of _Coffea arabica_ is mostly cultivated. This is an
evergreen, growing only from five to seven feet. It flourishes well at
different altitudes and in different climes, from the temperate plains
of Puebla to the hot, damp, lower lands of Vera Cruz and Oaxaca, and
other Pacific-coast regions. The range of elevation for it is from 1,500
to 5,000 feet, and it is satisfied with a temperature as low as 55 deg. or
as high as 80 deg., with plenty of natural humidity or with irrigation in
the dry season. The other variety is called the "myrtle" and is widely
grown, although not in large quantities. It is distinguished from
_arabica_ by the larger leaf of the tree and by the smaller corolla of
the flower. It is a hardier plant than the _arabica_ and will stand the
higher temperature of low altitudes, thriving at an elevation of from
500 to 3,000 feet above sea-level. Mostly it is cultivated in the
Cordoba district.

It is claimed by many that the Mexican coffee of best quality is grown
in the western regions of the table lands of Colima and Michoacan, but
only a small quantity of that is available for export. The state of
Michoacan is especially favored by climate, altitude, soil, and
surroundings to produce coffee of exceptionally high grade, and the
Uruapan is considered to be its best.

Trees flower in January and March, and in high altitudes as late as June
or July. Berries appear in July and are ripe for gathering in October or
November, the picking season lasting until February.

Trees begin to yield when two or three years old, producing from two to
four ounces. They reach full production, which is about one and a half
pounds, at the age of six or seven years, though in the districts of
Chiapas, Michoacan, Oaxaca, and Puebla, annual yields of three to five
pounds per tree have been reported.

Since the World War American buyers have shown greater interest in the
Tapachula coffee grown in Chiapas.

[Illustration: MEXICAN COFFEE PICKER, COATEPEC DISTRICT]

PORTO RICO. Coffee culture in Porto Rico dates from 1755 or even
earlier, having been introduced from the neighboring islands of
Martinique and Haiti. Count O'Reilly, writing of the island in the
eighteenth century, mentions that the coffee exports for five years
previous to 1765 amounted in value to $2,078. Old records show that in
1770 there was a crop of 700,000 pounds and that seems to be the first
evidence that the new industry was growing to any noticeable
p