268 COFFEE: ITS CULTIVATION AND PROFIT. 



be gathered in ? The Natalians have imported coolie labour, 

 which is far more reliable than the so-called aboriginal labour, 

 to meet the difficulty. But coolie labour is expensive, in 

 that the importer has to pay the passage money of his servant 

 from India to Natal, and back again. The coolie is bound 

 for three years only, and it so happens that the unfortunate 

 employer, who cannot with all his prescience be expected 

 to see so far into futurity, is often compelled to dispense 

 with the services of the coolies, and let them return home, 

 when he most imperatively requires their services. 



" There is plenty of soil favourable to the growth of 

 Coffee in Natal, but it is not always to be found in a con- 

 venient spot, that is to say, near the coast." 



Liberia is the home of a famous variety, said 

 to be fairly proof against the leaf disease. For 

 foreigners it is exceedingly difficult to set an enter- 

 prise on foot. The Liberians cede no land in fee- 

 simple to whites, they at most lease it out for forty 

 years. Besides this, the white man would soon 

 suffer from the prevailing agues, and so have to 

 leave a great deal to the care of a coloured manager. 



Formerly it was supposed that the Liberia 

 Coffee-tree, which exceeds all other known sorts in 

 size, was either introduced from India, or centuries 

 ago by the Portuguese. It is now generally held to 

 be of native growth, on account of its never attain- 

 ing its original size when transplanted elsewhere, and 

 that it is never found in any other part of Africa. 

 It is found only between 4 to 7 north latitude, and 

 it grows spontaneously from the seacoast to the 

 luxurious grassy plains of Abandingo Land. 



The climate of Liberia seems unequalled for 



