COFFEE 161 



Small bushes are often only five feet apart, but under the 

 tree system as much as fifteen feet is sometimes allowed. 

 Catch crops are not infrequently grown along with the 

 bushes. Steep hillsides are more frequently used for 

 coffee plantations than tea plantations, but where they are 

 used terracing is necessary. In coffee districts, the hedges 

 may be coffee bushes, but such do not yield the best crop. 

 Weeding is not considered an important point, at least not 

 so important as in tea plantations. The coffee plantation 

 usually comes into bearing about the third year and lasts 

 for about forty years. The fruits are usually hand picked, 

 and are frequently called cherries, whilst the seeds contained 

 are alluded to as berries. The coffee fruit consists of an 

 external pulp, a loose tissue called " parchment " and the 

 silver skin, inside of which is the coffee berry. The fruits, on 

 removal to the factory, are usually thrown into water, when 

 the ripe cherries sink to the bottom. The ripe cherries are 

 then removed to a pulping machine, whic^ tears off the outer 

 succulent part. This part is mixed up with water, and is, 

 under the best management, carefully preserved and used 

 as manure. After the pulp is removed, the seeds are dried. 

 The " parchment " which surrounds the seed is usually 

 left on, and the seeds with their " parchment " dried in 

 the sun on large concrete floors resembling tennis courts. 

 The machines specially designed for removing the " parch- 

 ment " are usually situated near some large town, or sea- 

 port, since the weight of the " parchment " is small, and the 

 berries carry better in their natural coat. The produce of 

 one acre of land is about seven cwt. of prepared coffee, 

 containing about 10 or 12 per cent, of moisture. Compared 

 to this the total weight of the wet berry, at plucking, will be 

 about 1400 pounds, with about 270 pounds of " parchment," 

 and yielding 1280 pounds of wet pulp. These will contain 

 about 15 pounds of nitrogen in the form of the berry, about 



2 pounds of nitrogen in the form of " parchment," and about 



3 pounds of nitrogen in the form of pulp. There will be 

 about 3 pounds of phosphoric acid in the coffee berry, 

 only fractions of a pound in the skin of " parchment," 



D. II 



