22 The Cultivation and Preparation of Coffee 



America. Long droughts are harmful to the 

 trees and diminish the crops. With regard to the 

 best altitude for growing Arabian coffee there is 

 a great diversity of opinion, but I agree with the 

 author of ' ' Coffee Culture in the West Indies ' ' 

 when he mentions that it is erroneous to say 

 that good grades of coffee cannot be produced 

 below a certain altitude. In many publications, 

 both in English and in Spanish, 1,200 feet is 

 given as the lowest limit at which coffee thrives 

 well. When at La Tinta, in Alta Verapaz, at 

 240 feet above sea level, I was shown coffee 

 grown in this village. It was simply splendid, 

 and as a matter of curiosity I brought home a 

 sample of the coffee. If the plantation is well 

 protected from winds and shaded sufficiently to 

 keep the air humid in the dry weather, and if 

 the soil is well cultivated and fertilized, good 

 coffee can be grown at almost sea level. I know 

 that there are many that do not agree with me 

 in this respect, but the object of my writing 

 this booklet is to express my experience under 

 various conditions. 



Varieties of In Brazil a variety has been known to give 



Arabian 45 Ibs. of ripe cherry coffee per plant. The 



particular coffee referred to was " Conillon," 



and the tree from which the cherries were 



gathered was six years old and five to six yards 



