16 COFFEE. 



plantation was five per cent., or one-twentietli. Owing to tlie de- 

 mand, however, whicli has been created for the " male berry " 

 coffee, it often sells for ten to twenty per cent, more than the 

 ordinary coffee. He thought it possible that there was something 

 in the popular belief that this style possessed a higher flavor than 

 the ordinary coffee ; but it was more probable that the higher 

 price was due to fashion in trade, which often exhibits such strange 

 vagaries. I was confirmed in this view of the matter by a con- 

 versation which I had subsequently, in Ceylon, on the same sub- 

 ject, with the experienced manager of the Cotchicaddy Mills, at 

 Cplombo. 



Having briefly considered the preparation of the bean for the 

 market, I now pass to a consideration of special matters con- 

 nected with its production in the coffee-growing countries, describ- 

 ing the peculiarities of the different varieties of bean and how 

 they reach consuming markets, together with special features of 

 interest to dealers. 



Each country furnishes a coffee different in some respects from 

 that coming from any other ; and again the product of each often 

 differs according to the climate, soil, temperature, and cultivation 

 received in the various districts of the country in which it is 

 grown. It may therefore readily be seen that it requires no small 

 degree of skUl to enable a purchaser to judge of the quality and 

 value of the different kinds. "With a view to render assistance in 

 this direction, I shall in succeeding chapters consider the pro- 

 duct of each important producing country separately. 



In the following table are enumerated the countries contribut- 

 ing to the supply of the United States, and the quantities fur- 

 nished by each during the years 1878, 18Y9, and 1880. 



