Dlic.  2,  1895. J 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
373 
and  14/.  per  ton,  11  very  heavy  item,  pi  this  con- 
nectioii  it  may  also  he  iiieutioued  that  from  several 
of  the  large  growing  coffee  provinces  of  the  Kepublic 
the  cost  of  transport  is  still  highei. 
Notwithstanding  the  great  difticulties  appertaining 
to  distance  from  the  sea,  and  the  consequent  cost 
of  transport,  the  Tolima  planters  are  quite  able  to 
compete  with  planters  in  far  more  favorably  situated 
countries,  countries  which  are  111a  position  to  tnuis- 
i.ort  coffee  to  their  seaports  at  a comparatively  tiphng 
cost  Magnificent  land  abounds  on  the  colossal  Andes 
most  adniirably  adapted  for  the  cultivation.  Well 
cultivated  plaiAations  on  these  Cordilleras  are  uu- 
sm-nassed  by  those  of  any  other  country,  and  this 
observation  applies  not  only  to  the  quality  of  the 
uroduce,  but  also  to  the  quantity.  Land  is  obtainable, 
m general,  at  a nominal  cost ; and  it  is  available 
to  a large  e.vtent,  though  it  may  be  mentioned,  111 
the  adioiuiug  department  of  Cundmamarca,  where 
great  eiithusiasm  prevails  relative  to  coffee  cultivation, 
„.nd  where  it  is  being  much  more  extensively  planted 
than  in  Tolima,  the  price  of  the  more  conveniently 
located  sites  for  plantations  has  augmented  veiy 
materially  ; indeed  as  much  as  40  and  liO  dol.  (paper 
, urrrncv)  say  2/.  IH.s.  to  3/.  7s.  at  exchanp  now 
ruling  of  15  dol.  to  1/.  per  hectare  (2^  acres)  is  now 
' The  extension  of  this  cultivation  in  ioliina,  and 
this  applies  to  the  whole  country,  is  in  generM  con- 
IneA  to  districts  accessible  to  settlements  or  villages, 
yiore  remotely  removed  from  populated  dispicts 
widelv  extending  mountain  slopes,  eminently  fatted 
iov  coffee,  remain  in  a state  of  nature  It  may  also 
be  noted  that  the  quality  of  the  labour  itself  is 
satisfactory,  for  it  is  on  the  whole  industrious  and 
in  Xent  80  c.  (about  Is.)  per  day  Colombian  cur- 
rency, are  the  average  wages  for  peons,  and  for 
women  about  50  c.  (about  8rf.). 
\s  regards  the  productive  capabilities  of  these 
Co'rdilleras,  coupled  with  the  laboip  resources,  i.e., 
where  it  is  sufficiently  abundant,  it  may  be  stated 
that  the  cost  of  coffee  production  at  Ure  plantation 
ranges  from  30  to  35  do  . per  mule-load  of  2o01b., 
or  from  12  to  14  dol.,  Colombian  currency,  per  100  lb. 
With  the  rate  of  exchange  with  has  prevailed  during 
several  years  (1  dol.  ruling  rather  less  than  2s.-.), 
this  shows  that  planters  are  acquiring  enormous 
nrofits.  With  money  at  par  the  nominal  cost  of 
production  would  be  about  the  same,  although  in 
walitv  the  price  measured  m gold  would  have  much 
more  than  doubled.  It  should,  therefore,  be  remem- 
bered that  to  the  depreciation  of  Colombian  currency 
must  be  attributed  iu  great  measure  the  rapid  ex- 
pansion  of  the  coffee  indusUy.  At  the  same  time 
l^xceptionallj^  high  prices  for  he  article  have  ru  ed 
during  recent  years,  a result  pai  tly  due  to  the 
abolition  of  slavL-y,  in  coffee-growing  countries  and 
(lartly  to  the  revolutionary  movements  111^  Lra/.il, 
where  coffee  is  grown  on  a gigantic 
scale  Now  that 
co¥ec  h-as  become  a staple"  industry  of  Colombian 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  tlie  country  is  able  to 
maintain  a prominent  position  among  all  rivals 
The  number  of  coffee  trees  planted  pei‘  hectare 
fOi  acres)  in  Colombian  averages  about  l,o00.  Ihe 
General  averages  yield  per  tree  per  annum  on  well- 
kept  plantations  is  lb.,  or  2,2.50  lb.  per  hectare- 
00(1  lb  per  acre.  On  many  other  plantations  the 
X-age  yearly  crop  does  not  exceed  1 lb.  per  tree 
— tiOO  H)  hr  am-e.  Thus  the  number  of  trees  planted 
per  acre  in  this  countiT  .strikingly  contrasts  with 
the  number  planted  in  British  Colonies,  uhere  twice 
as  many  are  planted  per  acre,  iiotwAhstanding  heavier 
crops  are  secured  in  Colombia.  In  the  pahn,y  days 
of  coffee  cultivation  in  Ceylon  the  average  production 
was  5 cwt.  per  acre.  . 
