Gold, Sport, and Coffee Planting in Mysore Part 16

CHAPTER XVI.

HOW TO MAKE AN ESTATE PAY, AND THE ORDER OF THE WORK.

The first step towards making a plantation pay is to eliminate all sources of loss, and the first point claiming attention relates to the advisability of abandoning all the spots on an estate which are difficult to keep up, sometimes from defects of soil, sometimes of aspect, and more often of both. At present you often find, just as you do in the case of farmers in Scotland, that planters often make money on the good land to throw much of it away on the bad, and the people who thus act simply do so from want of strength of mind; for everyone knows that it costs more to keep up inferior coffee than it does to keep up the best, and that the latter yields good and certain crops, while the former yields poor and uncertain crops. And it is equally well known that highly manured and well situated coffee on good land can always be relied on to give a paying crop, even in the very worst season, while coffee on poor land with a bad aspect is simply at the mercy of the season. And one of the oldest planters in Mysore told me that, some thirty years ago, when his land was, comparatively speaking, unexhausted, if the blossom showers were favourable he got a good crop all over the estate, but that if they were unfavourable, the best situated coffee on the best land still gave a fair crop, while the rest of the plantation produced very little. The maximum of high and safe profits, then, will be obtained where the land kept up is all good, well situated, and well manured. There are, of course, occasional spots of half an acre or so in the very best lands which must by no means be abandoned. On the contrary, they should be kept up at any cost, as they would be the means of spreading weeds into the surrounding land, and the places that should be abandoned are continuous pieces or blocks on the outside of the coffee to be kept up. I may remind the reader here that where an outside block can, as it were, be sliced off one side of the estate, an application can be made to the Government to have it measured and cla.s.sed in future as land thrown out of cultivation, which is liable to a reduced rate of taxation, but the Government will make no reduction in the case of pieces of land, which are in the plantation, being thrown out of cultivation. I have said that the pieces of inferior land which may be occasionally found in the good coffee should certainly be kept up; but there are, in the case of steep lands, sometimes pieces of land at the heads of slopes, and next to the fence, where, from injudicious management, the soil has gradually worked down the hill, and in such cases a strip of the barest land near the head of the slope may with advantage be thrown out of cultivation, and the abandoned land should be thickly planted with trees, the leaves of which will be shed downwards amongst the coffee. And in planting such abandoned strips with trees an addition will be made to the value of the estate, as wood, as elsewhere pointed out, soon becomes scarce in any country that is taken up for coffee.

The next source of loss which calls for observation is that arising from the system of giving advances to labourers and to maistries--the name for a cla.s.s of men who take large sums to advance to coolies, and are paid a commission on the number they bring in. The planters have lost large sums from this pernicious and troublesome system, and in the remarks previously made on planters' grievances, the reader will find allusions to the existing legislation on the subject, and the need for fresh legislation to grapple with the evils arising out of giving advances for labour.

Sometimes the coolies die, and the money is lost altogether; sometimes, and not unfrequently, they abscond, and in the latter case it is such a difficult matter to trace them that the planter simply resigns himself to the loss of the money. Then as regards money advanced to maistries to bring coolies, somewhat similar difficulties occur. The maistry may die, he may abscond, and sometimes he advances to coolies who decamp and take advances from another planter or his maistry. In short, whether the planter advances directly to coolies, or to maistries to bring coolies, he finds himself involved in a mixture of losses and worries and uncertainty as to getting through his various works at the proper time.

