The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom by P. L. Simmonds

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Forest lands are those usually planted in Ceylon, and the expense
attendant on clearing and reclaiming them from a state of nature, and
converting them into plantations, is estimated to average L8 per acre.
The lowest upset price of crown lands in the colony is L1 per acre.

Coffee planting has failed over a considerable portion of the southern
province of the island, where the experiment was tried. The
temperature was found to be too equable, not descending sufficiently
low at any time to invigorate the plant; which, though growing
luxuriantly at first, soon became weak and delicate. Nurseries are
established for young plants. The districts in which the coffee is
principally cultivated, extend over nearly the whole of the hilly
region, which is the medium and connecting link between the
mountainous zone and the level districts of the coast.

The mania for coffee planting has recently subsided, in consequence of
the barely remunerative returns at which that article has been sold,
ascribable partly to over-production, and in some measure, perhaps, to
the temporary glut of foreign coffee thrown on the British market by
the reduction of the duty. As regards the yield, some estates in
Ceylon have produced upwards of 15 cwt. per acre, but it is a good
estate that will average seven, and many do not give more than 4 cwt.
the acre.

The shipments from Colombo for five years, are stated below, with the
class of coffee:--

Plantation. Native. Total.
cwt. cwt. cwt.
1845 75,002 112,889 187,891
1846 91,240 70,991 162,231
1847 106,198 143,457 249,655
1848 191,464 88,422 279,886
1849 243,926 118,756 362,682
1850 198,997 56,692 255,689
1851 220,471 97,091 317,562

While, in 1839, the total value of the exports from Ceylon was only
L330,000, in 1850 the value of the single staple of coffee was no less
than L609,262, and in 1851 had still further increased.

I append a memorandum of the quantities of coffee exported from Ceylon
since 1836:--

Quantity. Value.
cwt. L
1836 60,329
1837 34,164
1838 49,541
1839 41,863
1840 68,206
1841 80,584 196,048
1842 119,805 269,763
1843 94,847 192,891
1844 133,957 267,663
1845 178,603 363,259
1846 173,892 328,781
1847 293,221 456,624
1848 280,010 387,150
1849 373,593 545,322
1850 278,473 609,262
1851 339,744
---------
Total in 16 years 2,600,832
---------
Average 162,552 (Ceylon Almanac for 1853.)

The local export duty of two-and-a-half per cent., was abolished from
1st September, 1848.

From these figures it appears that, in a period of sixteen years,
Ceylon exported two and a half millions of cwts. of coffee. The
consumption of coffee, although for a long time stationary in Britain,
now that adulteration is no longer legalised, is likely to increase as
rapidly as in other parts of the world; and it appears pretty evident
that, so long as anything like remunerative prices can be obtained,
Ceylon will do her part in supplying the world with an article which
occupies the position of a necessary to the poor as well as a luxury
to the rich. The exports of coffee from this colony have, within a few
thousands of hundredweights, been nearly quadrupled since 1843, when
only 94,000 cwts. were sent away.

Dr. Rudolph Gygax, in a paper submitted to the Ceylon Branch of the
Royal Asiatic Society, offered remarks on some analyses, of the coffee
of Ceylon, with suggestions for the applications of manures.

"Having had," he observes, "my attention drawn to an account of an
analysis of the Jamaica coffee berry, made by Mr. Herapath, the
Liverpool chemist, I have paid some little attention to the subject
of the coffee plant of this island, forming, as it does, so very
important a feature in the resources of this colony. The desire that
I thus felt for obtaining some information regarding the constituent
parts of the Ceylon tree and its fruit, was heightened by a
knowledge of the fact, that not a few of those coffee estates, which
once gave good promise of success, are now in a very precarious
state of production.

I much regret that the means at my disposal have not allowed me to
carry out any _quantative_ analysis, but the result of my labours
are sufficiently accurate for my present purpose. I have analysed
the wood and fruit of trees from two different localities, as well
as the ashes of some plants sent me from the Rajawella estate near
Kandy, and they all tend to bear out the result of Mr. Herapath's
inquiries. Placing the substances traced in the coffee plant in the
order in which they occur in the greatest quantity, they will stand
thus:--

Lime, potash, magnesia, phosphoric acid, other acids.