One  of  th(T  chief  elements  of  success  appertaining 
to  this  cultivation  in  Colombia  must  be  assigned  to 
the  systematic  inter-planting  of  shac  e-B-ees  _vvith  tlm 
coffee.  At  altitudes  ranging  from  3,000  to  ..,0(JO  feet 
more  densely-foliaged  shade-trees  are 
is  the  case  at  plantations  between  o,(  W and  6,000 
feet,  where  a slender  shade  is  afforded  b.y  a species 
of  Cassia.  The  shade-trees  utilised  at  plantations 
situated  between  3,000  and  5,000  feet  are  a species 
of  Eriithrina,  and  another  leguminous  tree,  a species 
of  which  latter  is  becoming  very  generally 
adopted  by  planters.  I w'ould  strongly  recommend 
this  Iit'ja  for  adoption  by  British  colonial  coffee 
planters,  as  it  is  most  admirably  adapted  for  the 
purpose.  It  grows  rapidly,  and  the  large  compound 
leaves  fall  abundantly  at  the  season  in  which  the 
plantation  requires  the  least  degree  of  shade,  whilst 
the  abundance  of  fallen  leaves  from  this  tree  check 
in  a very  marked  manner  the  irrepressible  growth 
of  weeds.  Moreover,  the  general  result  of  the  bene- 
ficial iuflueuce  of  this  congenial  shade  reduces  to  a 
minimum  all  cultural  expenses  ; indeed,  it  may  be 
safely  computed  that  the  good  offices  of  this 
tree  curtail  the  cost  of  actual  cultivation  to  the  extent 
of  some  .50  per  cent,  as  compared  with  coffee  devoid 
of  shade.  It  is  a remarkable  fact  that  British  colonial 
coffee  planters  have  in  the  main  ignored  the  appli- 
cation of  shade  to  the  coffee  tree.  Without  shade 
the  tree  certainly  flourishes,  but  its  full  exposure  to 
the  sun,  at  any  rate  as  the  sun  is  wont  to  shine  here, 
is  detrimental  in  the  long  run  to  its  most  congenial 
state  of  productiveness.  However,  near  the  upper- 
limit  of  this  cultivation,  namely,  from  5,000  to  6,000 
feet,  shade  is  not  to  be  recommended. 
From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  Colombia 
is  making  rapid  strides  in  coffee  cultivation,  and  the 
strides  are  so  remarkable  that  it  already  produces 
about  two-thirds  as  much  coffee  as  all  British  colonies 
and  possessions  combined,  and  doubtless  it  will  very 
soon  overtake  the  total  aggregate  production  of  these 
colonies  and  possessions.  When  the  vast  productive 
tropical  resources  of  the  empire  are  borne  in  mind 
this  seems  anomalous.  For  example,  the  “ Times,” 
iu  a recent  editorial,  says  with  regard  to  the  expan- 
sion of  three  of  the  great  groups  of  colonies,  not 
referring  to  the  Eastern  Empire: — “What  is  most 
remarkable  about  that  growth  is  that  it  has  already 
reached  a point  at  wbich  each  of  the  groups  exhibits 
the  most  extraordinary  variety  of  climate,  of  pro- 
duce, and  of  the  conditions  under  which  life  may 
bo  lived.”  It  is  true  that  the  production  of  this 
article  in  Ceylon  has  dwindled,  owing  to  the  fatal 
leaf  disease,  from  60,000  tons  in  1871-75,  to  3,750  tons 
in  1891.  Though  this  disease  has  so  seriously  affected 
Ceylon  and  India,  England  possesses  other  eligible 
colonies  exempt  from  the  disease.  For  instance,  in 
the  New  World,  Jamaica  may  be  mentioned  as 
being  capable  of  growing  coffee  on  a very  much 
larger  scale  than  it  does  at  present.  There,  how- 
ever, during  scores  of  years  this  product  has  remained 
•almost  stationary.  Even  compared  with  the  neigh- 
bouring llepublic  of  Hayti,  the  inhabitants  of  which 
are  usually  denounced  for  their  aversion  to  progress, 
.Jamaica  comes  out  unfavourably,  for  Hayti,  iu  spite, 
too,  of  revolutions,  exports  seven  times  more  coffee 
than  .Jamaica. 
As  I am  well  acquainted  with  the  productive  re- 
sources of  Jamaica,  England's  tropical  American 
colony  par  excellence  for  coffee,  it  may  not  be  amiss 
to  give  the  following  particulars  touching  coffee 
cultivation  in  that  colony  in  comparison  with  the 
cultivation  in  Colombia.  The  total  coffee  production 
in  Jamaica,  about  10,000,000  lb.,  represents  what  ia 
cultivated  on  an  area  of  11,000  acres  iu  Colombia, 
but  in  Jamaica  22.476  aci-es  are  under  cultivation. 
Thus,  were  the  .Jamaica  plantations  yielding  to  the 
same  extent  as  those  of  Colombia  the  value  of  the 
output  would  be  increased  from  336,840/.  to  double 
that  amount  yearly.  Moreover,  the  general  average 
quality  of  the  Colombian  article  is  superior  to  that 
of  .Jamaica,  though  that  island  contains  several 
plantations  at  high  altitudes  the  produce  of  which 
is  the  fanest  in  the  world.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
tliat  the  coffee  industry  of  .Jamaica  would  be  greatly 
benefited  by  the  adoption  of  the  more  advanced 
practical  methods  pursued  in  Colombia. 
In  a recent  number  of  the  “ Kew  Bulletin”  refer- 
ence is  made  to  the  slow  development  of  the  coffee 
enterprise  iu  Jamaica  and  other  British  colonies. 
What  that  paper  suggests  in  order  to  encourage  the 
enterprise  in  .Jamaica  is  the  opening  up  of  roads 
to  facilitate  transport,  but  .Jamaica  is  already  well 
provided  with  splendid  roads  ; besides,  the  most 
eligible  sites  for  i)lantations  are  nowhere  situated 
more  than  some  20  miles  from  the  sea,  and  seaports 
surround  the  island.  I have  already  described  how 
