872 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 May, 1902. 
the success of the system, and, if possible, small doses of nitrate of potash in 
March or April ; and the growing of leguminous plants as green manure should 
also be tried. 
Mr. Leeming took Dr. Watts, the Reporter on Economic Products for the 
Government of India, over Scotforth when he visited. the Shevaroys, and had 
the satisfaction of being told by that great authority on agriculture that 
scientifically his system of cultivation is the correct one. That it is a success 
from a commercial point of view the figures given above amply prove. 
He has done the pioneering ably and well, and it is a satisfaction to his 
friends that, unlike some pioneers, he is reaping his reward. 
From the Shevaroys I went with Mr. Leeming to Coimbatore to see the 
works of the United Coffee Growers’ Company, of which he is manager. 
There he showed me the whole process of roasting, grinding, and tinning coffee, 
and during the process the product is not once touched by hand. The machinery 
is of the most up-to-date kind obtainable, the roaster being a German invention 
which roasts beans of all shapes and sizes evenly and thoroughly, and its being 
possible to do this now accounts in a great measure for the falling off in the 
price of “ peaberry.” 
The tin for the cans is imported in sheets, and by means of three separate 
machines is manufactured into cans of various sizes in a very short time. 
Considering that with the exception of Mr. Leeming and his assistant 
the whole process of manufacture is carried out by local native labour that had 
to be trained after the works were built and the machinery set up—i.e., within 
the last few months—the smoothness and celerity with which the manufacture ~ 
is carried out speaks volumes for the management, and augurs well for the 
future of the company. 
What was perhaps of most interest to me from a planter’s point of view 
was Mr. Leeming’s method of testing the samples of the various coffees and 
learning their values from a roaster’s point of view before buying on the open 
market. He spent the greater part of on¢ morning showing me how he per- 
formed these tests. Four cylinders heated by gas and driven by a little hot-air - 
engine can each roast } 1b. of raw coffee. Having selected samples of cherry 
and parchment coffee and laid them out on his table, he carefully roasted a small 
quantity of each, and we then compared the roasted beans, and I was shown 
how the finer samples differed from the others, the low-grade cherry con- 
taining a considerable proportion of pale-looking beans—‘pales””—that are 
useless and almost tasteless, while those of a parchment sample were “shelly” 
and, containing more woody fibre, had less “body” than the finer grades. He 
then weighed out equal quantities of the roasted beans, and having ground 
them in a hand-mill put them into cups each of which were exactly of the same 
capacity. He then filled them with boiling water, stirred the contents, and 
allowed them to stand for a few minutes, then skimming off the froth the liquid 
was found perfectly clear.. The tasting process consists of using a clean spoon. 
each time and taking a sip of the liquid, drawing it well over the palate and 
spitting it out, each sample being tried over and over again. Even to an out- 
sider like myself the variations between some of the samples was very marked, 
the most distinctive one being in the flavour of a high-grown Nilgri coffee, 
which Mr. Leeming informed me was very valuable for blending purposes. 
He says good Mysores contain these properties, which accounts for the high 
price they receive on the home markets. When the low-grade sample was 
tried, the liquor was distinctly inferior and lacking in “body,” and one could 
easily understand how unprofitable such coffees must be where the proportion 
of “pales” is large. However, with an added quantity of Liberian to give it 
“body,” he hopes later on to produce a cheap coffee that will suit the pockets of 
the poorer classes, and thus secure the great market that lies at our doors, and 
I hope the District Association will see their way to assist the United Coffee 
Growers’ Company to develop this market, and enable us to dispose of our 
low-grade coffees in this country. 
