All About Coffee Part 46

In the Yungas and the Apolobamba districts of La Paz, its cultivation reaches the greatest importance, but even there is not of large proportions.

CHILE, PARAGUAY, AND ARGENTINA. Coffee is of minor, almost insignificant, importance in the agriculture of Chile, Paraguay, and Argentina. In Uruguay the climate is altogether unsuitable for it.

Argentina and Paraguay each have small growing districts. In the first named, only the provinces of Salta and Jujuy have, at the latest reports, a little more than 3,000 acres under cultivation. In Paraguay some householders have grown coffee in their yards solely for their own use. In the Paraguayan district of Altos, north of Asuncion, a small group of plantations was started before the outbreak of the World War, and produced about 300,000 pounds of coffee in a year.

CEYLON. Coffee planting in Ceylon was an important industry for a century, until the so-called Ceylon leaf disease attacked the plantations in 1869, and a few years later had practically destroyed all the trees of the country. Although coffee raising has continued since then, there has been, especially since the beginning of the twentieth century, a steady decline in acreage. There were 4,875 acres under cultivation in 1903, 2,433 acres in 1907, 1,389 in 1912, and 941.5 in 1919. Only 2,200 pounds were produced in 1917. However, the climate and soil of Ceylon seem adapted to coffee culture, and the experimental stations at Peradeniya and Anuradhapura have been experimenting in recent years with _robusta_, _canephora_, _Ugandae_, and a _robusta_ hybrid for the purpose of reviving the industry in the country.

Ceylon is one of the oldest coffee-growing countries, the Arabs having experimented with it there, according to legend, long before the Portuguese seized the island in 1505. The Dutch, who gained control in 1658, continued the cultivation, and in 1690 introduced more systematic methods. They sent a few pounds in 1721 to Amsterdam, where the coffee brought a higher price than Java or Mocha. However, it was not until after the British occupied the island in 1796, that coffee growing was carried on extensively. The first British-owned upland plantation was started in 1825 by Sir Edward Barnes; and for more than fifty years thereafter coffee was one of the island's leading products. An orgy of speculation in coffee growing in Ceylon, in which 5,000,000 sterling are said to have been invested, culminated in 1845 in the bursting of the coffee bubble, and hundreds were ruined. The peak of the export trade was reached in 1873, when 111,495,216 pounds of coffee were sent out of the country. Even then, the plantations were suffering severely from the leaf disease, which had appeared in 1869; and by 1887, the coffee tree had practically disappeared from Ceylon. Ceylon's day in coffee was a cycle of fifty-odd years.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ROBUSTA COFFEE GROWING ON THE SUZANNAH ESTATE, COCHIN-CHINA]

FRENCH INDO-CHINA. Coffee culture in French Indo-China is a comparatively small factor in international trade, although production is on the increase, particularly from those plantations planted to _robusta_, _liberica_, and _excelsa_ varieties. The average annual export for the five-year period ended with 1918 was 516,978 pounds, nearly all of it going to France.

The first experiments with coffee growing were begun in 1887, near Hanoi in Tonkin. The seeds were of the _arabica_ variety, brought from Reunion, and the production from the first years was distributed throughout the country to foster the industry. Eventually _arabica_ was found unsuitable to the soil and climate, and experiments were begun with _robusta_ and other hardier types.

A survey of the industry of the country in 1916 showed that the plant was being successfully grown in the provinces of Tonkin, Anam, and Cochin-China, and that altogether there were about 1,000,000 trees in bearing. The plantations are mostly in the foot-hills of the mountain ranges or on the slopes, although a few are located near the coast line at 1,000 feet, or even less, above sea-level.

The larger and more successful plantations follow advanced methods of planting and cultivating, while the government maintains experimental stations for the purpose of fostering the industry. It is believed that French Indo-China in coming years will a.s.sume an important position in the coffee trade of the world, particularly as a source of supply for France.

FEDERATED MALAY STATES, INCLUDING STRAITS SETTLEMENTS. Rubber has been the chief cause of the decline of coffee industry in the Federated Malay States. Since the closing years of the nineteenth century coffee has been steadily on the downward path in acreage and production, with the possible exception of parts of Straits Settlements, which in 1918 exported, mostly to England, some 3,500,000 pounds of good grade coffee.

The other sections of the federation shipped less than 1,000,000 pounds.

In the early days, planters of the Malay Peninsula knew little about proper methods of cultivating, and depended mostly upon what they learned of the practises in Ceylon, which, unfortunately for them, were not at all suited to the Malay country. They secured their best crops from lowlands where peaty soil prevailed, and eventually all the coffee grown on the peninsula came from such regions.

_Liberica_ is mostly favored, and is grown with some success as an inter-crop with cocoanuts and rubber. The _robusta_ variety has also been introduced, but does not seem to do as well as the _liberica_.

Between 2,300 and 2,600 acres, according to recent returns, have been under coffee as a catch-crop with cocoanuts, out of a total of 40,000 acres in cocoanut estates. One planter has been reported as making quite a success with this method of inter-cropping for coffee, but it is not generally approved.