Now nearly every human system is calculated to serve some purpose, and arises out of a greater or lesser degree of necessity. But it sometimes happens that the original causes for the system have either disappeared or very largely vanished, and that the system goes on by the force of custom--very strong in all countries, and especially so in the East. And thus it is with the advance system. When labour was as low as 2 rupees 4 annas a month (which was the rate I paid at first), it was quite impossible that a man could, within any reasonable time, save enough money to pay the expenses of a marriage; thus borrowing became a necessity, and the labourer therefore mortgaged his future labour, the sole security he had to offer. The lender was, of course, always a man who wanted work done, and by lending the required money obtained a certain command over the labourer. In the early days of planting the local labourers were always in debt to some native employer, and when they wanted to come to a European plantation the owner of it had to pay off the sum owed by the labourers, and when these labourers' sons wanted to marry it was customary to advance enough for the purpose, and sums of from 20 to 40 rupees a head were thus advanced, and, in the end, many thousands of rupees were thus lent to the labourers, and led to the losses I have described. But in these days, when labour has risen to 7 rupees a month, and the labourer can live on about 2 rupees a month, he can save in a single year nearly enough for his marriage, and therefore the old necessity for his getting into debt no longer exists, and some years ago I began to give up making advances for marriages, and find that I am still well supplied with local labour; and I feel sure that if other planters would only follow my example, the advance system would gradually be reduced within small limits, and thus one great source of loss on a plantation would be either abolished or reduced to a minimum.

But besides the advances made directly to local labourers by the planter, there are the advances made by him to maistries to bring in coolies from a distance. In former days the sums advanced were very small, and amounted to little more than a retaining fee of a few rupees a head. But from the compet.i.tion for labour, or from planters weakly yielding to the demands made on them, the sums so advanced gradually rose to as much as ten rupees ahead, and, of course, the risks of the planter increased in proportion.

Now this, of course, is a state of things very difficult to contend against, but I see no reason why some attempt might not be made to reduce these advances to about one-half of their present amount; and I feel sure that if the planters would only agree amongst themselves not to advance more than five rupees a head, they would obtain as many coolies as they do now.

I may remark, finally, that the evils connected with this system, and the great temptation to fraud held out by it, certainly call for the legislation which I have elsewhere alluded to when treating of planters'

grievances.

The losses arising from not closely supervising the people employed in minor works; from not having tools sharpened overnight; and from delay in setting the people to work, I do not touch on here, as I have alluded to them in my hints to managers: and the mention of tools reminds me that much loss is often incurred from their careless use, and from neglect in seeing after them, the result of which, of course, is that they are often lost or stolen. Then losses often occur from want of attention to the order in which the various works should be carried out, and which should be influenced by the aspect and the kinds of soil on the plantation. Even if all the work of the plantation could be finished with ease and certainty, it is important to observe the proper order, as to do so is most beneficial to the coffee, and then it should be considered that, should labour from some accident run short, it will at least be certain that the most important parts of the plantation will have been attended to.

Removing moss or rough bark and cleaning the trees should be begun on all northern aspects. Then attend to the low-lying eastern aspects which have the sun off them all the afternoon. Do next the north-western aspects, then the southern, and lastly the due western and south-western aspects, which are so much exposed to the sun that the trees there have little moss on them. The mossing party, it is hardly necessary to mention, should follow the pruners.

Pruning should be begun in the most luxuriantly wooded part of the estate first, and the same order as to aspect should be followed as when removing moss, as it is important to let light as soon as possible into the trees which are on the darkest aspect, and this order will, of course, suit the mossing party, which is, as I have said, always to follow the pruners.

Shade should be thinned in the same order as to aspect as that laid down for the removal of moss, and as soon after crop as possible. The shade cutters should precede the pruners, as, after pruning, the coffee is of course more liable to be injured by falling branches.

Dig all the hottest aspects first, as the soil on these hardens soonest and more severely. Begin with the southern and south-western aspects, then dig the western aspects, then the eastern, and lastly the northern aspects. When all the soil is of much the same degree of stiffness, this order should be followed, but the rule may require to be modified on some estates, where the soil may be of loose character on a southern slope, and of stiffer character on another aspect, in which case the stiff soil aspect should be dug first.

Removing parasites should be done immediately after crop, and at the same time as removing shade, or at any rate before pruning, as the branches with the parasites on them would otherwise injure the coffee. It is important to remove these parasites before they seed, which is about the beginning of the rains.

Young jack fruit removal should be begun about the last week in February.

Do not remove the fruit when very small, as the tree will in that case at once blossom again, and the work will then have to be repeated.

