BEVERAGES 65 



of coffee came from Arabia and Abyssinia. Coffee was in- 

 troduced from Mocha in Arabia to Java in 1690 and to Ceylon 

 at about the same date. It was in Ceylon and Java that the 

 first great development of the commercial coffee industry took 

 place. Coffee production in Ceylon assumed enormous pro- 

 portions between 1830 and 1875. Soon after the latter date a 

 leaf blight caused by Hemileia vastatrix appeared and rapidly 

 destroyed the whole coffee industry in Ceylon and India. The 

 immense areas devoted to coffee were then gradually planted 

 in tea and this was the beginning of the present huge tea 

 industry of India and Ceylon. 



Coffee was brought to the West Indies in 1720 and to Rio 

 de Janeiro in 1770. The relative commercial rank of different 

 countries in coffee production has undergone many changes 

 and fluctuations since the time when the whole supply of coffee 

 came from Arabia and Abyssinia. At present the total area 

 devoted to the production of coffee is about 5,000,000 acres, 

 of which Brazil has 3,300,000. The world's production of 

 coffee is about 2,500,000,000 pounds annually, of which Brazil 

 produces 1,750,000,000 pounds. From the standpoint of the 

 amount of coffee exported, coffee-producing countries stand in 

 the following order: Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Guatemala, 

 Salvador, Haiti, Mexico, Java, Porto Rico, etc. 



Coffee extends about 25° north and south of the Equator 

 and from near sea level to an altitude of 6,000 feet. The 

 plant thrives best, however, at altitudes between 500 and 

 S,ooo feet. Coffee will endure a quite heavy rainfall but does 

 not thrive satisfactorily where the annual rainfall is less than 

 50 inches. The extremes of rainfall between which coffee 

 may be said to grow most satisfactorily are 50 and 200 inches. 



Coffee is planted either directly in place in the field or in 

 nurseries from which seedlings are later removed for planting. 

 Young seedlings in the nursery bed require some shade for 

 their best development and are usually seasoned by removing 

 to half shade for a short time before planting in the field. 



