84 THE PLANT WORLD. 



"parchment" and each is again invested with a delicate membrane 

 called the ''.silver skin." Fur convenience in picking and to insure 

 protection against windstorms, the trees are usually pruned to a height 

 varvintj from two-and-a-half to six feet accordino- to the taste of the 

 planter, and the condition of the climate. "Good coffee can only be 

 obtained from well-kept trees and carefully harvested fruits. " \Mien 

 a tree has reached maturity at an age of six to ten 3ears, il fields an 

 average crop from one-half to one pound of cured berries fur a period 

 of twenty years or more. The length of life and the amount of harvest 

 are very largely determined by the care bestowed. Some trees have 

 continued to bear for nearly a century, and crops of twenty -five 

 pounds have been obtained from a single plant. 



Since the flavor and api^earance of the beans is greatly influenced 

 by environment, there are almost as many varieties of cuflee as locali- 

 ties where it is grown, but there have been said to be three classes: 

 Arabian, East Indian and West Indian or American. Of these the 

 three general types are: Mocha, Java and Brazilian. 



Mocha coffee, which, in point of excellence, probably leads the list, 

 is said to owe its sui)eriority to the method of curing. The berries, 

 left upon the trees until they are "dead ri})e," are shaken down upon 

 mats spread upon the ground. They are then di'ied in the sun and the 

 pulp and parchment removed by wooden rollers or by pounding in 

 wooden mortars. After being winnowed and twice sorted, once accord- 

 ing to color, and again according to size, the beans are sent to the 

 shipping port on the backs of donkeys. 



This method is impracticable on a large scale or where continuous 

 dry weather is not to be counted upon. For the berries must be spread 

 very thin and constantly turned, and perfectly protected from damp- 

 ness, as fermentation in the pul[) injures their flavor. Therefore 

 machines are used for pulping on large plantations and the berries, 

 sometimes carried to them throuoh irun tubes in a current of runnino^ 

 water, are pulped within twenty-four hours of being picked. They 

 then remain water-immersed for about twelve hours, which causes suf- 

 ficient fermentation to render easy the removal of whatever fleshy or 

 mucilaginous substance remains. The beans, now known as ''parch- 

 ment coffee", are next dried, either in the sun or by artificial heat. 

 Some experts favor the shipping of the beans in the parchment on the 

 ground that the aroma is thus better preserved. Moreover, peeling 

 and hulling machines are expensive, and are more easily obtained at the 



