v'GES Of THE BORE COFFEE ESTATES Special Collect. SB608 C58B53 TIE D. H. HILL LIBRyPY NORTH GftOLIfM ST4TE COLLEGE ^ CIAL COLLECTIONS SB608 C58B53 ENTOMOLOGIC4L COLLECTION 126388 This book must not be taken from the Library building. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2009 with funding from NCSU Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/reportonravagesoOObidi REPORT 0>r TUE RAVAGES OF THE BORER COFFEE ESTATES, REVIEW OF THE EXISTING SYSTEMS OF COFFEE CULTURE, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRODUCTIVE RESOURCES OF THE COFFEE DISTRICTS IN SOUTHERN INDIA GEORGE BIDIE, M.B. F.R.G.S. SURGEON, MADRAS ARMY. COMMISSIONER FOR INVESTIGATING THE RAVAGES OF THE EOK:Jli IN COFFEE ESTATES. MADRAS: GANTZ BROTHERS, ADELPHI PliESS, 175, MOUNT ROAD. 1869. CONTENTS. Chap. Page. I. — Origin and Development op Coffee Culture in South- ern India... ... ... ... ... l Mysore ... .. ... ... ... 3 Cuddoor ... ... ... ,..3 Munzerabad ... ... ... ... 4 Coorg ... ... ... ... ... 5 Wynaad ... ... ... ... 6 General Remarks ... ... ... ,4. 8 Brazil... ... ... ... ... g Java ... ... ... ... ,,, 9 Ceylon... ... ... ... ... 10 Exports of Coffee from Southern India .. ... 10 Labour law ... ... ... ... II II. — Climate, Soil, and Elevation required for Coffee Culture ... ... ... ... ... n III. — Sketch of the Physical Geography of the Coffee Dis- tricts in Southern India, with reference to Coffee Culture, including effects of Forest destruction ,,. 15 Mysore... ... ... ... -#t ig Munzerabad ... .. ... ... 17 Coorg ... ... ... ... ... 18 Wynaad ... ... ... ... 23 Effects of destruction of forest on climate, &c. ... 26 Suggestions as to forest conservancy in Coffee zone ... 28 IV. — Eeview of the present state and of the systems of Coffee Culture in Southern India ... ... 29 Natural and Artificial shade ... ... ... 3 1 Shade trees ... ... ... ... 32 Culture in open ground ... ... ... 34 General remarks ... ... ... ... 35 Usual mode of planting ... ... ... 36 Weeding ... ... ... ... 36 Digging ... ... ... ... 37 W^ Chap. Page. Draining .,. ... ... ... 37 Pruning ... ... ... ... 38 Manuring ... ... ... ... 39 General review of state and systems of Coffee culture ... 41 V. — Natural History of the Borer, and review of the CAUSES THAT HAVE RENDERED IT SO NUMEROUS AND DE- STRUCTIVE... ... .. ... ... 43 General History of the insect ... ... ..45 Symptoms of the presence of Borer in a tree ... ,. 47 Inj uries inflicted by the larva ... ... ... 48 Is the Borer indigenous ? ... ... ... 49 Causes that have rendered the Borer so numerous ... 50 VI. — Historical account and Statistics of the ravages of the Borer ... ... ... ... 53 Nuggur... ... ... ... ... 56 Munzerabad ... .. ... ..• 56 Coorg ... ... ... ... ... 57 Wynaad... ... ... ... ... 59 VII. — Preventive and Remedial measures for the kavages of the Borer ... ... ... ... 61 Remedial measures ... ... ... ... 62 Preventive measures... ... •-. ... 63 VIII. — Friends and Foes of the Coffee plant .. ... 64 Cattle trespass ... ... ... ... 7 1 Red Borer ... ... ... ... 74 Agrotis segetum ... , . ... ... 75 Bug ... ... ... ... ... 77 IX. — Diseases to which the Coffee plant is liable ... 79 Stump rot ... ... ... ... 79 Rot ... ... ... ... ... 80 X. — Other plants which may be cultivated in the Coffee zone. 81 XI. — Future prospects of Coffee culture in Southern India. 90 INDEX. Acreage assessment in Coorg Agrotis segetum Air, humidity of, in Coorg Do. do. of, in Kandy Ants, red, often prey on Borer Bababoodens Ball planting Bamboo land Beetle, Borer Benefits resulting from Coffee culture... Birds Borer, larva Do. general history of Do. beetle, when most plentiful ... Do. do. term of existence Do. insect? term of existence in all its stages Do. is it indigenous ? Do. not likely to disappear Do, of charcoal tree Boehmeria nivea.. Bug Bullock, &c, trespass ... Cannon's estate Capital invested in Coffee culture Castor-oil plant, as shade... Do. do. culture of Cattle trespass ... Causes of Borer ... Ceylon, Coffee planting in Charcoal tree Chocolate tree ... Cinchona on Bababoodens Cinchona, culture of Clearing by piling ... Do. by burning... Climate, &c, required for Coffee Clytus Coffea arabica ... r .. 5 75 .. 22 ... 22 .. 49 16 ... .. 36 ... 12 ... .. 43 8 ... 65 44 .. 45 4 5&47 ... .. 46 47 .. 49 50 .. 73 82 .. 77 71 2 8&9 .. 32 84 ... .. 71 50 ... .. 10 32 .. 87 17 ... .. 87 31 31&35 11 43 ... 1 11 Page. Coffee plant, native of Abyssinia 1 Do. introduction of, into India ... ... 1 Do. culture, present state of, in Southern India 29 Do. do. systems of, in Southern India 29 Coleoptera... 72 Coorg 18 Do. average elevation of 19 Do. progress of Coffee culture in ... ... ... ... ... 5 Do. ravages of Borer in .. 57 Culture, high, advantages of 42 Digging 37 Do. value of, in clay soils... ... 37 Do. how beneficial ... ... ... 37 Do. season for ... ... 37 Do. forked mamoty should be used for 37 Diseases of Coffee plant 79 Districts of the Coffee zone 16 Draining ... ... ... 37 Draining, value of 37 Drains, size of ... ... ... ... 37 Elevation required for Coffee culture 12 Enemies of Coffee plant ... ... 55 Errors in Coffee culture 41 Export of Coffee from Ceylon 10 from Coorg ... 6 from Cuddoor 4 from India 10 from Java ... 9 from Munzerabad ... ... ... ... ... 4 from Shemoga ... ... ... 3 from Wynaad ... ... ... ... ... ... 7 Exposure required for Coffee culture .. . ... ... 12 Farm-yard manure 40 Foes of Coffee plant 69 Forest conservancy in Coffee zone ••• 28 Do. dense, sign of land suited for Coffee 14 Do. destruction, effects of, on climate... ... ... •■• ••• 26 Do. do. do. on fauna ... ... ... ... 28 Do- do. do. on flora ... ... 28 Do. do. do. on food supplies 28 Do. do. do. on health ... ... 28 Do. effects of, on rain in Coffee zone ... ... ... ... 26 Do. land 12 Friends of Coffee plant 64 Do. and foes of Coffee plant 65 Goa tweed, analysis of, note 21 Grass-cloth plant, Chinese 81 Guano ... 40 Hand weeding ... ... 36 Do. do. Do. do. Do. do. Do. do. Do. do. Do. do. Do. do. Ill Page. Historical account of ravages of Borer 53 Homoptera ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 76 Injuries to stem and root from Borer... ... 48 Insect, foes of Coffee ... ... ... 72 Do. friends of Coffee 68 Irrigation for Coffee 35 Jackal, ravages of ... ... ... ... ... 70 Java, Coffee planting in ... ... ... 9 Do. exports of Coffee from ... ... ... ... ... ... 9 Labour law, defect in ... ... ... ... ... ... ... H Do. success of planting dependent on supply ... ... ... 11 Land for Coffee, regulations for granting ... ... ... 15 Langour... 80 Larva, Borer 44 Lecanium eaffese ... ... ... 77 Lepidoptera... ... 73 Lethargy ... ... ... ... ... 80 Lichens and Mosses ... ... 81 Lime ... ... ... ... ... 40 Locust, Coffee 73 Manihot utilissima 88 Manuring ... ... ... ... 39 Do. much neglected ' 39 Do. necessity for ... 39 Do. season for ... 39 Manures, natural and artificial ... ... ... ... ... ... 40 Do, table of , and quantities to be applied ... 40 Mercara, elevation, &c, of ... ... ... 19 Monkeys 69 Mungoos ... ... ... 65 Munzerabad 17 Do. elevation of ... ... ... ... ... 18 Do. ravages of Borer in 56 Musa textilis ... 84 Mysore, physical geography of 16 Do. progress of Coffee culture in ... 3 Natural History of Borer .. , 43 New-Zealand Flax... 83 North Wynaad... 24 Nuggur 16 Do. ravages of Borer in 56 Nutmeg, culture of 89 Open ground, culture of Coffee in 34 Origin and development of Coffee culture in Southern India 1 Orthoptera ... ... ... ... ... ... p#f <<# 73 Ova of Borer beetle 44 Do. do. number of 45 Do. do. development of 45 Do. do. hatching of 46 Page. Ova of Borer Beetle when deposited ... 46 Ovipositor ... ... ... ••• ... ... ... ... 44 Ouchterlony Valley ... 26 Pbormium tenax ... ... ... ... ... 83 Physical Geography of Coffee Districts 15 Planting, usual mode of ... ... ... 36 Plantain, Manilla 84 Plants for culture in Coffee Districts 81 Preventive measures for Borer ... ... ... ... ... G1&63 Products of Coorg 23 Do. of Munzerabad 18 Do. of Nuggur 17 Prospects of Coffee culture ... 11 & 90 Pruning ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• 38 Do. effects of bad 39 Do. season for ... ... 39 Pulneys, planting on ... ... ... ... •.. ... ... 8 Pupa of Borer .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 44 Do. do. term of existence of ... ... ... ... ... 47 Pupse often perish ... ... ... ... ... 47 Rainfall necessary for Coffee ... ... ... ... ... ... 13 Do. on Bababoodens ... 16 Do. in Coorg 20 & 22 Bo. at Kandy, Ceylon 22 Do. in Munzerabad ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 18 Do. in North Wynaad ... 24 Do. in South "Wyuaad ... 25 Eats 70 Red Borer 74 Remedial measures for ravages of Borer ... ... 62 Reptiles 68 Ricinus Communis ... "• 84 Ringer 75 Ring on bark, as sign of Borer 46 Rot 38&79 Seasons in Coorg 22 Do. in Munzerabad ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 18 Shade, artificial ... .. ... ... ... ... ... ... 31 Do. natural ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 31 Do. culture in Java and Brazil ... ... ... 30 Do. culture, advantages and disadvantages of 32 Do. effects of, on Coffee ... ... 32 Do. kind of, for certain localities ... ... ... ... ... 34 Do. reasons for use of, in Southern India 31 Do. trees 7T. 32 Soils for Coffee culture .7. 13 Squirrels ... ,., 71 Statistics of ravages of the Borer 56 Page. Stump rot 79 Syncladium Nietneri 7S Tapioca culture ... ... ... ... ... ... 88 Taxation of coffee culture, Haulet system ... ... ... ... 1 Tea culture 86 Tea in Coorg 22 Theabroma cacao ... ... ... .,, ... ... ... ... 87 Trees suitable for shade ... ... ,.. ... ... . . 32 Topping, reasons for 38 Triposporium Gardueri ... ... ... ... ... ... 78 Tunnel of Borer ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 46 Weeding and weeds ... ... ... 36 Do. during monsoon ... ... 37 Do. to be done more frequently 37 Weeds killed by Sweet Potato 36 Weeds should be buried or burnt 37 Wynaad 23 Wynaad, introduction of Coffee into ... 6 Do. mean elevation of ... 23 Do. progress of Coffee planting in 6 Do. ravages of Borer in ... ... ... ... 59 Xylotrechus quadrupes ... ... ... ... 43 Zone, coffee, situation, &c... 15 Zeuzera coffeophaga ... ... ... ... ... 74 Madras, 3rd August 1868. From Surgeon George Bidie, m.b., To The Honorable R. S. Ellis, c.b., Chief Secretary to Government, Fort St. George. Sir, — I have the honor to forward, for the information of Govern- ment, the following report on the ravages of the Borer in Coffee Estates, which 1 was directed to undertake in G. O., Public Depart- ment, No. 1311, dated 22nd October 1867. To avoid repetition, and bring the whole of my remarks together, I have thought it bet- ter to prepare one general Report, instead of a distinct one for each district ; and trust that this will meet with the approval of the authorities to whom it is addressed. As the investigation progress- ed, I found it absolutely necessary, in order to arrive at satisfactory conclusions, to consider nearly every point connected with Coffee culture, and, to render this communication complete, it will be necessary to review the several matters that occupied my attention. I have, &c, GEORGE BIDIE, M.B., Commissioner for Investigating the ravages of the Borer in Coffee Estates. REPORT ON THE RAVAGES OF THE BORER IN COFFEE ESTATES. I.— ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF COFFEE CULTURE IN SOUTHERN INDIA. The Coffee plant cultivated in Southern India is the Cojfea Arabica, and a native of Cafta in Southern Abyssinia. Several varieties exist, but none of them differs sufficiently from the original to entitle it to the rank of a distinct species. Some of the plants have been raised from seed brought from Ceylon ; but coffee was first introduced into India upwards of two centuries ago by a Mussulman pilgrim, Bababooden. This man, on his return from Mecca, brought a few berries in his wallet, and taking up his abode amid the fastnesses of the hills in Mysore that still bear his name, planted them near his hut. The trees raised from these were gradually multiplied, and no doubt the greater portion of the coffee now growing in Southern India has been derived from this stock. For a long time subsequent to its introduction, the cultivation of the plant does not seem to have extended beyond the Fakeer's garden, and it is only within the last sixty or seventy years that it has been taken up in other parts of the country. Indeed, while Mysore was under Native rule, no encouragement was given for its extension, and the cultivator was fettered with oppressive taxes levied hy men who farmed the revenue. When the country lame under British rule things were changed for the better, and what is called the Haulet system introduced. Under this the planter pays a duty on every maund of produce, and it is curious to notice how coffee culture has extended as the rate of taxation has been reduced, and other liberal measures brought into operation. No doubt the greatest stimulus has been given to it by the increased value of the produce ; a hundred- weight of coffee at the 1 D. R HILL LIBRARY present day, being worth double what it was some jTears ago. In 3848, in Ceylon, a hundred- weight of native coffee was sold for the same price as a bushel of rice, viz., 4§ Kupees, and about the same time estate coffee from Wynaad was selling on the coast for 1 7 Eupees the hundred-weight. At present, estate coffee is worth from 30 to 84 Rupees the hundred-weight, and although the working expenses of estates have greatly increased of late, still the rise is insignificant as compared with the marvellous improvement in prices. About forty years ago coffee culture in Southern India was entirely in the hands of Natives, but since that period, it has been gradually taken up by the more enterprising and energetic European. One of the first in the field was Mr. Cannon, and his estate, situated on a high range immediately to the south of the Bababoodens, is still in existence, the original coffee plants flourishing under the shade of the primitive jungle. Some years after, several estates were opened in the Wynaad, and on the Neilgherries, but for a consid- erable period, operations hardly extended beyond the stage of experiment. From ten to twelve years ago, the high price of land, and flourishing state of coffee culture in Ceylon, induced planters from that island to come over to India, and their presence and efforts gave a great impetus to coffee culture. The demand for land rapidly grew in every part of the coffee districts, and as capitalists had full confidence in the success of planting, estates multiplied and extended their acreage very rapidly. Throughout 1860 and 1861, there was a perfect mania for planting, extravagant ideas of the profits to be reaped from it having taken possession of the public mind, while such contingencies as bad seasons, appear to have been entirely forgotten. Men of moderate means joined in buying land and invested their hard-won savings without a doubt as to success, while others of greater ambition established Joint Stock Companies, spent lakhs in the purchase of ready-made estates, and pleased their own minds and those of the other shareholders, with visions of fifty or sixty per cent, of profit. As might have been foreseen, such extra va- g nt hopes have never been realised, the anticipated fortunes having i jtreated far away into the future, and the fifty or sixty per cent, dwin- dled down to five or six. In many cases, indeed, these adventures have, from various causes, proved complete failures, the balance alwa}< s being on the wrong side ; and taking them as a whole, the results have been such as to render the public distrustful of coffee culture as a safe or profitable investment, and to lower greatly the value of estates. Mysore : — The success of Mr. Cannon's experiment gradually induced others to follow in his footsteps, the fine old estates of Igoor and Hulhully being the next in succession as regards age in the Mysore territory. Around them as centres others have, within the last twelve or fifteen years, rapidly sprung up, until at the present day there is nearly a continuous chain of estates from the northern slopes of the Bababoodens, to the southern limit of Munzerabad. The coffee districts in Mysore lie in the Nuggur and Astragam Divisions. There are also a few holdings in the Nundidroog Divi- sion, but so small, that they do not require any notice here. As regards Nuggur, the coffee-producing districts are two in number, viz., Shemoga and Ouddoor. The extent of land taken up for its culture in the former is not exactly known, but the following state- ment of the exports of coffee from the district, during the last eleven years, shows how rapid the development of this branch of industry has been ; the produce last season having been more than ten times what it was in 1857-58 : — Exports of Coffee from the Shemoga District, from 1857-58 to 1867-68. Years. Coffee. Candies. Maimds. Seer3. Tolahs. 1857-58 30 3 35 0 1858-59 ... 48 7 25 0 1859-60 ... 125 12 23 0 1860-61 ... 177 10 18 0 1861-62 ... . . . ... ■ 159 18 39 0 1862-63 ... . . ... . , 297 9 1 14 1863-64 ... . . ... . , 208 6 10 10 1864-65 ... . . ... , , 409 6 24 16 1865-66 ... . . ... 222 3 0 10 1866-67 .., . . ... 52 19 17 6 1867-68 ... ... 336 9 23 18 In Cudcloor, 7,302 acres have been secured by Europeans, and 74,674 acres by Natives for coffee planting, but the export returns do not show the remarkable increase in the produce observable in the Shemoga return. On the contrary, it is so uniform, the fluctu- ations that appear being nothing more than what might be occa- sioned by differences in seasons, that we may infer, that coffee culture in this district has been nearly stationaiy for the last ten years : — Exports of Coffee from the Cud door District, from 1858-59 to 1867-68. Y ears. 1858-59 1859-60 1860-61 1861-62 1862-63 1863-64 1864-65 1S65-66 1866-67 1867-68 Coffee. Maunds. 1,37,889 2,21,803 1,80,557 1,83,781 2,45,754 2,73,358 2,20,147 2,45,989 55,292 2,39,628 Seers. 6 13 23 2 11 26 7 15 18 Tolahs. 0 8 12 0 0 0 9 19 0 5 In both statements the effects of the bad season of 1866-67 are very noticeable ; but the large returns in the following year show that the depression was only temporary, and that very many trees were not destroyed by the Borer. In Munzerabad, situated in the Astragam District, there is a greater extent of land in the hands of Europeans, the amount being 22,385 acres, while Native proprietors hold 28,351 acres. The whole of this is not under cultivation, but we may fairly assume that about three-fourths of the entire area have been reclaimed. The folio win g table gives the weight of coffee exported, during the last nine years, and shows that the culture has gradual^ been increasing: — Exports of Coffee from the Munzerabad District, from 1858-59 to 1866-67. Y e ars. Coffee. Years. Coffee. 1858-59 1859-60 1860-61 1861-62 1862-63 Mauuds. 38,954 63,444 91,458 84,580 1,21,534 1863-64 1864-65 1865-66 1866-67 Maunds. 1,59,834 1,42,365 1,60,184 1,16,580 The revenue from coffee land in Mysore is derived from a duty of one-fourth of a rupee on each maund (28 lbs.) of produce, so that the State, as well as the cultivator gains bjr good, and loses by bad seasons. A good deal might be said in favour of a change to the acreage assessment ; but on the other hand, the existing system seems to answer on the whole very well, and is certainly very acceptable to the planters. Coorg : — In Coorg, lying immediately to the south of Munzera- bad, coffee was introduced in the days of the Rajahs by a Mahomme- dan fakeer, who is said by some to have brought the seed from the Bababoodens, and by others from Mocha. However this may be, there can be no doubt that the plant has been cultivated there in native gardens for more than fifty j^ears, and there are small native holdings near the Nalkanad Palace, in which the plants are from twenty to twenty-five years old. About twelve or thirteen years ago, European planters began to enter the province, and, during the last eight years, their number has rapidly increased. At the same time the natives of Coorg, prompted by their example, have eagerly embarked in coffee culture, and now even every spare bit of ground about their cottages is stocked with the plant. At present, 47,572 acres are held by Europeans, and 24,638 acres by Natives as coffee land, but as the rules for assessment do not make any distinction between cultivated and uncultivated, it is impossible to say how much has actually been planted. Probably 40,000 acres would be quite within the mark. Formerly, as in Mysore, the revenue from coffee culture in Coorg was levied by a tax on the produce ; but four years ago, on the petition of the planters, an acreage assess- ment was substituted for the old system. Under this, during the first four years of tenure, the land is held free, but thereafter, up to nine years, there is an annual tax of 1 Rupee per acre, and subse- quently a tax of 2 Rupees per acre in perpetuity. All land taken up for coffee, no matter whether cultivated or not, is subject to these conditions, and there can be no doubt that this s}7stem pre- vents speculators from acquiring jungle with the view of selling it in after-years at a profit, and stimulates planters to cultivate their land carefully in order to render it as profitable as possible. The following Statement exhibits the number of maunds of coffee exported from Coorg during the last eleven years, and, judg- ing from that, it will be observed that the cultivation has extended very rapidly during that period. In the season 1857-58, the total exports only amounted to 46,336 maunds, while ten years after they reached 260,000 maunds, or more than five times as much : and it 6 must be recollected that even yet a great many estates have not come into full bearing : — Statement of Exports of Coffee from Coorg.from 1857-58 to 1867-6S. Years, Coffee. Tears. Coffee. Maunds. Maunds. 1857-58 46,336 1863-64 2,34,182 1858-59 66,862 1864-65 2,40,000 1859-60 1,11,768 1865-66 2,50,000 1860-61 1,28,412 1866-67 2,60,000 1861-62 1,53,781 1867-68 2,40,000 1862-63 1,40,113 Wynaad and Neilgherries : — Coffee has been cultivated on the slopes of the Neilgherries for about thirty years. The extent of land suited for the purpose is rather limited, and there is no probability of the acreage now under culture being greatly increased. Many 3?ears ao"0 Dr. Gardner gave it as his opinion that the eastern flank of the chain would, owing to the dry nature of the climate, be found unsuited for coffee culture, and certainly experiments on that aspect have not, as a whole, been very successful. One or two estates have no doubt been very productive, but they have been made so at an enormous expense, and taking everything into account, have not probably been very remunerative. On the west- ern face of the chain, the monsoon beats with such violence that it would be quite useless to attempt the culture of coffee on that side. Coffee and Tea plants were introduced into Wynaad about forty 3Tears ago by a Major Bevan, who commanded the Wynaad Rangers. He did not take up the cultivation to any extent, but merely put down some plants by way of experiment in a garden at Manan tod- dy. These throve remarkably well, and having been seen b}' a Mr. Glasson in 1838, induced him to think of planting on a larger scale. Accordingly, in 1840, he began operations and opened out on a hill in Mauantoddy the first estate in Wynaad. In 1842, Mr. King, Agent for Messrs. Parry and Company, Mr. Baber, a retired Bombay Civilian, the Messrs. Morris, Captain Pope, Dr. Magrath, and several others entered the district. Nearly all the land taken up at this period was what is known as grass, or bamboo land, and in consequence most of the estates proved unprofitable, and of many of them not a trace — save the ruins of bungalows — remains at the present day. After a few years those pioneers who had come in with such high hopes began to leave, and by 1850 only Mr. Glasson and Messrs. Pany and Company's Agent remained in the district. They had by this time moved into South Wynaad, and it