Fences should all be in order, and every gap filled up by the time the rice harvest is over, when the natives either never herd their cattle at all, or so carelessly that they are liable to be frequently in the plantation.

As regards weeding, wherever an estate is liable to rot, all the places that are most liable to it should be weeded first, as it is very important to keep the ground quite clean, so that there may be a complete circulation of air across it. Should it be found that any part of an estate is more liable to leaf disease than other parts, then the weeding should be carried out first on the portion of the estate most liable to the disease.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE MANAGEMENT OF ABSENTEE ESTATES.

As many of my readers are no doubt aware, elephants are employed to pile timber in the Government yards, in other words, to arrange the logs one above another, and at equal distances from each other. This they are soon trained to carry out with mathematical accuracy, and all that the mahout requires to do is to rest himself comfortably on some adjacent log and look on, cheering the elephant with his presence, and perhaps throwing in an occasional remark. But sometimes the mahout goes to his dinner, or absents himself for some other reason, and, before he leaves, addresses a few parting injunctions to the elephant to continue his exertions. And at first the animal does so, but not for long does he proceed with his work at the same pace as he did when the mahout was present. He soon begins sensibly to relax. Presently, finding or imagining that there is no prospect of the mahout returning, he stops altogether, and stands for a moment in doubt. Then all doubts seem to vanish, and finally he takes a bunch of foliage and begins to fan himself. Such is the nature of the elephant, and the human animal does not greatly differ from him.

Exceptional men there may be, and no doubt also exceptional elephants, but, as the late Sir Charles Trevelyan good-naturedly said to an official in the Madras Presidency, "The fact is, we all require a little looking after." And hence it is that, when the proprietor cannot look after his own property, he finds it always advisable to give the manager an interest in the concern, or some interest which will induce the manager to fan himself in moderation. In the case of tea plantations in India, sometimes a share is sold to the manager, and then he is given time to pay for this out of the profits of the concern. In coffee, sometimes, a salary is given, and a bonus of one rupee a hundredweight on the coffee produced.

Then on some estates belonging to a firm, as it was found that this worked unevenly, a bonus of a rupee a head was given on each coolie, which was done to encourage managers to make their estate as attractive to coolies as possible. In one case I know of, the manager is allowed to invest capital of his own in the concern to even as small an amount as 1,000 rupees, and for the sum invested he receives a share in the profits of the estate. The 1,000 rupees are treated as part of the capital of the estate, and whatever the profits may be, the owner of the capital gets his share.

If he leaves, his capital is returned to him, or, in the event of death, paid to his heirs. Another plan, and I think the best, is to give a share of the profits in lieu of salary; or, should the manager not like the risk, a salary enough for the manager to live on and a share of the profits besides. But I do not think it wise ever to part with a share in the ownership of the land, as, in the event of the death of a manager, who has been turned into a working partner, a very unsatisfactory state of things is liable to arise. And the original proprietor might, and probably would, have trouble as to the management of the estate, as he would then have to deal with the heirs of the deceased.

It seems hardly necessary to say that a proprietor should exercise great care in the selection of a manager, but the circ.u.mstances of the estates in Mysore, which are always surrounded by a native population, and sometimes a very considerable population, are such that unusual care is required when appointing a manager. For in dealing with the people around him, he requires to exercise much tact, and careful circ.u.mspection, and great control over his temper, which is often sorely tried. And he needs it all the more for the first few years, because anything new is sure to be attacked and worried. When alluding to the fact that the new comer is exposed to many annoyances, while the old planter seldom is, a native official once said to me, "The new man must submit to being worried and annoyed, and," he added with a laugh, "even to be kicked for four years, and then he may do anything." Any planter, then, settling in a new district requires to act with great care and tact till he pa.s.ses the four years period, when he may do anything in reason. But unless he has a full control of himself, he will be sure to be involved in squabbles and disputes of a more or less troublesome character, which are injurious to the interests of the estate. And hence there is the greater need for the proprietor being careful in his selection of a manager.

