Dec.  2,  1895.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
THE  NATIVE  HOME  OE  C01H<EE. 
When  we  are  enjoying  a tragant  cup  ot  cofTee. 
It  is  jileasant  to  rellect  that  there  is  one  country, 
though  one  only,  wliere  tlie  coffee  i)laiit  grows  and 
iiourislies  without  cultivation.  This  country — ac- 
cording to  an  Italian  traveller— is  Kaffa,  in  South 
Africa,*  from  which  town,  it  is  surmiseil,  the  plant 
took  its  name.  “ I affirm  what  I have  seen,” 
says  this  traveller,  “namely,  that  Kaffa  is  the 
only  country  in  the  world  where  coffee  grows 
spontaneously,  comes  to  maturity,  and  |)roduces 
jierfect  fruit  without  any  cultivation  at  all.”f  At 
the  present  day,  he  continues,  there  is  not  a 
house  in  Kaffa  which  does  not  jiossess  a jiiece  of 
ground  planted  with  coffee,  and  lie  himself,  during 
his  two  years’  stay  in  the  place,  had  about  three 
thousand  plants  in  the  ground,  but  that  wldch  grows 
spontaneously  in  the  woods,  ])roducing  without 
artificial  means,  was  always  esteemed  the  best. 
And,  in  fact,  rich  people,  in  order  to  have 
good  and  fresh  coffee  every  morning,  keej)  a 
jiiece  of  ground  apart  in  their  farms  planted 
thiekly  with  the  forest  trees,  beneath  which  the 
plant  thrives  and  bears  better  and  more  aro- 
matic fruit  than  when  in  the  open.  Here  the 
berries  are  gathered  daily  lor  the  family  con- 
sumption. Another  advantage  mentioned  with 
regard,  to  forest-grown  eoffee  is  that  it  is  never 
subject  to  any  malady,  whereas  the  other 
suffers  from  a variety  of  diseases.  Again,  the 
■wild  plant  germinates  in  a fortnight,  while  the 
domestic  one  does  so  after  several  months  only. 
It  is  usually  believed  that  there  are  various 
species  of  the  coffee  plant.  Our  informaut,  how- 
ever, is  of  the  opinion  that  there  exists  but  one 
plant,  which,  nevertheless,  according  to  the  diffe- 
rent methods  of  cultivation,  undergoes  a certain 
change.  As,  for  example,  in  the  wild  and 
domestic  plant  ; and,  again,  in  that  which  is 
favoured  by  climate  and  soil,  and  that  which  is 
not.  Much  also  deptnls  upon  the  cultivator. 
The_  same  ^species  growing  wild  jiroduces  small 
berries,  winch  become  double  the  size  when  cul- 
tivated. It  is  also  impo.ssible,  wc  are  reminded, 
that  one  harvest  can  ju'oduce  nothing  but  line 
full  berries ; conseiiuently  the  ba<l  and  the 
good  are  mixeil  together  for  sale,  or  sold  sciiara- 
tely  at  different  prices  by  the  coffee  merchants. 
The  small  unripe  grains  have  neither  taste,  nor 
smell,  nor  form.  An  apiiarcnt  variety  in  coffee 
is  likewise  lu'oduced,  according  to  the  time  em- 
ployed in  and  the  manner  of  gathering  the 
grains  at  harvest  time.  Coffee  requires  several 
months  to  come  to  maturity  ; in  Kaffa  ripe  ber- 
ries begin  to  appear  in  yeidembcr,  and  are  lit 
for  gathering  in  November.  Any  small  or  unripe 
berries  remaining  are  equally  gathered  and  given 
to  the  .servants  or  sent  away  for  sale.  The  Ara- 
bians are  reported  to  be  the  best  coffee  cultiva- 
tors, because  they  know  how  to  gather  the  grains 
at  the  most  favourable  moment,  and  take  great 
care  in  .sifting  and  cleansing  them  to  send  them 
in  good  condition  to  the  markets.  J Consequently, 
our  traveller  maintains  that  the  good  reputation 
that  Moka  coffee  has  maintainecl  is  due  solely 
to  the  care  referred  to,  inasmuch  as  the  [iroducts 
of  this  country  do  not  differ  in  the  least  from  that 
which  is  sown  and  cultivated  in  other  parts. 
What  a jiity  it  seems,  then,  that  in  a country 
where  coffee  comes  to  |ierfection  in  a wild  state 
* No — ratlier  North-East  Africa  or  Abyssinia. — 
Ed.  T.A. 
t So  long  ago  as  the  eaidy  “ thirties  ” a Mission 
from  Bombay  to  the  Court  of  Abyssinia  described 
part  of  their  journey  from  the  Coast  as  being  under 
wild  coffee  bushes  laden  with  berries. — Ed.  T.A, 
J This  is  absurd.— Eo.  T.4. 
there  should  be  neither  roads  nor  means  of 
transport  for  converting  it  into  an  article  of  com- 
merce. These  necessary  aids  to  business  are, 
however,  wanting  in  Kaffa,  it  is  said.  Neither 
do  they  exist  even  for  the  interior  of  the  African 
towns,  or  for  the  regions  of  the  Oriental  coast. 
