28 COFFEE: ITS CULTIVATION AND PROFIT. 



hot weather. Some European estates on the Neil- 

 gherries, in Madras, on the other hand, are 6,000 

 feet above the plain, and in that delightful region 

 there seems no limit to the available area, stopping 

 short only at the line of frosts. 



In Ceylon an eastern aspect is considered de- 

 sirable. In Southern India Elliot argues strongly 

 in favour of a northern slope, since it loses less of 

 its moisture, stored during the monsoon, than the 

 opposite slope, exposed to the vertical rays of a sun, 

 and preserves a more equal temperature. Eastern 

 and western slopes are more equal in respect to the 

 influence exerted upon them by the sun, and thus 

 advantageous or the contrary according to their 

 exposure to rainfall and wind. 



It must be remembered that while the influence 



of too much heat upon unshaded Coffee is palpable 



in the gaunt, famished bushes, and their sickly 



array of yellow leaves, the opposite extreme of an 



excess of cold and moisture, though equally fatal 



in its effect upon the actual crop of cherries, is 



more delusive, and for a long time the bushes grow- 



\mg under such circumstances delight the inexpe- 



,Henced eye by their wealth of verdure. 



A garden so placed, high up on a mountain side, 

 where all the water-laden clouds from the sea first 

 strike and go to pieces upon the barrier, discharging 

 their freights of rain and mist, is a disappointing 

 investment. The Coffee is planted and flourishes 

 amazingly. Soon the soil of the garden can hardly 



