October i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURISf, 



229 



THE SEED, 



which fluctuates in price, but may be set clown at an 

 average of 50 guilders per picul (1361b.). (A guilder is 

 equal to about two shillings.) The seed is sown in beds, 

 at distances of 2 in. apart, and the beds ai-e then shaded 

 with gra-ss. 



As soon as the plants are about 8 in. high the planting 

 out must commence. The planting seasons are in April 

 and October. 



The ground is marked out in rows 8 ft. one way and 

 7 ft. the other. The land on a hill side is terraced, and 

 catcli drains are runs eros the hill from east to west to a 

 catch the wash during hea\^ rains. The seedlings are 

 planted iu hollow drills at the distances above mentioned 

 (8 ft. by 7 ft.) in soft holes. The tap root must bo care- 

 fully guarded from iujm-y, and each jjlant must be watered 

 when planted. "When the seedling stands properly in its 

 liole (the tap root not bent) loose mould is to be drawn 

 in around the roots, but all the pressure must be done 

 on top— the soil smTounding the tap below must not be 

 pressed. The seedlings being thus carefully plauted, 



SHADE TEEES 



must be provided for, as the coffee plant requires shelter 

 from the too fierce rays of the smi. It is, however, 

 better to let the plants grow a little before putting in 

 the shade trees, as the required shade can be provided 

 at first by allowing the tall grass to grow between the 

 plants, but not very close to them. The shade trees 

 most generally used are the Ihnlap (native name), Alhizzia, 

 and Seni/on. The first is the best, and gives the right 

 amount of shelter. When the plants have grown up a 

 little the shade trees may be planted, one being in the 

 place of every fourth tree. Thus, if ther^ is a row of 

 four coffee trees, the next tree on either side will be a 

 dadap. Thus an area covering 672 square feet will be 

 protected by four shade trees. A\'hen the coffee plants 

 begin to take root, and are 2 feet high, the stems of 

 the shade trees should be 5 feet high. 



AVhen the trees grow up. if the roots of a shade tree 

 are found to interfere with those of the coffee plant, the 

 former should be taken up and a fresh one planted 

 On the 



TRE.^TJIENT OF THE PL.\NT, 



after these preliminaries have been carefully atten- 

 ded to, depends the success of a coffee plantation. 

 In the first place, no hoe must be allowed near the stem 

 of the tree, and in this respect the coffee tree resembles 

 the orange tree, which suffers materially if its sm'face 

 rootlets are cut by a hoe, All weeding near the tree must 

 be done by hand. At the age of from two and a-half to 

 three years the trees begin to blossom. This blossom is 

 much hke that of the jessamine. In a short time the 

 blossom falls and the coffee bean appears. Now is the time 

 to work zealously at the destruction of weeds, but as soon 

 as some of the "beans begin to turn red all work at weed- 

 in-' must cease and no more must be done to the gi'ound 

 until the crop comes off. If the tree dm-iug its growth 

 should shoot too freely, the practice of " topping" adopted 

 by the iilanters of Ceylon, must be resorted to. 



HOW TO TOP. j 



At the top of every coffee tree there is a bud. This 

 nuist be nipped off with the finger nails. The strength ; 

 of the tree will then bo diverted to the branches and the 1 

 tree will not grow higher about 7 feet which is con- 

 sidered the proper height in Java. Pruning should be done 

 very cirefidly, and with great judgment. Too many branches 

 must not come away, as the crop lies along tliese branelu a. 

 If pruning has to be done a few nicks are made iu the stem 

 and wherever these nicks are made a new branch will 

 well appear. 



The work of bud-nipping and pruning (/.(., of causing addi- 

 tional branches to grow) havingbeen duly performed, and the 

 branches snbse(iuently being laden with the green berry, 

 the " voor pink" comes on. This is the first gathering 

 of ripe seed, and the yield may be said to be merely 

 nominal. 



The " voor pluk" begins in February, the " main pluk" in 

 May or June. This is the "full pluk," when the lieavy 

 portion of the crop is gathered. The " after pluk" is a 

 general sweep of fallen seed. 



Plucking must he got through in two months. Now give 

 30 



the trees a rest, and let no ,work be done amongst them. 

