e may reckon that 1,200 to 2,000 piculs of 133 lbs. are
yearly produced; the prices vary much, being from 50 to 75 florins per
picul.--("Journal of the Indian Archipelago," vol. ii., p. 829.)

Bourbon now produces 15,000 to 20,000 kilogrammes of cacao annually.
Cacao is grown to a small extent in some of the settlements of Western
Africa, but as yet only a few puncheons have been exported, all the
produce being required for local consumption.

The following figures give the imports and consumption of cacao into
the United Kingdom in the last five years:--

Imports. Consumption.
lbs. lbs.
1848 6,442,986
1849 7,769,234 3,233,135
1850 4,478,252 3,103,926
1851 6,773,960 3,024,338
1852 6,268,525 3,382,944

The home consumption is very steady at about 3,000,000 lbs., yielding
to the revenue L15,000 to L16,000 for duty. The produce of British
colonies pays 1d. per lb. duty, that from foreign countries 2d; cocoa
husks and shells half these amounts; when manufactured into chocolate
or cocoa paste the duty is 2d. per lb. from British possessions, and
6d. from other parts. The quantity imported in this form is to the
extent of about 14,000 lbs. weight.

COFFEE.

The next staple I proceed to speak of is coffee--second only in
importance as a popular beverage to that universal commodity, tea. I
shall proceed, in the first instance, to take a retrospect of the
progress of the coffee trade, and glance at the present condition and
future prospects of produce and consumption. It will be seen, by
reference to the following figures, that the consumption of coffee in
the United Kingdom shows a successive decrease, from 1847 to 1850, of
6,414,533 lbs., and a loss to the revenue of L179,614.

HOME CONSUMPTION AND REVENUE OF COFFEE FOR THE
Years lbs. L
1824 8,262,943 420,988
1825 11,082,970 315,809
1828 17,127,633 440,245
1835 23,295,046 652,124
1839 26,789,945 779,115
1840 28,723,735 921,551
1844 31,394,225 681,610
1845 34,318,095 717,871
1846 36,793,061 756,838
1847 37,441,373 746,436
1848 37,106,292 710,270
1849 34,431,074 643,210
1850 31,226,840 566,822
1851 32,564,164 445,739
1852 35,044,376 438,084

I estimated, in a little treatise on coffee and its adulterations,
which I published in