o< MONTHLY. 
XX. 
COLOMBO, MAY 1st, 1901. 
No. 11. 
COPFEB IN B. C, A. 
PAST; PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF COFFEE 
GROWING IN B. C. A. ; CONDITION OP 
COFFEE GROWING IN OTHER COUN- 
TRIES COMPARED WITH B. C. A. ; 
PROSPECTS OF COFFEE GROW- 
ING IN B. 0. A. 
-|HE first Coffee Arabica plant 
' introduced into B. C. A. came 
from the Edinburgh Botanical 
Gardens in the charge of Mr. 
J. Duncan, the Church of 
Scotland Mission Gardener, and 
was planted in the Mission 
garden about 20 years ago. 
This plant succeeded well, bore heavily, and be- 
came the parent, I believe, of all the present existing 
coffee of that species or variety in this country. 
Blue mountain, Orange, Liberian, Sierra Leone, 
" Standsphyilca," and Maragogipe Coffee have all been 
subsequently introduced and are to be seen growing 
on some Estates throughout the country — but although 
those varieties have been tried on some Estates, they 
do not seem to suit the climate so well as Coffee 
Arabica. 
The first Coffee garden planted in B. C. A., and it 
was from the seed of that parent tree (I was in- 
formed) consisted of 15,000 plants, which were planted 
6x6 feet apart giving about 1,200 trees to the acre ' 
so that there would be about 13 acres. I was lold 
that 10 tons of parchment Coffee was secured from 
this garden, which would be equivalent to about 15 
cwt per acre iu its third or fourth year. 
I have myself seen blossoms on B.C. A. Coffee 
which should have resulted in crops eqnal to the 
above amount. 
In those early days the mechanical part of the work 
was as well done as it is at present, but pruning, hand- 
ling, manuring, and even weeding were much neglected 
with the result that, as coffee got older, crops decreased 
because the health and vigor of the tree were not 
maintained. 
There is no plant or tree suffers so much from bad 
treatment, or responds so readily to good cultivation) 
as coffee; and once neglected, especially when young, 
it seldom recovers, 
Until within the past few years enemies of the 
coffee tree were little thought about, and I venture 
to say no steps were taken by pioneer planters 
to fight those pests. But it was considered necessary 
to cut down the coffee tree after it had borne a 
few crops. Shade was not thought of either, I believS) 
until 5 or 6 years ago. 
Up to about 10 years ago there was little coffee 
planting done in the country, and that was done 
only by the late Buchanan Bros and the African 
Lakes Co. on a small scale ; about 40 acres at Zombii 
and 100 at Blantyre. 
At present the coffee enterprise of B. C. A, is 
suffering from a good deal of depression owiug to 
four causes ; — Ist, short crops, owing to bad seasons J 
2nd, scarcity of labour ; 3rd, low prices. 
The first of these we cannot prevent and adverse 
seasons are to be met with in every country where 
coffee is grown, rejulting in short crops, and some, 
times hardly any at all. It is seldom however that 
two seasons fellow each other which are absolutely 
abnormal, although wet and dry cycles are not uncom- 
mon in B.C. A. as in other tropical countries. 
An insufficient labour supply is also partly to 
blame for short crops, because neglected or half- 
abandoned coffee is more or less choked and cannot 
nourish and bring to naturifcy its fruit, as would be 
the case with well-cared for trees on a clean estate. 
The low price of coffee is the result of overproduc- 
tion which never lasts more than a few years, because 
large coffee-producing countries cannot cultivate mora 
than will repay 
