May  i,  1893.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST 
699 
COFFEE  CULTIVATION  IN  MEXICO. 
E.  P.  Allen  contributes  to  the  American  Agricul’ 
turist  the  following  interesting  article  regarding  the 
growing  of  coffee  in  Mexico : — 
The  planter  who  makes  coffee  growing  a business, 
will  select  a somewhat  shaded  recess  somewhere  be- 
tween (he  ridges  of  the  giant  mountains  which  stretch 
their  huge  lengths  from  Guatemala  along  the  Pacific 
to  Sinaloa,  or  upon  the  Gulf  coast  from  YucalaD 
to  Tamaulipas.  Or,  he  may  turn  to  some  of  the 
numerous  fertile  valleys  whioh  lie  in  deep  dents  on 
the  great  Central  tableland.  The  height  at  which 
he  will  naturally  locate  his  field  will  be  from  1,000  to 
4,000  feet  above  the  sea,  but  he  may  even  go  1,000 
feet  higher  and  not  go  beyond  success,  as  he 
may  also  eeek  a lower  level,  Bince  in  some  plaoes, 
coffee  is  produced  at  the  very  seaside.  Off  the 
eastern  coast  of  Yucatan,  on  the  island  of  Cozumel, 
coffee  trees  of  prolific  yield  are'growing  nearly  at  a 
sea  level  as  well  as  in  many  other  localities  on  both 
the  Pacific  and  Gulf  coasts.  IndeeH,  the  objection  to 
the  sea  lands  for  ^this  purpose  is  probably  not  on 
acoount  of  the  effect  of  the  climate  upon  the  plants, 
but  upon  the  planter,  the  tierra  caliente  teiug  every- 
where unhealthful. 
As  in  Brazil  the  plants  are  started  in  a nursery.  At 
the  age  of  one  year  or  eighteen  months  the  iufant 
Bhrnbs  are  transplanted  to  the  capetalis,  or  coffee  field, 
whioh  has  been  thoroughly  cleaned  of  all  undergrowth 
escape  the  diseases  of  the  tropics,  and  ever  in 
the  midst  of  the  most  beautiful  scenery.  The  great 
possibility  of  expansion  of  this  industry  can  be  esti- 
mated by  comparing  its  present  out-put  with  that  of 
Brazil,  not  more  favourably  situated  as  to  climate 
or  people  than  Mexico.  With  the  degree  of  peace  and 
safety,  now  assured  to  the  immigrant,  this  branch  of 
agriculture  offers  great  attractions  to  the  farmer. 
COFFEE  ADULTERATION. 
There  never  was  a more  iniquitous  system  than 
that  whioh  has  so  long  ruled  the  sale  of  coffee 
in  the  United  Kingdom,  and  the  veteran  ex-Oeylon 
Colonist,  Mr.  Thomas  Dickson,  senior,  is  quite 
right  in  asserting  that  the  policy  he  advocates  is 
simply  “ the  path  of  common  honesty.”  We  call 
attention  to  the  Correspondence  with  which  Mr. 
Dickson  has  favoured  us.  He  is  noting  not  merely 
in  the  interests  of  what  remains  of  Ceylon  coffee 
— and  wo  trust  Liberian  will  yet  add  to  our  exports 
— but  in  those  of  the  coffee  planters  of  Southern 
India,  and  we  trust  success  will  crown  his  efforts 
to  the  fullest  extent.  We  shall  be  interested  in 
seoing  how  Mr.  Gladstone  will  aot  in  reference 
to  this  Bill  of  Dr.  Cameron  of  Glasgow,  one  oE 
his  own  staunchest  supporters  ; because,  we  regret 
to  say,  that  Mr.  Gladstone  has  hitherto  been  the 
great  obstacle  in  the  way  of  a stringent  measure 
and  the  soil  well  prepared.  To  proteot  the "younr^ passing  to  prevent  the  adulteration  of  coffee.  We 
plants  from  the  bud,  open  forests  are  used  and  m^”W  » o^ell  remember  a gathering  of  gentlemen  interested  in 
tain  sides  which  afford  shade.  In  open  fields  Coffee  from  all  parts  of  the  world — Ceylon,  India, 
ing  6hade must  be  created,  which  ismost  .^'”5 
tained  by  planting  bananas  between  thc'o'iiSl  plants. 
But  some  more  intelligent  planters  Bet  out  their  fields 
with  cine  lona  trees  for  shade,  and  there  yitld  quinine, 
and  sown  use  oak  and  walnut  trees  for  the  purpose. 
A ress  mbly  tick  soil  is  desirable  for  coffee,  and 
manuring  pays  well,  often  inorearing  the  yield  to  three 
pounds.  In  exceptional  cases  it  has  risen  to  twenty- 
five  pounds  for  one  tree,  under  favourable  conditions. 
PlantB  are  6et  out  about  three  yards  apart,  although 
often  planted  closer.  Sometimes  irrigation  is  neces- 
sary, but  not  often  when  the  plantsare  once  well  started. 