must have required no little courage to hold on, when thus deserted by neighbours, in a wild district almost totally unprovided with roads, and containing no villages from which sufficient supplies could be obtained. For some years after this crisis, coffee culture made very little progress in Wynaad ; but about 1855, a second rush to the district began, and the new arrivals seem to have vied with each other as to who would acquire most land, and open it out the fastest. Apparently there was in some cases at this period a good deal of injudicious haste manifested in the selection of land, and this, coupled with the ignorance of the new comers regarding the soil and climate of Wynaad, led to many of the estates proving absolute failures. Between 1855 and 1865, the acreage under culture wTas rapidly extended, but since the latter elate, owing to the alarm about the Borer, there has been comparatively little increase. In reviewing the whole history of coffee culture in Wynaad, it is very remarkable how little heed one man has taken of the mistakes of another, and hence we find hopeless experiments repeated over and over again. According to returns received from the local authorities, there are 29,909*08 acres under coffee in Wynaad, of which 2J,479'54 acres are held by Europeans, and 8,429*54 acres held by Natives. The small area owned by the latter class is very remarkable, as compared with what is held by them in the other districts. I have not been able to get a return of the actual amount of coffee exported annually from Wynaad, but the following table, which gives the quantities shipped on the Malabar Coast during the past twelve years, must contain nearly the whole of the crops, as very little would pass out by Mysore and Coimbatore : — Statement shoicing the amount in Cwts. of Coffee grown in Wynaad, exported from the Ports of Malabar. Years. Coffee. Years. Coffee. 1856-57 1857-58 1858-59 1859-60 1860-61 1861-62 Cwts. 32,658 20,416 36,934 49,680 48,742 91,080 1862-63 1863-64 1864-65 1865-66 1866-67 1867-68 Cwts. 43,907 91,947 110,548 125,891 66,552 128,021 8 Of late years coffee culture has also been begun on the Travancore Hills, which in climate and other natural advantages seem greatly to resemble the coffee districts in Ceylon. The Pulney Hills in Madura are also said to offer suitable sites for estates, but, judging from their position and botanical peculiarities, the dry season will probably prove too trying to permit of the plants being profitably cultivated. General Remarks : — It will thus be seen that coffee estates extend in nearly unbroken chain along the crests and slopes of the Ghats, from the northern limit of Mysore, down to Cape Comorin. Hill sides and ravines, but lately the favourite haunts of the elephant and bison, have been stript of their covering of grand old forest, and vast solitudes converted into scenes of busy industry ; and wherever the planter has gone, there is gradually following in his track a net-work of imperial roads, along which hamlets and villages are springing into existence, so that in a few years these once pathless jungles will be quite accessible and possessed of a considerable population. The benefits that will flow from this influx of European enterprise and capital must, ultimately, be very oreat. Every estate opened up may be regarded as a fresh centre of civilisation, a new source of revenue, and additional means of livelihood for the labouring classes. At the same time it must be recollected that coffee culture is still, so to speak, but in its infancy in Southern India; that many planters have had little or no previous experience in their occupation ; that they have had to contend with various difficulties inseparable from the early days of all such undertakings, and that, therefore, we cannot expect, under the most favourable circumstances, the full tide of success and resulting advantages to set in for several years to come. In Mysore and Coorw there are from 130 to 150 Europeans, and in Wynaad about the same number engaged in coffee culture. The capital embarked is something enormous, every acre costing, on an average, about £30 before it can be brought into bearing. In Mysore and Coorg there are probably over 100,000 acres under coffee, and if we reduce the cost of reclaiming to £12 per acre, so as to make allowance for native holdings which are generally opened out on a cheap scale, we shall have property representing a money value or expenditure of £1,200,000 sterling. In Wynaad, the exact acreage is 29,909-08, or say in round numbers 30,000 ; then allowing £20 per acre for opening, as the native holdings arc small, and almost all the land cleared, we have property in Wynaad which has cost the owners £600,000 in preliminary expenses. There has thus altogether been expended in opening estates in these districts capital to the extent of £1,800,000, and it is to be hoped, both for the sake of the enterprising men who have placed so much at stake, and that of the countiy, that coffee culture will ere long prove more remunerative than it has hitherto done. Of late, the other great coffee producing countries, Ceylon, Java, and Brazil, have year by year been increasing their exports of this article, and this, coupled with a prospective increase in the working expenses, has led many Indian planters to fear such an ultimate reduction of prices, as would render its culture in this country unprofitable. In 1860, the coffee produced in Brazil amounted to 2,956,250 cwts., but in 1863-64, owing to various causes, it had dwindled down to 2,167,000 cwts. Next season showed a decided increase, the out- turn having reached 3,000,000 cwts., and in 1866-67, it amounted to no less than 3,799,647 cwts. It thus appears that coffee culture is rapidly increasing in this quarter of the world, and, although ham- pered by various obstacles, still so favourable are the climate and soil, and so great the facilities for exportation provided by the recently made railway, that it is certain to go on with steady pro- gress, and Brazil continue the greatest coffee-producing country in the world. At the same time there does not appear to be any immediate risk of her competing extensively with the coffee countries of the East in the European markets, as her neighbours, the United States, buy a very large portion of her crops. In 1867, of 2,659,753 bags exported, no less than 1,226,636 went to American ports, and the consumption of coffee throughout the republican territory is steadily on the increase.* Java, the next largest coffee-producing country in the world is a less formidable rival, her exports having remained nearly station- ary for a considerable period. The following table exhibits the amount of the coffee crops in Java throughout a series of years : Years. Coffee. Cwts. 1862-63 1,474,000 1863-64 671,000 1864-65f 1,271.000 1866-67 1,162,596 * These statistics have been got from Ferguson's " Ceylon Directory." t Statistics for 1865-66 not known. 9 10 In Ceylon the annual increase in crop lias of late been consider- able; as will be seen from the following table : — Tears. 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 Coffee. Cwts. 635,000 613,000 600,000 807,000 656,000 927.O0O 900,000 945,000 The energy and intelligence, too, with which coffee culture is conducted in Ceylon, lead us to anticipate a still further increase in production ; but on the other hand, as the acreage of unopened land is not very extensive, the day cannot be far distant when it will have reached its maximum. The tables already given show how coffee production has pro- gressed in our own coffee districts, and the following statistics of exports from the East and West Coasts exhibit the total produce of Southern India, throughout a series of years : — Years. Exports from Total. South Malabar Madras Canara Ports. Ports. Ports. Cwts. Cwts. Cwts. Cwts. 1857-58 34,600 34,781 2,284 71,665 1858-59 36,587 56,203 9,750 102,540 1859-60 53,463 67,502 16,598 137,563 1860-61 82,448 73,915 34,475 190,838 1861-62 ,.. 58,700 108,332 22,487 189,519 1862-63 75,819 80,385 15,068 171,272 j 1862-64 77,499 ] 18,906 51,810 248,215 i 1864-65 58,827 1.21,681 80,498 261,006 1 1865-66 74,155 139,983 80,174 294,312 ' 1866-67 69,608 85,646 52,627 207,881 Although coffee culture is thus extending in every country in which it is conducted, still there is no reason to expect a very great reduction of price, in consequence, as the consumption of the bever- age is rapidly increasing both in the east and the west. At the 11 same time the Indian planter must strain every nerve to keep his place in the field, and there is no doubt that this end will be best accomplished, by adopting a more careful and scientific system of cul- ture. On the part of Government all that is required is a continua- tion of the present expenditure on the making of roads in the coffee districts, and the extension of railway communication as soon as that can be effected. The success and development of coffee culture depend also very largely on the supply of labour, and at present this, in most districts, is both uncertain and inadequate. Mysore is perhaps better off in this respect than the other districts, as the coolies generally belong to villages near the estates, and the average rate of pay is lower than in Coorg and "YVynaad. In the latter dis- tricts, the coolies are chiefly drawn from the interior of Mysore, and from below the Ghats. To induce them to take employment, it is found necessary to give advances, a system productive of consider- able loss to the planter, as desertion is very common, and it is found practically almost impossible to lay hold of a deserter. As a rule, too, the coolies will only work for eight or nine months of the year, and unfortunately the season at which they choose to go awa}7", is the very time when pruning and other important operations should be going on. The existing labour law seems, as a rule, to be approved of generally by planters, but it appears desirable that some modifi- cation should be made in it, so as to render an engagement or con- tract binding without the tender of a money advance. At present, too, in some districts, the difficulty of bringing a culprit to justice is so great, and the prosecution so tedious, that many planters prefer losing their money and labour to going into Court. II.-CLIMATE, SOIL, AND ELEVATION REQUIRED FOR COFFEE CULTURE. Of all exotics cultivated in India, coffee is certainly the hardiest, as it may be seen growing at every elevation, from that of the sea level, up nearly to the crests of the Neilgherries, and, of course, under the most different conditions, as to moisture, soil, and temperature. At the same time it thrives best in a moderately warm and moist atmosphere, such as is to be found at a medium height on tropical hill ranges, dry heat or great cold being equally unfavourable for 12 it. When grown at a low elevation, it suffers from the drought and high temperature of the hot season, and although irrigation and shade may partly avert the ill effects, still coffee cannot be profita- bly cultivated in Southern India at any elevation much below 2,000 feet above the sea level. Again, in too elevated localities it runs to leaf, and produces but little fruit, and that, owing to the low temperature and want of sunshine at the proper season, but rarely arrives at maturity. A site where the temperature ranges from 60° to 85° , and the rain-fall is copious and well distributed, while the air and soil are perennially moist, will be found the best suited for coffee. Such a spot will generally be met with at an elevation varying from two to four thousand feet, a good deal depending on exposure and position as regards the crest of the range. Thus a station on the western slope of the Ghats may have a rain- fall double that of one at the same height on the eastern flank, and a place eight or ten miles distant from the crest of the chain, will have far less rain than one nearer that point. The exposure is also of great importance — slopes facing the south or south-west being much hotter than those looking north or north-east. Under any circumstances, land with a due south-west exposure is not suited for coffee, the violence of the monsoon rendering the plants unproduc- tive, or killing them outright. Slopes having a northerly or easterly exposure are undoubtedly the best, and they should be covered with forest, as coffee will not grow on grass-land, or ground covered with scrub jungle. The degree of slope is also a matter of great importance, for when the declivity is too great, the storm water, in spite of every precaution, is sure to carry off much of the most valu- able portion of the soil. It is well to avoid the crests of high ridges or low hills, as the plant does not generally thrive on these, and forest left standing in such places affords shelter and feeds springs. The land in the coffee districts is conveniently divided by planters into Forest and Bamboo* The former lies near the crest of the Ghats, and in a state of nature is covered with dense tall forest, while the latter is situated more to the east, and is clothed with rather open jungle, characterised by numerous clumps of bamboo. As to the relative merits of these two tracts for coffee culture, some difference of opinion prevails, but my own observations have led to the conclusions, that as regards climate, forest-land has the advan- * See Map, where the line that separates these is indicated by a yellow streak. 