COFFEE. 45 



we were kindly received and hospitably entertained. The 

 house, a low two-story structure, occupied one side of a 

 large court-yard of about half an acre in extent, which 

 was enclosed on the remaining sides by high walls, 

 and the small dwellings of the laborers of the hacienda. 

 Outside of the enclosure were cocoa-nut, orange, banana, 

 and lemon trees, loaded with fruit in every stage of per- 

 fection. Of the last mentioned there are two species cul- 

 tivated in Venezuela; one [Citrus lemonium), the 'kind so 

 well known in commerce, the other [Citrus lumia) a 

 svreet lemon, in which the acidity that belongs to the 

 other is entirely wanting. 



The estate, which stretched far up the mountain ac- 

 clivity, was devoted principally to cofFee-raising. How 

 much might be written of coffee — its growth, uses, and 

 the influence which it exerts commercially, socially, and 

 physically ! The temperate valleys of Valencia and Ara- 

 gua seem peculiarly adapted to its cultivation, the yield 

 being large, and the berry of a superior quality. The 

 site for a coffee-plantation must be such that it can be ir- 

 rigated during the dry season ; and the shrubs need to be 

 shaded by large trees, to protect them from the scorch- 

 ing rays of the sun. If grown from the slip, they will 

 produce theit* first crop the second year ; but usually not 

 much is expected until the third. The average annual 

 yield is one and a half or two pounds from each bush, 

 although sometimes as many as fifteen pounds are gath- 

 ered from a single i>lant. The berries grow in fascicles, 

 or clusters, at the end of the branches, and, when ripe, re- 

 semble an oblong cranberry. 



Another product of these temperate valleys, one which 

 thrives most luxuriantly and forms one of the chief exports 

 of Venezuela, is cacao [Theohroma cacao), the chocolate- 

 tree. The cacao is a native of Central and South America, 

 and was unknown to the inhabitants of the Old World, 



