May  I,  1896.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
755 
them  to  take  up  land  for  cci'fec  have  been  over- 
rated, and  that  the  country  generally  is  not 
apted  to  the  successful  and  remunerative  cultivation 
of  this  product.  • 
It  is  a great  blow  to  Selangor,  Messrs.  Ghristio  and 
Forsythe’s  opinion  and  judgment  of  tlio  nnsuitabuity 
of  the  land  for  coffee  cultivation,  as  it  will,  for  tlie 
time  being,  hold  intending  investors  in  check. 
Why  Selangor  should  have  been  chosen  liy  so 
many  investors  in  preference  to  the  States  of  I’erak 
and  Sungei  Ujong,  it  is  difficult  to  understand. 
It  has  certainly  been  proved  that  the  estates  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  Kwala  lamipor,  have  done 
exceedingly  well,  and  have  yielded  large  prolits  to 
the  several  proprietors,  and  that  the  colfee  jiropertics 
a little  further  removed,  have,  one  and  all  of  them, 
also  been  a great  success. 
There  is  no  paucity  of  magnificent  laid  moat 
suitable  for  the  cultivation  ol  Ijiberian  coffee  in  the 
State  of  Selangor,  so  there  is  no  reason  why  any 
investor  should  choose  low-lying  and  ssvampy,  or 
“peaty”  land  in  the  direction  of  Khiug,  while  there 
are  so  many  thousands  of  acres  to  be  had  on  the 
further  side  of  Kwala  Lumpor,  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  “New  Amherst”  and  other  flourishing  estates. 
There,  the  land  is  undulating,  aflording  uaiural 
drainage,  the  soil  good,  and  the  forest  heavy,  while 
transport  cannot  be  considered  a difficulty,  with  so 
many  roads  intersecting  the  country  in  all  directions, 
and  being  within  a comparatively  short  distance  from 
a line  of  railway. 
But  on  the  other  hand,  Perak,  has,  I consider,  a 
great  deal  in  its  favor  for  investors  intending  to  open 
up  either  Arabian  or  Liberian  coffee,  “Wateiioo” 
estate,  the  property  of  Sir  Graeme  Elphinstone, 
affords  ample  proof  of  the  success  of  the  former, 
while  equal  success  vrith  Liberi.ui  is  evidenced  by 
what  “ Kamuning  ” estate  (the  property  of  Mr.  Kill), 
about  twelve  miles  from  Kwala  Kangsar,  has  done. 
When  in  1892  I paid  a visit  to  this  esiate,  I was 
much  impressed  with  tne  splendid  soil,  the  lay  of 
the  land,  and  the  enormous  crop  trees  of  from  tliree 
ye.ars  old  and  upwards  were  bearing.  The  branches 
were,  without  exaggeration,  actrrally  borne  down 
with  their  weight  of  crop. 
The  only  difficulty'  and  the  hindrance  there  then 
was  labour,  although,  I believe,  this  defect  has  since 
been  remedied  by  a free  influx  of  Tamil  labourers. 
There  are  thousands  of  acres  of  very  line  laud  in  the 
Kwala  Kangsa  district  most  admirably  suited  for  the 
successful  cultivation  of  Liberian  coffee,  which  I have 
myself  personally  inspected;  while  on  the  Blanda 
Marbok  side  of  Thaiping,  I must  confess  to  never 
having  seen  land,  forest,  and  soil,  to  equal  it  anywhere. 
There  is  no  lack  of  limestone  either  in  the  dis- 
trict of  Kwala  Kangsa,  and  it  is  a notable  fact,  t.iat 
while  the  roads  between  Taiping  and  Kw.xla  Kangsa 
are  metalled  with  limestone  of^  the  ordinary  light 
descripiion,  the  roads  beyond  Kwala  Kangsa  are  all 
laid  with  black  limestone,  which  latter  abounds  in 
the  vicinity  or  “ Kamuning  ” estate. 
In  the  Scates  of  Selangor  and  Perak  limestone  is 
to  be  found  in  abundance,  and  should  manuring  at 
any  time  be  deemed  necessary  there  are  many  facili- 
ties for  making  excellent  composts. 
In  both  States  there  are  caves  vyhere  very  exten- 
siv-j  Bat  dung  deposits  exist — a licence,  or  permit, 
and  a small  fee  to  Government  being  all  that  is 
necessary  10  put  one  in  possession  of  the  manure. 
Tile  rainfiui  of  Perak  is,  on  an  average,  about  ninety 
indies,  equally  distributed.  It  is  a land  of  sunshine 
and  shower  all  the  year  through;  , ’ 
Liberian  coffee  crops  from  estates  in  the  qn'otecteu 
Native  (States  of  the  f.Ialay  Peninsula. 
A circular  issued  by  the  Government  Oi  1 erak  111 
1891  gives  the  following  particulars: 
Cwt. 
“Linsu.-vm”  estate  in  Sungei  Ujong,  average 
per  acre  for  4 yoais  in  full  beariiYg  ■ . 
“ S’niAM  ” estate  in  Sungei  Ujong,  average 
per  acre  for  H years  in  full  hearing  . . 10  Jy 
“ Wnrm’s  Hill”  estate  in  Selangor,  average 
for  4 year.s  . . ■ • . . ® 
"Batu  Oaves,”  Selangor,  ono  year  in  uni 
bearing  ..  ••  ■ ’ - 
Surely  those  figures  are  proof  conclusive  that  coffe° 
is  a qiaying  concern  in  the  Straits, 
With  tliese  few  remarks  I will  meantime  end  up; 
but  if  you  will  permit  mo  spiacc,  I will  write  to  you 
further  on  this  subject. 

