400 RKPOHT OK OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



injured places and would |)i-()l»at)ly provcnt further attacks. 'I'heso 

 ants do not socni to live in lar^c Wurrows or '"ant hills," so it is ditii- 

 cult to destroy them with carl)on bisulphid. 



COFFEE. 



Coti'oe has lone- h(>en the loadine- agricultural cro]) of J*orto Rico. 

 A lai"o;o part of the hill lands of tiie, interioi* are ])i"()bal)ly lu^ttor 

 ada[)ted to coti'oo than to any other commercial product. Owing to 

 discouraj^ement oxer the losses caused by the disastrous hurricane of 

 18}>J> and to the continued low prices, many of tlie estates ai"e b(Mn|r 

 greatly neglected and the production has fallen fai' below what it 

 should be from so large an acreage. On only too many of the estates 

 W(M'ds and l)ushes are allowcul to grow among the coffee unchecked, 

 and the bananas, originally i)lanted for shade, have nudti[)lied thi'ough 

 neglect until the coffee is being smothered. In many cases the trees 

 were too closely planted in the first place and, with this overshading 

 and no attempt at pruning or training, they have spindled up into 

 slender, feeble bushes that are uttei-ly unable to bear a satisfactory 

 crop. Evidently, the greatest need of the cofi'ee industiy is for a 

 reform in cultural methods. While coffee may require a certain 

 amount of shade for its best development, it is certainly true that 

 overshading and neglect are disastrous. Experiments to determine 

 the proper amount of shade, the best kind of shade trees, the best dis- 

 tance for planting, and many other practical cultural questions are 

 being undertaken by the Porto Rico Experiment Station at its substa- 

 tion on the Carmelita estate in the hills north of Ponce. Under the 

 af)le supervision of Mr. Van Leenhoff, the coffee expert of the station, 

 results of great practical value may be expected. A^'hile neglect in 

 consequence of low prices is perhaps natural, it should })e remembered 

 that in any industry during periods of depression those producers are 

 best able to survive who, by employing the best methods, are able to 

 increase the total output without proportionally increasing the expense. 

 Thus in the Southern States, during the years when 5 cents or less 

 was the ruling price for cotton, those planters who ])y good manage- 

 ment were able to produce a bale to the acre could still come out even, 

 or perhaps make a small profit, while those who only produced a third 

 of a ])ale per acre were plunged hopelessly into debt. It is the same 

 with coffee. Those who neglect their estates during the present crisis 

 will inevitably ])e forced out of the business, while for those who by 

 industr}^ and skill succeed in producing* maximum crops there is still a 

 reasona>)le profit even at present prices. 



Coffee leaf mincer {Leuco2)tera caffcelhi). — This insect seems to be the 

 most serious cofi'ee pest in Porto Rico. It is a minute silvery moth. 

 The damage is done in the lai'val stage when it burrows within the 



