760 THE FLORA OF NORFOLK ISLAND, 



the W. side of his garden at Cascade, was immense, and of the very finest 

 texture and quality," 



Coffee. — On 18th October, 1796, Lieut. Govr. King wrote: — 



'•' Two weak coffee-trees, brought in 1791, are now healthy trees, bearing 

 upwards of 20 lb. of berries each; from the luxuriance of their growth, great 

 quantities might easily be raised." 



Such was the beginning of Coffee in Norfolk Island. 



If the Historical Records of N.S.W. be searched (e.g. vii. 7, et 

 ante) it will be observed how again and again the authorities 

 insisted on the prospective value of the Coffee plant to Norfolk 

 Island. And in the partial evacuation of the Island in 1809 

 (vii. 273), talked of since 1803, Coffee was the onl}^ plant on 

 Norfolk Island that appeared to concern the authorities. 



A cultivated specimen (in flower and fruit) of Cojfea arabica 

 was depicted as tab. 91 of Ferd. Bauer's drawings of Norfolk 

 Island plants. This useful plant was in the year 1819 taken to 

 Tahiti from Norfolk Island according to Ellis (Polynesian 

 Researches, i. -164, not 164 as stated, Endl., Prod. p. 61). 



In 1835 Backhouse (p. 278) wrote : "I had also a letter from 

 Alexander McLea}', informing us that the ' Friendship' would 

 call here, for Coffee plants, on her way to Tahiti." 



In 1851 Downing says, "The Cotfee-plant thrives well and 

 yields berries of small size and good flavour." 



Captain Bates, a very old settler, has a large number of Coffee- 

 trees in full bearing. Their growth is such that one cannot doubt 

 for a moment that the climate and soil of Norfolk Island are very 

 favourable to the development of this plant. 



But it has been reserved to Colonel Spalding in late years to 

 attempt to develop Coffee-growing into an industry. He com- 

 menced to plant in June, 1897, and last year cleaned half a ton 

 of coffee; this season he anticipates a yield of three (3) times as 

 much. He has 12,000 trees in various stages of growth, and the 

 labour he has expended on his plantation may be fitly descril^ed 

 as enormous. He has not only worked hard, but has carefully 

 acquainted himself with the literature of the industry, and has also 

 devised a number of ingenious mechanical contrivances for pulping, 