13 tage — the air being moister, and the temperature lower and more equable — while in the matter of soil, bamboo-land is decidedly the superior. It must, however, be remarked that the bamboo district is, during the dry season, swept by scorching east winds which some- times cause the coffee to lose its leaves, and even kill the young wood, and is liable to suffer from severe and protracted droughts. There is a pretty general belief that on estates in the bamboo dis- trict, coffee will live only for eight or ten years, and experience apparently confirms this opinion. The fact is, that the peculiarities of the soil and climate there cause the plants to be prematurely and unusually productive, by which they are speedily exhausted ; but, I have no doubt, that byjudicious pruning, protection with shade, and manuring, they might be rendered just as enduring as those in other localities. Tue annual rain-fall is a point which requires to be care- fully considered in selecting a site for a coffee estate, as excessive rain is nearly as prejudicial to the plant as excessive drought. Unfortunately, too, a heavy rain-fall by no means ensures perennial humidity of the soil and air, for in many parts of the coffee districts, where upwards of 100 inches are deposited during the south-west monsoon, there is a dry season quite as trying as that of eastern Mysore or of Coimbatore. A fall of from 80 to 100 inches is all that is necessary, provided a fair proportion of it descends in Februaiy, March, April, and May, so as to temper the severity of the heat during these months. The year in our coffee districts may be divided into the dry and wet seasons, and in most cases these are characterised by extremes, the former being excessively hot and dry, while during the latter, torrents of rain come down and the air and earth are saturated with moisture. These peculiarities prove very trying to the coffee, and have been the chief agents in render- ing some estates unsuccessful. To enable the plant to withstand such inimical agencies must, of course, be the chief aim of the planter, and to secure this end, the best means will be judicious draining to remove the superabundant water during the rains, with manuring, and in many cases shading, to aid the plant in resisting the depressing influences of the dry season. The next point of importance is the nature of the soil and subsoil. In nearly all our coffee districts the great want in the soil is lime, but it generally contains a fair amount of potash and soda, derived from decayed wood ashes, and the debris of the metamorphic rocks, which abound everywhere. The soil best suited for coffee is a chocolate coloured 14 loam, resting on a moderately porous subsoil. Such soil is very common in some districts, and often of great depth. Some red and blackish soils also answer very well, the former consisting of clay coloured with iron, sand, and organic matter, and the latter chiefly of humus and sand. There is a black soil, with a strong resemblance to " cotton soil," which cakes and cracks during the hot season, in which coffee does not thrive well. In some districts laterite is the prevailing subsoil, and when not too stiff and too near the surface, it does not appear to do any harm, but when the soil is thin, so that the roots enter the laterite, the plants shortly begin to look sickly. As a rule too, laterite districts when stript of their vegetation, are very hot, and rather feverish. Light sandy or gravelly soil does not suit coffee, being poor, hungry, and too dry. Stiff clay soils are equally unsuitable ; but, perhaps, the finest coffee in India is raised, on a soil consisting of a drab coloured rather porous clay. In wet weather a stiff clay soil does not permit the water to percolate through it, and the plants are, therefore, liable to suffer from rot at the root ; and again in the dry season, although it may contain a large per-centage of moisture, it cakes on the surface, and so obstructs the functions of the roots. A moderate amount of stones or boulder masses is by no means objectionable, as it prevents the earth from being washed away, and also renders it cooler and more permeable to moisture. Soil resting immediately on rock, that is, without a considerable depth of intervening subsoil, is apt to suffer from drought, and the plants turn sickly or die on touching the rock. The colour of a soil is of considerable importance, that of a dark colour being heated most, and pale clay the least by the solar rays. The degree of moisture, however, greatly affects the temperature of soil, and so it often happens that humus, which has a great affinity for water, is considerably cooler than a soil of lighter colour. The power that a soil has of absorbing and trans- mitting, as also its capacity for retaining water, are points of much importance ; its fertility being in direct proportion to the degree of porosity and its capacity for receiving and husbanding moisture. The earth that seems to possess these qualities in the highest degree is a loam, such as that which has been described as the best suited for coffee, viz., a chocolate coloured friable mixture of sand, clay, and organic matter. Plants are, perhaps, the safest guides as to the nature and fertility of a soil, and the planter recognises this in practice by avoiding grass-land and sparse jungle, and selecting a 15 site covered with dense forest. In short, it may be regarded as a safe maxim, that land covered ivith dense jungle has in generalkt soil suited for coffee culture. At the same time a block should never be selected, until the nature of the soil and subsoil has been carefully ascertained by sinking pits in various directions. Before leaving this subject, I cannot help remarking, that if greater care and judgment had been exercised in the selection of sites for estates, coffee planting would have been very much more success- ful than it has hitherto proved. Indeed, mistakes in this matter were quite inevitable, as, in numerous instances, the men who went site hunting were almost, or totally inexperienced in coffee planting. The loss and mischief too resulting from such errors have unfortu- nately not descended on the owners of the property alone, in- asmuch as they have rendered capitalists distrustful regarding the stability of coffee estates in general, and so turned into other channels a great deal of money, which might otherwise have been employed in extending coffee culture. The unnecessary destruc. tion of forest too, that these futile experiments have led to, is a matter of serious concern to the State, for the denudation has rendered the climate both drier and hotter, and the scrub jungle that springs up on abandoned clearings is a fertile source of malaria. It seems, therefore, desirable with a view to check such unnecessary felling, that, in future, when application is made for coffee land, the chief Revenue Officer and Executive Engineer of the district, along with the Conservator of Forests, should inspect the block selected, and ascertain whether or not it is suited for the purpose. III.— SKETCH OF THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE COFFEE DISTRICTS IN SOUTHERN INDIA, WITH REFERENCE TO COFFEE CULTURE ; INCLUDING EFFECTS OF FOREST DESTRUCTION. The tract or zone* in which coffee is cultivated in Southern India stretches chiefly along the crests of the "Western Ghats, and extends from about the 14° of North latitude down nearly to Cape Coinorin. The kind of climate that the plant requires, and the limited breadth of the range prevent the zone from even attaining any great breadth, and the former reason also causes it to follow * See Map. 16 exactly all the windings of the chain. In this sketch, it will be convenient to adopt the ordinary division of the tract into the coffee districts of — Mysore J^W*"! ( Munzerabad. Coorg. Wynaad. Mysore : — In Nuggur, the most northerly part of the Mysore zone, the coffee district is peculiar, the estates being mostly situated on the slopes of the Bababoodens, and other hills belonging rather to the table-land of Mysore than the Ghat range. The eastern face of the Bababoodens is very abrupt, and is crowned throughout the greater part of its length with a bold lofty scarp like the ruined battlement of some ancient fort. From the base of this a steep slope, covered with soil, resulting chiefly from the debris of the overhanging rocks, runs down to the table-land, and is covered with a moderately open and tall forest, in the shade of which the coffee is cultivated. The range is of a semi-circular shape, the convex face looking eastwards, and on the other side there is a vast basin with steep grassy slopes, intersected in the most picturesque manner with wooded ravines, in which coffee has long been cultivated by natives. On the south-east side of the hollow is the village near which coffee was first planted in Southern India. The top of the range, with the exception of a few sholas, is entirely covered with a carpet of grass, which in the rains is variegated with ground orchids, the splendid orobanche, and blue and white violets. The mean elevation of the Bababoodens is about 5,000 feet, and the rocks are chiefly micaschist and gneiss, the layers of which are flexured and contorted in the most curious manner. Magnetic iron ore occurs near the village just mentioned. Wastara and Coppadroog, in which coffee culture is also carried on, are mountainous districts to the west and south-west of the Bababoodens, lying mostly between them and the axis of the Ghat chain. The rain-fall on the western side of the Bababoodens and districts beyond is heavy, but on the eastern slopes it rarely exceeds forty inches. Notwithstanding this, estates in the latter situation seem to do very well, the soil being 3-ich andj'naturally moist, while the elevation at which they are placed gives them a comparatively cool temperature, and the forest shade protects from the sun and scorching winds. There is still a 17 good deal of land suitable for coffee culture existing in Nuggur, but mostly in remote parts of the district, and far away from public roads. Cannon's old and famous estates lie close to the south-west end of the Baba-boodens. The rain-fall is deposited almost entirely during the south-west monsoon, and the dry season is long and. severe, in consequence of which shade is absolutely necessary for coffee. In the localities in which estates are situated, the forest is not so dense or lofty as that which grows near the axis of the Ghat chain, but of moderate height and evergreen, or at any rate bearing leaves during the hot season, and, therefore, well adapted for shade. In