5'^ 
THE  TROPICAL 
AGRICUl/rlJKIST. 
[L'kI!.  I,  J896. 
future  bo  made  known.  Rou';hly  speaking  there  are 
at  this  moment  (1,000  acres  under  ooffee  in  Nyasaland 
spread  over  something  like  lOO  plantations.  Of  these 
the  greater  number  are  in  their  first  and  second 
year,  so  that  the  year  ’97  is  looked  forward  to  with 
considerable  satisfaction,  it  being  very  probable  that 
the  export  of  coffee  in  parchment  for  that  year  will 
re.ached  an  aggregate  of  21,000  cwt. 
Very  varied  have  been  the  returns  per  acre.  In 
the  early  days  on  one  occasion  17  cwt  per  acre  was 
gathered.  Time  after  time  a maiden  crop  of  8 cwt 
has  been  reaped,  far  too  much,  but  taking  the 
plantations  all  over  an  average  crop  of  from  three 
to  four  cwt  may  be  reasonably  lorked  for.  The 
general  method  of  cultivation  adopted,  though  not 
in  every  particular  identical  with  the  system  in  vogue 
in  Geylou  and  India,  may  be  said  to  bo  pi-actically 
the  same,  the  first  planters  having  obtained  their 
knowledge  chiefly  from  the  wcll  kiiown  works  of 
Indian  and  Ceylon  men.  At  the  ssmo  time  consider- 
able latitude  has  feen  allowed,  local  and  climatic 
circumstances  rendering  it  unwise  to  adhere  slavishly 
to  the  methods  followed  in  other  countries,  no  matter 
how  suitable  for  those  particular  countries  such 
methods  may  be.  For  instance,  in  the  clearing,  for 
several  years  planters  trusted  chiefly  to  local  labour 
which  failed  them  just  at  the  criticaltime  with  the 
result  that  great  clearings,  felled  and  burnt  off 
durin<'  the  dry  season,  ran  the  risk  of  reverting  to 
bush  and  grass  for  want  of  labour  when  the  rains  fell, 
and  much  cleaving  and  holing  had  to  be  dons  at  the 
end  of  the  wet  season.  Again  the  plantations  were 
unavoidably  allowed  to  become  foul  with  weeds,  and 
doubtless  the  early  plantations  sustained  great  injury 
in  conse<iaence. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  the  country  at  that 
date  was  in  a very  unsettled  state,  and  the  natives 
would  not  he  persuaded  to  leave  their  home  for  a 
journey  of  40  miles,  much  less  OOO  miles,  as  is  the 
case  now,  returning  six  months  or  twelve  months 
after.  The  African  Lakes’  Coy.  had  succeeded  in 
briii'^ing  Atonga  by  steamer  from  Lake  Nyasa  as  far 
baclT  as  85  to  do  their  transport  work,  but  the 
passage  was  costly,  and  it  was  not  until  ’91  that  the 
Atoiiga  agreed  to  leave  their  home  and  accept  w rk 
on  Luchanan  Bros.’  plantation  at  Zomba.  The 
position  today  therefore  is  totally  changed.  The 
local  native  being  satiated  with  cloth  and  other- 
goods  does  little  or  no  work,  their  place,  however, 
durino-  the  dry  season  is  taken  by  Angoni  who 
come^from  the  table  land  to  the  west  of  the  Shire, 
while  the  Atonga  from  further  North  are  available 
for  the  wet  season;  thus  it  is  that  the  planter- 
today,  notwithstanding  the  enormous  increase  of 
labour  demand,  is  in  a better  position  than  was  his 
pioneer  brother.  The  Atonga  labour  supply  has  been 
rendered  available  to  every  planter  in  Nyasaland  by 
the  action  of  II.  M.  Commissioner  in  reducing  to 
order  several  Yao  chiefs  on  the  west  of  Lake 
Nyasa  who,  up  till  then,  would  not  allow  gangs  of 
Atonga  to  pass  through  their  country.  Let  us  hope 
that  a year  hence  wo  may  see  the  remaining  Yao  chiefs 
of  ' the  Hast  of  the  Lake  silenced  and  thus  another 
vast  labour  supply  rendered  accessible. 
(4ne  cannot  prophesy  as  to  the  future  of  the  labour 
supply,  as  many  contingencies  may  arise.  The  dis- 
covery of  gold,  for  instance,  might  seriously  interfere 
with  the  planters'  labour  supply,  but,  t.aking  no 
pessimistic  view  of  the  case,  and  all  things  being 
equal,  there  is  really  no  reason  why  the  supply 
should  not  go  on  increasing.  There  arc  yet  vast 
fields  of  labour  untapped,  and  as  we  advance  and 
close  in  on  the  old  order  of  things  in  Africa  the 
..oiiiinl  corollary  is  that  tribes  come  to  learn  that 
he  new  state  is  better  than  the  old.  Taking  the 
Angoni  as  a case  in  point  it  seems  like  but  yesterday 
since  the  writer  saw  villages  burning,  people  Hying 
for-  refuge,  armies  of  Angoni  raiding  and  pillaging. 
Now  we  have  in  the  Shire  Highlands  year  after  year- 
thousands  upon  thousands  of  those  same  Angoni  who 
have  exchanged  the  spear  and  shield  or  the  hoe,  and 
who  piovo  themselves  as  capable  labourers  as  they 
\\ere  warriors  to  be  feaied.  • 
T'hc  rate  of  wages  at  the  present  time  varies  Irom 
f to  (i;  por  mouth  for  the  ordinary  plantation  hand. 
