800 
IHE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [June 2, 190^. 
failore. In 1723, however. Captain &e Clieux, who 
was voyaging to Martinique, was inliueled with a 
plant. The story of his devotion has ci'ten heen tcld : 
thepasBBge was long and peiilcus, and fresh water 
becBine scarce. De Clitux, who was impresFed with 
the importance of his ccmmisBlon, and anxious to 
secure a new source of wealth for his eonr.try, shared 
his meatre fupply of water wiih the precious fhrub, 
which, thanks to his care, reached Martinique in good 
condition. At the first harvest it yielded two pounds 
of beans ; these were distributed over the Island, and 
in February 1726 there were nine trees twenty months 
old, 2,0C0 Emaller ones, and many more just above 
ground. An unfortunate event hastened Ihe develop- 
rnent of coffee culture. Till then the chief industry of 
the country consisted of cocoa plantations, but a 
severe earthquake, in 1727, destroyed the plantations, 
and the colonists in future grew ccffee instead of cocoa. 
Soon Martinique produced more coffee then could be 
consumed in France. 
From Martinique the ccffee plant was carried to the 
other Antilles, and to Central and Seuth America; 
and now. after less than two hundred years, the 
countries of America and efpecially Brazil, are the 
chief producers. In Java, where the first attempts 
at acclimatiEation were made about two centuries ago, 
the development of the Industry has not been great ; 
Arabia, which used to supply Europe, now produces a 
very small quantity ; and Martinique at present pro- 
duces scarcely enough for home consumpticn, and 
Brazil, where cultivation was insignificant a hundred 
years ago, is now the great producer. 
Numerous and very various are the circumstances 
which determine the principal subjects of cultivation 
in any conntry. The full study of these conditions 
is of great interest, but only a few of them can be men- 
tioned, such as climate, character, and fertility of soil, 
means of communication, cost and quality of labour, 
the history of colonisation, the influence of govern- 
ments, the taxes in the lands of production, and the 
tarifis, in those of consximption. 
As regards the New World, one may say roughly 
that coffee is cultivated between the tropics ; but not 
all sections of this vast region are equally suitable for 
it. In the east there are no important plantations near 
the Equator ; in the west on the countrary, there are 
very extensive plantations in the state of Ecuador, for 
the high mountain chain makes it possible to culti- 
vate at a considerable altitude and also prevents that 
dry Feason which occurs in all mountainless equatorial 
regions. This is certainly the rea.'-on for the puccess 
of ccffee growing in Ecuador; for close to the sea, 
where the annual rainfall is very smfsll, it is not; possible 
to grow it. The same may be said of the coast of 
Pern. 
Biazil is the choice conntry for growing coffee. Till 
tlie beginning of last century Brazil did not grow much, 
but new it produces three fifths of the coffee which 
finds its way to the markets of the world. At first the 
plantations were confined to the province of Rio, then 
they stretched north to the province of Spirito Santo, 
latterly they have been extending south into San 
Paulo and even into Minas Geraes. Seme of the 
plantations are enormous. There is one, thirty kilo- 
metres from Ribeiro Preto, which covers 6,000 hectares 
and contains 4,700,000 coffee bushes. 8,000 Italians 
are employed to work it. It is estimated that in the 
year ]900-i901 Brazil will h»ve exported 9,000,000 bags 
of coffee. 
Ccffee is also ground and exported by Dutch Guiana, 
Venezuela, Colombia, and all Ihe states of Central 
America ; Cuba, Jamaica, Porto Bico, and Martinique, 
nil jjroduce a little, but not so much as formerly. In 
Afritia, coffee is grown principally in Abyssinia 
and the Congo State. The industry has also spread 
to mi ny of the islands in tho Indian and Pacific 
Oreins. 
The countries where most is grown are between the 
tropics, but not cloec to the equator. The New world 
holdfi the first place, acttally producing fi\e-Bixth of 
the wold's supply, and this acconntB for the icflnence 
of the American harvest on the price of coffee. Sine* 
1896 the price has been going down stesdily, because 
of the enormous Brazilian crops. These, however, 
come from the virgin soil of the province of San Paolo, 
and its productiveness is bound to diminish nnless the 
planters enrich the foil, which they can scarcely afford 
to do at present prices. 
It is difficult to estimate the amount of ccffee used 
in the countries where it is gr-ound, but very easy to 
arrive at figures for non-producing countries. France 
uses about 182 kilog per head per annum, England 
•39, Bflgicm 3«5, Eussian 1-15, Italy 1-42, United 
States 3-95. Several facts are wcrth noticing in this 
connection. Northern European coontries drink a 
great deal more coffee than Southern European. In 
nil ccuntries where ihe consumption is important it 
increases rapidly each year. T'he small amount used 
in England is counterbalanced by the large consomp- 
ticn of tea. The use of coffee is steadily increasing 
from year to year, and the increase would be still more 
marked if both coffee and eugar could be imported duty 
free ; but the influence of tariffs must not be over-esti- 
mated, for the duty paid in France only amonnte to 
two centimes on every cup. The fact that more coffee 
is used in Fiance than in Spain, and more in Sweden 
than in France seems to indicate a decided climiitic 
influence on the use ff such beverages as tea and 
coffee. — Scottish Geographical Jiagaxine, 
FIBRES : 
RHEA FIBRE CULTIVATION IN CHINA 
AND INDIA. 
INDIA NOT A FAVOURABLE FIELD. 
The writer has liad considerable opportunities of in- 
vestigating this J ather vexed question in both countries, 
combined with some practical experience, »ud in the 
foimer country, under the auspices of the Chinese 
Government. 
As various schemes are being continually brought 
before investors in this country, and considerable sums 
of money lost in attempts to bring them to a practical 
conclusion, to which in foimer times the Indian GoTern- 
ment have on more than one occasion lent financial 
enccnragement, the information the writer has gained 
may possibly be of some interest to the planting and 
commercial community. 
First, investigations were made in India as to 
whether the extended area of cultivable lend available, 
through the completion of the various Government 
irrigation schemes, such as the Periyar, would afford 
( ny opportunities or advantages to the people in the 
introduction of rhea cultivation. 
The experience of the authorities, however was that 
all land as it became available under these schemes, and 
was thrown open to cultivators, was easily disposed of 
to native buyers for rice, etc., cultivation. So long 
therefore as land continues to be eagerly taken up for 
the production of food stuffs, there would apparently be 
no public object gained in replacing their production by 
fibre cultivation, unless the latter could be sandwiched 
in as a rotation crop. Bhea not being an annnal but a 
permanent crop, and not succeeding in flooded land 
such as rice districts, it is therefore not available for 
that purpose as jute would be. 
Generally the conclusions so far come to, do not esta- 
blish that India in any part, is in any sense a favour- 
able field for the introduction of the industry. 
There is no doubt that China is at present the 
only country of prodction in commercial bulk, 
and it remained therefore to be seen whether investi- 
paticn into the conditions of successful cultivation in 
that country would throw light upon, and explain the 
reasons for, its Tion- commercial success in India, and 
elff where. 
The production in the provinces of Hupeh Hunan, 
and Szpchuen is very large. For manufacture into the 
finest classes of goods, much of it is shipped to 
