ltural product of the republic. Poor and
costly means of transportation on the Atlantic slope have operated to
retard the development of the industry there, even though conditions of
climate are not unfavorable.

[Illustration: COFFEE GROWING UNDER SHADE, UBBAN ESTATE, INDIA]

ABYSSINIA. In the absence of any conclusive evidence to the contrary,
the claim that coffee was first made known to modern man by the trees on
the mountains of the northeastern part of the continent of Africa may be
accepted without reserve. Undoubtedly the plant grew wild all through
tropical Africa; but its value as an addition to man's dietary was
brought forth in Abyssinia.

Abyssinia, while it may have given coffee to the world, no longer
figures as a prime factor in supplying the world, and now exports only a
limited quantity. There are produced in the country two coffees known to
the trade as Harari and Abyssinian, the former being by far the more
important. The Harari is the fruit of cultivated _arabica_ trees grown
in the province of Harar, and mostly in the neighborhood of the city of
Harar, capital of the province. The Abyssianian is the fruit of wild
_arabica_ trees that grow mainly in the provinces of Sidamo, Kaffa, and
Guma.

The coffee of Harar is known to the trade as Mocha longberry or
Abyssinian longberry. Most of the plantations upon which it is raised
are owned by the native Hararis, Galla, and Abyssinians, although there
are a few Greek, German, and French planters. The trees are planted in
rows about twelve or fifteen feet apart, and comparatively little
attention is given to cultivation. Crops average two a year, and
sometimes even five in two years. The big yield is in December, January,
and February. The average crop is about seventy pounds, and is mostly
from small plots of from fifty to one hundred trees, there being no very
large plantations. All the coffee is brought into the city of Harar,
whence it is sent on mule-back to Dire-Daoua on the Franco-Ethiopian
Railway, and from there by rail to Jibuti. Some of it is exported
directly from Jibuti, and the rest is forwarded to Aden, in Arabia, for
re-exporting.

Abyssinian, or wild, coffee is also known as Kaffa coffee, from one of
the districts where it grows most abundantly in a state of nature. This
coffee has a smaller bean and is less rich in aroma and flavor than the
Harari; but the trees grow in such profusion that the possible supply,
at the minimum of labor