July t, 1897.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
55 
(3) Experiments witli Potash in which the yields 
from plots receiving (1) no manure and (2) no Potash 
are compared with those from plots receiving increas- 
ing amounts of Potash in the form of Sulphate. 
(4) Experiments with various substances, as Sul- 
phate of Lime, Sulphate of Iron, Sulphate of 
Magnesia, and Marl (carbonate of Lime). 
We have now to) ascertain whether phosphates, in 
which the soil is so deficient, and which are so essen- 
tial to plant life, can be added in any manner 
which shall prove directly beneficial. It seems pro- 
bable that Leguminous crops may be benefitted by 
the application, and that if green dressings of Legu- 
minous crops grown with the aid of phosphates be 
buried in the soil, we may introduce phosphates in a 
useful form, while at the same time the soil will 
receive vegetable matter, (humus), which it needs to 
as great an extent as it needs phosphates. A 
series of experiments has been inaugurated on these 
lines. 
One of the greatest differences between tropical 
and temperate agriculture is occasioned by the rapid 
decay of vegetable matter which goes on all the 
year round in the tropics ; so that much more or 
ganic matter is required in the tropics than in 
temperate regions, in oi’der to keep land under cul- 
tivation in good condition. Soils such as these must 
receive large amounts of vegetable matter to keep 
them fertile; this may be accomplished by heavy 
dressings of pen manure, of which the planter rarely 
has sufficient at his command, or by “ green dressings,” 
or by the application of “ bush ” — (small brushwood, 
twigs, leaves, grass, seaweed and such like — grown 
elsewhere and carried on to the fields there to be 
buried. This latter process however can only be 
carried out in situations where the requisite material 
is available ; it is a common practice in Barbados 
and St. Kitts, where its value is recognised. Ap- 
plications of this kind should be made some time 
before planting in order that the young crop may 
not be injured by the fermentation of a large mass 
of fresh vegetable matter, covered by a few inches 
of soil ; and if even with this precaution there ap- 
pears to be any danger, the soil in which the 
“bush” is buried should be stirred with the fork. 
This method of manuring may be made to convey 
to the soil all the mineral matter, including phos- 
phates required by a cane crop.* * * 
It will thus be seen that such a method of manuring 
if conducted with the xri'oper precautions will [supply 
in a useful form more plant food than is given by 
the usual applications of artificial manure, and in 
such a form as to greri!ly improve the condition of 
the soil. This is a method of manuring which we 
would urge planters to adopt more extensively where 
ever possible. Green dressing differs from “ bushing ” 
only in the fact that in bushing the plant food is 
brought from a distance and added to the field to 
which it is applied, thus increasing the store : though 
something of a similar nature takes place with green 
dressings which have a deep root range, for they 
bring plant food from depths greater than the cane 
roots ordinarily reach and in this way they may be 
regarded as bringing fresh food supplies to the field. 
In the case of Leguminous green dressings, the 
gain of Nitrogen due to the action of the micro- 
organisms of the root nodules must be taken into 
account, and renders the use of Leguminous plants 
preferable to others for this jmrpose. 
FACTS ABOUT COFFEE KAISINO IN 
HAWAII. 
The coffee raising industry in Hawaii is yet in its 
infancy, but it pays from one to two hundred per 
cent, on capital invested, the coffee being of a supe- 
rior quality and ranking among the best in the world. 
A new coffee plantation will pay original cost and 
leave a good margin of profit by the end of the 
fifth or sixth year after planting. 
Cofiee is worth at present, at the plantation, from 
15 to 16 cents per pound, while the annual cost of 
production averages only 7 cents per pound. 
Good coffee land, with unexceptionable title, can be 
bought all the way from |5 to $100 an acre, accord- 
ing to location and condition, and one acre will sfrow 
600 to 800 trees. ® 
A coffee tree in full bearing will average from 2 
to 3 pounds of coffee annually, according to age — the 
life of the tree being from 30 to 40 years. 
Much of the labor incidental to the raising and 
preparation of coffee can be and is performed by 
wornen and children, which largely increase the 
available labor supply and reduces the cost of same. 
The cost of clearing the land and preparing the 
the plants is from $5 to $10 an acre. 
The season for setting out plants beings in January 
and ends in September. 
Coffee plants can be bought at the nurseries at 
from $4 to $6 a thousand. Plants raised from the 
seed require eight months’ growth before they are 
ready for transplanting in the field. 
^ If the soil is rich and deep, 600 trees to the acre 
IS a sufficient number ; results as regards production 
ot the coffee berry ^ have been found to be more 
satisfactory with this number than with a greater or 
less quantity of trees per acre 
^ Among all marketable fruits, the gi’owing of which 
IB made accessory to coffee culture, the pine- apple 
IS the most profitable, especially where the grower 
has cheap transportation to ports. 
The soil and climate suitable for coffee arc suitable 
also for tobacco, corn, beans and oranges, and in 
the lower lying districts for sugar cane, rice and 
most of the tropical fruits as well. 
The altitude suitable for coffee is from one to 
three thousand feet above the sea. 
The coffee districts are among the healthiets in 
the country, and the climate suitable for coffee is 
suitable also for persons accustomed to a temperate 
zone. '■ 
The wages in the principal coffee raising districts, 
according to official figures, average 50 cents to $1 
a day. 
The picking season for coffee commences about 
July aud continues to the end of the year. 
Every cofiee planter should carry on, simultane- 
ously with his main business, the raising of 0 3i*n 
taro and other vegetables. A few hogs and poultry 
should also be kept . — Hawaiian Planters’ Monthly. 
^ 
INDIA AND CEYLON TEA PLANTING 
INVESTMENTS. 
Few people are aware that the tea industry of India 
and Ceylon is one the most important trades of 
the Empire, and probably the great majority will 
scarcely credit the fact that a sum exceeding 
£25,000,000 is invested in the growing of tea in these 
two British possessions alone. If to this be added 
the enormous sums employed in transport, distributed 
yearly in wages to Indian labourers, and contribu- 
ted to the customs’ revenue of the United Kingdom, 
to say nothing of the vast capital and organisation 
for the distribution of tea to consumers in connec- 
tion witli the trade, it is obvious that this commo- 
dity is one of the standard commercial factors of 
the Empire. We may further draw attention to its 
extraordinarily sound and progressive position. Eleven 
years ago, the proportion of tea imported from 
China into the United Kingdom was 59 per cent, 
of the whole, and the Indian aud Ceylon teas sup- 
plied the balance of 41 per cent. In 1894 the im- 
ports of China tea were but 12 per cent, aud of 
Indian and Ceylon tea 88 per cent, and the 
greater part of the tea trade of the world is yet 
to be conquered. The tea consumption of the 
world, excluding the East, is 450,000,000 lb. per 
annum, and of this 250,000,000 lb. were in 1896 
supplied by British growers. The tea-growing in- 
dustry is supported mainly by capital provided 
locally in India aud Ceylon, which is a striking tes- 
timony to what is deemed in tliese countries its 
value as an investment, especially when it is consi- 
dered that the return on capital invested is required 
