68 



COFFEE. 



it had declined to 32,000,000 lbs., in 1837 it was 31,000,000 lbs., 

 and the shipments of this staple are now very inconsiderable. 



In the West Indies, I speak principally ot* Jamaica, where my 

 experience extended, the soil best adapted for the cultivation of 

 coffee is found to be loose gravelly or stony. A rich black 

 mould will produce a luxuriant bush, which will yield little fruit. 

 Decomposing sandstone and slate, known in Jamaica as rotten 

 rock, mixed with vegetable mould, is one of the most favorable 

 soils. The subsoil should be also carefully examined by a boring 

 augur, for a stilT moist clay, or marly bottom retentiv^e of mois- 

 ture, is particularly injurious to the plant. A dark, rusty-colored 

 sand, or a ferruginous marl on a substratum of hmestone, kills 

 the tree in a few years. In virgin lands, after the wood has been 

 felled and cleared, the land is lined off into rows of from six to 

 seven feet square, and at each square a hole is made about eight- 

 teen inches deep, into which the young plant is placed and the 

 earth plied gently about it, leaving from six to eight inches of 

 the plant above ground. 



Nurseries for raising plants from seeds were formerly made, but 

 for many years this has been neglected, and plantations are set 

 out now from suckers which are drawn and trimmed of their roots, 

 and cut about two feet long. 



The young plants require to be kept well clear from weeds, 

 and four cleanings in the year may be deemed necessary, the 

 plants which have failed must be supplied in order to ensure uni- 

 formity of appearance. 



All manure, whether fluid or solid, in warm climates should be 

 applied in vret seasons, where it is not practicable to dig or turn 

 it in to prevent the escape of its volatile and nutritive principles. 



As respects situation, coffee thrives best on elevated situations, 

 where the morning sun has most influence ; and on lower moun- 

 tains, where the temperature is higher, in situations facing the 

 south-east, or where the sun does not act with such intensity. 

 Low mountains, in which the thermometer ranges from 75 to 90 de- 

 grees Eahr., as well as those exposed to sea breezes, are less suit- 

 able for the cultivation of coffee than those districts where the 

 temperature averages 65 to 80 degrees Fahr., and situated at 

 higher elevations in the interior. 



As a general rule, it may be asserted that the elevation best 

 adapted for coffee is at an altitude ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 

 feet, at a temperature from 70 to 75 degrees Pahr. A west or 

 south-west aspect is the best, and the field should be well shel- 

 tered from the the north breezes. As a general rule in plan ting- 

 in light soils and high temperatures, trees may be placed at the 

 distance of four or live feet, while in stronger soils and lower 

 temperatures the average distance would be from five to seven 

 feet. 



lopping. — The young tree shoots out its lateral branches at each 

 joint, which follow^ in regular succession, till the tree attains the 

 height of about four feet six inches, when it is usual to top it down 



