376 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Dec. I, 1897. 
enough success thus far to ’wanant their continuance. 
Ultimately it is hoped to attempt the manufacture 
of those veiy highly esteemed ondfriced leas which 
are rarely met with outside the countries where 
they are grown; and simply, because of a light 
•‘firing,” they do not stand distant tiansportation. 
They should be drank shortly alter manufacture. 
This is a field where the American grower need fear 
no competition from the Orient. Such teas must 
demand a high, very high price ; but if better than 
can be otherwise obtained, there will be no scarcity 
of buyers. 
CHAELES U. SHEPABD. 
Piuehurst, 1896. 
COFFEE PLANTING IN i\] ADAGASCAP. 
In 1871, the late Mr. Alfred Guf not, of Yatcmandary, 
tried large plantations of ccffee in Mahanoro Dis- 
trict. The plants grew very well, and if that gentle man 
had succeeded in the enteipiise he would have 
certainly been one of the richest man who ■ ver 
attempted serious planting in Madagascar. Sine 
time after, in 1872-73, a kind oHever passed through 
the district of mahanoro, the disease unknown tmt l 
that time, acted so strongly on lie brains of the 
inhabitants, that an epidemic immediately broke out : 
it was planting coffee; almost every' me wished to 
plant, and planted coffee; that plant responded to 
the desire of the inhabitants and gi ew luxuriantly ; 
unfortunately this did not last long. W hat often 
happens in such cases soon occurred, namely, deceptive 
appearances, and then disillusion, Ccffee had been, 
it is true, planted on a large scale, but no one provided 
for the means of maintaining it, FJanted orlilinully, 
the care of hringing up the child ivas left to Fainre 
alone. In a short space of time latge plantations of 
coffee has been made, but alas ! they did not last 
long. In a few years, after a few crops all the 
plantations had disappeared. Almost all the coffee- 
trees had died. No one searched for a remedy, or 
to discover the cause of the disease. All cciutented 
themselves with saying, “The coffee plantations are 
destroyed by a disease.” Only one pb.nter, Mr. .lean 
Comte now in Tamatave, tcaa in the hahit of manur- 
ing the coffee-trees yearly. H ell, he prcserced Ins 
plantation, and toe remember, long a/ti r the disappearance 
of the other plantations, having twice accompanied 
him on his estate situated at Ambodiriana Lohariaiia 
and saw the coffee-trees in a very Jair state of vegetation. 
When the late war took place and Mr. Comte was 
obliged to leave Mahanoro, his plantation was in 
full crop, while long before there remained only stumps 
of trees on the estates of the other planters. In our 
opinion, the coffee-tree was destroyed by a disease 
which could be summarised by these words ; icant 
of nourishing elements. We think that the coffee-tree 
could be planted and would succeed on the condition 
that the plantation be manured yearly, even tidce a 
near if possible. The soil of this country possesses 
an incredible degree of vegetation, but, by the very 
fact that the vegetation is so active the scil becomes 
impoverished quickly. Since artificial plantations a^e 
made Nature ought also to be aided urUfcially. il e 
late M Alfied Guenot, who had lost so much money 
in planting ccffee, was of opinion that ccffee ought 
to be tried again and waspreparing to do so, when 
unfortunatelv he died. The same sort of icffceis 
that which was cultivated at the time could, we 
believe, be planted aliesh— the tree is not sick, since 
on all estates where ccffee was planted, it is observed 
that a few have escaped owing, undoubtedly, to having 
been planted in richer veins of soil. In the villages 
and yards one notices a few ccffee-tiecs griwing 
nicely, probably taking their nulritice pr'nciples frem 
the manure foiined naturally in these places. It is 
a good idea to inticduce the ceffee ef Lileriahcie, 
but it is no reason why the ancient scirt should net 
be planted again. In 1880 the ccffee in white shell 
was worth 3 dols. per ICO lb.; at the present tirne, 
one could hardly, by cffering 11 dols. or 12 dels., 
obtain 100 lb. of the same produce, Most of the 
foreign community, if not all, make use of tea now. 
We have also observed that ccffee flourishes here 
in places sheltered frem winds, and ever so little 
umbrageous. We believe that the plant would do 
very well as interlineary plantations. — Madagascar 
Ncics. 
COFFEE CULTIVATION IN BEAZIL. 
The following on the subject of the cultivation 
of Coffee in Brazil, published in the Herne Colcmale, 
is taken from a report addressed to the Minister 
of Foreign Relations of France by Mr. Viener, on 
bis return fiom South America; — 
The largest ccffee-plantiug region is found between 
latitudes 18 degrees and 25 degrees south ; but it 
extends much farther north, and coffee raising is 
carried on in an immerrse territory', embracing 25 
degrees of latitude and 24 degrees of longitude. 
in the beginnirg of this century Brazil exported 
only a very small quantity of ccffee, but rrow it is 
the piiircipal coffee-producing country of the world. 
The following rtiitenient shows the increase of 
the Braziliair ci ft’, e trade since 1,800, from the ports 
of Bio and Samos alone in bags of 60 kilograms 
(133 pounds) each. 
1800 
13 
1817 
66,985 
1620 
97,489 
1830 
484,222 
1840 
1,037,981 
1676 . . 
3,765.122 
1895 
6,508,768 
In 1895 tire crop was estimated at 7,000,000 bags ; 
in 1696 it was even larger. 
The coffee plant is rrot indigenous to Brazil, but 
it is today completely acclimated. One finds, it is 
true, irr the forests of Botucato (State of Sao Paulo) 
a so-called wild coffee plant (Cofea omarello), but 
they are without doubt plants that have come up 
from seeds earried by birds or monkeys. The culti- 
vated variety is called in the country coffea vermelho. 
The height of the plant varies from 2 to 5 metres 
and tire steirr measures from 40 to 70 centimetres 
in circumference. 
The processes of cultivation vary according to the 
locality. Thus in the province of Ceara, according 
to a pamphlet by Mr. Job, quoted from by Mr. 
Vierrer, the coffee plant is always started iir green- 
houses. The roots are transplanted at the age of 
two years, preferably from January to April, and 
are planted at a distance of from 10 to 12 palmos 
(the palnro is eqrrivalent to about 9 inches). They 
begin to yield at four or five years. The season for 
gathering the crop is not always the same ; on the 
other hand, it has quite a long duration, varying 
somewhat according to the heaviness of the rainy 
season, which generally begins in May or June and 
ends in August. 
The beans are placed on a paved floor (uncovered), 
called in the country fachine, and the drying lasts 
from thirty to thirty-five lays. In the State of 
Ceara the old system of decoiticatiou by grinding 
by millstones (rodierosj turning in a stone trough 
is still employed. This method leaves much to be 
deriied, for many of the grains are crushed by the 
weight of the stones. The cleaning and burnishing 
are done usually by hand. 
In the States of Sao Paulo and M inas Geraes the 
cultivation of coffee occupies vast areas, and the 
treatment of the ccffee after the crop has been 
gathered is done in a much more pei feet manner 
then in Ceara, by the most improved machinery. 
The largest fazenda (plantation) in Brazil, and 
p ihaps in the world, is the Dumont plantation 
(State of Minas Geraes) esIablLhed by a Frenchman, 
whose name the plantation s ill bears. The total 
extent of the property is 30,000 hectares, 6,150 of 
wh eh are planted in col ee. The number of plants 
in 1896 was 4,718,000. 
The cultivation is carried on by Italian emigrants, 
of whom there are 8,000 employed. Each year the 
extent of this plantation grows, and the pioduction 
becomes larger and larger. 
