Aug. i, 1894.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
"5 
To the Editor. 
MR. T. CHRISTY ON COFFEE ; INSECT 
PUSTS; SOLID PETROLEUM; PLANTING 
1M MEXICO, 
London, E.C., June 15. 
Dear Sib,— You will see in this week's Chemist 
and Druggist a letter from me respeoting Maragogipe. 
You may have copied the letter in the paper of the 
week before last on the same subject. Some of my 
friends have given me further information respect- 
ing this Maragogipe. It is as follows : — 
" The experiments that were made in Brazil with 
this giant ooffee which is a species of Coffea Arabica 
did not always answer, and it is only in certain 
soils that it yields this very large coffee. One 
friend of mine tells me that the Brazilians, 
thinking that they would have euch splendid 
crops were very much disappointed when only 
perhaps a part of an aore on the estate would 
yield this large-sized coffee, all the rest reverted 
to about the ordinary size of Coffea Arabica." 
I have been trying lately some very interesting 
experiments with preparations for deetroying Inseots 
on plants, not only on the leaf, but also on the 
stems. A gentleman in the drug trade, of the 
name of Wlnffen has been permitted by the English 
Government to treat the tobacco on the same 
prinoiple as tea has been treated for Caffeine by 
denaturing it. He has two preparations ; one 
whioh is used in copper saucers and vapourizsd 
by heat from a small spirit lamp. This I found 
very effective in the hoihouees. Then the mixture 
or ingredient, the composition of which I am not 
well acquainted with, I mixed in a water-can with 
water, and syringed the plants with it. I found it 
was completely successful as regards mealybug, 
green fly and scale. I also applied it by painting 
the stems of the trees that had blight upon 
them, and there has been no return in three 
weeke. Of course it is a question whether 
it could be painted on to the coffee plants and 
also on to the oooo-palms which are diseased with 
the boring beetle. 
Another experiment I have been trying with 
materiel sent me, which is solid Petroleum. It has 
been discovered by a chemist that Petroleum could 
be solidified and then mixed with water and it 
dissolves perfectly. I painted many of the trees 
with this solution with a brush and I found it 
most effeotive against the boring oaterpillar, also 
the young caterpillars and when syringed on to 
the plants, it formed a lather just like soap, and 
no stain was left on the plants. It is too early 
to say much about this yet, because up to the 
lime of writing I have not heard at what prioe 
it oan be purchased. As Mr. Ross is shortly re- 
turning to Oeylon I have suggested to him that 
it would be very advantageous it he took baok 
with him some of these preparations. 
Seeing by the reports in your periodical how many 
people had gone to Ceylon, I thought I would Eend 
my third son Peroy out to the River Grijalva in 
Tropical Mexioo. He arrived safely after a journey 
of 04 days, and reports very favourably on the 
position of the eetate at Las Palmae. He thinks 
tho quality of the coffee is excellent as a bever- 
age, although fredily picked and oured, Tho oli- 
mate is most agreeable, being cold at night. 
In comparing it with Constantinople he says 
that after a hard week's work he dii not feel to 
much depressed as he did in one day's work at 
15 
Constantinople. He speaks about there being any 
quantity of land of virgin soil, with trees from 
the river's bank up to tbe tops of the hills. I 
may perhaps be able to send you some more 
information later on. — Yours truly, 
THO*. CHEISTY. 
THE MARAGOGIPE COFFEE. 
(From " Chemist and Druggist.") 
You are perfectly right that 1 did introduce Mara- 
gog'pe coffee many years ago, but I found out frona 
a friend of mine in Brazil that it was no uso taking 
the coffee-berries for a plantation from young plantB. 
I received frorn OLe of the original growers of tbis 
special variety several bushels, aud i have no 
doubt I should have been able to get more. The 
demand for this special seed of coSte was bo great 
that my friends bere urged me to telegraph to my 
correspondent for more. I did so, and my telegram 
arrived at its destination in the middle of the night. 
It caused tbe receiver such a shock, owing to the 
Government officer declaring that it was necessary that 
the telegram should be received, and the proper time 
recorded of its arrival. My friend expostulated from 
the window that he bad better leave it till the morn- 
ing. He said that the English were to exigent thai 
it was absolutely necessary to reoord the time of receipt 
and obtain the signature. Suffioe it to bay that this 
native gentleman wrote 119 sajing that he would have 
nothing more to do with collecting and tending us 
the JIarsgogipe seed alter the shook his utrves had 
sustained from receiving this telegram during the 
night. Knowiug the history of this Marogogips seed, 
with the assistance of friends here I obtained two 
or three other shipments, varying from one to four 
bushel? each ; but they mostly proved disappointing, 
because the seed had evidently beeu gathered from 
vi ry young trees, and not from the old standard 
trees which I had previously received it from, and 
although my friends wanted more seed, I declined 
to supply it. 
Your indefatigable collector of material for the 
Chemist and Druggist will remember that some 
months ago I showed him a sample of coffee-seed, 
remarkably small, that oame from Sierra Leone, ou 
the West Coast of Africa, and I also informed him 
that Mr. G. F. Scott Elliott had found as many as 
fourteen new varieties of coffee oa the West Coast. 
The information I gave to your representative was 
that I believed that tbis coffee fetched a high price 
on account of its being small, and resembling the 
coffee, known as Arabian mocha. This vory small- 
grain corTee, called mocha, is got from India, and 
the bags are left in the hot sand to shrivel up 
the grain, which tsk^s time and costs money. 
This small feed from Weet Africa I thought was 
to be palmed off as very old m ioha, but time 
has shown me the mistake. It fetohep, however, 
a very high price in Paris; and when carefully 
roasted it has a peculiar bitter tast°, whioh greitly 
improves the flivour of tha best coffee-mixtures (I 
allude, of course, to genuine ooffee). In the London 
market where it has been sent alter being oollected 
by owners of caravans, the brokers not understand- 
ing it have sold it at 6d. and 8,'. per lb. I traced onl 
what became of this coffee, aud wtio were tbe buyers 
here, and I found that the tame people who buy the 
very highest olass of coffee — namely the Blue Mountain 
coffee of Jamaica — bought this coffee, and they well 
knew what tbey were about. This coffee is used in 
the Blac ; Country and the north of ELglaud, aud 
for this reason : that a small quantity ol this coffee 
put with " rubbish," composed partly of the common 
coffee and other rnateril, fetohej up tbe flavour, ai d is 
the cheapest in the end for this object. Poor Mr.Kspeut, 
o', Jamaica, who grew the finest Jamaica coffee, ustd to 
lament the fact that all hia ooffee went into the hand* 
of these people imtend of coming into tho London 
market aud being appreciated at its valne for tlavonr. 
It I have not trans, ressed ou your space too much 
I would like to add that an almost equally valuable 
cotfoe is found on the East Coast ot Africa, near 
Iuh&nlsne. From this place I have also obtained 