Of these lime is by far the most prominent, forming about 60 per
cent. of the whole.

I cannot help, therefore, arriving at the conclusion that, to
cultivate coffee with any degree of success, the first-named
substance must be present in the soil; or, if not present, must be
supplied to it by some process.

Now it is a singular fact that the rocks and soils of Ceylon are
greatly deficient in alkaline matter; and, taking this view of the
case, one no longer wonders that many estates cease to produce
coffee. That all, or nearly all the plantations did, in their first
year or two of bearing, produce liberally in fruit, may readily be
accounted for by the fact that the alkaline poverty of the soil was
enriched by the burning of the vast quantities of timber which lay
felled on all sides. Whilst this temporary supply lasted, all was
well with the planter. Heavy rains, and frequent scrapings of the
land with the mamotie, or hoe, soon dissipated this scanty supply,
and short crops are now the consequence.

But nature, ever bountiful, ever ready to compensate for all
deficiencies, has provided to our hands a ready means of remedying
this evil of the soil, by scattering throughout most parts of the
interior supplies of dolomitic limestone. The dolomite of Ceylon is
not pure, far from it, being mixed freely with apatite or phosphate
of lime. Even in this very accidental circumstance the coffee
planter is aided; for the phosphoric acid thus combined with the
limestone is the very substance required in addition. Some of the
finest properties in the island are situated on a limestone bottom,
and these no doubt will continue to yield abundant crops for a very
long period.

It has been urged against this opinion that in some districts where
coffee planting has proved a complete failure, dolomite is found
most abundantly; but I have very little doubt that the dolomite
here alluded to is only _magnesian_ limestone, and which is most
inimical to the coffee bush.

I am aware that already several manures have been tried on coffee
with varying degrees of success. Guano has, I believe, quite failed,
and is besides very costly. Cattle manure is said to be effective,
and no doubt it is, but it is a costly and troublesome affair.
Bones, ground fine, are now being tried, though they cannot but
prove most expensive, especially when imported.

A ton of bone dust contains of animal matter, 746 lbs,; phosphates
of lime, &c., 1,245 lbs.; carbonates of lime, &c., 249 lbs.

The virtue of bones lies in the phosphates far more than in the
animal matter, and thus their action on soils is felt for many years
after their application. The Singalese cultivators of paddy about
Colombo and Galle, appear to have been long aware of the fertilizing
effects of this kind of manure, and import the article in dhonies
from many parts of the coast: they bruise them coarsely before
applying them.

The partially decomposed husks of the coffee berry have been tried
for some years, and successfully, but they are difficult of
collection, and bulky to remove from one part of the estate to
another.

In Europe it would appear that little is yet known as to the causes
of the fertilising effects of oil cake: some suppose them to arise
mainly from the oil left by the crushing process, but this is not at
all clear. I do not, however, see that we must look for much
assistance from Poonac as a manure for coffee: for the cocoanut tree
it is doubtless most valuable, but we have yet to learn that, beyond
supplying so much more vegetable matter, it helps the action of the
soil on the roots of the coffee bush, which, after all, is what is
really required.

For the proper application of the dolomite to land as manure, it
should be freely burnt in a kiln, with a good quantity of wood, the
ashes of which should be afterwards mixed with the burnt lime, and
the whole exposed for several days to the action of the air,
sheltered of course from the weather. The mixture should be applied
just before the setting in of the monsoon rains: if the land be
tolerably level, the lime may be scattered broadcast on the surface,
though not quite near the plants. When the estate to be manured is
steep, then the substance to be applied should be placed in ridges
cut crossways to the descent of the slopes.

About one cwt. to the acre would be ample for most lands; some may,
however, require more. The contents of the husk pits might
advantageously be mixed up with the burnt lime, when a sufficiency
of it has been saved.

A planter in Ambagamoe states that he has tried the following remedy
for that destructive scourge, the coffee-bug, with great success.

He applies saltpetre in a finely-powdered state, dusted over the tree
when wet with rain or dew. The operation is inexpensive, as a very
small quantity suffices, one cwt. being sufficient for nine or ten
acres. It can be applied through a bamboo-joint covered with a
perforated top, or any equally simple contrivance.