most of the valleys, and at low elevations, dense bamboo jungle, interspersed with teak, blackwood, mutti, and other deciduous trees, which lose their leaves in the dry season, prevail. Such tracts are quite unsuited for coffee culture. The grains chiefly cultivated are ragee and rice ; and the most abundant fruits are the plantain, orange, and wild mango. There is a small Government plantation of the Chinclwna succirubra at Kullmtty, on the Bababoodens, doing well ; but no sites, very suitable for tea culture, seem to exist. The coffee produced in the district is generally of very superior quality and flavour, and that from Cannon's estates is as highly prized, and fetches as good a price in the English market as the Mocha bean. Munzerabad : — This district, which lies immediately to the south of Nuggur, differs considerably from it in various respects. It consists of a succession of low rounded hills, usually covered with grass and studded with clumps of trees, which give it very much the appearance of an English park on a large scale. Be- tween the hills run beautiful winding valleys or ravines, either under rice, or covered with open evergreen forest, which here and there runs up the grassy slopes in dark green promontories. To the west of the rounded hills the Ghats culminate in bold isolated mountain masses, between which ravines and passes of the grandest description run down to the low country. The prevail- ing rock is gneiss, and lateritic formations are very common. The surface soil on the grass-covered hills is generally loam or elay of a bright red colour, and in the rice flats the soil is mostly a strono- clay of a drab colour. Some of the rounded hills, so characteristic of the district, are covered with forest, under which the coffee is cultivated. The soil in such places is generally a dark loam of variable depth, resting on a red gravelly subsoil, or friable half-decayed gneiss. On the grassy hills a stemless Date palm and the Bracken fern are very 18 common, while in the rice valleys the Screiv-pine, Melastomads,a.n& a few hardy ferns abound. The forest near the axis of the chain is very dense and lofty, but the tract covered by it offers few sites fit for coffee culture, the rain-fall being too heavy and the monsoon much too violent. Most of the estates in the district are situated towards its eastern frontier, on some of the forest-clad hills or ravines already described. The trees in such situations are of me- dium size, not too dense, and evergreen, so that when the underwood has been cleared away, the forest becomes admirably suited for shade culture. On the outskirts of some of these forest patches, considerable tracts of a sparse jungle, containing many deciduous trees exist, indicating at once a low degree of humidity and a high temperature. Land covered with such wood is quite unsuited for coffee. Here, as in Nuggur, the rain descends chiefly between the first of June and the end of October, and the total annual amount in the coffee zone ranges from a little over one hundred inches on its western, to forty or fifty on its eastern margin, as will be seen from diagram No. 1. The dry season is very long and tiying, the showers that fall between November and March being few, light, and uncer- tain. Shade is therefore absolutely necessary to protect the coffee during that period, all attempts to cultivate it in open ground hav- ing proved partial or complete failures. The general elevation of Munzerabad is rather low, the average height being about 2,800 feet, and this also increases the sun's power. There is now very little good coffee land belonging to Government in the district, nearly the whole of it having been secured by European and Native planters. The general crops and food of the people are rice and ragee. The coffee exported is known in the English market as Mysore, and generally brings prices rather above the average of Indian plan- tation. Ooorg : — This district is the most southerly portion of the coffee zone under the Commissioner of Mysore, and is remarkable for the grandeur and beauty of its scenery. From whatever direction it is approached, it presents a mass of blue hills of bold outline, and nature has defined its limits by bold mountain steeps and impene- trable forests. These in former years proved formidable defences, but it is now traversed by lines of excellent roads passable at all sea- sons, which connect it with the adjoining districts. Entering by any of these the traveller from the plains is struck with the gran- deur of the forests, which in great living walls line both sides of the 19 road. Huge climbers scale the trees, gorgeous orchids cluster on their branches, and the scarps of the road are covered with mosses and ferns in great profusion. Mercara, the capital of Coorg, is very cen- trically situated, and has been built on one of the highest and healthiest spots in the province. It stands on a plateau about 3,500 feet above the sea, and is surrounded by a number of small rounded hills, from which the forest has been completely cleared away to make room for coffee, whioh has, however, in most instances died out, leaving the denuded tracts unsightly in the extreme. Looking southwards from Mercara, the whole of Southern Coorg can be seen at a glance, and a more splendid sight could hardly be imagined. It is a vast undulating tract, with here and there a low hill stand in g up, and is bounded on the west by a mountain chain, the axis of the Ghats, of great elevation and bold rugged outline, and to the south by the grand Brummagherry range. From such a point of view Southern Coorg appears to be covered with one unbroken un- dulating sheet of forest, but a closer inspection discovers numerous intersecting deep-set winding valleys under rice. There are also many grassy glades, producing park-like scenes, in which nature far outstrips the most skilful efforts of the landscape gardener. The average elevation of Southern Coorg is about 2,800 feet, and most of the forest tracts in it suitable for coffee have been cleared away, except in the large catchment basin of the Cauver3% where the land is almost entirely in the hands of Coorgs. Here, coffee is chiefly cultivated under shade, and although the owners were willino- to part with their property, which they are not, felling has been strictly prohibited by Government. To the north of Mercara the country is much wilder, presenting a vast panorama of ruo-o-ed rocky mountains, with great scarps of bare rock, and disposed in the most irregular manner. The valleys between these are very deep, uneven, and rocky, and, therefore, not so well adapted for rice cultivation as those in Southern Coorg. All the hills of Coorg have the wild picturesque aspect that belongs to those of primary districts. The prevailing rock is gneiss, varying in colour and composition, and in all stages of decay. Quartz in beds or isolated pieces is rare, but boulders of gneiss, agreeing in charac- ter with the subjacent rock, are common. Kaolin in extensive beds is abundant, more especially about Mercara. Talc slate, and mica schists also occur in some places, but only to a limited extent, but laterite is to be met with here and there throughout 20 the whole province, and is the prevailing subsoil in Southern Coorg. Coffee culture in Coorg was at first chiefly carried on in the dense jungle tract, but of late years numerous estates have sprung up in the bamboo jungles of the southern portion of the province. Most of the older estates surround Mercara within a radius of eight or ten miles, a good many being on the hilly plateau on which the station stands, and the remainder on the sides of the Sumpajee Ghat, a magnificent pass traversed by the Mangalore road. In the former situation the monsoon rages with great fury, and wherever the land is fully exposed to its violence, the coffee has either partly died out, or remains small and unproductive. When the exposure is favour- able, or shelter afforded by standing forest, the results have been more satisfactory, some estates having yielded very good crops. The quality of the soil varies greatly, but it is generally of a red- dish or chocolate colour, open and of fair quality. The subsoil is usually a red gravel, clay, or decaying rock. In the Sumpajee Pass and various other quarters, although the land is of fair quality, it is so steep, that it is liable to suffer heavily from wash. The rain-fall around Mercara is very heavy, the mean of three years being 143*85 inches. It, however, rapidly decreases as we proceed eastwards, and at a distance of six miles down the Fraserpett road it does not proba- bly, on an average, exceed seventy or eighty inches. A few large estates are situated in this direction, and nearly all of them have suffered severely from the droughts of recent years ; the intensity of which has been greatly aggravated by the extensive clearings- Indeed, the dry season is so long and severe in this quarter of the province, that shade is absolutely necessary to protect the coffee from its effects. In South Coorg the heavy jungle tract approaches close to Veerajpettah, and immense clearings have been made to the west and south-west of the village. All the estates to the west lie on the hilly plateau of South Coorg, and the total destruction of forest, within a radius of eight to ten miles, exceeds three thousand acres- The estates to the south-west are situated on the slopes of the Per~ riambady Ghat, and on the flanks of hills to the south-east of it, and to make way for them an area of fully 1,800 acres, covered with splendid forest, has been completely denuded. Such wholesale clear- ing has had a most disastrous effect on the local climate, and there is no doubt that it caused the droughts of recent years to tell on the district with tenfold force. The soil in this quarter is chiefly a brownish or reddish shallow sandy loam. For the most part it rests 21 on a subsoil of laterite, which, as already stated, makes land easily heated when deprived of its forest covering, and renders it unsuita- ble for coffee when it approaches too near the surface. In the Per- riambady Ghat the soil contains a large proportion of clay, much coarse gravel, and in some places so many large boulders that plant- ing is rather difficult. Both here and to the west of Veeraj pettah the land is often very steep, and the usual effects have resulted from the wash of the monsoon. The prevailing rock is a dark syenitic-like gneiss. Hardly any unappropriated land suitable for coffee remains in this quarter, except a few blocks belonging to Coorgs, immediately to the east of Mount Remarkable. About ten miles to the east of Veeraj pettah lies the village of Seedapoor in the bamboo district, and to the west and east of this a great many estates have sprung up on the slopes of low hills. These were mostly covered with heavy forest, but of quite a different character from that found near the crest of the chain. Generally speaking the land in this quarter is moderately level, and the soil a rich loam of great depth. Close to Seedapoor, the famous Mission Estate, which for years in succession yielded a ton of coffee per acre, existed, but has been completely destroyed by drought and the ravages of the Borer. Weeds grow much more abundantly and rapidly, and are much more difficult to subdue in this than in the heavy jungle tract. As soon as the monsoon sets in, grasses, some of them with nearly indestructible under-ground stems, spring up in perplexing abundance, and when they have been cleared away, the Goat-weed (Ageratuni Cordifolium) takes posses- sion of the ground.* The annual rain about Seedapoor does not Professor Leibeg gives the following analysis of the ash of the Goat- weed. He says it robs the soil of the very constituents indispensable for coffee, and recommends that it should be gathered, burned, and the ashes returned to the land as manure : — It contains in 100 parts Potash ... 2877 Soda ... 6-89 Lime ... 15-58 Magnesia ... ... ... 10-62 Phosphoric Acid ... 344 Silica ... .. ... 