280 j THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



capita. So we are the great coffee-drinkers of 

 the globe, as the English are the great tea-drinkers. 

 Only Norway, Sweden, and Holland are addicted 

 to the coffee habit to the extent that we Ameri- 

 cans are. Germany has a coffee average equal to 

 England's consumption of tea. 



Much tea is grown in little gardens. Coffee 

 is grown on plantations of considerable extent. 

 More than fifty thousand of these estates are the 

 producers of the coffee crop, all employing cheap 

 native labor, and using more or less modern 

 methods and machinery in growing and preparing 

 the crop for market. 



The best coffee regions have an even tempera- 

 ture, far cooler than the tropics at sea level, and 

 abundant rainfall. The right climatic conditions 

 are best found on hills or mountain sides of about 

 two thousand feet elevation. The altitude ranges, 

 however, from one thousand to twenty-five hun- 

 dred feet. The thermometer must not fall below 

 60 F., and the soil must be rich and deep, with 

 much humus, to hold moisture and to prevent 

 washing when the hard rains come. Virgin for- 

 ests are cleared for coffee. In spite of the labor 

 of getting trees off, the soil is rich and free from 

 weeds, and such new plantations justify the hard 

 work of clearing. 



