2l6 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[September i, 1883. 



of the b;jst varieties from Bolivia, seeil of tlie true Calisaya 

 Morada can be obtained only through C. K,, the seed and 

 seedliii^js being worth their weight in gold. AVe cannot 

 promise to insert any more letters of a like nature. It is 

 obvious that proof ot the superiority ot our correspondent's 

 seed can only be afforded by resulting plants. — Ed.] 



BR:VZIL AND JATA COFFEES. 

 (Fi-om the India Ulercurtj, •2Sth July.) 



Au article on Coffee Culture, in the Algcmecn 

 Hanthlshlad of 20th ultimo, directs attention to a 

 memorial of the Chamber of Commerce atBafcaviato the 

 (Netherlands) India govornmunt, concerijiug the pro- 

 spect-s of .Java coffee, in connection witli the influence 

 which the competition of Brazil and the extension given 

 the plantations there, effect on the .Tava coffee prices. 

 The Chainlier is of opinion, that this might have 

 been prevented (?), if governnienb had been better in. 

 formed by the Consuls of the condition of the coffee- 

 culture in general, and that of iSuutli-Africa in part- 

 icular. The Oliamber, therefore, proposes au invest- 

 igation hi Joco^ to be mad'* by a commission of three 

 exports (members) with charge of reporting on : 



a. tlie extent of the area planted ; 



h. the productiveness and length of life of the coffee 

 plant ; 



c. the manner of planting ; 



d. the available labouring forces with regard to : 

 l.-it Slavery ; 2ud Free labour; 3rd Means of transport 

 and ditto expenses ; 



e. costs of production ; 



/, the pecuniary means of the planters with refer- 

 ence to the low coffee prices these last two years. 



The Indian Government concedes, in answer, the 

 grext development the coffee-plau'atious have attained 

 in South AuiPrica, and acknowledges the utility of 

 probing the evil of the competition which the Java- 

 coffee has to dread, both as to quality and quantity, 

 of the Rio and Sanlos cuffee ; but it wishes provision- 

 ally to confine itself to the gaining of consular in- 

 formations, deeming au inquiry or investigation as 

 proposed by the Chamber of Commerce at Batavia 

 as yet unnecessary. 



VVhile awaiting the report of the Consul- (ieneral 

 of Netherland at I;io de Janeiro, which will, no 

 doubt, be full of interesting matter, we make bold 

 to offer in the following lines to tho.se interested in 

 this great question, a few observatious derived from 

 the most reliable quarters. 



a. The extent of planted coffee area in Brazil does 

 not exceed 50 or 60 thousand square kilometres, and 

 is distributed over the provinces of Kio, Mines, Sm 

 Paulo, Espirito Santo, Bahiu and Ceari ; the area in 

 Braz'l, however, of ground lit for the culture of 

 coli'ee exceeds two millions of square kilometres. 



h. The length of life of the coffee plant is various ; in 

 Eio and Espirito Santo it liv(s 15 lo 25 years, in Minae 

 20 to 30 yiars, in Paulo 35 to 40 years and even more. 



As to its productiveness, it can (inly be stated that the 

 number of coffee trees in Brazil is estimated at a total of 

 more than a thousand mdlious, and the annual produce 

 at an average of 400 millions of Uilogramiues 



c. The manner of planting is rather adv,anced ; in 

 Brazil the systems of all coffee producing countries are 

 known, and the best methods are put in practice. 



(/. The available labour is diminishing in slaves and 

 increasing in free labourers, and it is noteworthy that 

 the produce rises, notwithstanding the cypher of the 

 slave population is constantly declining. 



By the increase and inqnovement of the mca'is of con- 

 veyance — railways, steam navigation, provincial and 

 ■ local roads, general expenses are much reduced. 



It is known that in Brazil more than 4,000 kilometres 

 of railroad are in progress, mostly running through the 

 coffee districts. The tarilf's foi- the car;. age of coffee 

 Jjave of late been reduced by 10 to 25 per cent. 



c. Also the expenses of production have been con- 

 siderably eeononiizsd, by employing steampower for 

 peeling, sifting and many other improvements. 



/. Tue pecuniary circumstances of the planters in 

 the principal provinces have not suffered from the de- 

 cline of the coffee prices during the last two years, as, of 

 course, economy has conformed to circumstances. There 

 is every reason to suppose that the present prices of the 

 article in Ih-azil are in general near about profitable, 

 while the Government, a< well as the producing classes, 

 are continually endeavouring by judicious me.tsnres to 

 lower the CMst prices a< much as is consistent with the 

 improveimnt of t': ijuality. As to the recently made 

 plantations, which, especially in San Paulo and" Minas, 

 are a«3uming vast proportions, it is believed that the 

 present produce will obtain, or perhaps even increase. 



Such is, in a few words, tlie probable import of the 

 Consular Hsport in view. 



We wish, however, to add, that in Central America, 

 too, the coffee produce as to quantity (18 per cent of the 

 total produce) does not decline in the h-ast, though the 

 culture in those parts, both as to cost price and im- 

 provement of quality, is behind Brazil. Nor must 

 Mexico be lost sight of ; perhaps this ountry lias a pro- 

 speotive future in the]ooft'eB culture, near at hand. 



Further the produce of Ceylon, India, Australia, 

 and Africa (about 9 per cent of the total) deserves 

 mention, about which the Chamber of Commerce at 

 Batavia is better informed than we are. 



I must furthermore be allowed to observe that 

 Brazil must not be accounted a rival, but the great- 

 est producer. Indeed, the Brazil crops amo int to 

 about 60 per cent of the consumption of the world ; 

 Java furnishes about 15 or 16 per cent. We wish 

 most seriously to combat the idei of "competition" 

 because such a conception would lead to a wrong 

 conclusion ; the disparity between produce and sale, 

 or rather between supply and demand, is the great 

 question that must be kept in view. 



Two years ago, a clear-sighted man in Brazil, the 

 late Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, Buarque 

 de Maoedo, called all the influential men of agri- 

 culture and commerce together, to hear their opinion 

 about the measures to be taken, to prevent the 

 economical crisis that might result from the decline 

 of the coffee pries. 



Among these were also some members of the Centro 

 da L'ivoura e Commercio ; these tonk upon themselves 

 the task of studying the subject and reporting upon 

 it to Government. A few days afterwards, the Centro 

 presented the result of their researches lo the Minis- 

 ter. The Centro nnderstond that causes of a trans- 

 ient nature had led to overproduction, or r.ather to 

 a gr^-at accumulation of provision in proportion to 

 the demand, a sort of crisis occurring occasionally 

 in other branches of industry. In short, instead of 

 seeking for the causes in foreign countries alone, 

 the Centro proposed to the Minister, to take im- 

 mediate measures of indirect protection in favour of 

 the planters and the produce, and to make in 

 foreign parts the most practical propaganda for coffee 

 in order to augment the consumption of the article 

 in those markets where it was already on sale, aud 

 further to open up new outlets for it in Euiope and 

 America. The Minister yielded to those proposals, 

 and the Centro set about their te.sk with the greatest 

 energy and mo?t praiseworthy devotion, as is p-oved 

 from their account of the first coffee show at Rio 

 de Janeiro, and from a pamphlet lately published at 

 Amsterdam, and obtainable in the Brazilian section of 

 the Interu.ational Exhibitun, near the interesting col- 

 lection of samples of coffee, exhibited there by the 

 care of the Centre. 



This numerous, and as regards variety, rich collection 

 of samples of Brazil coffee (879 exhibitors, 911 plant- 

 ation ,1,003 samples) gives a^graphic image of tliesuperi- 



