186 



Journal of the Jamaica Agricultural Society will show our readers 

 how to do such work and do it well, and we strongly commend it to 

 all who are coffee growers in Trinidad. 



HOW A SMALL SKTTLER CAN BEST CURE HIS COFFEE. 



This was the essay, on " How a Small Settler can best Cure 

 His Coffee," which won the first prize in the Port Royal Mountain 

 Agricultural Society's Competition in July. 



" Before going into the best method tor a small settler to cure his 

 coffee, I venture to say the quality must be looked for in the culti- 

 vation, for no ill-grown coffee will ever be any good sample, no 

 machinery nor care of any description will ever convert bad coffee 

 into anything good. To assure good quality your coffee must be 

 weeded three times a year, and properly pruned. When the field 

 work is done, i.e., properly done, and the crop commences to ripen, 

 you must see that your pulper is in good repair, for if there is any- 

 thing that damages one's crop it is a bad pulper. I have seen out of 

 two barrels of coffee only fifteen pounds of marketable coffee could 

 be obtained, the balance was all bruised and pinched ; some was cut 

 in twain. The next thing to look after is your barbicue. It should 

 not be a rough surfaced one, as it burns and damages the coffee. To 

 build a barbicue is a very easy matter ; it should be built with a 

 slight slant from your draining tank or barbicue as the case may be. 

 Gather up some large stones, rough face them, build a wall four 

 sides square, gather stones and pack them regularly, and with a 

 hammer beat them closely together in their places. When you reach 

 about (8) eight inches of the wall, put on a layer of mixed concrete, 

 consisting of lime, sand and small stones with sufficient water to 

 make a set. If no sand can be had well sifted earth will do. For 

 this purpose clear away the vegetable soil and use the sub-soil. The 

 next thing is a plastor of lime, marl and water, then build a ledging 

 ed«-e on all sides round, eight or six inches around the surface of 

 the barbicue, with a drainer or outlet at the lower end. Then 

 make a grouting of lime and water to a thick paste, get a brush 

 (even one made of a banana sucker will do) and rub over the barbicue 

 morning and evening until it is quite dry without any crevice or 

 crack. The last thing get some cement and make a wash, and wash 

 the barbicue about three or four times, and you will have a good 

 barbicue for your curing purposes. An old, broken up barbicue is a 

 barrier to good sample of coffee. You can never have a good cured 

 sample. Most of the sides of the beans will be burnt and bruised 

 up while turning. 



" After your coffee is picked it should never remain more than 

 twenty-four hours to be pulped, care nvust be taken that no stones, 

 nails, etc., are allowed to be mixed up with the coffee as it totally 

 damages your pulper. Care must also be taken that no green berries 

 are picked in the ripe as they help to degenerate the good quality 

 of coffee. 



