aoS FORES THY OF WEST AFRICA. 



■deserving Body, the Basel Mission — who have done 

 so much in an industrial sense for the elevation of the 

 native, and for the consequent advantage generally of 

 the West African commercial world — on the subject of 

 the coffee industry, which has existed to a limited 

 extent for many years on the Aquapim Hills. He was 

 good enough to inform me that the Aquapim coffee 

 is of West Indian origin, the seed being introduced 

 from Jamaica in 1843 — doubtless Coffea arabica. 



The object of the Mission was to promote imitation 

 •on the part of the natives, and thereby bring about a 

 profitable industry for them. I fear the aims of the 

 -Mission were not realised to the extent hoped for. 

 Indifference to the needed care that should be ex- 

 tended, and disappointment at prices received, as com- 

 pared with what were expected, were the consequences. 

 Further, the limited means of the Mission against the 

 lieavy expenses that were incurred from the introduc- 

 tion of European overseers with their families, and 

 the limited production with a proportionate monetary 

 return, did not admit of the continuance of European 

 supervision, and necessitated the handing over to the 

 natives at low rentals of the Mission farms. 



To this issue there has been fortunately some 

 different results, for I am reminded of a case which 

 was brought to my notice where, in 1881, coffee was 

 .grown, on the small plantation of a native near Nsatsi 

 on the Aquapim Hills, to the extent of five hundred- 

 weight. This crop was cleaned, and packed by manual 



