The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-07-04
CorrEE CoNsUNrED IN 1eis.

States imported So. So, 4ss pounds of
coffee, having an entry value Of nearly
$1O5. 100000. To the average reader this
may not appear very startling, but b
little calculation will bring to mind the
Significance of these figures. One
pound OF finely ground coffee will make
no less than three gallons of reason
ably strong beverage. Our 1913 inn
ports. therefore, made at least $780,
500 900 gallons A standard gallon con-
tains 231 cubic inches, or. putting it
little differently. would fill a cylindrical
coffee pot inches in diameter and
inches high. The coffee imported in
1913 would therefore fill cylinder
inches in diameter and 242.1s8 miles
high. Could such cylinder be erected
it would be necessary to take care not
to build it in the direction of the moons
orbit around the earth. for that satei-
lite's average distance from our planet
being but 23S, $50 miles. it might knock
off from the top of our extended coffee
pot some 1898 miles. Were the cyiin-
der flexible and the base well anchored.
however, 1t might topple over and wrap
itself nearly ten times around the earth
at the equator. ~AI of which is men
toned merely to show that we drink
some coffee in this country.
Over two-thirds Of the coffee con-
sumed in the United States come from
Brazil. Our imports from that country
in 1913 amounted to something over
625, Ooo, 900 pounds, having a value at the
ports of entry of s7s.65O. 430. 1t is no
doubt owing to this fact that the Pan
American Union, Washington, ID. C.'
publishes in its latest descriptive
pamphlet on Brazil an interesting
sketch of coffee and its cultivation.
In this account it is stated that coHee
derives it's name from the city OF Rama
in Abyssinia, in which country II is
believed that the coffee tree originated.
It's botanical name is Coffee Arabica,
because it was first cultivated in ARABIA
and exploited in its present-day use.
A natural coffee plant grows into a
tree IA to 18 feet high. having long
and slender trunk without limbs on the
lower part. The plant has nuE- fous
thin roots growing deep into the earth'
and one central or tap root going
straight down and almost as long as
the tree is high. When cultivated
however. the plant is generally not al
lowed to grow beyond feet in poor
and 8 feet in rich soil. in order to ia
ci,itate its cultivation and the gather
ing Of the crop.
Healthy coffee trees produce in the
axilla of each leaf from IL to 10 puos'
which in Towering have an exqulslte
perfume. These flowers become DARK
and wither and fall off in two or three
DAYS, leaving groups of seeds on the
small stems. These in turn grow into
the coffee berries which closely resem-
bio dark red cherries. Each berry con-
tains two seeds growing face to face.
and these are the coffee beans OF COM
merce.
The plant fourishes best in we'll
watered regions, in a sub-tropical Gil
mate at an elevation OF 1000 to o,OOO
feet. and in a rich soil. All these ele-
ments are found to perfection in Brazil
in the four states Of Sac
Paulo, Rio de Janeiro. Espirito Santo.
and Minas Geraes, whose combined
areas cover about one-eighth of the
vast domain Of the Republic. This Sec
ton produces about four-hfths OF the
worlds supply Of coffee.
The practice OF cOIee OrlHklnS Ell
countered for long time the opposi-
ton of sovereigns and strait-laced so
ciety. partly on political. partly on
religious grounds, but in spite of that
It made it's way slowly across the Ola
World from Arabia. through Asia Minor.
northern Africa, and Turkey. The first
coffee house was opened In London In
1852, and about the same time Paris
took up the habit. The first coffee
grown in Europe was the result of ex-
periments by French and Dutch bota-
nists. The Dutch introduced it into
lava. while the French brought it into
the West Indies. Portuguese. Joao |
Alberto CASTILLO Branco, is said to have
planted the first coffee tree in Rio de
Janeiro in 1850, and from this begin |
ming has developed the greatest indus
try of the country-for Brazil. thanks
to climate, soil. and similar factors,
las become the greatest coffee producer |
If the world.