68 AGRICULTURE IN THE TROPICS [PT. II 



other debris, but in Brazil, where labour is more costly, they 

 are generally stripped from the branches by drawing the hand 

 along, and fall upon the ground below, from which they are 

 collected, a cloth being sometimes laid down for them to fall 

 upon, and the intermingled debris is subsequently removed. 



The fruit, or " cherry " as it is termed by coffee planters, is 

 a fleshy fruit containing two seeds placed face to face in a 

 common envelope of somewhat horny consistency, which is 

 termed the "parchment." The cherries are in some cases 

 simply dried in the sun like cacao seeds, being piled together 

 again at nights and spread out in the morning until fully dried, 

 but in more careful preparation they are treated by what is 

 often called the wet method. 



The ripe fruits are first washed through a "pulper," a 

 machine with a barrel, covered with teeth like that of a 

 musical box, or with semi-circular projections, revolving against 

 a fixed beam. This crushes the pulp on the fruits, and they 

 pass through into a stream of water, where it is washed away. 

 The pairs of seeds are then placed in a vessel to ferment for a 

 couple of days, the remains of the pulp are easily washed off, 

 and they are dried. The dried fruits then form what is termed 

 "parchment," the two seeds being enclosed face to face in a 

 parchment-like covering. In this condition they may be kept 

 a long time, but they are generally put through what is called 

 a "huller," in which a revolving heavy wheel breaks up the 

 parchment layer, and sets free the seeds, which are freed from 

 the broken parchment by winnowing. They are then bagged 

 and sent to Europe. Five pounds of the fresh fruit finally give 

 about one of dry coffee. 



A few years ago, in a year of " bumper " crop, Brazil, which 

 then had a greater monopoly of the market than she now has, 

 took the bold step of "valorising" coffee, i.e. the Government 

 took off the market the excess of production, and has sold it in 

 later years of smaller yield. But this of course only postponed 

 the evil day of over-production, which is bound to arrive when 

 the next Brazilian bumper crop comes, while Java and other 

 countries have vastly extended their area under coffee. 



The chances of improvement in coffee cultivation seem to 



