The Hawaiian gazette., 1897-01-26
COFFEE: ITS POSITION AND PROS.
PECTS.

COFFEE: IT'S POSITION AND PROS
PECTS.
by ]. Buchanan, Esq, C. NJ G.l
How great is the satisfaction of being
able to sit down pen in hand nj.
chronicle the march of progress in Ny.
ashland. Twenty years in the world.
history is but a moment, and yet how
much men may accomplish by steady
perseverance and a determination t;
leave the world better than they founc
ii even in so short a time.
The discoveries of the immortal Liv-
ingstone in Central Africa reused The
civilized world to sense of duty, anC
the great mans death by the shores
of Bangweolo caused the hearts oi
thousands of his countrymen to throt
with a desire to do something in an
swer to his prayer, Ito heal the opei
sore of the world" the result by prac-
teal form in 1875, a handful of mis-,
sionaries take their lives in their hand
and enter the Dark Continent A
year later follow more missionaries
the merchant, the planter, the man Of
literature and of art.
Great are the difficulties to be over
come; logged perseverance and British
pluck soon tell. A footing is obtained
on the shores of Nyasa, and later the
Shire Highlands are taken possession
of From a commercial point of view
one could not easily see great pros
poets of immediate trade, but there lay
the country in its length and breadth
it's hills and valleys, mountains and
lakes, and the eye of the planter was
keen to perceive land full of promise
possessing great capabilities, ready to
respond to the cultivator's magic
wand, and to reward the husbandman
with fruits rare and precious. Years
pass on, experiments of all kinds arc
tried. Commercial companies enter
upon the field. There are wars and
rumors of war; nations vie with each
other in their effort to possess the COW
eted prize. The justice, however, OF
Great Britain's claim is recognized
and in 1889 Her Majesty's subjects ha6
the satisfaction of seeing Nyasaland
placed under British protection. Fol-
years previous to this coffee had been
cultivated at Blantyre and Zomba, and
the Messrs. Buchanan Bros. had stalk
ed their little all in it, while it wa
yet doubtful to whom Nyasaland would
finally belong. Many were the lore
holdings they with others shared, bu;
with the declaration of a British Pro
tectorate difficulties disappeared, and
from that day the coffee industry ha;
gone forward with leaps and bounds
1t is not the writer's intention ct
present to enter upon a detailed ac-
count of the coffee industry of the conn
try nor to write the history Of progress
made. A medium is now being offei
cd for the free discussion of matters
which primarily concern planters, and
it behooves all interested in planting
to freely avail themselves of thi;
means of obtaining and disseminating
information regarding the industry
which of all others is likely to prove
the salvation of Central Africa
The kindly interest taken in Nya-
saland by people in almost every cart
of the world demands that the true
position of the coffee industry and its
probable future be made known
Roughly speaking there are at this
moment 5000 acres under coffee in
Nyasaland spread over something like
100 plantations OF these the greater
number are in their first and second
year, so that the year '97 is looked
forward to with considerable satisfac-
ton, it being very probable that the
export of coffee in parchment for that
year will reached an aggregate ri
"a 900 cwt.
Very varied have been the returns
per acre. In the early days on one
occasion II cwt per acre was gathered
Time after time a maiden crop of
cwt has been reaped, far too much, but
taking the plantation all over an aver
age crop of from three to four cwt
may be reasonably looked for. The
general method of cultivation adopted
though not in every particular ident-
ical with the system in vogue in Cey-
Ion and India, may be said to be prac-
tically the same, the first planters hav-
ing obtained their knowledge chiefly
from the well-known works of Indian
and Ceylon men. At the same time
considerable latitude has been allow ed
local and climatic circumstances rem
dering it unwise to adhere slavishly
to the methods followed in other coun.
tries, no matter how suitable for thost
particular countries such methods may
be. For instance, in the clearing, fol
several years planters trusted chiefly
to local labor which failed them JUS
at the critical time with the result thai
great clearings, felled and burnt of
during the dry season, ran risk of re
verting to bush and grass for want O.
labor when the rains fell, and mucf
clearing and holing had to be done a
the end of the wet season. Again thu
plantations were unavoidably allowed
to become foul with weeds, and doubt