United States.—The Department of Agriculture, at Washington, bats recently issued a circular relative to the possibility of coffee culture in some of the States, and is led to believe that the con ditions of climate and soil will be found suitable in Florida, Lower California, and part of Texas. It is stated, indeed, that in the two former is found an abundance of wild ooffee. IT1 California, seed obtained from Costa Rica has been planted, and the results hitherto are satisfactory.
Venezuela.—The annual production is about million cwt., the best being grown in the cooler portion of the State. The crop is gathered in October ; the cherries are spread on hurdles exposed to the sun, where they ferment for 14-20 days, and then dry. Pulping is performed by machinery, and the parchment is winnowed away. The average crop is generally placed at / lb. a tree, which in some localities is reduced to / lb.
West Indies.—Tbe decline of coffee culture in the British West Indies since the emancipation of the negroes almost amounts to abandonment. It is commonly attributed in great measure to the ravages of the blight already described ; but it is evidently traceable rather to social influences and a faulty system of agriculture. Serious attempts are now being made to restore the industry to some of its former importance, so that a sketch of the principal conditions of successful culture may be opportunely given. The best soil is an open, darlc-brown or reddish loam, 1-2 ft. thick, resting on finely disintegrated but undecomposed volcanic rock. Some of the finest ground exists on declivities which can be traversed only by planting the feet at the base of the coffee stems. On some hills of this character are now to be found trees 60-70 years old, which have been uprooted and have re-cstablished themselves. In the face of this fact, the renovation of the existing abandoned plantations should be an easy matter. The trees should be relieved of the mass of bush, weeds, and "provisions" which now smothers theta, and should undergo a judicious pruning, extended over three years if necessary. In this climate, shade and shelter are undoubtedly beneficial. On old, overgrown plantations, natural shade may be left when clearing, taking care to select trees of small foliage for the purpose. When laying out new estates, greater choice will be
possibl e.
In many instances, cocoa has been planted amongst the coffee, probably with a view of getting crops of both from the same ground. It is quite possible to grow them profitably on the same field ; but each must have its own sufficient space, and thus there is no gain ; besides, their habits of growth are unsuited to the arrangement.
For the purpose of shelter, there is, perhaps, nothing better than the pois-doux tree, especially on inferior soils and in exposed situations ; hedges of it planted as a break-weather are to be found on every abandoned estate. The pimento is equally suitable, but is of slower growth. Neither is of any value as a shade-giving tree. Of all indigenous plants, the Moricypre (Byrsonina spicata) appears to be the most suitable as a protection against both sun and wind ; it is a small-leaved, fast-growing, medium-sized tree, and common everywhere. The distance from tree to tree will depend on the variety of coffee grown, and the character of soil and of situation ; but it is indicated by the principle of each plant being so far from its neighbour, that when all have grown to their fullest size, they do not touch by about 1 ft. Thus the distance may vary from 4 to 8 ft., or even more. A very important factor in the sum of influences which have brought the culture to its present low ebb is to be found in the greatly diminished moisture of the climate occasioned by the wholesale destruction of the forests. This is especially the case with plantations on steep hill sides ; and it remains to be seen what art can do to combat the difficulty.
Cuba.—In 1847, there were over 2000 coffee estates, yielding nearly 50 million lb. annually; in 1851, sugar and tobac,co had so far replaced coffee that the production fell to 13 million lb. ; and now Cuba imports coffee from Porto Rico.
Dominica.—From an annual production of over 2 million lb., Dominica has fallen to nil. The effects of the negro emancipation and the coffee blight were, perhaps, felt more severely here than in the other islands. The expoLt tariff is 13/d. a cwt.
Grenada.—At one time, Grenada coffee was one of the only three brands known in the London markets ; cocoa has now taken its place.