COFFEE. 41 



Sufficient extent has not yet been given to enable it to be decided 

 in what district of Continental India it may be most advan- 

 tageously cultivated. It is in the fine island of Ceylon, however, 

 that coffee- culture has made the most rapid progress. 



It is an important fact that the supply of coffee from Ceylon, 

 even at the present moment, and irrespective of land already 

 planted but not yet come into full bearing, is in excess of the 

 whole consumption of Great Britain, and the planter is thus com- 

 pelled to carry the surplus to continental markets. The exports 

 of coffee from (Ceylon have been rather stationary the past three 

 years, averaging about 300,000 cwt. In the sixteen years ending 

 with 1851, Ceylon had exported 130,083 tons of coffee ! 



The present produce of the various coffee-growing countries in 

 the world, may be set down at the following figures : 



SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA. 



Millions of Ibs. 

 Costa Rica 



ASIA AND THE EAST. 



La Guayra and Porto Cabello 



Brazil . 



British West Indies 



French and Dutch West Indies 



Cuba and Porto Rico 



St. Domingo 



Java 



The Philippine Isles 



Celebes 



Sumatra 



Ceylon 



Malabar and Mysore 



Arabia (Mocha) 



35 



302 



8 



7 



30 

 33* 



140 

 3 



H 



5 



34 

 5 

 3 



616 = 275,000 tons. 



This I have computed as accurately as possible from the most 

 recent returns, but it falls much below the actual capabilities of 

 production, even with the trees at bearing, and land already under 

 cultivation ; and also, in a great measure, excludes the local con- 

 sumption in the producing countries. In many quarters there 

 has been, a considerable falling off in the production. The British 

 West Indies, as we have seen, formerly exported 30,000,000 Ibs., 

 the French and Dutch West Indies 17,000,000, Cuba and Porto 

 Rico 56,000,000, and St. Domingo, in the last century, 76,000,000. 

 The growth of coffee has been transferred from the AVest to the 

 East Indies, and to the South American Continent, where labor 

 is more abundant, certain, and cheap. In the East the increase 

 in production has been enormous and progressive, with, perhaps, 

 the exception of Sumatra, which has fallen oft' from 15,000,000 Ibs. 

 to somewhere about one-third of that quantity. 



The following statement may be taken as an approximate esti- 

 mate of the actual consumption of coffee at the present time : 



Millions of Ibs. 

 Great Britain . . . . . .32 



Holland and Belgium . . , . 125 