It is very important that, at the outset, a clear understanding should be come to between the absentee proprietor and his manager, so as to prevent disputes and confusion. To avoid these it should be laid down either that the manager is to have full power to act on his responsibility, or that he is to act entirely under the instructions of the proprietor. When the latter understanding is come to, the manager must adhere strictly to the orders of the proprietor, even though the agent may think that he would serve the proprietor's interests better by neglecting the orders, and because, obviously, the proprietor may have reasons for his orders which are not apparent, or only partially apparent, to the manager. In the event of a manager not being disposed to carry out orders to the letter, he should at once resign his situation, as he has no right to receive his pay on the understanding that he is to carry out his employer's wishes, and then fail to do so.

Powers of attorney to managers should be carefully and fully drawn, as it is often of great importance that a manager should have full power to act in the courts as to buying and selling land, and other matters. If the full power of acting on his own responsibility is to rest with the manager, it should be distinctly so stated in the power of attorney. If the power of direction lies with the princ.i.p.al solely, it should be remembered (a fact that is not always remembered, by the way, as I know from my own experience) that, though the manager has the power of acting for the proprietor, he cannot do so in any degree at variance with the instructions received. If, for instance, the proprietor orders that, in the case of a dispute between him and another party, the manager is to call in arbitrators to decide on certain points in a dispute, the manager would have no right to put other points connected with the dispute to the decision of the arbitrators, because he, the manager, might think it would be of advantage to his princ.i.p.al to do so, or for any other reason whatsoever.

The proprietor of an absentee estate is necessarily entirely in the power of his manager; and whatever the number of accounts, reports, and returns may be is of little consequence, as the proprietor cannot get behind them, i.e., he cannot count the coolies that enter the estate in the morning, and that being the case, he is wholly dependent on the honesty of the manager. But the proprietor, it might be urged, can call for the check-roll of people. So he can, but there is nothing to prevent the manager keeping two check-rolls, one to pay the people with and the other to send to the proprietor, and I have heard of this being done. Nor is there anything to prevent a manager representing himself to be present on the estate and attending to his duties, while in reality he may be amusing himself fifty miles away. It is, if a little amusing, certainly very instructive to read in "Balfour's Cyclopaedia"[59] that "coffee is liable to fail from leaf disease, Bug, Borer, and the absence of the eye of the owner," and the statement would have been quite complete had the writer added that it is the absence of the eye of the owner which, in Mysore at least, I may certainly say, is responsible for much of the leaf disease and nearly all the Borer. But the reader will readily understand that money is very easily frittered away in employing large bodies of labourers unless an active personal interest is taken in seeing that full value is obtained from them, and that their efforts are rightly directed.

It is no wonder, then, that Dr. Balfour treats the absence of the eye of the owner as an equivalent for the presence of Borer or leaf disease. I know of two estates in Mysore, of about similar size, one of which gave a clear profit of over 5,000 one year, while a neighbouring estate as well situated, and with better soil, yielded a small loss. Both estates were started in the same year. But in the case of the first, the eye of the owner was always present, while in the case of the second, the owner was totally absent for many years, and afterwards only visited his property at long intervals, sufficiently long to enable him NOT to estimate its steady decadence.

Every estate should have an information book,[60] so complete that, in the event of a new manager being appointed, he should hardly have to ask the proprietor a single question. The book should either be type written, or written in a hand as clear as type, should of course be paged, and have a well drawn up table of contents, and a blank page opposite every written page, for the insertion of notes and observations. The book should give, firstly, a history of the estate, then a list of the various fields, the dates on which they were planted, a description of the soil of each field, and an account of the manures put down in it, with notes on the results observed from the various manures applied. A list should be given of the native staff, and of the character and capabilities of the individuals comprising it, their pay and length of service, and also of those amongst the work people who would be likely to make good duffadars. The experience of the estate as to the order and way in which the various works should be done should be carefully recorded. A section should be devoted to observations made when visiting neighbouring estates, as it is of the greatest importance to record all the local experience and opinions.

