240 



COFFEE 



COPPEE 



Pboduction and Consumption in Bags* op All Kinds op Coppbb pok the Last Fifteen Yeaes. 



*A bag is 132 pounds. 



History. 



Nicholas Witsen, a Hollander, was the first to 

 transfer the coffee plant from its native soil in 

 Arabia, thus laying the foundation on which grad- 

 ually the world's present enormous coffee industry 

 has developed. The plant prospered which he 

 took from Mocha in 1690, and planted in Batavia, 

 capital of the Dutch East Indies. It is probable 

 that seed from this tree and its descendants were 

 in the course of time transported to the different 

 coffee zones of the world, where its descendants 

 now cover vast areas and are the means of suste- 

 nance for millions of people, while its products 

 have become almost a necessity of life for millions 

 more. 



A seedling was sent from Batavia to the Botan- 

 ical Gardens in Amsterdam, from which in 1712 

 the French artillery officer, Ressous, secured a seed- 

 ling. He gave it to King Louis XIV, who had it 

 planted in the Jardin des Plantes, where it 

 soon died. In 1714, the Burgomaster of Am- 

 sterdam sent another seedling to Louis XIV 

 which was planted in the Jardin des Plantes, 

 lived and produced seeds, of which, after an 

 unsuccessful attempt by Dr. Isambert, a seedling 

 was brought in 1720 to Martinque by a French 

 officer, de Clieux, and planted with success. Seeds 

 from this plant were distributed to the colonists in 

 Martinique and other French possessions in the 

 Antilles. Not many years later, French refugees 

 form Hayti brought seeds to Porto Rico. 



General culture. 



Climate. — Coffee reaches its best development 

 at altitudes of 1,000 to 2,500 feet above sea-level, 

 2,000 feet being perhaps the optimum elevation. 

 Other conditions being favorable, very good crops 

 are grown frequently at lesser altitudes. Gener- 

 ally, the higher elevations are associated with 

 greater rainfall and a lower temperature, making 

 less shade necessary. The higher altitudes seem to 

 produce a larger bean. A rainfall of 50 to 200 



inches annually, evenly distributed, gives best re- 

 sults. Freedom from severe winds is essential. An 

 equable temperature, having an average minimum 

 of not less than 60° is required. 



Soil. — Coffee will thrive on a variety of soils, 

 but a deep, rich soil is desirable, a large content of 

 humus being especially favorable. Volcanic de- 

 posits are well adapted. In Porto Rico, the Adjun- 

 tas clay and Alonzo clay give the best results. The 

 former is a pink-red or dark brown clay, three to 

 eight inches deep, underlaid by a pink or red 

 subsoil twenty inches or more in depth. The 

 latter is a dark, purplish clay loam, eight to thirty- 

 six inches deep, containing more or less pebbles 

 and boulders. These clay soils are subject to less 



Fig. 344. Coffee flowers (.Ooffea Arabica). 



erosion, as a rule, than sandy ones, retain moisture 

 better and wear much longer. Very sandy or 

 gravelly soils, especially if closely underlaid by 

 coarse gravel or broken rock, should be avoided. 

 If such soils are virgin, the coffee trees will grow 

 well for a few years but will soon fall into a de- 

 cline, owing to the rapidity with which such soils 

 deteriorate under the washing of heavy tropical 

 rains. After the humus and surface fertility of 

 such soils are depleted they withstand drought 



