chap, iv.] WEST INDIES. 113 
stance related by the celebrated gardener, Mr. 
Miller, “ that from plants brought from the West 
Indies, and raised in English hot-houses, coffee 
berries have been produced which at a proper age, 
were found to surpass the very best Mocha that 
could be procured in Great Britain.'’ It is evi¬ 
dent therefore that the whole difference depends 
on the soil and climate, mode of curing, and age. 
It appears, on the authority of I.e Roque, and 
other writers, that the Arabian cofiee is produced 
in a very dry climate ; and nourishes most on a san¬ 
dy soil, or on mountainous slopes, which give an 
easy conveyance to the rains. I he propriety of 
choosing similar situations in the West Indies (it a 
small berry, best suited for the English market, is 
expected) is justified by the experience of every 
coffee planter. 
A rich deep soil, frequently meliorated by show¬ 
ers, will produce a luxuriant tree, and a great 
crop; but the beans which are large, and of a 
dingy green, prove, for many years, rank and va¬ 
pid. It is singular, however, that the North Ameri¬ 
cans prefer this sort to any other, and as they have 
hitherto been the best customers at the \V est In¬ 
dian markets, the planters naturally enough have 
applied their labours to that cultivation which turn¬ 
ed to the best account. 
Happily for the coffee planters of the British 
West Indies, the English market, by a prudent 
Vol. III. 