There has been a general decline in acreage, product, and exports since the closing years of the nineteenth century, until now the industry is regarded as practically at a stand-still and likely so to remain as long as rubber shall continue to hold the commercially high position to which it has attained. Unsatisfactory prices realized for the crop, poor growth of the trees in some localities, and the gradual weakening of the trees under rubber as they mature, are offered as the princ.i.p.al explanations of this decrease in acreage. Nearly all the Malay crop in recent years has been grown in Selangor, though Negri Sembilan, Pahang, and Perak continue as factors in the trade.

[Ill.u.s.tration: COFFEE TREES OF THE BOURBON VARIETY, FRENCH INDO-CHINA]

AUSTRALIA. Although Australia is a prospective coffee-growing country of large natural possibilities, the _Australian Year Book_ for 1921 states that Queensland is the one state in which experiments have been tried, and that in 1919-20 there were only twenty-four acres under cultivation.

Queensland soils are of volcanic origin, exceptionally rich, and support trees that are vigorous and prolific with a bean of fine quality. The _arabica_ is chiefly cultivated, and the trees can be successfully grown on the plains at sea-level as well as up to a height of 1,500 or 2,000 feet. The trees mature earlier than in some other countries. Planted in January, they frequently blossom in December of the next year, or a month later, and yield a small crop in July or August; that is, in about two years and a half from the time of planting. The bean closely resembles the choice Blue Mountain coffee of Jamaica. For coffee cultivation the labor cost is almost prohibitive.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PICKING COFFEE ON A NORTH QUEENSLAND PLANTATION]

As much as fifteen hundred-weight of beans per acre have been gathered from trees in North Queensland; and for years the average was ten hundred-weight per acre. After thirty years of cultivation, no signs of disease have appeared. At late as 1920, the government was proposing to make advances of fourteen cents a pound upon coffee in the parchment to encourage the development of the industry to a point where it would be possible for local coffee growers to capture at least the bulk of the commonwealth's import coffee trade of 2,605,240 pounds.

Coffee grows well in most all the islands of the Pacific Ocean, and in some of them, as in the Philippines and Hawaii, the industry in past years, reached considerable importance.

HAWAII. Coffee has been grown in Hawaii since 1825, from plants brought from Brazil. It has also been said that seed was brought by Vancouver, the British navigator, on his Pacific exploration voyage, 1791-94. Not, however, until 1845 was an official record made of the crop, which was then 248 pounds. The first plantations, started on the low levels, near the sea, did not do well; and it was not until the trees were planted at elevations of from 1,000 to 3,000 feet above sea-level that better returns were obtained.

Coffee is grown on all the islands of the group, but nowhere to any great extent except on Hawaii, which produces ninety-five percent of the entire crop. Next in importance, though far behind, is the island of Oahu. On Hawaii there are four princ.i.p.al coffee districts, Kona, Hamakua, Puna, and Olaa. About four-fifths of the total output of the islands is produced in Kona. At one time there were considerable coffee areas in Maui and Kauai, but sugar cane eventually there took the place of coffee.

[Ill.u.s.tration: COFFEE IN BLOSSOM, CAPTAIN COOK COFFEE COMPANY ESTATE, KEALAKEKUA, KONA, HAWAII]

The Kona coffee district extends for many miles along the western slope of the island of Hawaii and around famous Kealakekua Bay. The soil is volcanic, and even rocky; but coffee trees flourish surprisingly well among the rocks, and are said to bear a bean of superior quality.

Coffee trees in Kona are planted princ.i.p.ally in the open, though sometimes they are shaded by the native _kukui_ trees. They are grown from seed in nurseries; and the seedlings, when one year old, are transplanted in regular lines nine feet apart. In two years a small crop is gathered, yielding from five to twelve bags of cleaned coffee per acre. At three years of age the trees produce from eight to twenty bags of cleaned coffee per acre, and from that time they are fully matured.

The ripening season is between September and January, and there are two princ.i.p.al pickings. Many of the trees are cla.s.sed as wild; that is, they are not topped, and are cultivated in an irregular manner and are poorly cared for; but they yield 700 or 800 pounds per acre. The fruit ripens very uniformly, and is picked easily and at slight expense.

It is calculated that in the Hawaiian group more than 250,000 acres of good coffee land are available and about 200,000 acres more of fair quality. Comparatively little of this possible acreage has been put to use. According to the census of 1889, there were then 6,451 acres devoted to coffee, having, young and old, 3,225,743 bearing trees. The yield, in that census year, was 2,297,000 pounds, of which 2,112,650 pounds were credited to Hawaii, the small remainder coming from Maui, Oahu, Kauai, and Molokai.

A blight in 1855-56 set back the industry, many plantations being ruined and then given over to sugar cane. After the blight had disappeared, the plantations were re-established, and prosperity continued for years.

