322 
THE  TROPICAT 
AGRICULTURIST. 
fNov.  I,  1895. 
GOVERNMENT  CINCHONA  PLANTATION 
IN  BENGAL. 
The  result  of  the  year’s  operations  of  the  Govern- 
ment Cinchona  Plantation  and  factory  in  Bengal  was 
that  the  total  number  of  living  cinchona  plants  at 
the  Government  plantations  in  Sikkim  and  at  Nim- 
bong,  excluding  the  nursery  stock  at  the  close  of 
the  year,  was  3,927,501.  The  demand  for  quinine 
having  increased  owing  to  the  success  of  the  pice- 
packet  system.  Dr  King  has  ordered  two  to  three 
hundred  acres  of  land  to  be  prepared  for  the  purpose 
of  being  planted  out  witli  new  trees.  The  crop  of 
the  year  amounted  to  .500,.53i  lb.  of  dry  bark,  of  which 
295,0541b.  were  obtained  from  the  trees  uprooted  on 
the  Government  plantation  in  Sikkim,  and  205,480  lb. 
W'ere  collected  from  the  trees  uprooted  at  Nimbong. 
The  bulk  of  the  bark,  with  the  exception  of  126,603  lb. 
of  the  red  sort,  was  of  the  quinine-producing  kind. 
The  outturn  of  bark  per  tree  was  over  a pound, 
as  compared  with  less  than  half  a pound  per  tree  in 
the  preceding  year,  when  the  majority  of  the  trees 
cropped  were  dwarfed  and  feeble.  The  whole  crop, 
less  1,959  lb.  sold  to  a medical  dep6t  and  to  other 
purchasers,  was,  as  usual,  made  over  to  tbe  Cinchona 
Factory  for  disposal.  The  outturn  of  the  factory  was 
8,318  lb.  of  sulphate  of  quinine,  the  produce  of  393,150  lb. 
of  yellow  bark,  and  4,032  lb.  of  cinebona  febrifuge, 
the  yield  froin  105,560  lb.  of  red  bark.  All  these 
figures  are  decidedly  satisfactory,  but  a precisely 
similar  question  arises  in  regard  to  the  Bengal  plan- 
■ tation  and  factory  to  that  raised  with  reference  to 
the  Madras  concern : Is  it  impossible  for  private 
plantations  to  supply  Government  with  all  the  bark 
it  requires  in  excess  of  the  production  of  the  Govern- 
ment plantations  as  they  now  stand  ? If  it  is,  the 
extension  of  the  plantations  is  justifiable.  If,  how- 
ever, private  enterprise  is  able  and  willing  to  meet 
the  demand,  than  an  extension  of  the  Government 
plantations  can  only  be  regarded  as  a step  in  the 
direction  of  State  interference  with  private  trade. 
Such  'interference  is  opposed  to  the  principles  laid 
down  by  the  British  Government  and  the  Government 
of  India,  and  we  trust  that  planters,  and  others,  in 
Bengal  will  stand  by  planters  down  here  in  their 
representation  to  the  effect  that  no  extension  of 
Government  cinchona  plantations  in  this  country  is 
necessary  or  desirable.  The  manufacture  of  quinine 
is  quite  a distinct  matter  from  the  production  of 
cinchona-bark.  Private  enterprise  has  so  far  mani- 
fested no  inclination  to  take  the  former  in  hand,  »o 
the  Government  is  free  to  develop  the  manufacture 
as  much  as  it  likes. — Madras  Times. 
COFFEE  PLANTING  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN 
ISLANDS  ; 
230,000  ACRES  OF  SUITABLE  LAND 
AVAILABLE  : 
2,500  ACRES  PLANTED:  20,000  MORE 
EXPECTED  IN  2 OR  3 YEARS. 
A UKPORT  has  Lately  been  made  to  tlie  Executive 
anil  Advisory  Council  of  the  Republic  of  Hawaii 
by  a Labour  Commission  relative  to  the  Collee 
Planting  industry.  Having  in  view  the  disasters 
which  have  happened  in  certain  British  Colonies 
owing  to  shortage  of  labour  the  authorities  in 
Hawaii  are  looking  ahead  and  are  considering 
what  steps  should  be  taken  to  render  imitossible 
in  their  case  the  evils  referred  to.  T'he  framers 
of  the  Re]ioi't  are  fully  aw, are  of  the  danger 
which  exists  in  allowing  I he  island  to  depend 
entirely  upon  the  single  industry  of  sugar.  In 
reviewing  the  present  conditioii  of  the  ci^flee 
industry  the  rct>ort  states  : — 
The  soil  and  climate  of  several  districts  are  ad- 
mirably adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  coffee,  and 
there  is  no  reason  why  this  industry  should  not  in 
a few  years,  with  proper  encouragement,  equal  in  the 
value  of  its  product  the  sugar  industry.  In  the  Kona 
district  of  Hawaii,  the  land  suitable  for  coffee  plant- 
ing covers  an  area  of  more  than  80,000  acres.  The 
excellent  growth  of  the  coffee  plants  and  the  quality 
of  their  truit  during  the  last  forty  years,  demons- 
strate  the  exceptional  adaptability  of  this  district  for 
the  purpose.  Aside  from  wild  or  uncultivated  plants 
which  cover  considerable  areas,  there  are  probably  100 
acres  which  have  been  recently  planted  and  will  soon 
be  in  bearing.  This  acreage  is  being  added  to  every 
month,  while  buildings  are  being  erected,  and  other 
improvements  made.  Several  plantations  have  re- 
cently been  started  with  considerable  capital,  men  of 
experience  and  means  are  engaging  in  the  business, 
and  the  majority  of  the  planters  reside  on  their  plan- 
tations and  superintend  their  own  work.  In  this  dis- 
trict tbe  successful  production  of  coffee  has  been 
thoroughly  demonstrated.  The  greatest  drawback, 
however,  to  its  more  extended  cultivation  here  is  the 
inability  of  settlers  to  acquire  lands,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  vast  areas  are  covered  by  leasehold  interests, 
which  bring  little  revenue  to  their  owners  or  the 
Government.  If  arrangements  could  be  made  by 
legal  enactment  or  otherwise,  by  which  these  large 
areas  could  be  generally  opened  up  to  settlers, 
there  would  be  in  a few  years  an  extraordinary 
growth  of  the  coffee  industry  in  this  district. 
