746 
THE tropical AQRIOULTUmST. 
[April r, 1892* 
Crop ia pretty generally oTcr. I< I am to tell the 
undeonnited truth, I muat reveal the nnoomfotiable 
feet that a great proportloa of the coffee on some 
eatatea has been very light. Pretty nearly all have 
suffered morn or less, and those estates whiob caught 
the early rains last year seem to have been mort 
effected. Many of us can remember a similar occur- 
retice, in (I think it was) _ 1873, which was also 
attriljuted to unseasonable rainfsil. The rise in cin- 
chona has been a great comfort and encouragement 
to 111 ; and everybody is shipping bark ns early as 
possible. The drought is causing ns serious anxiety. 
Not a drop of rain has fallen sinee the beginning 
of November, and the young plantings are suffering 
severely. The wbol" country looks fearfully pstchM, 
and the mountain s'des are blackened by fires. The 
heat in the middle of the day ia very great, and tms, 
oomhined with the dust and smoke, sre anything but 
pleasant. 'Vr’e hear bad reports of the approaching 
famine ; grain is rising very mnoh in price. Grain, 
which was formerly fourrupees eight annas the pidlah, 
now costs oieveu rupees ; tagi is so dear, that the coolies 
are buying rice brought up from the Coast. It is sad 
to think how things will bs a few months later. I saw 
an nnmiafakeable “ famine oooly,” the other day lying 
by the road aide, and the eight was a sad one, 
recalling the tetrihio memoric.s of 1877. Our coolies are 
very anxious to be kept on later in 'Wynaad. Unfortu- 
nately most of us nro equally anxious to pay up our 
gangs, and retrciiob. The spike is beginning to show 
up, and possibly ns far as that ia concerned, it would 
be better for the rain to bo delayed nntil Maroh, though 
one docs not like to think of the fate of our baby 
cinchonas and coffee, sliould the drought so continue. 
The Piiuniars about hero arc becoming very treublo- 
BOine and dnring. They are driven to desperation. 
Decidedly, Coffee Arabics is what old nurses would 
esii, “ contrary." We coddle it up with every sort of 
tonic, we iliade it carefully, and weeil and prune, and 
it rewards ns with a golden glory of leaf disease aud 
surprise packets, in the shape of bushels of empty 
beans. But an account reaches ns of an abandoned 
estate which had grown np into scrub jungle, know- 
ing nothing of cnlliyation for many years. It was 
remarked that some of the old coffee trees had crop 
on thorn, and the happy thought occurred to grass 
knife about them. This led to further discoveries 
sod ended in a gathering in of something over ten 
tons of coffee, perfectly sound. It is possitively sg- 
gravating to hear of such Ibinge, and really in ex- 
traordinary dofinnoeof all onr experienoo and teachings. 
Native proprietors are becoming very keen for Libe- 
rian coffee, and eagerly bring, as they say, “ money 
in the hand” for the purchase of seed. A great 
deal of it is also being planted on European estates. 
The drought affects the young plants a good deal, 
and oven the full grown ones seem to feel it. But 
this is not surprising, ss every living thing ia begia- 
ning to snffer.— Tim es. 
MESuT’rmREA. 
At the time when this tree is pushing forth its deli- 
cate pink-coloured young growths, many people are 
misled at first into supnoaing them to be flowers. Owing 
to the dry weather in May, 181)1, no such growths wore 
fo be .seen, hut flowurs instead were being produced. 
These are by no means unlike the Dog Bose of English 
hedgerows, their four large petals are white, the 
cen'res filled wi'h rellow stamens, and fragrant. Be- 
fore expanding, the flower-buds are purplish-pir.k, 
givmg quite a colouring to the leafless, or partly leaf- 
less, terminal branches which bear them. The leaves 
sre opp' site, ovate-oeloiig, long pointed, and so densely 
sot that it is nearly impossible to see through tho tree 
from one side to tho other, Tho under-sido of Ills leaf 
is very glaucnns, but green above, and oard-hoard liko 
in textnro. In shape the tree is oouioal, with a very 
even outline, to be compared in this respect with out 
specimen of Oanarium commune (Barret nut). Tfie 
hard. wood of Mosna feriea is known amongst other 
woods by the name iron-wood. During tho past three 
years no fruit has been borne ; whether any has ever 
been produoed there is no (eooid to show, — Oardenern’ 
OAronidle, J»n, 30tb 
COFFEE LEAF DIEA8E. 