The  more  skilled  labourer  obtaining  10  or  more 
rupees.  Wages  are  yet  to  a large  extent  paid  in 
barter  goods  such  as  calico,  beads,  brass  wire,  handker- 
chiefs etc.  but  a money  currency,  namely,  the  Indian 
rupee  and  the  English  coinage,  is  fast  becoming 
general.  Laud  is  yet  available  in  quantity.  Not- 
withstanding a very  marked  increase  in  value  within 
the  last  few  years  there  is  yet  good  coffee  land 
obtainable  at  from  5/  to  20  per  acre.  It  is  calculated 
that  a plantation  of  200  acres  including,  say  1000 
acres  more  or  less  of  land,  may  be  brought  into 
bearing  in  its  third  year  for  about  £2000,  though 
£2500  would  bo  a safer  estimate.  The  coffee  in  this 
country  has  a marked  tendency  to  bear  heavily  in 
its  first  year.  The  w-riter  has  known  coffee,  not 
forced  in  any  way,  to  bear  a maiden  crop  of  8 cwt. 
per  acre  within  8 years  of  the  date  of  placing  the 
seed  in  the  soil.  The  result  of  this  is  ruinous,  aud 
so  weakens  the  trees  that,  in  many  instances,  little 
more  crop  is  obtained.  Hence  it  would  be  well  not 
to  expect  a maiden  crop  until  the  fourth  year.  As 
to  how  long  the  trees  may  go  on  bearing  it  is  at 
present  impossible  to  foretell.  'There  are  trees  in 
the  writer’s  possession  now  in  their  eighth  year 
which  have  borne  five  continuous  crops  ; while,  on 
the  other  hand,  trees  that  have  borne  heavily  in  their 
initial  stage  have  had  to  be  cut  down  and  renewed. 
The  great  drawback  coffee  has  to  contend  with  is 
the  want  of  transport.  One  dreads  to  think  of  what 
may  be  the  position  two  years  hence,  unless  by  that 
time  we  have  a railway  from  Chiromo  to  Hlantyre, 
if  indeed  it  be  not  from  the  sea  coast.  'The  present 
transport  arrangements  are  utterly  inadequate  to  deal 
with  the  export  of  2000  tons  of  coffee  in  a period 
not  extending  over  three  months.  'There  are  railway 
and  tramway  schemes  in  the  air,  both  good  enough 
in  their  way,  but  what  is  wanted  is  a throughly 
good  railway  3'  (i"  gauge  starting  best  of  all  at  the 
sea  coast,  failing  this  at  Port  Herald  or  Chiromo 
and  tapping  all  the  coffee  districts  in  its  way  to 
Blantyre.  As  yet  the  fatal  leaf  disease  of  Ceylon  is 
unknow'u  in  this  country,  and  stringent  measures  are 
in  force  to  debar  its  entrance.  'There  are  here, 
however,  sevei-al  ills  that  coffee  seems  heir  to  in 
every  countx-y.  The  borer,  for  instance,  W'e  have 
ever  with  us;  we  have  suffered  also  from  blight 
and  bug  which  cvei-y  intending  planter  must  bo 
prepared  to  reckon  with.  The  bug  we  have  to  dread 
most  however,  is  an  insect  not  unlike  the  lady-bird 
beetle  in  appearance  though  considerably  smaller  in 
size.  At  one  time  this  insect  was  regtirdcd  rather 
as  a friend  than  a foe.  The  mischief  resultant  upon 
its  visitations  is  often  serious,  empty  berry,  diseased 
bean,  and  in  some  cases,  no  crop  at  all.  Steps  are, 
however,  being  taken  to  combat  this  enemy  and  we  hope 
to  publish  the  results  in  this  magazine  at  an  early  date. 
Summing  up  the  position  and  prospects  of  coffee 
in  Nyasaland  there  is  every  reas.on  to  regard  coffee 
planting  in  the  light  of  a staple  industry.  II.  M. 
(Jommissioner  IMr.  .lohnston.  has  all  along  recognised 
the  importance  of  the  coffee  industry,  and  we  would 
believe  that  future  legislation  will  moi-c  than  ever  tend 
to  aid  the  planter.  Nyasaland  planters  are  not  slow  to 
take  advantage  of  accessory  aid.  'They  arc  loyal  to 
those  in  power  and  alive  to  their  own  interests,  and 
with  the  many  advantages  this  countx-y  possesses,  aud 
the  general  iutelligeuce  of  the  planting  community, 
we  feel  warranted  in  concluding  tluCt  coffee  planting 
has  a bx-ight  future  befox-e  it. — Ventral  A/riran  I'lanter. 

'The  Cac.vo  Chui’. — .V  planter  in  tlie  course  of 
a letter  to  us  .say.s  : — “No  two  |iei sons  can  agree 
upon  tlie  cacao  crop  thi.s  year.  Some  say  it  is 
short  and  others  tliat  it  is  u)i  to  estimate.  It 
is  in  iiiy  opinion  rather  shorter  than  otherwi.-e 
generally,  'i’he  Caracas  in  many  jdace.-'  hao  a 
cro|)  with  an  interxal,  or  rathei  a crop  for  the 
old  year  and  oni^  for  the  neu,  separated  from 
eacli Other  by  an  interval  of  some  weeks,  while 
the  Korastero  is  spinning  along  with  ri|ie  and 
green  and  blo.ssom  again.  As  reg.ards  ]trices  they 
are  kec|)ing  up  to  previous  ligures  in  England. 
But  there  is  no  knowing  what  the  \ ankce  and 
Armeuiau  troubles  may  do  to  all'ect  price.s.  ” 
