The propagation of the coffee plant by cutting has two distinct advantages over propagation by seed, in that it spares the expense of seed production, which is enormous, and it gives also a method of hybridization, which, if used, might lead not only to very interesting but also to very profitable results. [Illustration: TWO-AND-ONE-HALF-YEAR-OLD C. CONGENSIS] The hybridization of the coffee plant was taken up in a thoroughly scientific manner by the Dutch government at the experimental garden established at Bangelan, Java, in 1900. In his studies, twelve varieties of _Coffea arabica_ are recognized by Dr. P.J.S. Cramer[95], namely: _Laurina_, a hybrid of _Coffea arabica_ with C. _mauritiana_, having small narrow leaves, stiff, dense branches, young leaves almost white, berry long and narrow, and beans narrow and oblong. _Murta_, having small leaves, dense branches, beans as in the typical _Coffea arabica_, and the plant able to stand bitter cold. _Menosperma_, a distinct type, with narrow leaves and bent-down branches resembling a willow, the berries seldom containing more than one seed. [Illustration: A HEAVY FLOWERING OF FIVE-YEAR-OLD COFFEA EXCELSA This is a comparatively new species, discovered in the Tchad Lake district of West Africa in 1905. It is a small-beaned variety of _Coffea liberica_] [Illustration: BRANCHES OF COFFEA EXCELSA GROWN AT THE LAMAO EXPERIMENT STATION, P.I.] _Mokka_ (_Coffea Mokkae_), having small leaves, dense foliage, small round berries, small round beans resembling split peas, and possessed of a stronger flavor than _Coffea arabica_. _Purpurescens_, a red-leaved variety, comparable with the red-leaved hazel and copper beech, a little less productive than the _Coffea arabica_. _Variegata_, having variegated leaves striped and spotted with white. _Amarella_, having yellow berries, comparable with the white-fruited variety of the strawberry, raspberry, etc. _Bullata_, having broad, curled leaves; stiff, thick, fragile branches, and round, fleshy berries containing a high percentage of empty beans. _Angustifolia_, a narrow-leaved variety, with berries somewhat more oblong and, like the foregoing, a poor producer. _Erecta_, a variety that is sturdier than the typical _arabica_, better suited to windy places, and having a production as in the common _arabica_. _Maragogipe_, a well-defined variety with light green leaves having colored edges: berries large, broad, sometimes narrower in the middle; a light bearer, the whole crop sometimes being reduced to a couple of berries per tree.[96] [Illustration: C. STENOPHYLLA, FROM WHICH IS OBTAINED THE HIGHLAND COFFEE OF SIERRA LEONE]