The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1859-11-24
THE COFFEE TRADE

| 'S N''l'>ci SinCc the iirSt
cargo OF Coffee WAS shipped from Rio dc
''ne'ro' and now Brazil supplies two thirds
OF the Coffee Of the world.
In the province Of Rio dc Janciro trees
are generally cut down every fifteen years
As Il general rule, they are not allowed to
exceed twelve feet in height, so as to be in
reach. When the berry is ripe, it is about
the size and color Of {, cherry. and rcscn-
hles 1t or large cranberry. OF these Lcr.
RES negro can daily collect about thirty
two pounds. There ave three gatherings
III the year, and the berries are spread out
upon the pavcmcnts or level portion Of
The ground, the tercno,) from whence they
are taken when dry, lenuded Of the hull
10y machinery, and afterwards conveyed to
market.
Nothing is more beautiful than a Coffee
plantation in full and virgin bloom. The
snowy blossoms all burs, forth simultane-
"n>iy, and the extended fields seem almost
in ii night to lay aside their robe of yer
d"r", and to replace it by the most deli
cate manile Of white, which cxhalcs Il fra.
grancc not unworthy Of the description Of
Ellen. But the beauty is truly cphcmeral,
tor the snow-while flowers and the dcimht-
iul od"r pass away in twenty four hours
See Brazil and the Braziilians, by Kiddcr
&: FIclchcrl
1t takes four to five years after planting
! them before they will yield Il crop Of bcr-
;; rles: hence the sudden rise or fall in prices
cann", so suddenly influence production
;'s Is the cause with annual crops from new
plantations Of sugar and cotton.
~ the present time, owing To- the lirh
ri!ce oF slaves, II" new estates can he form
ed, and none have hccm for several wears
| and ii is stated tia. there are not hands
enough left in the counlry 20 pick out Il fall
crop.
There are Some curious facts regarding
the preservation of Coffee. 1t is said that
! the bcr'ic> readily imlihc cxhaa,ious from
other Substances. and occasionally acquire
an unpleasant flavor. Sugar placed near
the berries, it is said, i'll il short time i'm
prr"'r,'"s them -@:;,! inju their flavor.
y i"" bags of pepper on board Il ship.
bound from India to England, spoiled :,
whole cargo shipped some time ago Lv
Mcssrs. Maxwell. Wright, s. Co., Of this
port, WAS completely ruined 10y having been
in a vessel which had previously carried
crc"sotc.
The process O! r"a>tng berries requires
care and skill. Ii burnt, the Cutieo is SPOIL
e!, inrar;ins a bal taste, and making it
heavy and nI;-r>liIe when drank. h"a;u.
if un'crdonc, the water fails to extract the
n"uri~!i"s material of CoiTec and its nru-
sion Is SO weak AS to prove unraIatah!c.-
In all Cairo, in Egypt. there WAS said to
be but one good Coffee parcler.
The berries should lie roasted until they
become Of a uniform brown chcsnut color.
No family should ever purchase ready
ground Coffee, which is liable to adul,er..
ton with chickory, beans, corn, rye, &c.
| Ihe Lcrrcs should be bought green, and
parcl'ed and ground at home as wanted.
The climate Of Brazil is highly ravora-
b!e to the cultivation of Coffee, the trees
yielding nearly double of those in the gar
den Of the Convent of St. Antonio. Bra
I'll WAS then governed by the Marquis dc
l.ava'!io, as Ficeroy. The first fruits of
| the tree were next presented to the Mar
qu's, who distributed them among the most
respectable planters, explaining to them the
| advantages of adding another valuable ar
t'cIe to the pr"dnce Of the country but,
being strong i'll their pr'judices in favor of
sugar and indigo, few took pains to cult
vate it, and hence its progress was Slow
In 1908 Don Joas VI, fled from Portu-
gal to Rio dc Janerc, and soon after open.
ed the port to foreign trade. The annual
crop then did not exceed 10000 bags of
1G0 pounds each-or 100000 pounds
Although the revolution in St. Domingo
had orcr,hrown its culture there, Cuba and
Jamaica continued to some extent, to sup-
ply the trade. In 1920, its increase in
Brazil had swelled to 1000 bags. The
decrease ofsupply, by the desolation of st.
Domingo, caused it to reach the enor-
nous price of l4ss. per cwt., or nearly 81
Lee. per pound, in London, in the years
1917 and 1921. This great price stimu-
lated the production in Brazil.
The growth of Brazil, by 1854, reached
the astounding quantity of 4oO,ooo.OoO
pounds, while the production in the Brit
ISL West India Islands has rapidly decIiu-
ed since the emancipation Of the slaves in
1884, as will be seen by the following ia.
bic:
In 1S49 the British West In
dies yielded 100000 900
! In 1853 and 1884 and 1S55