Following the American occupation of the islands in 1898, came another period of depression. With the loss of the protective tariff that had existed, prices fell to an unremunerativte figure; and the more profitable sugar cane was taken up again. After 1912, the increased demand for coffee, with higher prices, led again to hopes for the future of the industry. Planting was encouraged; and it has been demonstrated that from lands well selected and intelligently cultivated it is possible to have a yield of from 1,200 to 2,100 pounds per acre.

Improvements have also been made in pulping and milling facilities. Many of the plantations are cultivated by j.a.panese labor.

[Ill.u.s.tration: COFFEE GROWING UNDER SHADE, HAMAKUA, H.I.]

Exports of coffee from Hawaii to the princ.i.p.al countries of the world in 1920 were 2,573,300 pounds.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. Spanish missionaries from Mexico are said to have carried the coffee plant to the Philippine Islands in the latter part of the eighteenth century. At first it was cultivated in the province of La Laguna; but afterward other provinces, notably Batangas and Cavite, took it up; and in a short time the industry was one of the most important in the islands. The coffee was of the _arabica_ variety. In the middle of the eighteenth century, and after, the industry had a position of importance; several provinces produced profitable crops that contributed much to the wealth of the communities where the berry was cultivated. In those days the city of Yipa was an important trading center. In the period of its prime Philippine coffee enjoyed fine repute, especially in Spain, Great Britain, and China (at Hong Kong), those three countries being the largest consumers. At one time--in 1883 and 1884--the annual export was 16,000,000 pounds, which demonstrates the importance of the industry at the peak of its prosperity. The leaf blight appeared on the island about 1889, causing destruction from which there has not yet been complete recovery. The export of 3,086 pounds in 1917 shows the depths into which the industry had fallen.

The Bureau of Agriculture at Manila announced in 1915 that an effort was to be made to re-habilitate the coffee industry of the islands. Nothing came of the effort, which died a-borning. Since then, several attempts to introduce disease-resisting varieties of coffee from Java have failed because of lack of interest on the part of the natives.

Despite the misfortunes that have overwhelmed it in the past and are now r.e.t.a.r.ding its growth, it is still believed that the industry in these islands may be re-habilitated. Conditions of soil and climate are favorable; land and labor are cheap, abundant, and dependable: railroads run into the best coffee regions, and good cart roads are in process of construction. Some plantations of consequence are still in existence, and serious consideration is being given to their development and to increasing their number.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE COFFEE TREE THRIVES IN THE LAVA SOIL OF SOUTH KONA, ISLAND OF HAWAII]

GUAM. Coffee is one of the commonest wild plants on the little island of Guam. It grows around the houses like shade trees or flowering shrubs, and nearly every family cultivates a small patch. Climate and soil are favorable to it; and it flourishes, with abundant crops, from the sea-level to the tops of the highest hills. The plants are set in straight rows, from three and a half to seven feet apart, and are shaded by banana trees or by cocoanut leaves stuck in the ground. There is no production for export, scarcely enough for home consumption.

[Ill.u.s.tration: COFFEE PLANTATION NEAR SAGADA, BONTOC PROVINCE, P.I.]

OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDS. Other islands of the Pacific do not loom large in coffee growing, though New Caledonia gives promise as a producer, exporting 1,248,024 pounds in 1916, most of which was _robusta_. Tahiti produces a fair coffee, but in no commercial quant.i.ty. In the Samoan group there are plantations, small in number, in size, and in amount of production. Several islands of the Fiji group are said to be well adapted to coffee, but little is grown there and none for export.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

[Ill.u.s.tration: OWNER'S RESIDENCE ADJOINING DRYING GROUNDS ON ONE OF THE LARGE ESTATES]

[Ill.u.s.tration: DRYING GROUNDS, FAZENDA SANTA ADELAIDE, RIBEIRAO PRETO]

[Ill.u.s.tration: COFFEE PREPARATION IN SO PAULO, BRAZIL]

CHAPTER XXI

PREPARING GREEN COFFEE FOR MARKET

_Early Arabian methods of preparation--How primitive devices were replaced by modern methods--A chronological story of the development of scientific plantation machinery, and the part played by British and American inventors--The marvelous coffee package, one of the most ingenious in all nature--How coffee is harvested--Picking--Preparation by the dry and the wet methods--Pulping--Fermentation and washing--Drying--Hulling; or peeling, and polishing--Sizing, or grading--Preparation methods of different countries_

La Roque[316], in his description of the ancient coffee culture, and the preparation methods as followed in Yemen, says that the berries were permitted to dry on the trees. When the outer covering began to shrivel, the trees were shaken, causing the fully matured fruits to drop upon cloths spread to receive them. They were next exposed to the sun on drying-mats, after which they were husked by means of wooden or stone rollers. The beans were given a further drying in the sun, and then were submitted to a winnowing process, for which large fans were used.

_Development of Plantation Machinery_

The primitive methods of the original Arab planters were generally followed by the Dutch pioneers, and later by the French, with slight modifications. As the cultivation spread, necessity for more effective methods of handling the ripened fruit mothered inventions that soon began to transform the whole aspect of the business. Probably the first notable advance was in curing, when the West Indian process, or wet method, of cleaning the berries was evolved.