COFFEE. 



G3 



Caracas coffee ranks in our market with good ordinary St, 

 Domingo. 



The decline in the produce of coffee in the British West India 

 possessions has been very great. In 1838, we imported from the 

 West India Islands and British Guiana 17^ million pounds of 

 coffee, in 1850 we only received 4 million pounds from thence. 

 The shipments from Jamaica have decreased from about 15 million 

 pounds in 1836, to 4 million pounds in 1850 ; Berbice and Deme- 

 rara, from 5 million pounds in 1837, to about 8,000 pounds in 1850. 

 Production of coffee in tlie Brazils. Forty-two years ago the 

 annual crop of coffee in Brazil did not exceed 30,000 bags, and 

 even in 1820 it only reached 100,000 bags. About that time the 

 high price of coffee in England, superadded to the diminished pro- 

 duction in Cuba, stimulated the Brazilian planters to extend its 

 cultivation, and in 1830 they sent to market 400,000 bags, or 

 64,090,000 Ibs., and in 1847, the enormous quantity of 300,000,000 

 Ibs. 



It would seem from the annexed figures that the production of 

 coffee in Brazil doubled every five years, up to 1840, since when it 

 has increased eighty per cent. The increase since 1835 has been 

 upwards of two hundred millions of pounds, and of that increase 

 the United States have taken one half. 



Ibs. 



1820 15,312,000 



1825 29,201,600 



1830 62,685,600 



1835 100,346,400 



1840 170,208,800 



1850 303,556,960 



The sources from whence the United States derives its 

 plies of coffee are shown in the following table : 



sup- 



Coffee, up to 1830, paid a duty in the United States of five 

 cents a pound. Since 1832 it has been free. 



The population of the United States in 1840 was, in round 

 numbers, seventeen millions ; the average consumption of coffee 

 for the three years ending 1841, 98 \ millions of pounds, which gave a 

 consumption of 5 fibs, per head. The average for the three years 

 ending 1850, was 143 millions of pounds, and the population was 

 twenty-three millions, which gave a consumption of Gilbs. per 

 head. In 1830 the consumption was only 3 Ibs. per head ; but 