Messrs. Worms' are reported to have found coco-nut oil an effectual
remedy.

To sum up the question of manures:--

Poonac, the marc or cake, after the coco-nut oil is expressed, is
represented to be a stimulating manure; but is not durable. Lime is an
useful application, especially to stiff soils, as the coffee tree
contains 60 parts of lime. Bone-dust is an excellent fertiliser, but
in Ceylon it is found that it cannot be applied at a less expense than
L5 per acre. Cattle manure is the cheapest and most available. Guano
does not seem suitable.

_Peeling, pulping, and winnowing._--The coffee-peeler, used for
separating the bean from the pellicle, was formerly a large wheel
revolving in a trough, the disadvantage of which was the flattening
more or less of the bean when not thoroughly dry. A new machine has
been recently introduced, the invention of Mr. Nelson, C.E., of the
Ceylon iron works, by which this evil is obviated; its principle being
not weight, but simple friction, of sufficient force to break the
parchment at first, and, when continued, to polish the bean free from
the husk. A very simple winnowing machine for cleaning the coffee as
it comes out of the peeler, is attached. From the winnowing machine it
runs into the separating machine, which sorts it into sizes, and
equalizes the samples, by which a vast amount of time and manual
labour are saved. The same principle is intended to be applied by Mr.
Nelson to pulping, which will obviate the injury now inflicted by the
grater upon the fresh berry. In spite of the greatest care numbers of
the beans in a sample, on close examination, will be found scratched
or pecked; and when the closest attention is not paid, or the person
superintending the process is devoid of mechanical skill, the injury
is proportionate.

The ordinary pulping-mill in use, consists of a cylinder of wood or
iron, covered with sheet brass or copper, and punctured similarly to a
nutmeg grater. This cylinder, technically called the barrel, runs upon
a spindle, which turns a brass pick on each side of a frame.
Immediately in a line with the centre upon which it turns, and placed
vertical to each other, are two pieces of wood, frequently shod with
iron of copper, called "the chops," placed about half an inch apart,
or sufficient to allow the passage of "parchment" coffee between them.
The lower chop is placed so close to the barrel, yet without contact,
that all coffee must be stopped by it and thrown outwards. The upper
chop is adjusted to that distance only which will permit the cherry
coffee to come into contact with the barrel; but will not allow the
berries to pass on till they have been denuded of their red epidermis
by a gentle squeeze against its rough surface. The far greater portion
of the pulps are separated by being carried past the lower chops upon
the sharp points of the copper, and thrown out behind, and a few are
left with the parchment coffee. As from the different sizes of the
berries, and their crowding for precedence as they descend from the
hopper above to the gentle embrace of the barrel and upper chop, some
pass unpulped, the coffee as it comes from the lower chop is made to
fall upon a riddle, which separates the unpulped cherries. These are
put back again, and passed through a pulper with the upper chop set
closer. The secret of working-appears to be the proper setting of the
chops, and many have been the schemes proposed for reducing this to a
certainty. Perhaps, after all, few plans are better than the old
wedges, by tightening or loosening of which the chop is kept in the
required position. Within the last few years, the machine has been
considerably improved by being formed entirely of iron, cog-wheels
being substituted in the place of straps and drums to move the riddle,
and the riddle itself is now formed of two sieves, by which the chance
of unpulped berries reaching the parchment is lessened. On some
estates, water-wheels have been put up to drive several pulpers at one
time, which otherwise would require from two to four men each to work
them, but from the costly buildings and appurtenances which such
machinery renders necessary, they are rare.

Although the operation of pulping is so simple, it is one which
requires the machine to be set in such a way that the greatest
quantity of work may be done, or, in other words, the smallest
quantity of unpulped berries be allowed to pass through. On the other
hand, the berries must not be subjected to injury from the barrel; for
if the parchment skin is pricked through, the berry will appear, when
cured, with an unsightly brown mark upon it. Several new coverings for
barrels, instead of punctured copper, have been tried; among others,
coir-cloth and wire net, but the old material is not as yet
superseded. After pulping, the coffee in parchment is received into
cisterns, in which it is, by washing, deprived of the mucilaginous
matter that still adheres to it. Without this most necessary
operation, the mucilage would ferment and expose the berry to injury,
from its highly corrosive qualities.