7-04 Sulphuric Acid 4-07 Chlorine 6-07 Carbonic Acid ... 16-01 Oxides of iron ... 3-28 10177 1-36 Deduct Oxygen 100 41 22 usually exceed sixty inches, and it falls chiefly during the south- west monsoon. From December to April the air is very dry, the temperature high, and the sun scorching. At this period the forest trees lose their leaves, and herbacious plants are withered up or lead a precarious existence. During the first few years coffee grows here with amazing rapidity, and produces crops much beyond the average yield, in consequence of which it speedily gets exhausted, and is apt to suffer from Borer, and die out in from eight to ten years. Shade is, therefore, necessary, and as the original forest is not fit for that purpose, the planter must encourage the spontaneous crrowth of suitable trees, and put down seedlings of such when nature does not come to his aid. The diagram No. 2, prepared from tables in "Dove's Klimatologische Beetrage, 1857" will afford the requisite information as to the climate of Coorg in the heavy jungle tract, and to render it still more valuable the rain-fall and humidity of the air at Kandy in Ceylon, around which coffee has been so successfully cultivated, have been introduced to permit of com- parison. From this it will be observed that although the rain-fall at Kandy is less than at Mercara, it is much more equably distri- buted throughout the year, and, therefore, more favourable for vegetation. In Coorg, the bulk of the rain comes down during June, July, August, and September, as much as forty or fifty inches bein<* deposited during the first named month. Throughout the rainy season both the air and earth are saturated with moisture, and the coffee in consequence getting gorged with fluid, the circula- tion and other functions are performed very imperfectly. During the remaining eight months of the year it is stimulated by a high temperature and bright sunshine, while the rate of humidity is very low, in fact too often below the per-centage necessary to keep the plant in a healthy condition. It will be observed that as regards the humidity of the atmosphere, there is, taking the whole year round, a larger per-centage and greater uniformity in Ceylon than in Coorg, and this is no doubt in a great measure the result of its insular position. The monthly and seasonal means show, that the temperature is remarkably equable at Mercara. Tea is being tried in the province and grows well, but it has yet to be seen whether it will yield an amount and quality of leaf, such as will render its cultivation profitable. There is a small Government plantation of the Chinchona succirubra, but that, too, is merely in the stage of experiment. Coorg is famous for a species 23 of orange, a. small reddish yellow fruit with a loose skin, and pulp of great sweetness and delicious flavour. The other fruits most commonly seen are the plantain and guava, a species of the former beino indigenous. The tamarind, owing to the excessive rain-fall and low temperature, will not grow. Rice is the principal crop, and the paddy-fields are entirely watered by perennial streams. Wynaad : — This district stretches in a south-east direction from, the southern frontier of Coorg, down to the northern flank of the Neilgkeny range. Its extreme length, as the crow flies, from Peria to Goodaloor is about fifty-five miles, and it has an average breadth of about twenty miles. Its south-west frontier is bounded by a range of bold hills, some of which attain an elevation of nearly 6,000 feet. To the east of this range — which also forms the axis of the Ghat chain — the country consists of a succession of low hills partially wooded, with intervening narrow winding valleys, and as we approach the table-land of Mysore on the east, the hills gradually decline in elevation. The heavy forest tract, as usual, is confined to the western parts of Wynaad, and runs from the northern to the southern extremity of the district in a belt about ten miles wide and parallel with the crest of the Ghats. East of this we have the bamboo jungle, which, judging from the number of plants belonging to the Mysore flora that grow in it, and other features, is both hotter and drier than the corresponding region in Coorw. The mean elevation of the coffee zone in the heavy jungle tract is about 2,300 feet, and in the bamboo district about 2,000 feet. The prevail- ing rock in Wynaad is a gneiss, varying in appearance from a light coloured stone with a superabundance of quartz, to a dark syenitic-looking heavy and hard formation. There is a variety of schists, with their superficial strata generally in an advanced state of decay, and conglomerate (lateritic), kaolin, and soap-stone are not uncommon. The soil in so large a district, of course, varies very much. In the forest tract it is usually clayey, containing alono- with the clay, sand, and a little humus ; and varying in colour from a drab or pale red to a brown. In the bamboo district the soil is gene- rally a brownish vegetable mould mixed with a little clay and sand, or chocolate-coloured loam. In some quarters the black cotton-like earth, already described, occurs, and seems badly adapted for coffee. The first estates in Wynaad were in the neighbourhood of Manan- toddy, and at the present day every likely spot of ground for many miles round it is either under coffee, or shows traces of having been 24 so at no distant date. The station stands a little to the east of the margin of the forest tract, and is surrounded by low hills covered with a tall scrub or bamboo jungle. North of it, about five miles, there is an off-set of the Ghat-chain partly covered with heavy timber, which runs eastward into the bamboo tract, and on this a o-ood many estates are clustered. The more westerly of these enjoy a rather favourable climate, but those on the eastern end of the spur are exposed to severe drought, and several estates there have had to be abandoned. The other estates in the forest tract in North Wynaad lie chiefly along the sides of the Tellicherry road. Begin- ning at Dindimul, seven miles west of Manantoddy, they stretch in nearly unbroken chain for about twelve miles to the west. The rain-fall in this quarter ranges from 100 to 120 or 130 inches in the year, but, as in Coorg, it descends chiefly in June, July, August, and September, and the soil being on some estates light and sandj^, they suffered severely from recent dry seasons, more especially when the plants were old and exhausted. Beyond Peria there are a few estates too near the crest of the Ghats, which consequently suffer a good deal of damage from the monsoon. The coffee plants in the forest district of North Wynaad appear to give rather small crops until of considerable age, but arrived at maturity the returns are satisfactory, and some estates have, with little or no manuring, given good crops for ten or more years in succession. Weeds, par- ticularly grasses, spring up abundantly on many of these estates. To the east of Manantoddy there are traces of a number of estates in grass or bamboo land, all of which have died out from povert}' of soil, drought, or Borer, or all these combined in fatal alliance. This part of the district is also very low, the average elevation being about 2,100 feet, and the patches of jungle in existence are of a kind that gives no hope of coffee living, except in perfect shade. Within the last few years a good many estates have been opened to the north-east of Manantoddy, in the district traversed by the new road which is to connect Wynaad with Coorg. This tract lies in the bamboo district, and the soil is said to be very good ; and in some cases shade is being industriously raised to protect the coffee from the protracted and severe dry season. The accompanying dia- gram, No. 1, gives the rain-fall at Manantoddy for 1867, by which it will be seen that it is considerably less than the average at Mercara. It must be remarked, however, that the rain-fall at the latter station in the same year was unusually small, having been only 111 inches, and it is therefore highly probable, that the season in question was an exceptional one in both districts. It may, there- fore, be safely inferred, that the ordinary amount of rain falling in one 3'ear at Manantoddy amounts to about 100 inches. Proceed- ing eastward, the nature of the flora speaks of a rapid diminution, and there is reason to believe that at the distance of twelve miles it will not be found to exceed sixty or seventy inches. In all other respects, including its effects on vegetation, the climate of North Wynaad may practically be regarded as identical with that of Coorg. In South Wynaad, the first estates were opened near Vy thery, and now there is a large number in this district running out towards Culputt}\ In the immediate neighbourhood of Vy thery the rain- fall is heav}', averaging about 130 inches. Of this, about six or seven inches are deposited during the north-east monsoon, and thus the severity of the dry season is somewhat mitigated. Towards Culputty the fall is much less, and the spring months are nearly as hot and dry as in the bamboo district. The soil in South Wynaad consists, for the most part, of a mixture of sand, clay, and vegetable mould in varying proportions, resting on. decaying schists, red gravel, clay or a s}^enitic gneiss veined with quartz. Most of the estates in this district are situated in the heavy jungle tract, and some of them are of considerable age and very productive. A trunk road, leading down the Tambracherry Pass, is in course of construc- tion, and when finished will be a splendid work and of immense advantage to the district, as it will bring it into direct and easy communication with the port of Calicut, situated about thircy-nine miles from the top of the Ghat. The rain-fall in this district, for the year 1867 will be found in diagram No. 1. In South-east Wynaad, a district of large extent, there is great diversity of soil and climate. About Cherambady and Dewalah, which lie in the heavy jungle tract, estates are rather favourably circumstanced as to soil and climate. To the north-east of these the picturesque Nelialum hill towers to a great elevation, touching with its southern extremity the forest tract, and then running out into the bamboo jungle. A few good estates are situated on or near this mountain mass, and those on the higher slopes are said to be very promising. Going eastwards from Dewalah, a chain of estates is seen running from near the Nelialum hills towards Goodaloor, and thence below the precipitous face of the Neilgherry range on to Seegoor. The whole of this group are in scrub or bamboo jungle, and the climate, 4 26 during the dry season, is intenseky hot and scorching. The forest trees belong, for the most part, to the flora of the western portion of the Mysore plateau, and the climate is altogether badly suited for coffee, and notoriously unhealthy. In some places the coffee is kept alive during the dry season by irrigation, and where this expedient has not been resorted to, the losses from drought and borer have, in some cases, been very heavy. Behind Groodaloor, on the slopes of the Neilgherries, there is, however, a tract of quite a different character — the famous Ouchterlony valley. The mean elevation of this expanse is about 4,500 feet. On all sides it is surrounded with scenery grand beyond description, and, in its luxuriant mantle of coffee, it looks as if it had been made expressly for the growth of the plant. The exposure is north-west, and on the western side there is a lofty spur, culminating in the Neilgherry peak, that shelters it from the south-west monsoon, and on the east flank there is another spur giving protection in that direction. To the rear of the valley there is a forest-clad wall 1,000 feet high, and from the base of this the cultivated land runs out with an easy slope. The soil consists chiefly of the debris of the overhanging rocks, and fine vegetable mould washed out of the forests at a higher elevation, and is very fertile. The climate, too, is highly favourable, the air throughout the }7ear being moist and cool, and in the dry season fogs descend nearly every evening, refreshing the plants after the heat of the day, and moistening the soil. Weeds are rather troublesome at all seasons, and some of the older coffee stems are covered with mosses and lichens, nature's lwgrometers. In the north-east corner of the valley, at an elevation of about 5,000 feet, there are tea and coffee plantations in a very promising condition. As regards size, uni- formity, and vigorous appearance, nothing could surpass the coffee in the Ouchterlony valle}', and in no part of Southern India have estates been so largely and continuously productive. The chief crops in Wynaad are rice and raggee, but they are not produced in quan- tities sufficient to prevent the planter from having to send out of the district for supplies for his coolies. Effects of destruction of Forest on Climate, 8fc, : — This sub- ject has, with reference to Coorg, been fully discussed in a previous communication, but it may be useful to give a summary of the conclusions that have been arrived at respecting the whole of the coffee districts. In Nuggur and Munzerabad the clearings have not been numerous or extensive, the coffee, as already stated, being t 27 chiefly cultivated under shade ; but in Coorg and Wynaad, where this system has never been in favour, the clearings have been gene- ral and extensive. Many are of opinion that forest has the effect of increasing the amount of rain, but, although that ma}T be true as regards European countries, it does not appear to be the case in India. In the former, rain is proverbially uncertain, mostly local, and influenced by local causes, such as the neighbourhood of a hill, but here it comes and goes with as much regularity as the seasons, being brought up by the monsoons which are dependent on causes fixed and far remote. These aerial currents, as they travel towards the Peninsula get thoroughly charged with moisture, and on reaching the land precipitation takes place from a sudden reduction in temperature. This, on the Western Ghats, is caused by the current striking against the colder hills and by reduction of density as it ascends, so that it can be of little consequence whether the mountains are bare or covered with dense forest. Adopting this theory, the forest in the coffee zone must be regarded as a result, and not the cause of the rain ; and nature steps in to support this view, as every one must have observed how forest gets thinner and lower towards the east, just as the rain-fall diminishes in quantity. It follows, as a matter of course, that forest destruction in Wynaad and Coorg cannot have reduced the average amount of rain ; but it is equally clear, that it has seriously altered the drainage, causing the water to run off rapidly instead of lodging in the woods to feed springs and streams, and render the air cooler and moisture during the hot season. The now periodical character of streams formerly perennial, the drying up of wells during the hot months, and the change in the flora near clearings, all testify to this in the clearest manner. As regards fever, the prevailing disease in the coffee districts, the change of climate resulting from clearings, does not as yet seem to have had much influence ; but there can be little doubt that it will eventually mitigate the type, and render the disease generally less frequent.* In several districts, cholera has made its appearance when it was formerly unknown, but this may have arisen from increased intercourse with infected centres, although it is highly probable that the climatic changes may, on the introduction of the disease, have favoured its development. It is very evident, too, that forest destruction has, in various ways, * Or course to ensure this the clearings must all be drained, and kept under cultivation. 28 affected animal and vegetable life. With respect to food supplies got from the animal kingdom game of all kinds has been rendered less abundant from want of cover, and fish from the drvinff and silting up and denudation of the banks of streams, in which tliey used to spawn and live. In the natural forest, too, there is as}7stem of checks and counterchecks which maintains a balance between creatures regarded by man as useful or harmless, and those considered noxious or destructive. Thus the carnivora keep clown mammals that prey on crops, while birds and various reptiles prevent the undue increase of insects. These last when kept within due bounds are highly useful as scavengers, and otherwise, and in the natural forest, they rarely become so numerous as to prove a pest. When clearings are made however, and nature's arrangements disturbed, the destructive species often increase to an alarming extent, owing to the disappear- ance of their enemies, the want of plants on which they used to feed, and the establishment of climatic and other conditions favourable to their multiplication. Of late years, owing to change of climate and other causes resulting from clearing, several additions have been made to the fauna of Coorg, various birds and lizards having come up from the Mysore plateau. At the same time some species of in- digenous birds, which live in sparse jungle, have become more numer- ous, and as these are chiefly insectivorous, we see in this an effort on the part of nature to keep in check various kinds of insects, which have also greatly multiplied. As regards vegetation, the most obvious effects are an increase in indigenous species that grow in hot and dry situations, and the naturalisation of several that do not belong to the country. The most remarkable novelties are the Lantana Indica, introduced as a hedge plant, and the Physalis Peruviana, which must have escaped from some garden. The plant, however, that has been most influenced by denudation is the Goat, or White-weed (Ageratum cordifolium) to which allusion has already been made. This plant follows the planter into the most remote parts of the jungle, springing up as if by magic all over his clearings, and refusing to be exterminated. To prevent further deterioration of climate, regulate the drain- age, and maintain the fertility of the coffee zone, it appears desirable that the following regulations as to the conservancy of forest there should be adopted : — I. That forest near the head waters of rivers or streams should be preserved. 29 it. That forest on the banks of streams — sny to the extent of thirty yards on each side of a large, and fifteen yards on each side of a small stream — should be left intact. in. That forests on or near the crests of the Ghats, and on the tops of all low hills should be kept standing. As regards tho latter, it would be a safe rule to forbid felling above the lower third of their height. IV. The slopes of all hills having a south-west exposure should be kept under forest, as neither coffee nor tea will thrive in such a situation. v. Forest in the upper ends of ravines should be preserved, as it invariably gives rise to springs and streams. vi. Forest surrounding paddy fields should be left, as they, as a rule, are irrigated by streams arising in it. which are sure to suffer from denudation. vil. Forest on the slopes below an imperial road should be preserved, but if the trees are of a large size it should be cut down for some distance on the upper side, as the wind gets in through the clearing made for the roadway, and is apt to throw the trees down on the road. IV.— REVIEW" OF THE PRESENT STATE AND OF THE SYSTEMS OF COFFEE CULTURE IN SOUTHERN INDIA. There are two distinct methods of coffee culture in Southern India, and as the one has often had some influence in increasing and the other in diminishing the ravages of the borer, it becomes necessary to notice both in this report. The question, as to which is the better, has never been satisfactorily decided by planters, although a good deal of controversy has taken place on the subject. Any other issue was, perhaps, hardly to be expected, as each party has engaged in the dispute with a strong bias in favour of one system, and having a greater desire for victory than the elimina- tion of truth. Party feeling too has run so high, that to praise one system in the presence of an advocate of the other, would often be considered sufficient grounds for a personal quarrel ! Of the two systems, that of shade is undoubtedly the older, and, therefore, falls to be considered first. The want of any satis- factory notice . of it in works on coffee culture is strongly signifi- SO cant of the light esteem in which it has been held, and yet it is the almost universal system followed on native property, and through- out two of our most prosperous coffee districts * Culture under shade : — This system is followed in other coffee producing countries besides India. In Java, it is usual to plant the Erytltrina Indica, or the Manilla plantain, between the rows of coffee, and sometimes part of the original forest is left standing. Porter, in his " Tropical Agriculturist,'" says, "wherever coffee trees are planted iu a plain, which is exposed to the sun, other trees must be planted near them to ward off its rays," and gives a quotation from " Brown's Natural History of Jamaica" to the effect, that " coffee thrives best in a cool and shaded situation." Dr. Wallich, when in charge of the Botanic Garden, Calcutta, had a considerable number of coffee trees there under the shade of a Teak plantation, and Dr. Royle remarks, that when he saw them in 1823, " nothing could be more healthy looking, or in better bearing." We also learn from a modern traveller in Brazil, that coffee thrives well in the shade of the great forests along the banks of the Amazon, and even yields two crops a year when care is taken in its cultivation.f It would also appear that in some of the West Iudia islands the Banana is not unfrequently planted amongst coffee to afford shelter and shade. In India, shade has been long used in native coffee gardens, and this is all the more re- markable, seeing that it is not thought necessary in Arabia, from which they got the first supply of seed, and derived their ideas as to the mode in which the plant should be cultivated. When visiting the old garden on the Bababoodens, in which coffee was first cultivated in Southern India, I made some inquiries on this point, and was told that for some time after its introduction the plants were grown in open ground, but it having been found in course of time that they did not succeed in that manner, planting in forest shade had been adopted. It would thus appear that the native planter was led to cultivate his coffee in shade by experience, the best of all teachers, and that he had very good reasons for a change of system. It is also a remarkable fact that the first European planters in this country followed the example of the Native, and their plantations, after the lapse of from twenty to forty years, are still nourishing and productive ! In a state of nature the coffee grows in moist forest where it is screened from the scorching solar rays by the foliage of other trees ; and hence when placed in dry hot * Nuggar and Mimzerabad. f Agassis " Journey in Brazil." 