DK.  I).  MOUIKSON  SISAL  I-TI5KL  INTKK 
BAHAMAS. 
After  experiencing  many  disappointments  and  not 
a few  heavy  losses  the  Bahamas  Sisal  growers 
seem  at  length  to  be  getting  rid  of  their  difficulties, 
and  are  now  fairly  started  on  the  high  road  to  making 
the  business  a pennauent  and  a lucrative  one. 
As  was  stated  by  the  Assistant  Director  of  Kew  Gar- 
dens in  his  address  before  the  Society  of  Arts  last 
ev'diing,  the  iudiistiy  has  had  to  pass  through  several 
very  trying  experiences,  but  the  ultimate  issue  is 
decidedly  promisii  g,  Dr.  Morris  has  just  returned 
from  a visit  to  the  Colony,  vvhere  he  has  been  inves- 
tigating the  subject  at  the  invitation  of  the  Colonial 
authorities.  It  seems  clear  that  the  plants  were 
introduced  into  the  Bahama  Islands  fully  half  a 
century  ago,  and  found  there  a congenial  soil,  but, 
strangely  enough,  no  one  appears  to  have  taken 
sufficient  interest  in  them  to  see  that  they  were  of 
great  commercial  value  if  properly  looked  after.  In 
1851  Mr.  Nesbitt,  the  then  Colonial  Secretary,  re- 
duced a number  of  Sisal  leaves  into  fibre,  and  samples 
were  placed  in  the  Museum  at  Nassau,  New  Pro- 
vidence. This,  however,  did  not  stimulate  anyone  to 
follow  up  the  matter  w'ith  the  object  of  starting  a 
new  business,  and  the  plant,  therefore,  was  fora  long 
time  looked  upon  as  a mere  curiosity',  fit  only  for 
hedges.  That  it  is  now  recognised  as  a valuable 
marketable  commodity  is  entirely  dfie  to  the  action 
taken  by  Sir  Ambroso  Sliea,  the  late  Governor,  in 
energeiicslly  advocating  the  cultivation  of  Sisal  jilants 
for  trade  purposes,  the  industry  being  started  so 
rtc.mtiy  as  1887.  But  in  the  shon  period  which  has 
since  elapsed  the  fibre  trade  has  witnessed  great 
fluctuations  in  prices.  When  the  Bahamas  first  em- 
barked in  business  prices  were  on  the  rise,  the 
average  price  ))cr  ton  in  1879  being  T24,  and  four 
years  later  ,t;27,  and  still  going  up.  Immediately  it 
became  evident  that  the  little-known  Colony  in  the 
south-western  corner  of  the  Atlantic  was  a suitable 
field  for  operations  there  was  a rush  of  capitalists, 
who,  feeling  assured  of  a handsome  fortune,  spent 
money  recklessly  on  developing  the  new  trade. 
Indeed  it  has  been  said  that  under  the 
feverish  excitement  of  the  moment  at  least  four  times 
as  much  money  as  necessary  was  invested  in  the 
business,  aiid  still  things  looked  rosy,  for  by  1889 
the  price  of  fibre,  thanks  to  an  American  “ corner,” 
had  gone  np  to  an  average  of  T50  per  ton,  the  highest 
price  attained  during  that  memorable  year  being 
T5(>  lOs.  Then  followed  the  usual  reaction  after  the 
interference  of  “corners;”  prices  went  down  with  a 
run,  so  that  in  1894  the  average  was  ^17  lOs.,  and 
last  year  it  was  little  more  tlian  £14.  Such  a violent 
cliiinge  as  this  was  enough  to  discourage  the  moat 
enthusiastic  of  investors,  but  the  lesson  has  not  been 
without  effect.  Experience,  dearly  bought,  has  taught 
those  directly  concerned  in  the  cultivation  of  Sisal 
that  it  can  be  carried  on  profitably  only  by  econo- 
mical methods  ill  fanning  and  in  the  preparation  of 
the  fibre  for  the  market.  Notwithstanding  the 
decline  in  prices,  the  acreage  devoted  to  Sisal 
growing  is  steadily  increasing  year  by  year, 
in  1891  about  4,000  acres  had  been  planted,  next  year 
8,000,  in  1893  it  w.as  17,000,  and  by  last  year  it  'had 
risen  to  25,000  acres.  Notwithstanding  this  extension 
of  the  industry  the  Mother  Country  does  very  little 
to  encourage  it,  90  per  cent  of  the  produce  going  to 
the  United  States  and  only  5 per  cent  coming  to 
England.  But  this  is  by  no  means  singular,  for  it  is 
a curiosity  of  our  trade  in  fibres  that  foreign  nations 
supply  us  W'ith  about  90  per  cent  of  the  raw  material 
we  require.  In  other  words,  we  pay  foreigners 
.£15,000,000  per  annum  for  various  fibres,  w'hile  our 
own  possessions  receive  only  £5,000,000.  This  is  not 
altogether  our  own  fault.  We  are  certainly  to  blame 
for  not  having  officially  recommended  settlers  in  our 
uiiiuerous  possessions  to  undertake  certain  kinds 