It will bo remembered that after the death of Dr. 
Barclay, one of the members uf the Leprosy Oommia- 
sion, the Wynaad Planters' Association addrased the 
Government with a view to obtaining the services 
of an expert to investigate coffee leaf disease, and that 
Dr. D. D. Ounningham was asked to undertake the 
work. Sir Edward Bank, writing to Sir Charles Ber- 
nard at the India Oflice, asked him to ascertain 
whether Dr. Cunningham, who was on leave, w. uld 
be willing, on such terms ss might be accsplable to 
him, to undertake, during tho next two years, tlio in- 
vestigation of the coffee disease whiob was hegnn 
some years ago by Mr. Marshall Ward, and to inform 
him that this investigation would not preclude him 
from travelling elsewhere during a great part of the 
year and proseouting enquiries info any srgnate ques- 
tions which he might like to take up. The propo- 
sal, Sir Edward raid, originated with the Madras 
and Ooorg authorities, who had both independently 
urged the Government of India to assist them in taking 
action. If Dr. Ounningham was unwilling to enterlain 
the idea of hie own deputation on this mission, the 
Government of India said it would probably rnove the 
ficcretarv of State to send out another European ex- 
pert. The study of llie pnrtirnlar olasa of pests to 
which the coffee parasite belongs wns one of great 
difficulty, and had been taken up by verv few 
soinutifio investigators. It was thorefore mort impor- 
tant, Sir Edward said, that a true export should ho 
selected and not one who, liko Mr. Marnlinll Ward 
had only entered on to the Ihri shold of tbie parficu'ar 
domain of science. Dr. Cimringham wont to see Sir 
Oharlea Bernard in London, and the following is 
tlie subatapce of what ho told him. TTo wns not in- 
clined, he said, to fake up the werk himself, nil hough 
it presented very groat atfractions, op tho following 
grounds viz , (1) he wae in file middle of a series 
of investigstions in reg-rd 'o the hn,eterinIopy of 
cholera which he and others he pored to be important 
and promising of praeticnl reioll , and were tie to abarr. 
don them, ho thought there was tin likelihood of their 
being satisfactorily carried put ; ( 2) although ho fully 
reongniaed tho value an importen ce of the proposed 
investigations into the life hiatory of the coffee 
blight ho felt convinced that these referred merely 
to the purely scientific asprote of the question, 
and that the resnlls of the enquiry were likely, how- 
ever Bcienlifically suooeasful they might I'", to he 
entirely disappointing from the prar I coffee 
planters’ point of view. Dr. Cnuninghan, then went 
on to say : — 
“ It ia most dcsirshle, from tho purely scientific 
sapei t, that it should be determined wheiher Heme- 
leia possoesei all the forms of fructification normal to 
the cycle oharaoteristio of the liredinem, hut evtn 
were s resting fructification discovered end all ques- 
tions of Autoioiousness or Hctercooionsneas settled, 
I do not believe that any important advance in 
regard i to the prsnticsl treatment of the pest would 
have been made. Coffee Is a perernial crop and one 
which at all seasons rreseets leaves in a suitable 
condition for infection by the uredirous srorea — the 
typicsl Bemeleia spores— so t list there is no necessity 
for the presence of any rertirg spores lo soonre the 
continuous propagation of the disease. So fares oio 
can see at present, tlie only cure for the disease 
would lie in tho total abandoumi nt of coffee rultivatlon 
for a period of one or two years so ns to deprive 
the blight of tho soil necesssry for its propagation, 
and even thin, of coarse, would not provide absolute 
security against its reounoree, if, ss iipprars proha- 
hle, it be an invasive species proper to jungle pro- 
ducts. Allowing, however. Iliat Ibis be the only 
promising treatment in the present stato, of our 
information, I cannot see thai the discovery of rest- 
ing spores or other forms of fructifl cation would in 
any way affect the question or at all advsnoe 
matters, for tho uredinoua fmotifioatiou alone ia suf- 
fiolont to secure continuons propagation, and there- 
fore, in any case, the treatment would have to be 
direoted lo intetrpptipg this ooutionii;. Qaviog 
