The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-10-03

more coffee is being raised than ever be
fore. The district of Santos Paulo, in Bra
iii, will alone, it is estimated, produce 80
per cent. Of the entire consumption this
year, and a corresponding increase else
where will cause a surplus. The consump-
ton of the world does not exceed ten mill
ion bags of the average weight of 130
pounds, and with the exception referred
to there is no report that the crop will in
any wise be diminished.
This Ceylon disease has been known since
1869, when a fungus appeared upon the
leaves for which no remedy has been found;
but neither in the quality nor the amount
of coffee produced can this misfortune to
one locality possibly affect the general sup
ply. Besides, better coffee comes from
other countries, for the range of culture
extends over almost the whole of the tropi-
cal belt of the globe, the plant thriving in
localities differing as much as 20 to 30
dogs. in average temperature. In Brazil
alone no fewer than sixteen species are
distinguished as growing in wild state.
The limit of productiveness is about thirty
years, but the trees are replaced on the
plantations every twenty years.
This process of replanting goes on con-
stantly, the trees being raised from seeds
in the nurseries and transferred to their
final positions when about year or eight
cen months old. They are usually set at
intervals of eight or ten feet, and begin
bearing at the age of four years, their prod
uct annually increasing. When about
eight feet high the tops are cut of which
causes them to spread instead of growing
taller The average diameter of the trunk
in ctrll haapsr,rr i nh ho li1 Of n
mans wrist. The leaves are of dark green
and glossy, and the fruit forms on the
woody stems at the base of these leaves.
When ripe the berry is red in color, resem-
bling a large cranberry or medium sized
cherry. Dissected il is seen to consist of
five different parts covering the two beans,
which lie face TO face First is the oute-
skin, second a soft pulp, third a glutinous
substance saccharine in character, fourth
an envelope, called by some the parchment,
and somewhat thicker than the musk of
wheat, and finally a thin, gossamer like
film resembling the thin skin which covers
the white onion and designated silver
skin"
Picking begins in Java in January and
lasts three or four months. In Brazil they
commence gathering in April or May, and
continue until September. Women and
children are largely engaged in gathering
the fruit, carrying it from the field in
baskets to the mill house or terrace, where
the preparation of the berry for market be-
gins.
Mr.. Thurber says: There is no item
which enters into the supply of our table,
unless it be butter, which is so easily in
jured in flavor as coffee or which exhibits
such a tendency to absorb surrounding
odors. Vessels from South or Central
America often arrive with mixed cargoes
of coffee and hides, in which the former
has been almost ruined by absorbing the
smell of the latter. Roasting in a measure
dissipates the 'hidey' smell, yet TO an eX-
pert it is very perceptible, enough remain
ing TO destroy the delicate flavor of the
volatile oil or caffeine
The extreme sensitiveness of coffee to
surrounding odors is further demonstrated
by the readiness with which roasted coffee
absorbs the flavor of the wood when put