Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1864-11-10
M is ellanv.
Coffee, it's History and Cultivation,

way to universal popularity so rapidly and
surely as the little berry contained in the
capsule of the coffee plant Squibbed by
the polished sarcasm of brilliant writers of
the court of France, mathematical in sono-
rous and indignant terms by the great
hommpathist of Germany, denounced by
the learned Doctor Murray of England.
pointed at as slow but deaily poison by
| the medical luminares of the last century,
and by ecclesiastical bodies of every order,
it has, nevertheless, ever since the Moham-
medan Muftis vented their imprecatons
upon it three hundred years ago, main
tained steady progress towards general
acceptance.
| Among the earliest advocates of the berry
in France was the celebrated Voltaire, who
| replied to some old fogy sneerer-"That
coffee was slow poison; but that, as it
would soon be eighty years since he (Vol-
| taire) had been coffee drinker, he regard
ed its tardincss in producing fatal result
as great Write" Wearc informed by the
Rio correspondent of the Neac York Jour-
naI Of Commerce, that, "up to the eighteenth
century, all the coffee which was consumed
| in Europe came from Arabia. 1t was
brought by way of Egypt and Syria; and
the Pachas of these Turkish provinces ex-
acted the most exorbitant duties. IT was
then that Europeans began to think of
another route to Arabia. The Hollanders
were the first who began the traffic in the
Red Sea, taking their cargoes at Mocha.
They were soon followed lay the English
and French Bat this was not sufficient.
They could not bear the thought of being
so dependent upon the cxacting Arabians
for the article which was becoming of such
necessity and rcpute. Van Horn, the first
President of the Dutch East Indies, sue
! ccedcd in obtaining some coffee plants,
which were transported to Batavia in G99,
where they thrived to perfection. One OF
thsse plants was sent in ITO to Amster-
dam. and planted III the botanical gardens
of that city, where it fourished An off
shoot of the same already twice tranSplanted
shrub was presented to Louis XIV"
Of It's first cultivation as a curiosity in
the ''Jardin dcS Plantes," and it's subse
quent acclination in the West Indies, our
readers are already cognizant But it's in
reduction into Martinique was effected in
siEsularly trying and not generally known
circumstances. A French sea-captain, in
1920, was intrusted with three plants to
take out upon his vessel Others had pre-
viouSly been sent, but bad perished on the
way on account Of the scarcity of water :
and the same circumstances came near de-
tcating the accomplishment of the object on
this occasion. For, the voyage being very
long, and the crew being put upon short
allowance, the enthusiastic captain, nortier
to succeed in his object, saved one of The
plants by dividing with it his ration Of
water. The others died, but this one
reached Martinique in safety and became
the parent of the entire coffee growth of the
Island. From thence it spread through the
islands of the west, in the Spanish colonies
In Western Africa, and in Ceylon and In.
dia. The Rio correspondent above alluded
TO does not know the date of its introduc.
ton into Brazil, but says that the mer-
chants are still living who saw the first
small cargo shipped from Rio de Janeiro
1t required many months to collect that
small cargo, while now Rio de Janciro is
the largest coffee mart in the world From
that port alone were exported from June
80, 1854, to June so, 1855 no less than two
million, three hundred and fifty-two thou,
sand, two hundred and eighty-four baes
and that the total export of coffee in pounds
from Rio, for the year ending June 8. 1855
viii be three hundred and one million
nlnety-two thousand, three hundred and
ffty-two
We believe it is commonly understood
however, that coffee culture was first intro.
duced into Brazil by Pedre of San Anto
mo, IN l774. coffee stree, said to be thu
first planted in the country, was, for lone
time, and doubtless now, shown as a curl
osity at the Adjuta Convent; and, as thi.
is quite as plausible as any other of tn,
mysterious and miraculous phenomena con
nected with the doings of the Brazilian
clergy, we desire TO ascribe to them tn,
proper credit.
| The early history of this delightful berry
is replete with interest, for. previous to the
seventeenth century, it was known only by
name in France; and it became fashionable
from the fact of its being offered to the
Court of Louis XIV. by an envcy of tn,
Turkish court. The Turks, in their turn