Consequently  the  pro<luction  is  a source  of  little 
or  no  [H'olit  to  the  country,  whereas  it  might 
be  one  of  great  gain  to  the  inhabitants.  The 
oidy  i)urpose  for  which  it  is  utilised  is  for  do- 
mestic use,  as  everyone  is  accustomed  to  this  be- 
verage. If  by  chance  the  luovision  should  not 
sullice  for  one  family,  it  is  e.asily  made  up  for 
by  a neighbour,  in  return  for  a measure  of 
corn.  The  great  ivory,  musk,  and  slave  mer- 
chants i)urchase  a certain  (piantity,  but  only 
sufficient  for  their  journey,  or  for  pre.sents  to  their 
hosts  cn  route,  or  to  obtain  a free  passage  over 
one  of  the  frontiers,  never  for  selling.  Less  im- 
]>ortant  vendors,  who  pass  through  the  country 
selling  wax,  coriander,  and  other  small  wares, 
buy  it  for  selling  again,  but  in  such  limiteil  quanti- 
ties that  no  one  in  Kaffa  cultivates  and  gathers  in 
the  berries  in  the  hope  of  gaining  anything  by 
such  tiansactions.  And  if,  in  time  of  xvar,  even 
these  small  itinerant  merchants  fail  to  pass,  the 
cultivators,  not  knowing  what  to  do  with  so  much 
coffee  in  the  house,  do  not  trouble  to  gather  the 
grains  when  ri|)e.  Another  authority  on  this 
subject,  M.Massaja,  confirms  the  above  statements, 
and,  basing  his  o])inion  on  the  traditions  of  the 
Kaffas  and  the  Arabs  of  Moka  and  Jemen,  says 
that  this  idant,  which  the  greater  part  of  botanists 
assert  to  be  a native  of  Arabia,  coTues  instead 
from  Kaffa,  whence  it  takes  its  name.  “ And 
this,”  he  continues,  “ ap])cars  to  me  i)i  obable,  as 
Kafl’a  and  the  adjacent  territory  are,  as  far  as 
1 know,  the  only  places  where  the  coffee  grows 
so  spontaneously,  and  with  such  force  of  vegeta- 
tion in  the  woods.  And  the  plants  which  vegetate 
under  the  shade  of  the  great  forests  are,  accord- 
ing to  the  natives,  of  excellent  quality,  and  not 
subject  to  any  of  the  diseases  tvliich  generally 
attack  those  which  grow  in  the  open  country. 
How  far  the  assertitju  of  the  Kaffas  is  true, 
says  this  writer,  I cannot  venture  to  say  ; it  is 
a fact,  however,  that  rich  proprietors,  in  cultivat- 
ing this  shrub  near  their  dwellings,  always  select 
the  most  shady  s]iot  ; and  if  trees  are  scarce, 
they  have  them  planted  in  a manner  so  as  to  form 
small  forests. 
There  is  not  a house  in  Kaffa  which  is  not 
surrounded  by  coffee  woods  or  plantations,  the 
products  of  which  always  surpass  the  quantity 
necessaiy  for  the  family’s  consunqttion.  W hen  the 
coffee  is  fresh,  the  natives  eat  it  fried  with  salt 
and  butter,  or  make  an  infusion  of  it,  as  we  do. 
The  i)lant  is  propagated  in  two  ways  in  Kaffa — l)y 
transjilanting  and  .sowing.  In  the  former  case,  they 
generally  wait  for  the  rainy  season.  Then,  ])roceed- 
ing  to  the  forest,  such  plants  as  have  taken  growth 
in  others  half  fallen  to  the  gr.mnd,  vegetating  to 
tlic  detriment  of  the  larger  shrub  by  robbing  it  of 
its  nourishment,  are  taken  up.  Care  is  horvever 
taken  not  to  loosen  the  earth  adhering  to  the 
jamug  roots,  which  are  rej)lanted  in  a free  .s]»ot, 
in  holes  about  twelve  inches  deep,  so  that  not 
more  than  nine  inches  of  the  plant  remain  above 
ground,  and  in  a slightly  slanting  jmsition.  The 
sowing  of  coffee  takes  place,  as  soon  as  the  ripe 
fruit  is  harvested,  in  ground  freshly  ploughed 
and  well  manured.  After  one  or  two  years, 
the  young  j)lants  are  transi)orted  to  a spot 
where  they  will  remain  till  the  time  of  }»ro- 
duction  is  linished.  A little  while  after  the 
transplanting  or  sowing,  the  Arabs  take  care  to 
exterminate  .all  weeds  <aml  useless  growths.  The 
Kaffas,  however,  do  not  trouble  them,sclve.s  about 
