47i 
Jai4.  I,  1897.J  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
bo  complied  with  if  possible,  I have  the  honour  to 
report  that  on  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Crowther,  the 
curator  of  the  Gold  Coast,  in  the  Colony,  1 nifinired 
what  was  being  done  in  the  matter,  and  on  learn- 
\ncf  that  it  was  said  to  be  too  late  to  obtain  seed, 
and  as  authentic  seed  was  required,  and  we  have 
no  expert  in  the  Colony,  I asked  Mr.  Crowther 
to  be  so  good  at  to  endeavour  to  obtain  some 
seed,  and  if  it  was  not  possible  to  do  this  now, 
to  be  good  enough  to  ear-mark  some  of  the  colTee 
plants  of  the  authentic  kind,  so  as  to  enable  us 
to  supply  authentic  seed  when  obtainable. 
I am  glad  to  say  that  Mr.  Crosyther  was  able  to 
obtain  some  of  the  seed  iciinired  (nine  po  inds),  which 
he  certifies  as  true  seed,  having  seen  it  growing  be- 
fore it  was  gathered,  and  also  gave  instructions  for 
its  being  packed. 
The  coffee  is  being  addressed  to  the  Director, 
Boyal  Gardens,  Kew,  and  will,  if  possible,  be  des- 
patched by  s.s.  “ Sherbro,”  which  takes  this  des- 
patch.—I have,  tfec. 
(Signed)  W.  H.  Quaylk  Jones,  Deputy  Governor. 
The  Most  Honourable  the  Marquess  of  Ripou, 
K.G.  &c.  &o. 
Plants  raised  from  the  seed,  above  mentioned, 
flowered  at  Kew  as  early  as  September  1895,  in  one 
of  tlie  tropical  houses.  Supplies  of  seed  and  plants 
of  this  coffee  have  now  been  distributed  to  the  Botanic 
Institutions  in  India  and  the  colonies  from  whence, 
if  the  plant  resists  the  coffee  disease  anl  proves  to 
be  as  excellent  a coffee  as  the  French  merchants 
declare  it  to  be,  good  results  may  be  expected. 
The  results  of  the  introduction  to  the  West  Indies  are 
so  far  of  a promising  ch  uaoter.  The  plants  have  not, 
however,  thriven  so  well  as  could  be  wished  at  Dominica 
and  Ceylon.  In  the  /{'•.port  of  the  Botanic  Station 
at  Dominica  for  1895  it  ii  stated:—"  A few  plants 
of  Coffea  were  planted  at  the  station,  and 
twenty  plants  distributed  in  couples  to  various  phuiters 
who  expressed  a desire  to  try  them.  Some  are  re- 
ported HS  thriving  well  ; others  are  not  so  satisfac- 
tory. The  plants  put  out  at  the  station  are  by  no 
means  a success  as  yet,  one  only  being  in  a really 
healthy  state.” 
From  Trinidad  tho  prospects  are  mere  encourag- 
ing. In  Mr.  Hart’s  Annual  Report  for  1895  we  find: 
— “ From  seed  of  this  new  coffee,  sent  from  Kew,  a 
number  of  plants  have  been  raised  Some  of  tho 
larger  plants  have  been  planted  in  permanent  posi- 
tions, and  are  now  over  three  feet  in  height,  and  it 
is  expected  will  flower  in  a few  weeks  for  the  first 
time.” 
At  the  Castleton  Gardens,  Jamaica,  Mr.  Fawcett 
is  able  to  report Fifteen  plants  of  Coffea  sten- 
raised  from  seeds  from  Kew,  have  been  planttd 
ill  different  places  about  the  garden  and  are  doing 
well.”  From  the  /tejiort  of  the  Director  of  the  Royal 
Botanic  Gardens,  Ceylon,  fur  the  year  1896,  we 
learn — 
“ A small  plantation  of  36  plants  of  Sierra  Leone 
or  ‘upland  coffee’  {Coffea  stenophulla)  received  from 
Kew  in  1894  was  made  in  April,  and  plants  of  Lon- 
chocraims  so.  (the  one  used  in  Trinidad  as  a shade- 
tree  for  Cacao)  planted  among  them  for  shade.  The 
growth  of  the  coffee  plants  has  been  very  irregular, 
varyint»  from  a few  inches  to  3 feet,  and  cannot  be 
said  to  bo  very  promising.  They  have  th^  appear- 
ance of  plants  out  of  their  element,  and  look  as  if 
tho  climate  here  did  not  suit  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Lonchocarpm  is  certainly  at  home,  having 
grown  very  rapidly  with  a branching  habit,  and  it 
promises  to  be  a very  useful  shade-tree  at  low  ele- 
vations. Some  of  the  shoots  have  grown  8 feet  in 
nine  months.” 
