44 Coffee Planting. 



Of late years, new districts have been opened up 

 in Ceylon, which would formerly, owing to their 

 great elevation, have been looked upon as next to 

 hopeless ; while some of the more elevated pro- 

 perties, which formerly yielded little or no crop, 

 are said to have of late years become more fruitful, 

 owing apparently to an increased temperature and 

 diminished atmospheric humidity, brought about 

 by the constant extension of forest clearings in 

 that island. This fact would seem to make the 

 prospects of the low-lying districts appear more 

 discouraging than ever, i. e. in the exact proportion 

 that the change has benefited those which had 

 previously suffered from cold and wet. 



On the supposition, then, that a mean elevation 

 of between 2500 and 3500 feet will be found the 

 most eligible climate for coffee in Ceylon, it would 

 thus appear that an elevation equally suitable in 

 Southern India is to be looked for at from 3500 to 

 5000 feet ; while in the Neilgherries we find the 

 cultivation successfully carried on, and the plant 

 eminently productive at as high as 6000 feet. The 

 limit must, however, always be sharply drawn at 

 that point where frost begins to occur, even though 

 it be only at night and during but a short period of 

 the year. 



Coffee can always bear a considerable warmth of 

 climate, provided the humidity be proportionate ; 