Remarks should be made as to the best means of obtaining transport either for the estate or carrying coffee to the coast, and as to how and where anything and everything the estate may require can be procured. The dates of feasts and holidays should be entered, and a section should be devoted to financing the estate, accounts and rates of pay, and the advances given by the estate to coolies, or maistries. Another section should be devoted to giving a complete inventory of all the tools, sawn timber, machines, carts, cattle, bungalow furniture, in short, everything on the property.

And a section should be devoted to lines, or coolie houses, and sanitary precautions regarding them. Careful record should also be entered of all the coffee sold, and the prices obtained for it, and remarks as to the changes, if any, in the quality of the produce, as such changes would perhaps throw light on the treatment of the property, and the manurial system most advisable.

The dates on which vegetables should be put down, and the kinds most suitable to the locality, and the best method of growing them should also be noted, as well as the most suitable kinds of fruit, and the most desirable kinds of ornamental trees. The rainfall register should also be given, as well as any other information of interest, as for instance, a list of game shot from the estate.

Much of the above kind of information exists on estates, but it is either buried in diaries or accounts, and, in short, is not in a readily available form. When preparing my own information books I was especially struck with their value as books of reference, and found my first one of use even before I had completed it. Notes soon acc.u.mulate, and in the course of about three or four years it will generally be found that a new edition is required. The book is especially valuable when you wish to hear the opinions of any planter whose experience you would like to compare with your own. In that case, instead of much talk ending perhaps in no very clear result, you can ask that the information book should be glanced over and a note made opposite any point as to which the experience of the person you wish to consult may differ from your own. I was particularly struck with the advantage of my information book when an eminent agricultural chemist once paid a visit to my estate. I handed it to him and asked him to be kind enough to look over the section relating to manures, and make any notes he thought fit on the conclusions arrived at.

He presently came to me with the book marked here and there with brief yes, no, or, perhaps, memo.'s. I then took my note-book, and in a very short time wrote down his opinions as to the conclusions I had come to.

An absentee proprietor should have the information book written in duplicate and keep one copy with him, and in this he should write his opinion as to how it would be advisable to deal with the property in the event of his death. The book, I need hardly add, would be of the greatest value to the proprietor's heir, as with it he would be the master of the manager, while without it the manager would be the master of the new proprietor.

Another great advantage arising from the information book is that it does away with all possibility of misunderstanding. There can be no "Oh, I understood this, or thought you wanted the other," or, "Oh, I was not informed, and now that I know what you want." In short, there can be no room either for disputes or excuses with a well-kept, written up to date, information book.

The following hints may prove useful to young planters, or managers, but, as it will be more convenient, I shall use the word manager solely, and the reader will understand that in the term manager I include planters who are their own managers, or who, in other words, do not employ a manager.

When the Duke of Wellington was asked by Lord Mahon (afterwards the Earl Stanhope) to what he attributed the success of his campaigns, the Duke replied, "The real reason why I succeeded in my own campaigns is because I was always on the spot. I saw everything and did everything for myself."

Managers should remember this secret of success, and remember that, when they give orders they must always go and see that they are carried out, and if they do not do so, they may certainly rely on their orders being imperfectly, or inefficiently executed. And here I am reminded of a case to the point which happened one morning. My manager had ordered some top soil to be laid on one of the roads in the plantation, and on this bonedust was scattered, the intention being that each basketful of top soil should contain a certain proportion of the bonedust. On pa.s.sing the spot on the way to look at some other work my manager dismounted, and said, "if you will remain here for a moment I will rejoin you." Then he went down into the coffee to look at the application of the manure. During his absence I overheard a woman say to the man who was filling her basket, "You have put no bones in my basket." This called my attention to the subject, and I then observed that the bonedust had not been scattered right up to the edges of the top soil, which overlapped the deposit of bonedust by about a foot, and hence her basket, which was being filled from the edge of the heap (which was a flattened one), contained no bonedust, or but a very little of it, and the result of this, of course, would be injurious to all those trees which had been deprived of the proper share of bones, or got none at all. This may seem a trifling matter, but it will ill.u.s.trate and enforce my suggestion as to the necessity of being always on the spot, and it is the attention to, or neglect of, all these apparently trifling matters which, in the total, makes estate management either a success or the reverse. What I have said will also ill.u.s.trate the fact that coolies, who to those who do not understand them, appear so lifeless and uninteresting, do take an interest in what is going on, and this poor woman, as the reader will have observed, was defending my interests, and remonstrating with the duffadar (native overseer) as to the way in which the manuring was being carried out, at least so far as her share in the work was concerned at the moment.

