August  i,  1892.] 
THP  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
145 
ARABIAN  COFFEE. 
There  is  now-a-days  no  question  that  Coffee  Ara- 
bica  is  of  African  origin.  Its  natural  habitat  seems 
to  be  the  country  of  Grallas  and  Harrar.  The  plants 
was  introduced  into  Yemen  at  the  date  of  the  Abyssi- 
nian conquest  and  the  downfall  of  the  Hymyarite  Em- 
pire about  a century  before  the  era  of  the  Hegira.  The 
culture  of  coffee  rapidly  spread  in  all  the  western 
parts  of  Arabia  Felix — that  is  to  say  in  the  regions 
subject  to  tropical  rains. 
The  system  of  cultivation  has  not  altered  for  cen- 
turies, and  the  plantations  of  coffee-shrubs  on  hori- 
zontal terraces,  on  the  mountain  sides  are  today  still 
like  those  of  which  Niebuhr  wrote,  more  than  a 
century  ago.  The  natural  slope  of  the  ground  is  some- 
times very  steep,  consequently  the  walls  of  rough 
stones  which  sustain  the  terraces  are  built  up  to  a 
height  of  from  20  to  26  feet  which  is  equal  to,  or 
even  more  than,  the  width  of  the  terrace  itself.  This 
arrangement  ensures  perfect  drainage  which  is  very 
salutary  for  such  a plantation.  The  soil  is  carefully 
prepared,  and  almost  always  shaded  by  large  trees 
(Ficus,  Tamarindus,  Ehretia,  Dobera,  &c.),  planted  in 
a row.  Many  plantations  are  irrigated  during  the 
dry  season  by  means  of  reservoirs  placed  on  a level 
with  the  highest  terrace,  and  fed  by  the  deviation  of 
a spring  or  neighbouring  stream.  The  plants  are 
generally  supplied  from  nurseries,  and  are  obtained 
from  seed.  The  seeds,  before  being  used,  receive  a 
certain  preparation  which  consists  in  the  removal  of 
the  pulp,  and  the  submission  of  the  seeds  to  a slight 
drying  in  a layer  of  ashes.  They  are  sown  from 
October  to  December,  in  borders  of  good  soil,  enriched 
by  cow  or  sheep  dung.  The  seedlings  are  shaded  from 
the  extreme  heat  of  the  sun  by  a covering  of  boughs, 
and  are  watered  at  least  once  a week.  At  the  end 
of  six  or  seven  weeks  the  young  planes  are  carefully 
picked  out  and  removed  wrapped  in  mats,  to  the 
prepared  plateaux.  The  coffee  shrubs  are  planted  in 
lines  about  30  to  40  inches  apart,  they  are  watered 
once  a fortnight,  and  the  soil  is  manured  when 
necessary.  From  to  two  four  years  must  elapse  before 
the  shrubs  begin  to  bear.  In  Haraz,  some  growers 
consider  that  plants  obtained  from  natural  seed-plots 
are  more  vigorous  than  those  germinating  from  seeds 
submitted  to  the  process  above  described. 
The  natural  seed  plot  is  managed  thus : — Many  of 
the  berries  when  fully  ripe,  are  attacked  by  birds 
which  eat  the  fleshy  part  of  the  pericarp  (the  pulp). 
The  stone  covering  the  seeds  is  thus  laid  bare, 
becomes  detached  from  the  plant,  and  falls  to  the 
ground.  The  cultivator  examines  the  plantations 
every  day,  and  hastens  to  lightly  cover  over  these 
seeds  on' the  place  where  they  have  fallen.  They 
do  not  germinate  for  two  or  three  months ; but  the 
young  plants  are  said  to  grow  to  a height  of  from 
12  to  15  inches  in  the  first  year,  and  to  continue  to 
develop  rapidly.  It  is  known  that  the  pulpy  por- 
tions of  the  fruits,  dried  in  the  sun  and  pounded, 
constitute  a material  used  for  the  preparation  of  a 
stimulating  beverage,  possessing  analogous  properties 
to  an  infusion  of  tea.  This  warm  draught  has  a 
very  pleasant  flavour  when  it  is  properly  prepared. 
Scented  with  ginger  or  some  other  spice  it  is,  with 
“ Qat  ” (leaves  of  Oatha  edulis),  .a  favourite  sti- 
mulant with  the  Arabs  of  Yemen,  who  do  not  use 
coffee  as  do  the  Turks  and  Europeans.  Everywhere, 
in  the  sandy  solitudes  of  Tehama  as  well  as  on  the 
steep  summits  in  the  Gebell  district,  is  raised  the 
1 Mikaye;”  this  is  a hut  made  of  branches  or  a 
shanty  of  rough  stones,  often  far  away  from  any 
populated  centre,  where  is  sold,  in  default  of  any 
more  substantial  fare,  the  decoction  of  gische,  known 
as  “ gafal,”  which  is  always  to  be  had  fresh,  earthen 
jars  with  long  necks  and  large  rounded  bases. 
