COFFEE VARIETIES IX PORTO RICO. 11 
Although the cherry was found to be slightly smaller than that of 
the Porto Rican in the samples compared ( Table 1 ) . the bean is large, 
approximating in size the Porto Rican grown at higher elevations 
(Table 3). An almud of cherries, reduced in weight in processing 
in the ratio of 5.7 to 1, gave 5 pounds of marketable beans. (Table 4.) 
This variety may be mixed with the Porto Rican. from winch it is in- 
distinguishable in appearance. Its cup flavor is excellent. 
Columnaris is recommended for planting because of its vigorous 
growth, fair productivity, relatively large bean, and cup flavor. 
Maragogipe. 
Keable 18 states that Maragogipe was discovered in 1870 near the 
town of the same name in Bahia. Brazil. He also says that the 
variety is commercially important and has been rather extensively 
grown in Guatemala. Seed of this variety was received by the station 
from Guatemala and from Java. In September. 1909, 153 trees, pre- 
sumably 20 months from seed, were set in the field. Root disease 
present in the soil has slowly and steadily reduced the number of trees, 
as in the Columnaris planting. 
Maragogipe. differs from typical Arabian in both foliage and in- 
ternodal length., (PL III. fig. 2.) The internodes attain such a 
length as to limit their production on a given area of branch and 
cause the tree to present a straggling appearance. The longer 
internodes on the uprights may range from 7 inches to over a foot in 
length. As is true of the other varieties, the internodal length varies 
constantly. The internodal lengths measured, from base to tip. 6. 
51, 3i. If. 2. 4i. li. and 2i inches on a representative lateral branch. 
immediately above a 9-inch internode. The leaves of the variety 
are larger than those of other varieties of Arabian coffee, some of 
them ranging from 7 to 10 inches in length and 3 to 4 inches in 
breadth. The shape also differs, being lanceolate with an upper 
convex surface. 
The ripening season of Maragogipe is almost as late as that of 
Columnaris. (See Table 1.) The record of yield for the 11-year 
period 1912-1922 is shown in Table 6. In the last four crops' are 
included some younger trees, more than 5 years old, which were set 
to replace dead trees. Xot only was the average annual yield for the 
entire period low. being 1.6 liters of coffee cherries to a tree, but the 
maximum average annual yield was only 2.4 liters. 
The cherries and beans of Maragogipe are the largest among the 
Arabian varieties. In a count of the cherries in 10 liters of each it 
was found that only 59 per cent as many Maragogipe cherries were 
required as of Porto Rican to fill the measure. The 1.000-bean weight 
was 70 per cent heavier for Maragogipe than for the Mayaguez 
sample of Porto Rican coffee. (See Table 3.) From an almud of 
cherries 5 pounds 7 ounces of marketable coffee was obtained, and the 
ratio of reduction in weight. 5.5 to 1. was very favorable. The cup 
flavor seems much more distinctive than is true of the other coffee 
varieties tested at the station. Doctor Cramer 19 says that it ; > "the 
finest coffee known : it has a hisrhlv developed, splendid flavor. 
^Coffee. B. B. Keable. London. 1909, p. 16. 
-• Coffees of the. Dutch East Indies. Dr. P. J. S. Cramer. Tea and Coffee Trade Jou*-., 
vol. 35, No. 4 (1918), p. 321. 