I do not think I could add anything further as to the necessity of being always on the spot, though I may as well mention that one planter of long experience once said to me, "Every day that a man is off his estate is a loss to him."

Managers are apt to neglect seeing to the execution of the minor works of an estate, and it is there that there is often a great leakage of money, and, what is often of more importance, waste of labour which is required for pushing forward other works. I will take, for instance, the people sent off to gather leaves for littering the cattle sheds. I have found by personal inspection that, unless closely looked after, much of this labour will be lost, and the same is sure to be the case with the people employed in other minor works. To keep the people employed in minor works up to the mark the manager should always visit them daily, and, besides, pay them a surprise visit three times a week.

Another source of leakage on an estate, and not an inconsiderable one, arises from tools not being sharpened over night, or by some one before the arrival of the people, and nothing is more common than to see a group of coolies hanging round the grindstone in the morning waiting to have their axes or knives sharpened. Ten minutes may here easily be lost, and on six men this leads to the loss of one hour's work. Then time by a slow manager is often lost in getting his gangs under weigh and setting them to work. Where the work can be done by contract, or task work, this does not of course matter, but such work as pruning, shade tree thinning, etc., cannot be tasked, and delay in setting to work is then a serious loss, partly in direct money, and partly from work delayed which it may be very important to push on.

Managers should always carry note-books and take down at once anything they may wish to remember. They should afterwards take out the princ.i.p.al points, enter them on a slip of paper and put it on the writing table, for, as the native saying goes, "A good memory is not equal to bad ink"

for recording a fact. Points or facts of more especial interest should be at once entered on the blank leaves of the information book to which I shall presently allude. When visiting other estates managers should always note down any points of interest, and especially as regards manuring and the effects of shade trees on the coffee.

Managers, in the case of a large estate, should never walk along the roads, unless of course for a very short distance, but only amongst the coolies at work, or when inspecting work done, or laying out fresh work.

For these purposes all the strength and freshness of the managers are required, and it seems superfluous to observe that a tired man is seldom a good observer, or rather in a good state for observing. On a steep estate the manager should dismount on the upper road and walk downhill to his coolies, and send his horse down to the lower road so as to avoid climbing the hill.

Managers should be careful of their health, make it a rule always to change at once the moment they come in, and see that their food, however plain, is of good quality and well cooked. They should take remedies immediately at the first indication of disorder, and should be very careful to attend to the directions in the preceding section, and avoid all unnecessary fatigue, as it is when over fatigued that a man is most liable to the inroads of disease.

It is very important to, as soon as possible, make a beginning, however small, as regards any work, even if it should have to be discontinued for a time on account of other works coming in the way. For the beginning stands there as a reminder that the work has to be done, and the proverbial first step has been taken.

It is also important so to arrange work that parties may be within easy reach of each other, as this of course lightens the work of supervision.

When visiting a working party the manager should not trouble himself so much about the work being then done, but should occupy most of his time in examining the work of the previous day, and he should see that the duffadars are not merely staring at the coolies as they work, but that they are examining the work that has been done. When pruning, for instance, the duffadar should move from one end of the line to the other examining as he goes the trees just finished by the people. It is hardly necessary to say that a fluent command of the vernacular is of the utmost, or I may say, of the most indispensable importance, for, as an old planter once said to me, "A native thinks that a European who can't speak the language is a perfect fool." The reader will find a chapter in the "Experiences of a Planter" on learning languages by ear, and I regret that I cannot, from want of s.p.a.ce, insert it in this volume.

FOOTNOTES: