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The World's Commercial Products 



coffee-plant was not susceptible to the malady ; this opinion was, however, cruelly belied, 

 although it was indeed less susceptible, and offered greater resistance than its Arabian cousin. 

 Hence people have gradually learned to appreciate the Liberian plant, if not on account of any 

 superior quality of its fruits, at any rate on account of its power of resistance and its vigorous 

 growth — for which reason it has gradually gained a place for itself in Eastern countries by the 

 side of the Arabian coffee. In America, however, the Arabian variety still holds its own. 

 The Liberian plant is distinguished from the Arabian by its greater height, which varies 

 between eighteen and thirty-six feet, and also by the dimensions of its leaves, which sometimes 

 attain the length of one foot. The flowers grow in clusters of six or eight together in the axils 

 of the leaves, and exceed those of the Arabian plant in size, while the fruits are also much 

 bigger, having a diameter of about an inch, and do not drop so readily when they are ripe 



FRUITING BRANXH OF ARABIAN COFFEE 



{The background is formed by banana leaves) 



as do those of the Arabian plant. The pulp is less rich in sugar and tougher than that of 

 Arabian coffee, which makes the use of special machines necessary in its preparation. 



The aroma of Liberian coffee is not very highly appreciated, which, considering its 

 many other good qualities, especially its great fertility, is much to be regretted ; for this 

 reason people in Java have endeavoured to improve the species. 



Attempts have been made to attain this end by artificial hybridisation, and for a long 

 time, in Java as well as in British India, the hope was cherished of obtaining a race which 

 would unite the merits of Arabian and Liberian coffee. These efforts, however, have not 

 proved very successful, although in a book published in 1899 M. A. J. Thierry records that 

 in Java, owing to the labour of van Riemsdyck, a hybrid has been produced which, when 

 grafted on to Liberian roots, is said to be resistant to coffee-leaf disease. 



The grafting of Liberian on to Arabian coffee has not been successful; although the results 

 of experiments in the opposite direction were quite satisfactory. Among other things, it was 



