout  at  all  this.  Let  me 
ask  these  wherein  then  lies  the  value  of  virgin 
forest  and  jungle  soil  ? , , . 
The  Vanity  ®f  Large  Areas.— None  of  these  things 
can  be  done  of  course  without  some  extra  expense. 
It  costs  more,  no  doubt,  ot  first,  to  plant  up  an 
estate  caremHy  and  thoroughly  than  to  stumble 
aSg  in  the  old  ruts  of  routine.  In  opening  up 
la?ge^  areas,  the  question  of  first  cost  assumes  very 
Se  Iroyonionl  but  I hold  that  the  for 
iSe  areas  has  done  us  planters  more  hirm  than 
any  known  plant-disease  or  low  prices.  As  the 
3eral  mle  seems  to  be  that  the  larger  the  area, 
fnriess  money  ought  to  be  spent  in  proportion, 
I hold  that  it  is  practically  Unpossible  to  cultivate 
a large  estate  as  well  as  a »^11  one.  1 he 
?or  Opening  land  and  the  desire  to  be  counted 
lmon|  the  ‘-large  proprietors’’  has  dme  an 
of  mischief.  The  vanity  extends  so  far  that  I 
verily  believe  there  are  men  who  would  rather  own 
a third  share  in  a three-hunffred  ac^  estate  than 
be  the  sole  owner  of  a comporot  100  acre  block, 
giving  perhaps  20%  more  income.  It  has  beeii 
said  that  a man  is  deserving  of  honour  who  causes 
two  blades  of  grass  to  spring  where  oijly  *ne 
grew  formerly,  The  burdefi  of  hiy  remarks  is  that 
if  a mail  is  eont'eut  with  half  the  usual  area,  he 
can  obtain  quit®  doub'c  the  usual  yield.  This,  too, 
with  a c'st  per  acre  but  slightly  higher  than  usual. 
There  are  numerous  instances  proving  tho  truth  of 
my  cditeiition  to  be  found  in  every  district,  I believe, 
in  South  India.  If  this  be  so,  -what  in  the  wide 
world  can  he  called  that  twist  of  mind  which  com- 
pels men  t^>  open  out  in  so  many  cases  more  than 
twice  the  land  they  can  properly  cultivate  1 
In  agricultui'®  all  the  world  over  the  same  thing 
is  going  on.  In  America  they  call  it  “ i/itensive  ” 
xersus  “ e.rtensive  ” farming.  Let  us  planters  rank 
ourselves  then  among  the  intensive  lot,  and  we 
may  laugh  at  the  mishaps  which  yeaVly  befall  the  ill- 
regulated  hut  arrogant  extensives.— Opwion, 
A PRIMITIVE  TOBACCO  FACTORY. 
China  is  nothing  unless  she  is  primitive,  and 
although  the  factory  which  forms  the  subject  of 
those  remarks  is  not  exactly  situated  in  Uhioese 
territoi'y,  as  it  is  in  the  Portuguese  settlement  of 
Macao,  it  is,  to  all  intents  and  purpqRos,  a Chinese 
factory,  for  it  is  owned  and  worked  by  Chinese., 
The  premi-sea  c®mprise  several  laiige  sheds  with 
earthe  1 floors,  and  one  or  two  better  huilt  rooms, 
used  as  storehousr's.  The  factoi-y  gives  employment  ’ 
to  several  hundred  Chinese  men  an  1 women,  I 
was  accompanied  on  my  visit  by  Mr.  A.  A.  Petti* 
grew,  a son  of  Mr.  Pettigrew,  of  Cardiff  Castle, 
who  is  at  present  (May)  on  a tour  in  the  East. 
The  tobacco  is  not  grown  at  M’aaao,  but  at  a 
place  called  Hokshan,  about  forty  or  fifty  miles 
to  the  north-west  of  the  former  town,  on  one  of 
the  numerous  mouths  of  the  Sikiang,  or  Canton 
River.  Wlien  the  plants  are  properly  dry,  they  are 
done  up  into  bales  about  24  feet  long,  2 feet  wide, 
and  1 foot  deep,  and  sent  down  to  Macao  in  junks. 
On  arrival  at  Macao,  these  bales  are  stored  in  the 
premises  of  the  factory  until  such  time  as  they 
are  required  for  the  manufacture  of  tobacco. 
The  first  room  we  entered  was  devoted  to  strip- 
ping the  leaves  from  the  stalks,  these  being  dis- 
carded in  the  manufacture.  Women,  sitting  on  the 
floor  on  their  haunches,  were  busily  engaged  in 
this  operation  when  we  entered.  The  sight  of  us 
did  not  distract  the  women’s  attention,  'but  several 
young  children  who  were  present  on  our  arrival, 
scampered  awa>  to  distant  corners  like  mice  into  a 
hole.  The  dust  from  the  tobacco  leaves  got  into 
our  noses  and  throa's,  and  caused  ns  to  sneeze  and 
cough,  nnj.ch  to  the  delight  of  our  celestial  onlookers, 
as  evidenced  by  the  loud  onthnrst  of  laughter  which 
followed  our  discomfiture.  Strange  to  say,  we  did 
not  bear  a sneeze  or  a cough  from  any  of  the 
Chinese  whilst  We  were  in  the  factory.  After  the 
leaves  have  been  stripp-ed  from  the  stalks,  they  are 
carried  into  one  of  the  sheds  in  large  bainbqo 
baskets  by  men,  then  spread  on  a wooden  fiv.or  and 
damped  with  water.  When  sufficiently  damp,  they 
are  made  up  into  layers  about  21  feet  long,  2 feet 
wide,  and  2,j  inc’nes  thick,  and  placed  on  hoards. 
The  next  process  is  o make  each  layer  into  a solid 
cake.  This  is  d me  in  the  following  way: — About 
a dozen  Iryera,  with  a board  I4  inch  thick  between 
each  layer,  are  placed  on  the  top  of  one  another, 
and  then  pressure  is  In-mght  to  hear  upon  the  wh  .le 
lot  by  means  of  a rever  of  the  second  order,  in  the 
shape  of  a thick  pile.  O.ic  end  of  the  lever  is  fixed 
firmly  with  strong  rojs  s,  and  this  cmstituteB  the 
fulcru  ; the  Weight  of  the  resisting  substance  is 
the  tob  icco,  and  the  power  is  applied  at  the  other 
end  of  the  lever  by  means  of  stout  ropes,  which 
pass  round  a wooden  axle  that  is  sesurely  fastened 
to  tho  ground. 
When  the  tobacco  leaves  have  been  properly 
pressed,  the  cnkes  are  taken  out  and  cut  crosswise 
into  strips  4 inches  wide,  and  the  two  ends  cut 
off,  as  they  are  not  sufficiently  pressed.  The  next 
step  is  to  4ie  half-a-dozsn  of  these  strips  together 
by  lu  ana  of  ropes.  The  next  operation  is  to  make 
the  lobaoco  ready  for  use.  'JSiis  is  dpne  by  means 
