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CHAPTER LXXV. 



E (COFFEA ARABICA). 



'"PHIS crop requires a hilly i.e.) well drained, rich, ferruginous 

 clay soil e. g.> forest land, particularly rich in N. Coffee 

 prefers altitudes varying from i ,000 to 5,000 ft. The tempera- 

 ture best suited for this crop is 60 to 8oF. It grows best in a 

 humid climate, i. e. where there is some rain every month, but 

 the 'total rainfall should not exceed 150 inches per annum. 

 Frost is fatal to coffee plants. Heavy clouds and strong winds 

 are also objectionable. In hot and dry places also coffee has 

 been grown successfully in shade. The Arabian coffee 

 can stand drought better than the Liberian coffee which is 

 preferred for moist localities. Though the cultivation of 

 coffee is at present practically confined to Ceylon and the 

 Lower slopes of the Nilghiries, the experiment of growing 

 coffee elsewhere is worth repeating. In Lohardaga, Chitta- 

 gong, Darjiling and parts of Burmah and Bombay, the coffee 

 plant has been grown successfully and in some Calcutta 

 gardens also berries have been seen on coffee plants. One 

 experiment conducted in Chittagong gave 9 maunds of 

 berries per acre. 



716. Planting. Having selected a suitable site, the jun- 

 gles should be cleared and burnt, belts of trees giving protec- 

 tion from high winds being left. The roads are then to be laid 

 out and the coffee-house .furnished with a good water-supply. 

 Then a spot should be selected for a nursery which should 

 be well drained soil (situated on a slope of a hill) but close 

 to water, that irrigation may be easily done when required. 

 The soil should be rich and retentive of moisture z>., full 

 of humus matter. After spading and ploughing to a depth 

 of about 20 inches, exterminating all the weeds, manuring 