 Ey-and-by hoeing must be carried on as before. But the 

 rest must last about a month. 



• YIELD AND DURATION' OF LIFE. 



The coffee tree is at its best and bears most freely at the 

 age of five years. At this period of its existence, in good 

 seasons, it will yield an average of from_three-(iuarter& of a 

 pound (English) to one and a-quarter pound of clean coft'ee. 

 Should signs of failure be visible, the trees must be reuov- 

 ated with a good top-tU"essing of well-rooted manure, and 

 the top-dressing nuist be lightly covered with soil. Pro- 

 perly handled, a coffee tree will last for fioni fifteen to 

 twenty years ; bnt if carelessly treated and roughly 

 handled the coffee leaf disease is certain to put in an 

 appearance, and as a consequence the plantation will go to 

 ruin. 



TBEATMENT OF THE FEUIT. 



I now come to the working of the berry, and will suppose 

 the planter to have taken off a fair average crop. There 

 are two ways of working the fruit. 



The common preparation is a.s follows: — The ripe beans, 

 when they come from the tree, are emptied out on a drying 

 ground until ready for huUing. This drying .i^round slopes 

 gently away from a centre, and allows all moisture to 

 drain away. In about a month, or if the weather 

 be exceptionally fine in fifteen days, the beans 

 are dry enough for " hulling. '* Tliis operation 

 will be easily understood to mean taking off the dry " hull " 

 or husk of the bean, aud is easily performed iu a machine 

 for the piu'pose, called a trough mill. All the black seeds 

 are sorted out, and then the second quality is taken out 

 separately. The value of these two qualities is as 40 

 guilders to 18 guilders ycv picul (136 lb.). The second 

 quality will average 20 per cent of the whole. 



By the second process, called the West Indian prepai'- 

 ation. the coffee is put into a pulping maehiae, with water 

 at once from the tree. The pulper takes off the outer 

 red skin, and the bean, separated into its t\s'o halves, f:dls 

 into a reservoir beneath. The water is now let in, and 

 the beans well washed. The empty beans and light skins 

 float, and are skimmed ott\ 



The coffee is allowed to remain in the reservoir from 

 thirty to thirty-six hours, to allow of fermentation set- 

 ting in. This process is necessary for the purpose of re- 

 moving the inner silver skin, and if well carried out the 

 object is perfectly achieved ; but with careless ferment- 

 ation the silver skin adheres to the beny, and cannot 

 afterwards be removed. From the pulper t he berries are 

 removed to the 



DEVINO GEOUKD. 



There it is .spread to a depth of from 4 iu. to 5 in., aud 

 remams until it has become qnite crisp. Arrangements 

 must be made by which the coffee can be shoveUed and 

 covered if a shower of rain should come on. The drying 

 grounds are, as before stated, slightly dome-shaped, and the 

 floor cemented. In size they average 100 ft. long by 70 tt. 

 broad. Three of these are required for every fifty acres under 

 coffee cultivation. 



Artificial (h-jing by means of hot air pipes is now going 

 on, and the cost of this method only reaches 35 to 38 

 cents per picid of dry coffee, as against 1 guilder 50 cents 

 to 1 guilder 80 cents per picul by the old process. 



COST OF CULTIVATION. 



In order to make this portion of the present article in- 

 telligible to the reader unacquainted with D.itch terms, I 

 must make a few explanations. 



Land, in Java, is reckoned by the "bahoe " (jironounced 

 hoi'-i/h.) 



A "bahoe" is equal to 7,050 metres, or about IJ acre. 



A "takka" is a small measure of olG'o cubic inches cap- 

 acity ; and 6-5o2 takkas of Red Berry produce 136-211b. 

 English of clean coffee. 



"Ked Berry" is the ripe fruit as it comes frnra the tree. 



"Gloudong" is the dried Red Berry : "Native Glondong" 

 is the Red iBerry with 47 jier cent of water reinaiuing in it. 



"P.archment," or "Gaba" (the Malay name), is jjulped 

 coffee, with the innor fkiu not removed. 



" Gewone Bereidung" (orcUnary preparation) is the term 

 for coffee unpulped. 



" W. I. Bereidung" is the wet preparation [_/. c, pulped.) 



A "catty" is the 1-lOOth iiartof a picul. 



