158 WEST INDIAN COFFEES. 



Its cultivation has rapidly and materially declined there 

 in recent years, still continuing to do so at a dispropor- 

 tionate rate ; the decrease since the emancipation of the 

 negroes almost amounting to abandonment. But while 

 commonly attributed in a great measure to. the ravages 

 of the blight, already described, it is more evidently 

 traceable to social influences and a faulty system of cul- 

 tivation. Latterly, however, attempts are being made to 

 restore the industry to something like its former impor- 

 tance by new and improved methods of culture, so that 

 it remains to be seen what art can do to combat the 

 difficulty. They are classified in trade as Cuban, Jamaica, 

 Haytian, San Domingo, Porto Rico, Trinidad, Dominica, 

 Martinique and Guadeloupe. 



Cuban — Though at one period one of the largest 

 coffee-producing countries in proportion to its size, yield- 

 ing nearly 50,000,000 pounds annually, Cuba now ranks 

 lowest in the scale, not raising sufficient to supply the 

 home demand, its cultivation being replaced in that island 

 by that of sugar and tobacco. The districts most noted for 

 the richness and excellence of their coffees are situated on 

 the Sierra Maistra range, in the vicinity of Vuelta Abajo, 

 as well as in the districts of Alquizar and San Marcos, and 

 from the fact that these latter are among the oldest coffee- 

 producing sections on the island, their product bears a 

 high reputation for fragrance and excellence. But the 

 coffee grown in the mountain district of Guantanamo is 

 now considered the finest, its cultivation there being on 

 the increase, while decreasing rapidly in the former dis- 

 tricts. The bean of what little is produced on that island 

 is large in size, whitish in color and peculiar in form, 

 somewhat resembling a " male " or pea-berry. In roast 

 and drink it is superior to many of the mild grades, with 

 which it is usually ranked. 