31 situations without any protection, it languishes or dies out. As an element of climate the humidity of the air throughout the year is of much more importance than the rain-fall, and unfortunately in most parts of the coffee zone, the winter and spring seasons are, not- withstanding the heavy rain-fall during the south-west monsoon, particular^ dry and often veiy hot. It is in this particular that the climate of our coffee districts chiefly differs from that of Ceylon, where the plant has been so successfully growrn in open ground, and it is this that renders shade absolutely necessary in India, while it would be perhaps useless or hurtful in the other country. The insu- lar nature of Ceylon gives it a climate perennially moist, and fre- quent showers and dews cool the air and refresh the plants during the hottest months of the yetxv ; but in India, often for months in succession, there is not a drop of rain, while at the same time the sun is as bright, and the air as dry and nearly as hot as on the plains of the Carnatic. There are two distinct methods of shade culture, the coffee in the one being planted under the original forest, while in the other, the ground having been cleared, trees are planted or allowed to grow between the rows of coffee to afford shade. The former may be termed natural, and the other artificial shade. In select- ing a site for the culture of coffee under natural shade forest, consist- ing of trees that lose their leaves during the hot season, or which are too tall, should be avoided, and a tract chosen in which the trees are of moderate height, and either evergreen, or retaining their leaves during the spring months. Such forest is generally met with on low rounded hills, or on the slopes of ravines in the coffee zone. The under growth usually consists of shrubs, seedlings of the trees, some hardy ferns, and arums and other shade and moisture loving plants, and must be cut down and piled in rows. In this way the plants decay gradually fertilising the ground, whereas if burnt there is a great chance of many of the forest trees being fatally injured, and the superficial mould is so much dried that it runs the risk of being washed away by the rain. In the season following the cutting and piling of the undergrowth, the ground is cleared of weeds, and the coffee planted out in the usual manner. In the case of artificial shade, a locality suitable for coffee having been selected, the forest is cut down and got rid of by piling or burning. Of the two modes, the former, although more expensive, is much the better, as the intense heat of the barn, dries and scorches the ground in a very prejudicial manner, while all the valuable soluble constituents 32 of the ashes, and a portion of the earth is conveyed to the nearest nullah by the first shower. The ground having been cleared, the coffee is put down in the usual manner, but the rows had better be a little farther apart than usual to provide space for the shade trees. After planting, a plentiful supply of the charcoal tree (Sponia Wightii) generally springs up, with here and there an Atti-marah (Ficus glomerata) or Sand-paper tree (Ficus asperrima). All these, more especially the first, are well adapted for shade. If, however, nature does not aid the planter by trees of spontaneous growth-, he must take means to supply the deficiency, and as shade is much required by the coffee when young, any check at that period being highly prejudicial or even fatal, the trees selected for planting must be of such rapid growth, as that in one year or eighteen months they will protect the coffee with their side branches. As temporary means, until more lasting trees can be black, marked with white or yellow transverse diagonal and curved lines, the last of which form three figures like the inverted letter V. Legs the front pair shortest, the second pair longer, and the last pair about as long as the body : four posterior femora of a pink colour, third joint of the tarsi bifid, and the last armed with a sharp double hook. See Fig. 2, PI. iv. Pupa : — The insect in this stage of its existence is generally found in a roomy cell prepared by the larva, immediately under, or only separated by a thin layer of wood, from the bark of the tree. It is shorter and thicker than the larva, and exhibits the antenna?, limbs, elytra, &c, disposed in the manner usual in the family. Sec Fig. 2, PI. iii. Larva is at first not more than the tenth of an inch in length, and very slender. When full-grown it is from three-fourths to one inch in length, broadest at the head, and gradually tapering towards the other extremity, of a pale yellow or whitish colour, and fleshy consistence. The body consists generally of eleven segments, and is- apodous, but three or four of the abdominal rings are each provided clorsally with a tubercle, which aids the insect in moving forwards, and in fixing its body while lengthening its tunnel. The head is hard and seal}', flattened above, and armed with very powerful mandibles (See Fig. 4, PI. iv.. ; Fig. 5, gives a side view of a mandible,) with which it reduces the wood to a fine powder. This forms the food of the voracious creature, and having passed through its body, is compacted behind it in the tunnel, and so agglutinated by some mucilagenous fluid, that it may be removed like a cast of plaster of paris. — See Figs. 1 & 6, PI. iii. Ova : — The eggs (Fig. 5, PI. iii.) are placed deep in the little cracks,* which always abound in the bark, and fixed by some secre- tion that is voided at the time of deposition. The ovipositor is a telescopic split tube, and when not in use, is drawn up into its sheath,. • See Fig. 6, PI. iv. 45 ■which terminates the abdomen. It is capable of being protruded to a considerable length, which enables the female to place the eggs out of the reach of danger, and is armed at its extremity with two little round bodies bearing a few hairs, which are probably used to clear out and enlarge the crevice where the eggs are placed. It is difficult to ascertain the number which one female will lay, but the average is probabty from 150 to 200. The eggs are placed in little clusters containing from five to eight each. They are very small, about the size of a pin point, and of a white color. Under a low magnifying power, they are found to consist of a pearly-white thin membrane, and are of apyriform shape. They gradually enlarge in length as the embryo progresses, until at length the little larva can be seen through the membrane. They are mostly deposited in sunny places, and hot sunshine favours, while cold damp weather retards or pre- vents their hatching. Heavy showers destroy them, an4 they are eaten by several minute insects. They are not often deposited, and do not hatch readily in shade. General History of the Insect : — When the beetle emerges from its pupa covering, it finds itself in a dark chamber. At this time it has not attained its full size ; the hard case of the body is not so strong as it afterwards becomes, and the colours of the elytra and other parts of the body are dull or imperfect. Accord- ingly, it remains in the place of its birth from three to ten days, until eveiy part of its frame has attained its due development, when; moved by irresistible instinct, it sets to work, and with its powerful jaws cuts a tunnel through the barrier that separates its cell from the surface of the tree — (See Fig. 6 a, PI, iv). One might suppose that in performing this operation, the little creature would be just as likely to go in the wrong as the right direction, but this is prevented by the larva when about to be transformed into the pupa state, always going to rest with its head towards the exterior of the tree. Very often, as will be seen in Fig. 6, PL iii., the larva carries on its work of destruction in the root of the tree, and were it to undergo its transformations below ground, the beetle would never be able to escape. With marvellous instinct, however, the borer always returns to the stem to prepare the cell for the pupa and beetle, except in some rare instances in which the surface of a root has become exposed to the air by the washing away of the soil. The beetles may be met with at all seasons, but are most plenti- ful just after the monsoon, and throughout the dry season. They 46 live from twelve to twenty days, apparently feeding on vegetable matter, but are not often seen at large, although sometimes met with ou the leaves or bark of the coffee tree. They delight in bright sunshine, and are very active in their movements and not easily caught. At the season when most abundant, they sometimes appear in considerable numbers in the windows of the planter's bungalow ; and walking through a field of coffee it is no unusual thing to find two or three adhering to one's clothes. Trees attacked by the borer always occur in patches, the mischief beginning in one and gradually extending to the others. The females in general select warm sunny places for depositing their eggs, avoiding exposed and shady situa- tions. Indeed, shade seems to be obnoxious to them, and when the ova chance to be deposited in trees protected by it, they do not hatch. The female beetle is much more numerous than the male, and is active during her whole life in depositing ova. "When engaged in this operation, she moves about briskly on the bark of the coffee tree, looking for a convenient crack or chink in the bark, and having found this, the ovipositor is rapidly inserted, and a few eggs deposited and fastened in their place, where they are so securely hidden, that they can only be seen by carefully removing some of the outer portion of the bark. In from eight to fifteen days they are hatched, and the young grub, a very minute creature, begins to exercise its mandibles, and derives sustenance from the inner jnicy layers of the bark. Its presence there causes the outer portion to rise in a well denned ridge (See a, Fig. 6, PI. iv.) as if a wire had been passed between it and the wood. This is an unfailing symptom of the enemy having taken possession of the plant, and enables the planter to detect an infested tree long before any other signs of the scourge have become manifest. As the larva increases in size and strength, it dips into the tender young wood, and at length drives its tunnel in all directions, having apparently rather a predilection for the hardest and most sapless portions of the stem. As will be seen from Fig. 6 of PI. iii, the tunnel pursues a very winding course, but rarely touches that of another individual, and never emerges on the surface of the stem. The empty part of the tunnel in which the borer lives is rather longer than itself, but it pushes forward and fixes its body by the dorsal abdominal tubercles, and the rings generally. The tunnel is lengthened by the action of the powerful gouge-like mandibles (See Fig. 5, PI. iv.) and the wood powder having passed through the intestine of the grub is, as already mentioned, excreted and firmly compacted behind it. The 47 work of destruction is carried on b}' the larva for about or a little more than nine months, when, working its way towards the surface of the stem, it prepares a chamber immediately under, or but a short distance from the bark, in which it goes to rest, and becomes trans- formed into the pupa. In this state it continues for from thirty to fifty days, the time depending a good deal on the state of the wea- ther. The entire existence of the insect, from the deposition of the ovum till the death of the beetle, does not exceed twelve months, and in this it differs from other members of the Cerambycida3, who are said to pass from two to three years in the larva state ; although, it must be confessed, that we have but little accurate information concerning the obscurer points of their life-history. As regards the coffee borer, there can be no doubt that the life of an individual in all its stages is comprised within twelve months, as instances have repeatedly come to my notice of the beetle existing in stems less than eighteen months old. The season at which the beetles appear differs slightl}' in different districts, but there is generally a numerous brood on the wing after the monsoon, and again about the middle or end of the dry season. The eggs are also, of course, deposited at these seasons, and the pupae are to be met with in great- est abundance in the month of September, or about the beginning of October. A small per-centage of the pupse are abortive, or decay from water getting admission by old holes through which beetles have escaped, and it sometimes happens that the chamber in which the beetle appears, is so far from the surface of the stem, that it is never able to effect its escape. Symptoms of the presence of Borer in a tree: — The first sio-n of the borer being in a tree is the ridge on the bark, already alluded to, which is generally found near the base of the stem, — See a¥'\ BY RJ.BALDREra0V>. LITHI PRESS FORT S* CEORCE NOV* 1868. @v*»