by the shade trees, he had put down, in these last two years, enough phosphoric acid to last for the crops of 300 years.  From the application of bones he had undoubtedly obtained a great benefit, but I feel sure that it was from the lime and the nitrogen of the bones, for the application of bones that preceded the two applications of three-quarters of a ton per annum must have left the soil amply supplied with phosphoric acid.  Now assuming that the soil required lime, and a moderate degree of nitrogen, these could have been supplied far more cheaply, and just as efficiently had my friend applied a small dressing of ordinary lime, and some oil-cake, and I am the more convinced of the accuracy of this view after visiting Mr. Reilly’s Hillgrove estate near Coonoor on the slopes of the Nilgiri hills, and hearing the result of his very long experience.  Bones he had never used but once, and that on a small portion of the estate, but he had always applied lime once every three years at the rate of about 4 or 5 cwt. per acre; the other manures he had used were cattle manure, and town manure from Coonoor, and these added to the small quantity originally in the soil, had supplied his coffee amply with the 2 lbs. of phosphoric acid annually removed by the crops.  After much consideration, and hearing Mr. Reilly’s views, it seems quite clear to me that as but a small quantity of phosphoric acid is removed by the crops, and as that manure is firmly retained by the soil, bones need only be used at long intervals provided lime is regularly applied in small quantities.

And next, before we can approach, or attempt to determine, the quantity of manure required, we have to take into account the loss by wash, either from the surface or by downward percolation, and the absorption of manure by the roots of the shade trees.  We have also to take into consideration the manure returned by the shade trees in the shape of fallen leaves, and the ammonia derived from the rainfall, so that it is impossible to state with any approach to accuracy the amount of manure that should be applied.  We can only say then that, whatever the required amount may be it must be very considerable, for in addition to the above-mentioned losses of manure, we require a considerable amount for the demands of the coffee trees, and that, further, it must vary with the amount of the rainfall, and the retentive or non-retentive character of the soil.  The crop, it is true, takes comparatively little from the soil, and Mr. John Hughes, Agricultural Chemist, 79, Mark Lane,—­points out in his “Reports on Ceylon Soils and Coffee Manures,” that 5 cwt. of parchment coffee an acre, which is an average crop over a long series of years, only removes from the soil—­

lbs. 
Nitrogen 8-1/4
Potash 7-1/2
Phosphoric acid 1-1/2
Lime 1
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Total 18-1/4