In  the  Puna  and  Hilo  districts  there  has  also  been 
within  two  years  a great  development  of  this  in- 
dustry. In  the  Olaa  section  nearly  14,000  acres  have 
been  leased  to  proprietors  who  are  now  engaged  in 
it.  About  600  acres  have  been  planted,  while  nearly 
1,000  acres  have  been  cleared  at  great  expense,  and 
are  nearly  ready  for  planting.  In  the  Puna,  Hilo 
and  Hamakua  districts  of  the  island  of  Hawaii,  there 
are  probably  150,000  acres  of  land  on  which  the 
coffee  plant  will  grow  to  more  or  less  advantage,  and 
upon  this  land,  also,  fruits  and  vegetables  may  be 
successfully  cultivated.  None  of  the  land  herein 
referred  to  as  suitable  for  coffee,  is  now  planted  with 
sugarcane,  and  most  of  it  is  unsuitable  for  sugar  culti- 
vation. 
On  the  island  of  Maui  there  are  a number  of 
excellent  coffee  plantations.  In  Hamakualoa,  about 
sixty  Portuguese  families  have  secured  homesteads, 
and  each  of  them  has  a coffee  patch.  The  latest 
lanter  on  the  island  is  a Chinaman  in  the  Kula 
istrict.  Without  attempting  to  give  even  approxi- 
mate figures,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  many  thousands 
of  acres  of  land  on  that  island  are  suitable  for  this  pur- 
pose. There  is  also  a considerable  aci-eage  under 
cultivation  on  the  islands  of  Oahu  and  Kauai. 
The  ojiinion  is  ex]3re.ssed  in  the  Report  that  coffee 
planting  enconrage.s  a desirable  class  of  settlers 
and  in  this  connection  it  Ls  mentioned  : — 
It  is  a significant  fact  that  there  are  already  over 
200  intelligent,  enterprising  white  men,  mostly  small 
proprietors,  engaged  in  this  industry,  nearly  all  of 
whom  will  become  permanent  settlers. 
Regarding  the  extent  of  land  in  coffee  plantation.s 
stated  at  2,500  acres ; — 
In  November,  1892,  a committee  of  the  Planters’ 
Labored  Supply  Company  estimated  that  the  acreage 
of  the  cultivated  coffee  land  on  Hawaii,  Maui  and 
Molokai  was  1,325.  If  to  this  is  added  that  of  Oahu 
and  Kauai,  and  also  the  large  increase  during  the 
last  two  years,  it  is  safe  to  estimate  that  the  total 
acreage  is  now  not  far  from  2,500.  If  there  should 
be  as  now  proposed  by  the  Government,  a wise  and 
satisfactory  adjustment  of  the  land  tenures,  there  may 
be  within  a few  years  not  less  than  20,000  acres 
under  coffes.  Moreover,  it  is  very  apparent  that  the 
sugar  planters  are  closly  watching  the  pioneers  in 
coffee,  and  if  they  are  successful,  many  of  the  former 
will  place  large  areas  of  land  now  uncultivated,  under 
coffee,  !inl  make  this  industry  auxiliary  to  that  of 
sugar. 
For  facts  and  figures  the  Commissioners  refer  to 
the  case  of  Ceylon  and  t he  report  states  : — 
In  1875  the  otlficial  returns  of  the  Island  of  Ceylon 
showed  that  204,000  acres  of  land  were  under  coffee, 
and  that  2(M),(H)0  laborers  were  required  in  the  culti- 
vation ; that  is  to  say,  about  one  laborer  to  the 
acre.  With  the  better  class  of  labor  and  improved 
methods  in  these  Islands,  it  is  believed  that  one  man 
can  cultivate  three,  or  in  some  cases,  oven 
live  acres.  But  iu  tho  picking  season  there  will  pro* 
