The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom: Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c.Simmonds, P. L. (Peter Lund)
Science
The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom: Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c.
Simmonds, P. L. (Peter Lund)
Botany, Economic
If it were thought desirable to extend the production of coffee, there
are many new quarters, besides the existing countries in which it is
largely cultivated, where it could be extensively grown. We may
instance Liberia and the western coast of Africa generally, the
interior ranges of Natal, the mountain-ranges on the northern coast of
Australia, from Moreton Bay to Torres Straits, &c., &c. But the
present production is more than equal to the demand; and unless a very
largely increased consumption takes place in the European countries,
the present plantations (colonial and foreign) are amply sufficient to
supply, for many years to come, all the demands that can be made upon
their trees, a large proportion of which have yet to come into full
bearing.
The coffee tree would grow to the height of fifteen or twenty feet if
permitted, but it is bad policy to let it grow higher than four or
five feet. It comes to maturity in five years, but does not thrive
beyond the twenty-fifth, and is useless generally after thirty years.
Although the tree affords no profit to the planter for nearly five
years; yet after that time, with very little labor bestowed upon it,
it yields a large return.
Mr. Churchill, Jamaica, found that 1,000 grains of the wood, leaves,
and twigs of the coffee tree, yielded 33 grains of ashes, or 3.300 per
cent. The ashes consist of potass, lime, alumina, and iron in the
state of carbonates, sulphates, muriates, and phosphates, and a small
portion of silica. According to Liebig's classification of plants, the
coffee tree falls under the description of those noted for their
preponderance of lime. Thus the proportions in the coffee tree are--
Lime salts 77
Potass salts 20
Silica 3
---
100
I shall now proceed to describe the cultivation of the tree and
preparation of the berry, as carried on in different countries.
_Cultivation of Mocha_--In Arabia Felix, the culture is principally
carried on in the kingdom of Yemen, towards the cantons of Aden and
Mocha. Although these countries are very hot in the plains, they
possess mountains where the air is mild. The coffee is generally grown
half way up on their slopes. When cultivated on the lower grounds it
is always surrounded by large trees, which shelter it from the torrid
sun, and prevent its fruit from withering before their maturity. The
harvest is gathered at three periods; the most considerable occurs in
May, when the reapers begin by spreading cloths under the trees, then
shaking the branches strongly, so as to make the fruit drop, which
they collect and expose upon mats to dry. They then pass over the
dried berries a heavy roller, to break the envelopes, which are
afterwards winnowed away with a fan. The interior bean is again dried
before being laid up in store.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account