226 COFFEE : ITS CULTIVATION AND PROFIT. 



pay, &c., are put at Rs. 100 per acre per annum ; 

 then with an average yield, Coffee at ^94 per 

 ton, and no untoward circumstances, we should 

 be making something like 15 per cent, on money 

 invested. But suppose Coffee went down to ^64 

 a ton, profits would give way in proportion, and 

 if we had spent 60 per ton, including all charges, 

 in growing the crop it will be seen the margin 

 would be decidedly narrow. The planter, like any 

 other merchant, desires to obtain cheap and sell 

 dear. A combination of evils is arrived at when 

 there is over much clean Coffee in the markets, 

 when prices drop steadily, and added to this 

 " leaf disease ' and other ills curtail private 

 production. 



1. A yield under 3 cwt. per acre, 



2. A selling price under 60 per ton, 



3. And interest to pay at the rate of 10 per 



cent, on a heavy debt, 



are the black clouds of the planter's sky ; on the 

 other side 



1. A yield over the average 5 cwt. per acre, 



2. A selling price nearer -80 than ^60, 



3. And last, but not least, some free working 



capital at the bankers, 



form a bright look-out on the horizon, a ready 

 road to fortune, and thus to that return to the 