The  Director  of  the  Botanic  Gardens  and  Forest 
Department,  Straits  Settlements,  refers  to  the  African 
coffee  in  his  Report  for  the  year  1895,  as  fol- 
lows : — 
“ Among  these  feconomic  plants]  is  a small  lot  of 
the  new  coffee  {Coffea  stenophijlla),  a plant  spoken 
very  highly  of.  It  is  growing  steadily  and  well,  and 
ftt  present  docs  not  appear  to  be  affected  at  ail  by 
disease.  Plants  have  been  distributed  to  coffee  plan- 
ters in  different  parts  of  the  Peninsula  for  experi- 
ment and  observation,” 
THE  FATHER  OF  COFFEE-PLANTING 
IN  MALAYA. 
The  introduction  of  Liberian  Coffee  into  the  Ma- 
layan Peninsula  is  to  be  attributed  to  Mr.  Leonard 
Wray,  the  fat'ier  of  the  Curator  of  the  Perak 
Mu.seum. 
Mr.  Wray  came  out  to  the  East  early  in  life  and 
■was  interested  in  the  Assam  tea  fields,  and  eventu- 
ally retired  after  having  made  a small  fortune,  which 
he  invested  in  planting-industrie.s  Malaya.  He  was 
a large  shareholder  and  a Director  of  the  Penang 
Plantations  Company,  Limited,  which  owned  the  Alma 
Estate  in  the  Province,  and  also  some  tobacco  estates 
in  Serdang,  Sumatra.  The  interests  of  the  Company 
in  the  East  were  left  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Walter 
Knaggs,  also  another  experienced  nlanter.  In  1877, 
Mr.  Wraj  was  sent  out  by  the  Board  of  Directors 
to  replace  Mr.  Knaggs,  and  it  was  when  he  was  on 
the  Alma  Estate  that  he  gave  his  attention  to  Libe- 
rian coffee.  He  was  a firm  believer  in  the  adapta- 
bility of  the  soil  of  the  Peninsula  to  the  culture  of 
this  berry.  The  first  nurseries  of  Liberian  coffee 
were  made  in  the  Province,  and  thence  seeds  were 
taken  into  Perak  to  the  Waterloo  Estate,  which  at 
one  time  was  owned  by  the  Company  represented  by 
Mr.  Wray.  Arabian  coffee  was  also  not  forgotten 
by  this  gentleman,  and  he  had  a large  nui-sery  of 
of  the  sm  iller  berry  from  which  Pei'ak  raised  its 
supply. 
After  a lapse  of  twenty  years,  coffee  is  booming 
in  the  Malay  States ; but  the  younger  planters  of 
the  present  day  may  not  recognise  in  Mr.  Wray  the 
Father  of  thii  Industry,  if  indeed  they  know  or 
have  ever  ho.ard  of  him.  Mr.  Wray  is  now  retired 
from  active  life,  and  lives  in  seclusion  in  Taiping, 
Perak,  where  he  has  two  sons  in  the  Government 
Service,  one  of  whom  is  well-known  in  scientific 
circles,  while  the  other  is  a capable  administrator. 
— P.  G. — Riiifjapore  /•'icc  Press,  Dec.  8. 
♦ 
Ti<:a  in  South  Carolina,  Unitkd  Static, s.— 
Mr.  .1.  M.  Maitlanil-Kirwan  (who  i.s  a passenger 
on  the  incoming  P.  A'  0.  steamer  "Cliina”  on 
one  of  liis  periodical  visits  of  inspection  of  pro- 
perties in  which  he  is  interested,  in  the  colony) 
semis  us  a letter  in  reference  to  Mr.  Shepard’s 
experiment  in  tea  planting  in  South  Carolina, 
whicli  makes  ns  curious  to  learn  more.  We 
passed  through  the  Carolinas  in  1884,  stay- 
ing some  time  in  the  towns,  but,  of  course,  Mr. 
Shepard  had  not  begun  te.a  growing  then.  We, 
however,  saw  the  tea  bush  flourishing  in  the 
open  in  Wa.shington  under  the  care  of  the  Secre- 
tary to  the  Agricultural  Department — a great 
admirer  of  the  then  young  Tropical  Agriculturist 
— and  <a  most  enterprising  promoter  of  new  in- 
dustries. But  candid  man  as  he  was,  Mr.  Saunder 
quite  agreed  with  us  that  paying  a dollar  a day 
for  negro  labour,  tea  cultivation  in  the  Southern 
States  of  America  could  not  be  made  to  pay, 
even  with  a good  ma  ket  at  the  producer’s  door, 
unless  a heavy  protection  duty  w.as  imposed  on 
imports.  We  trust  there  is  no  likelihood  of  this 
even  from  President  McKinley.  At  the  same 
time,  we  should  like  to  see  Mr.  Shepard’s  in- 
dividual enterprise  meet  with  a due  reward,  more 
especially  as  his  produce  ought  to  aid  in  educat- 
ing the  taste  of  his  countrymen  in  appreciating 
wholesome,  pure  tea.  It  will  he  remembered  that 
for  some  time,  Mr.  Shejiard  employed  an  old 
Ceylon  ])l.anterwho  has  rolled  about  everywheie, 
Mr.  Henry  Cottam  ; but  he  must  have  left  before 
Mr.  Maitland-Kii  wan’s  visit. 