The  fruits  of  the  coffee  trees,  dried  in  the  sun, 
arrive  from  the  interior  in  their  natural  condition, 
in  cags  of  matting.  In  the  centres  of  exportation, 
the  most  important  of  which  is  the  port  of  Hodeidah, 
the  gafal  is  submitted  to  a process  which  is  intended 
to  separate  the  seed  from  the  pulp.  The  operation 
is  conducted  by  means  of  mill-stones  moved  by 
hand,  which  is  very  fatiguing  work,  and  must  neces- 
sarily be  replaced  by  perfected  machinery  as  soon 
19 
as  ever  hand  labour  becomes  dear.  For  some  time 
past  mortars  of  English  manufacture  have  been 
used  at  Aden.  The  material  thus  pounded  is  esti- 
mated to  consist  of  50  per  cent  of  the  seeds  proper, 
35  per  cent  of  pounded  pulp,  12J  per  cent,  of  powder- 
yielded  by  the  stones,  and  12£  per  cent  of  waste 
produce.  The  commercial  value  of  the  prepared 
seed  is  at  the  quay  of  Hodeidah  from  about  £7  to 
£8  for  2201b. — Translated  from  “ Voyage  au  Yemen  ” 
by  A.  Defiers. — Gardeners’  Chronicle. 
NATIVE  PERUVIAN  COTTON. 
The  United  States  Consular  Agent  at  Payta  says, 
that  after  five  years  of  drought,  the  province  and 
State  of  Payta  are  naturally  depressed  in  the  way 
of  commerce  and  all  kinds  of  industry.  The  valley 
of  Chira  forms  a favourable  exception.  The  pro- 
duction of  the  valley  consists  principally  of  native 
Peruvian  cotton  (Gossypinm  herbaceum  peruvianum) , 
an  article  used  very  extensively  in  Europe  for  the 
manufacture  of  woollen  goods,  with  which  it  mixes 
readily,  on  account  of  its  rough,  strong,  and  long 
fibre,  is  produced  abundantly  throughout  the  State 
after  the  rainy  seasons,  which  are  periodical,  and 
occur  generally  every  seven  years,  and  is  cultivated 
always  along  the  banks  of  rivers  on  lowlands  irri- 
gated by  the  overflow  of  streams.  The  plant  is  ar- 
borescent and  perennial,  and  after  fully  developing 
continues  producing  cotton  for  five  or  six  years  in 
succession,  provided  there  be  some  moisture  in  the 
ground,  needing,  however,  very  little  of  it  on  account 
of  its  deep  rooting,  thus  reaching  moisture  at  great 
depths.  The  system  of  cultivation  of  this  plant  is 
quite  primitive,  the  seeds  being  planted  by  making- 
holes  in  the  ground  with  spades,  without  tilling  or 
manuring  the  soil.  The  plant  becomes  developed 
and  begins  to  bear  cotton  in  dry  and  sandy  soil  about 
six  months  after  planting,  and  about  nine  months 
in  rich  and  wet  land,  continuing  to  yield  at  short 
intervals  for  five  or  six  more  years  'in  succession. 
The  plant  may  be  observed  in  blossom,  with  pods, 
buds,  and  cotton  all  at  the  same  time,  and  giving 
a continual  yield  for  the  time  above  stated.  In 
certain  seasons  of  the  year-,  about  every  seven  years, 
the  rains  are  incessant  for  about  two  months,  both 
in  the  interior  an:l  ou  the  coast,  and  water  descends 
in  such  abundance  as  almost  to  inundate  the  country. 
Large  torrents  stream  down  the  mountain  side,  the 
valley  of  the  Chira  is  deluged,  flat  lands  within  it 
are  turned  into  morasses,  and  morasses  into  lakes ; 
in  fact,  the  lowland  becomes  submerged,  and  the 
accumulated  mass  of  waters  rush  with  great  force 
down  the  central  valley,  which  forms  their  only  out- 
let. The  valley,  however,  is  wide,  and  the  descent 
very  gradual.  The  extent  of  the  valley  through 
which  the  water  flows  is  from  three  to  four 
miles  wide,  and  although  it  is  nearly  200  miles  in 
extent,  the  valley  for  the  whole  distance  is  almost 
level.  The  rains  generally  cease  in  March,  but  it 
requires  from  thirty-five  to  fifty  days  for  the  water  to 
disappear  and  leave  the  land  dry.  As  soon  as  that 
is  effected  there  springs  up,  from  the  whole  surface 
of  the  ground  which  has  been  thus  submerged,  most 
luxuriant  vegetation.  The  soil  is  wonderfully  rich, 
and  has  been  under  cultivation  by  the  aborigines 
from  time  immemorial,  and  its  fertility  is  kept  up 
unimpaired  by  the  slime  which  is  abundantly  deposi- 
ted during  inundation.  The  cotton  is  collected,  when 
the  pods  open,  by  women  and  children,  who  are  paid 
in  proportion  to  the  quantity  collected,  the  prevail- 
ing rates  being  about  Is  8d  for  every  100  pounds. 
It  is  taken  from  the  fields  to  the  ginning  house,  where 
it  is  cleaned  and  made  up  into  bales  of  about  175 
pounds  each.  There  are  five  of  such  establishments 
in  the  province  of  Payta,  one  in  Querecotillo,  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river,  owned  by  an  Englishman ; 
two  in  Sullana,  a city  of  about  4,000  inhabitants,  on 
the  west  side  of  the  river,  owned  by  natives ; two  at 
La  Huaca  owned  by  an  Englishman  and  an  Italian. 
A considerable  quantity  of  cotton  is  annually  exported 
and  seeds  are  now  also  exported  for  oil  making, 
Europe. is  the  market  for  both  products. — Journal  of 
the  Society  of  Arts. 