As some portion of pulp finds its way with the coffee to the cistern,
which, if suffered to remain would, by its long retention of moisture,
lengthen the subsequent drying process, various methods have been
adopted to remove it. One mode is to pass the coffee a second time
through a sieve worked by two men; another to pick it off the surfaces
of the cistern, to which it naturally rises.

In August, 1846, premiums were awarded by the Ceylon Agricultural
Society to Messrs. Clerihew and Josias Lambert for the improvements
they had introduced into coffee-pulpers, which, by their exertions,
had been brought to great perfection. The first improved complete
cast-iron pulper received in the island, was made for Mr. Jolly, from
drawings sent home by Mr. Lambert to Messrs. B. Hick and Son,
engineers. This pulper is one of the most perfect in every respect
that has yet been brought into use, the disadvantages belonging to the
old machine having been entirely remedied. The sieve crank has a
double eccentric action. The chops are regulated by set screws, and
the sieve suspended in a novel and secure manner, the whole combining
strength and efficacy, together with an elegance of form, which will
likewise be appreciated.

Mr. W. Clerihew, of Ceylon, submitted to the Great Exhibition a model
of his approved apparatus for drying coffee (which has been patented
in the name of Robert R. Banks, Great George Street, Westminster), and
received the Isis gold medal for the same. The intention is to dry the
vegetable and aqueous moisture of the berry. Before this is required,
the coffee has previously undergone the process of pulping, or
removal from the soft fleshy husk. Here let Mr. Clerihew describe the
advantages for himself--

"When the coffee berry is picked from the tree it bears a closer
resemblance to a ripe cherry, both in size and appearance; and
several processes have to be gone through before the article known
in commerce as coffee is produced. In the first place, the pulpy
exterior of the cherry has to be removed by the process of pulping,
which separates the seed and its thin covering called the parchment,
from the husk. When the pulping process is completed, we have the
parchment coffee by itself in a cistern, and the next process
consists in getting rid of the mucilage with which it is covered."

Having become assured, both by experiment and by Liebig's reasoning,
that the successive stages of decomposition were wholly ascribable to
the action of the stagnant air which occupies the interstices between
the beans, and taking into account that a mass of coffee presented a
medium pervious to air, it occurred to Mr. Clerihew that it was
possible, by means of fanners, working on the exhausting principle, so
to withdraw air from an enclosed space as to establish a current of
air through masses of coffee spread on perforated floors forming the
top and bottom of that space. The plan he carried into execution at
Rathgoongodde plantation in 1849. No sooner was the plan put in
operation than, instead of stagnant air occupying the interstices of
the beans and gradually acting on them, a stream of air was
established and flowing through the mass of coffee, each bean of it
became surrounded by a constantly renewed atmosphere of fresh air.

_Java_.--When Arabia enjoyed the exclusive monopoly of coffee, it
could not be foreseen that one day the island of Java would furnish
for the consumption of the world from 125 to 130 millions of pounds
per annum. The cultivation was introduced by M. Zwaendenkroom, the
Governor-General of Batavia, who obtained seeds from Mocha, in 1723.
According to official statements the following are the exports.

In 1839 there were exported 46,781,729 kilogrammes, valued at 48
million florins. Eight years labor, 1833 to 1841, brought its produce
of coffee from 12 million kilogrammes annually, up to 55 millions.

In 1846, the exports were 916,876 piculs, but, in 1850 they were only
14,801 piculs. The total coffee crop of Java was in 1850, 1,280,702
lbs.; in 1851, 1,436,171 lbs.; in 1852, 1,229,349 lbs.

1840 1841
Residences in which this produce has been
cultivated in 1840 and 1841 20 20
Number of families destined for the labor 470,673 453,289
Trees which have yielded a crop 916,193,894 216,085,600
Trees which have produced the average quantity
of a picul of 125 lbs. Dutch 280 248
Quantity of coffee furnished to the godowns
in piculs 706,258 877,444
Trees according to the reckoning made in the
month of March, 1841 and 1842 336,922,460 329,898,936

The comparative result of this table shows--1st. That, in the year
1841, coffee had been gathered from 20,000,000 more trees than the
number in 1840, and that the crop had increased by 171,000 piculs.

