COFFEE ROBUSTA 83 



liberica, often over sixty ; they are much smaller, 

 but the beans are almost as large, the skin 

 being thinner. On an average ten piculs of 

 liberian berry give one picul (133^ Ibs.) of 

 market coffee. On the other hand, only four 

 piculs of robusta berry are required for a picul 

 of market coffee. Though many more berries 

 go to a picul than in liberica the greater 

 number in a bunch makes the picking if any- 

 thing cheaper. 



"Productivity of Robusta. Plants about 

 eight months old begin to show flower buds, but 

 a number of these early flowers may not develop 

 into berries, and no concern need be felt if 

 they do not, as, unlike liberica, all later 

 flowers set. 



" The plant blossoms the whole year through, 

 and no loss will occur from ' windfall ' if berries 

 are collected once a month. 



" About ten months are required for the berries 

 to come to maturity ; when most of them in a 

 cluster are straw-coloured they may be picked 

 as a rule the whole cluster may be gathered. 

 A small crop can be collected in the second 

 year, and in the fourth year practically the 

 maximum crop is obtained. From that time 

 onward the yield is fairly uniform. The 

 following figures give the production on an 

 estate in Java planted 10 feet by 10 feet, with 

 forty-five nutmegs taking the place of coffee, 

 that is 390 plants to the acre. 



