at it spares the expense of
seed production, which is enormous, and it gives also a method of
hybridization, which, if used, might lead not only to very interesting
but also to very profitable results.

[Illustration: TWO-AND-ONE-HALF-YEAR-OLD C. CONGENSIS]

The hybridization of the coffee plant was taken up in a thoroughly
scientific manner by the Dutch government at the experimental garden
established at Bangelan, Java, in 1900. In his studies, twelve varieties
of _Coffea arabica_ are recognized by Dr. P.J.S. Cramer[95], namely:

_Laurina_, a hybrid of _Coffea arabica_ with C. _mauritiana_,
having small narrow leaves, stiff, dense branches, young leaves
almost white, berry long and narrow, and beans narrow and oblong.

_Murta_, having small leaves, dense branches, beans as in the
typical _Coffea arabica_, and the plant able to stand bitter cold.

_Menosperma_, a distinct type, with narrow leaves and bent-down
branches resembling a willow, the berries seldom containing more
than one seed.

[Illustration: A HEAVY FLOWERING OF FIVE-YEAR-OLD COFFEA EXCELSA

This is a comparatively new species, discovered in the Tchad Lake
district of West Africa in 1905. It is a small-beaned variety of _Coffea
liberica_]

[Illustration: BRANCHES OF COFFEA EXCELSA GROWN AT THE LAMAO EXPERIMENT
STATION, P.I.]

_Mokka_ (_Coffea Mokkae_), having small leaves, dense foliage, small
round berries, small round beans resembling split peas, and
possessed of a stronger flavor than _Coffea arabica_.

_Purpurescens_, a red-leaved variety, comparable with the
red-leaved hazel and copper beech, a little less productive than
the _Coffea arabica_.

_Variegata_, having variegated leaves striped and spotted with
white.

_Amarella_, having yellow berries, comparable with the
white-fruited variety of the strawberry, raspberry, etc.

_Bullata_, having broad, curled leaves; stiff, thick, fragile
branches, and round, fleshy berries containing a high percentage of
empty beans.

_Angustifolia_, a narrow-leaved variety, with berries somewhat more
oblong and, like the foregoing, a poor producer.

_Erecta_, a variety that is sturdier than the typical _arabica_,
better suited to windy places, and having a production as in the
common _arabica_.

_Maragogipe_, a well-defined variety with light green leaves having