2nd. That, in the month of March, 1842, there were above 7 millions
less of coffee trees than in 1840. This diminution is merely nominal,
seeing that these trees have served to replace those which by their
small produce have to be suppressed in the lowlands of the residency
of Baylen. On the contrary, the increase of trees, planted from 1839
to 1840, amount to very nearly the same number, of 7 millions.

3rd. That, in the season of 1842, there was planted nearly 20 millions
of plants; of which 12 millions are to serve to replace the old trees,
and 8 millions are destined to extend this culture. It is calculated
that this island will very soon be in a condition to produce a million
of piculs or 125 millions more of Dutch pounds of coffee. Previous to
1830, Java scarcely exported as much as 40 millions of pounds.

_Cultivation and Preparation of Coffee in Java_.--For the following
valuable details I am indebted to M. de Munnick, the inspector of the
agricultural department, Batavia, as contributed to my "Colonial
Magazine" (vol. xi. p. 46).

_Soil and Situation_.--Elevated lands are found to be those best
suited for the growth of coffee in Java. Land situated between 1,000
and 4,000 feet above the level of the sea may be generally said to be
adapted to the cultivation of coffee. It must not be taken for granted
that all ground of less elevation is unsuited. Suitable ground is to
be found lower down, but the cultivation on it is more difficult; the
tree gives less fruit, and the plant is less durable. Valleys lying
between high mountains are more especially fit for coffee plantations,
because the soil which is washed down from the heights affords fresh
food continually to the lowlands; the valleys themselves are moist,
since the hills surrounding them attract the rain; and they are shut
out from severe winds by the same protecting enclosure. The soils best
suited to the successful growth of coffee may be classed as follows:--

_Firstly_. Cleared forest lands, especially those in which the black
leafy, or vegetable mould is found to considerable depth. These are
the richest grounds, and will support the coffee plant for many years,
and they are also cultivated with the least trouble.

_Secondly_. Dark brown soils, approaching to black, which, without
having much clay in them, appear to the eye to have a mixture of
coral. The greater the depth of this coral-like stratum, and of the
reddish or deep yellowish soil, the better is the ground for coffee.
This kind of land also has sufficient strength and substance to afford
nourishment for many years to the plant; but it entails more trouble
than the before mentioned soils, because the young plant does not so
speedily strike root into it, and sometimes dies, so that provision
has to be made against failures.

_Thirdly_. Reddish and loose ground, such as is generally found in
the neighbourhood of volcanic lands. This kind is frequently found
well adapted for coffee; it flourishes on such land luxuriantly, but
does not last long, as the ground possesses less strength and
nourishing substance.[6] By digging in different places we become
better acquainted with the nature of the ground, but we may take it as
a rule, that rich old forest land on which many larger trees are
found, and plains covered with heavy underwood, most frequently offer
eligible sites for coffee plantations.

Grounds in which loam is found, and stony soils, are unfit for coffee.
But I do not mean by "stony soils" land on which many stones are
lying, for on that very account it may be most suitable; but I mean
land which shows a pebbly stratum just below the surface, or such as
is of a porous, stony nature. In the choice of situation care must be
taken to select that which is as much as possible protected against
the south-east wind, because its dry influence is very injurious to
the coffee plant, and also prevents the growth of the _Erythrina_
(known here locally as the Dadap tree) which is so necessary for its
shade. Flat grounds, or gentle declivities, are better than steep
slopes; yet the latter can be well employed if proper care is taken.

_Cultivation_.--After the ground has been cleared in the dry
season--that is, after the bushes have been rooted out, the
undergrowth burnt off, and the thickets removed--ploughing is
commenced in September. When the ground has twice been deeply
ploughed, the weeds and roots must be brought together with the rake
and carefully burnt. The depth of the ploughing must be regulated by
the nature of the ground. In all kinds of cultivation, deep ploughing
is recommended, but in Java we ought not to plough deeper than the
stratum of fertile soil, as a kind of subsoil may be wrought uppermost
injurious to plants, and which, before it can become fertile, must for
a year at least have been exposed to the atmosphere.