MEN OF THE TREES 



Kenya coflfee is shipped to America, Asia, Australia 

 and Europe, and the annual export has grown from a 

 few hundredweight to many thousand tons. It fetches 

 a higher price on the market than any other, owing to 

 its superiority of flavour. Little is sold unadulterated, for 

 it is mostly used to blend with other varieties. In the 

 trade it is known as a liqueur coffee. 



The present price of land in Kenya compares favor- 

 ably with that of similar quality and capacity in other 

 parts of the world. Anyone who feels drawn to Hving 

 in Kenya Colony and can afford an experimental visit, 

 would find that a year could be spent very advan- 

 tageously with a coffee planter acquiring practical 

 knowledge of the conditions before launching out to 

 plant on his own account. 



I have estimated that the minimum amount of capital 

 required to engage in coffee planting with a reasonable 

 hope of success is about $25,000. From this investment, 

 after five years, a man who is prepared to settle on his 

 estate and look after its development, might anticipate 

 a net income of about $5,000 per annum. 



The coffee planter must always remember that it is 

 essential to be able to afford to wait. The man with 

 $25,000 to invest should have, at the very least, an in- 

 come of, say, $2,000 per annum, to cover living expenses 

 during the years in which the plantation is being brought 

 into profitable bearing. If the plantation is within 

 twenty miles of a railway, catch crops such as maize, 

 can be grown to help to tide over the early years. 



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