Pruoing  a tree  baok  to  six  or  eight  feet  in  height  is 
thought  to  improve  da  yield.  The  coffee  shrub  bas 
a curious  habit  of  blooming  three  times  a year, 
sometimes  as  early  as  December,  then  along  in  Feb- 
ruary and  then  in  April.  This  makes  the  gathering 
of  the  crop  a tedious  task,  as  each  Iree  must  be  gone 
over  by  band,  and  must  be  done  carefully,  which  re- 
quires an  extra  number  of  laborers,  but  women  aud 
children  can  be  employed  at  low  wages.  After  pioking 
by  hand,  the  next  process  is  to  dry  tbe  berries,  which 
is  done  in  the  sun,  beneath  which  they  shrivel  and 
change  to  a black  color.  They  are  then  put  mto  a 
mortar  and  the  grains  hulled  or  heaten  out  with  a 
pestle  and  then  separated  from  the  husks  by  the  crude 
old-fashioned  method  of  fanning  them  out  by  hand, 
6r  winnowing,  though  sometimes  a fan  mill  is  used. 
It  is  theu  carefully  picked  over  by  hand,  put  into 
sacks,  and  is  ready  for  market.  So  far,  in  its  cultiva- 
tion, no  disease  of  plant  or  berry  has  been  developed 
and  no  insects  have  attacked  it.  It  is  also  clean  and 
comparatively  easy  to  cultivate.  Only  at  the  picking 
season  is  there  much  urgency  required.  Once  gathered 
the  crop  can  be  prepared  for  market  at  the  planter’s 
convenience. 
The  greatest  difficulty  lies  in  the  fact  that  the 
planter  must  wait  at  least  five  years  from  the  seed 
sowing  before  he  obtains  a return  upon  his  in- 
vestment, and  the  first  year’s  crop  barely  pays  the 
cost  of  cultivation  and  curing.  But,  as  compensation 
for  this,  a plantation  once  established  yields 
a never-failing  crop  without  renewal,  anxiety,  or 
uncertainty,  for  a lifetime.  An  intelligent  American 
planter  in  the  valley  of  Cordova  claims,  that  with 
attention  and  care,  plants  ought  to  continue  bearing 
vigorously  for  fifty  years.  The  profit  upon  well- 
grown  plantations  is  not  less  than  100  per  cent,  over 
the  cost  of  cultivation.  An  attractive  feature  of  coffee 
planting  in  Mexico  is  that  its  habitat  is  usually  a 
locality  both  healthy  and  pleasing,  high  enough  to 
Natal.  Guatomels,  Jamaica,  &o. — held  at  the 
residenoe  of  Mr.  C.  Tottenham  in  London,  in  1870 
at  which  we  were  present,  when  Mr.  Ruoker,  senior, 
related  to  us  the  fate  of  a very  influentially 
signed  City  Memorial  of  whioh  he  took  charge 
some  years  before,  begging  for  the  most  ordinary 
protection  for  coffee.  A deputation  with  the 
Memorial  waited  on  Mr.  Gladstone,  then  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer,  and  he  (Mr.  Ruoker)  was  able 
to  show  the  bon.  gentleman  samples  of  eooalled 
“ coffee  and  ohicory”  sold  by  grocers  in  London 
and  throughout  the  country  containing  from  60 
to,  >n  some  cases,  90  per  cent  of  chicory  against 
40  to  10  of  ccffee  ! All  the  Deputation  asked  was 
lhat  retailers  should  be  bound  to  specify  the 
proportions  of  each  article  on  their  packets ; but 
Mr.  Gladstone  deoiined  (o  support  the  request. 
Of  course  the  proper  way  would  be  to  buy  coffee 
in  the  berry  and  have  it  ground ; but  to  the 
working-classes  the  convenience  of  buying  it  ready 
ground  in  packets  can  well  be  understood,  and 
thus  by  degrees  their  tastes  through  insidious, 
adulterated  compounds  have  become  corrupted; 
so  that  they  would  not  appreciate  pure  coffee  now 
if  they  got  it.  The  difference  is  seen  in  America, 
where  the  regulations  against  the  sale  of  unspecified 
mixtures  being  very  strict,  wholesome  pure  coffee 
is  the  rule  ana  Americans  prefer  buying  the  product 
in  the  bean.  True,  we  have  heard  of  imitatioa 
ccffee  beans  as  of  “wooden  nutmegs,”  but  these 
are  readily  detected.  We  trust  then  that  Dr. 
Cameron  will  be  fully  successful  with  his  present 
measure:  it  is  headed  and  backed  as  we  learn  from 
a copy  forwarded  to  us  by  Mr.  Diokson  as  follows: — 
A Bill  to  amend  the  Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs 
Act,  1875,  and  the  Margarine  Act,  1887, 
(Prepared  and  brought  in  by  Dr.  Cameron, 
Mr.  Channing,  Dr.  Farquharson,  Mr.  Frederick 
Frye,  and  Mr.  Kearley. 
Schedule.  A.D.  1893 
Coffee  Mixture  Containing — 
Form  of  Label. 
Ccffee — Four-fifths,  or  three-fourths,  or  one-half,  or 
one-fourth.  Chicory. — One-fifth,  or  one-fourth,  or 
one-half,  or  three-fourths. 
And  so  on,  as  the  case  maybe,  specifying  |in  equal 
parts  on  each  label  the  respective  proportions  of  coffee 
and  chicory  contained  in  the  mixture  sold. 
