Anm. 2) 1888.J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 
68t 
COEEEE, SUGA.lt, AND SLAVERY IN BRAZIL: 
THE HUAU'KK COVFEE CROP OF J888-9 S.U'K — 10 UK Till', 
BIGOKST KVKK SHTPPHD FROM DBAZITi — COFI h n :msi;ask 
IH I1HAZII. — ABBA OK FOREST LAND FOIt COFFEE INKX- 
1IAU.ST1BI.K — THE I.AHOUK SUl'l'LY — SUOAE— HUA/.I I.IAN 
eonixioa anu hi.avkuy. 
Rio DE Jankiko, loth Jan. 1888. 
Tlio lucky coffee planter continues to have 
it all his own way. The weather, after the su !■ 
toinary dry month before Christinas, which by the 
way was nut so vory dry after all in many places, 
changed to the real tropical New Year routine : 
days on end, of steady downpour and high rivers, 
and Hooded holds all over the country. Woe be- 
tide the lazy coifee planter who lias been idling 
during Lhc.je last six mouths of his picking sea- 
son, fur what is left outside now will be showing 
beautiful young sprouts. We must not forget also 
that the cane, which has been left of the present 
crop, but or uncut, will be preparing itself for the 
fermenting vats, aud instead of being turned into 
the necessary article for seasoning " the cup which 
cheers but not inebriates " will be made into a mix- 
ture for another cup which stupclics, and sometimes 
turns men into beasts. 
The bumper crop of coifee for 1888-9 is now se- 
cure. We never mind the reports which are coming 
from many places in the interior, which state that 
the dry weather burnt up many green berries which 
aro now falling off with the rain, for your old 
coffee planter has noticed, that after a full blos- 
soming season, when tho young berries begin to 
swell, the strongest of those on the clusters push off 
tho weaker, there not being room for all round 
such a small circumference. I fancy you have seen 
the estimates for the coming crop of 1888-9. Rio is 
expected to ship 6,000,000 sacks and Santos 3,000,000 
sacks of 60 kilogrammes each. This total of 
8,000,000 sacks or 180,000 tons will be the largest 
coffee crop shipped from Brazil. 
In 1882-8 Bio shipped over 1,500,000 sacks, but 
then Santos, or rather the province of Sao Paulo, 
which supplies Santos, was producing only half 
of what it now grows. 
The crop for 1887-8, of which six months have 
already run, shows : — 
Shipments for six months ending Hist December 188/ 
808,355 bags of GO kilos. 
from Kio 
and a stock of at 1st Jann 
ary 1888 .. 245,000 do 
and estimated in the interior 1,000,000 
2,103,855 do 
do 
do 
I have not the exact figures for Santos, but think 
it i . somewhere about 
for six months ending 
Blst Deo. 1887 600,000 baga of 00 kilos, 
mill in slock i»t :i 1st Dec. 1887 850,000 do do 
eililnkted in the interior 7''0,000 do do 
1,7uo,ihjo do 
do 
She price for good has ranged during the last six 
months par 10 kilo* from 9>105 at end of Juno 
to 790(H) at end of December (19000 at present is 
worth about two shillings), fttyfrvm 05* to 70* pew 1 lit, 
Tho high priee teems to havo lessened tho 
demand 111 consuming countries, if wo aro to JuJgn 
by a tablo 1 saw the other day, relating to the 
consumption in tho United Slates fur the eleven 
luuuih.s uidiu,; November lr-sY, of which hero ai« 
80 
the last six: — 
18*7 
lings 
June 103,18!) 
July 90,597! 
Aug. 100, 1.51 
Sept. a 10, 177 
Oct. 195,008 
Nov. 17 
TO8C 
Bafls of no kilus. 
155,524 
a58,5,^ fl jn/!j.„i/d 
229,188 
251,530 
■>;■',, ir.i 
Tho consumption in the principal mailcts of 
Europe in the eleven months has diminished 
1,175,000 bags. 
The downward lendency of the market 
at sight of those figures shows that small 
crops sometimes produce prohibitive prices.' 
It is to he hoped that when the] bean is again 
plentiful the^consumer may return to his old ladles, 
tor in the present crisis Brazil re/iuirxs extensive 
open markets and good prices lor her produce. 
At tho present time, when this country has reached 
that crisis which all looked on with apprehen- 
sion, I mean that transition state of the labour 
market, from servile to free labour, it may be 
entertaining to those who think they have an 
interest in the results of such transformation to 
look at the quantity of coffee grown, tay the 
quantity shipped to Europe and tho United Statfs 
during the last ten years. The rapidity with which 
public sentiment has turned in favour of the 
bondman and is changing in his favour every 
day warrants us in expecting that slavery by the 
end of this year, if not a thing of the past, will 
bo so circumscribed in its action, that its exist- 
ence will depend on the voluntary action of the 
blacks themselves. It might be interesting to some 
people to note, if the exports of coffee will be 
less for the next few years. The figures below do 
not refer to tho crop years, but for the calendar 
year 1st January to 31st December : — 
Shipments from Rio dc Janeiro, ditto from Santos: — 
Kio : Santos : 
Bagsof 00 kilos. Bags of 00 kilos. 
1878 .. 3,031,199 .. 1,000,000 
1879 .. 3,535,183 .. 1,210,000 
1880 .. 3,503,051 .. 1,050,000 
1881 .. '1,377,118 .. 1,210.000 
1882 .. 4,200,590 .. 1,530,000 
1883 .. 3,65-1,511 .. 1,810,000 
1881 ., 3.897,113 1.930,000 
1885 .. -1,200,911 .. 2,170,000 
18S0 .. 3,580,905 .. 1,000,000 
1887 .. 2,211,755 to 15th Sept. 2,400,000 
The figures for Rio arc taken from the yearly 
review of the J or mil dq, Commcrcio of Hio, and 
those for Santos from a correspondent of same 
paper, who leaves out fractions. The consumption 
in Bio, 72,000 bags a year, is not included. 
1 have from time to time noticod numerous re- 
ports, in your and other papers, of a coffee leaf 
disease destroying the trees in Brazil, and various 
prophecies that tho crops will bo reduced in con- 
sequence. I have several times written to you 
on the leaf-miner, Cemiostoma cojfeelltim, which did 
a deal of damage to the coffee trees daring the 
sixties, remnants of which remain on all good 
patches of coffee to the present day. The damage 
it did in tho province of Bio was such that 
scientific mon were engaged by the Government 
to investigate it. It was after it had been identi- 
fied with tho llcmii in vattatriz of Ceylon* that I 
gave you all the information about the Cemln$tonui 
that was then known, which brielly Bummariaed 
was this : — A small moth moved about shady 
places and damp-hollows, deposited an egg on tho 
coffoo leaf, tho egg turned into a small worm, 
which ate the boU part iusido the leaf, leaving 
* Tho Ceylon disease is a fuDgus aud has no lb lug 
tu do with a moth.— ho. 
