150 COFFEE ri-ANTATI()N, 



visit a })laiitiiti()ii ; then the pkiiiter is se^eii threading 

 his way from garden to garden, witli an anxious look, 

 mentally comparing the show before liim with that of 

 previous years, and estimating its probable result, 

 provided a bad monsoon does not upset even his most 

 cautious calculation. Now in the month of November 

 the trees present a different but also an exceedingly 

 pretty aspect, crowded as they are witli little bunches 

 of red cherries, perhaps a dozen in each, and from 

 eight to twelve such bunches on eacli branch, of the 

 latter there may be as many as twenty bearing on one 

 tree ; however, such numbers are rather the exception, 

 and not to be relied upon, for if a similar result could 

 be obtained throughout, an acre would produce 

 upwards of a ton of clean coffee, whilst in Mysore 

 two and a half to three cwt. is considered a fair 

 average crop, although Ceylon planters count upon 

 five to seven cwt. per acre ; but working expenses are 

 very much heavier with them, labour having to be 

 imported from the Malabar coast. 



During picking time it is amusing to take your 

 stand at the pulper and watch the women bring in 

 baskets full of ripe fruit, carefully eyeing each lot 

 being measured, as they get extra pay for any 

 quantity exceeding a bushel, which often causes dis- 

 putes and bad language, which the Canarese excel 



