COFFEE VARIETIES IN PORTO RICO. y 
2, 34, 5, 6i, 8. and 10 feet, respectively. The tallest measured 17 
feet, and many were 13 and 14 feet high. Though individual trees 
of the variety may vary considerably, Erecta differs from the local 
variety in its habit of rather erect growth, the more acute angle 
which its upward-pointing lateral branches form with the trunk 
or upright, and its generally smaller leaves and shorter internodes. 
The crop of 1911 was very small. The subsequent production per 
tree is shown in Table 6. 
Without fertilizer Erecta produced a small crop, but with fertilizer 
it yielded in 1917 at this station the maximum for Arabian coffee, 8.4 
liters of cherries per tree. (See Table 6.) Both cherry and bean re- 
semble those of Porto Rican, but the reduction in weight in the ratio 
of 6.3 to 1, due to preparation for market, was less favorable than was 
true of the latter. (See Table 4.) The two may be mixed for mar- 
keting. 
Its productivity in the latter part of the period recorded in Table 6 
and. its vigorous growth recommend it for trial. 
COLUMN A MS. 
Of this coffee, received from the Botanic Gardens, Buitenzorg, 
Java, Doctor Cramer 17 says it is — 
A variety which is distinctive by its vigorous growth ; the tree may become 
25 feet high, forming a long column, covered with dense foliage. * * * A shy 
bearer, but recommendable for dry climates. It was discovered by- a Java 
planter, Mr. Ottolander, on his estate Pantjoer. 
In August, 1909, 160 trees, presumably 20 months from seed, were 
transferred from the nursery to the field. Since then a root disease, 
present in a part of the area planted, has steadily reduced the num- 
ber of trees. Columnaris is much more vigorous than Porto Rican. 
In the coastal region, which is less favorable for coffee than are the 
uplands, its general appearance is that of coffee produced in very 
fertile soil at an elevation of several thousand feet. The trunk is stiff, 
straight, and tall; the primary laterals are very long, some being 8 feet 
or more in length, and on them many secondary growths are pro- 
duced. Many of the branches sweep the ground, forming a dense 
column of foliage from the ground up, and giving distinction and 
beauty to the trees. (PI. Ill, fig. 1.) This column-like effect is less- 
ened after some years as the lower laterals are lost and the tall trunk 
bends under its heavy crops and consequent production of new up- 
rights. The trees are large and should produce big crops. Due to 
their size, however, picking is difficult, The variety both blossoms 
and ripens later in the season than does the typical Arabian, matur- 
ing later than the Porto Rican variety by a month or more. (See 
Table 1.) 
At the station Columnaris produced its first small crop in 1912, 
which was a year later than the average Arabian coffee began to bear. 
Another lot from seed planted in November, 1913, and set in the field 
in September, 1915, came into bearing in 1919, confirming the earlier 
indication of the tardiness of this varietv in maturing. Yields, on 
the whole, have been satisfactory and decidedly so in the lower, more 
fertile section of the planting. (See Table 6.) 
17 Coffees of the Dutch East Indies. Dr. P. J. S. Cramer. Tea and Coffee Trade Jour., 
vcl. 35\ No. 4 (1918), p. 321 t 322. 
