128 A COLONY IN THE MAKING chap. 



is required for a relatively short harvest and berries 

 picked a week too soon or a week too late are seriously 

 damaged, if not irretrievably ruined. One is here 

 dealing with a valuable crop and one that can accord- 

 ingly pay a substantial sum for transport. There is 

 no necessity, therefore, to consider the proximity of 

 the railway to anything like the same degree as with 

 lower-priced crops. Indeed, if the competition for 

 labour in the more easily accessible parts is considered, 

 it will probably prove desirable to select one's area in 

 a district where the native population is dense and not 

 overtapped. For the soil, a deep rich loam of the red, 

 or, better still, of the chocolate, variety is the best. 

 A certain amount of water is essential, and it must be 

 ascertained that the average rainfall is at least forty 

 inches. For the best situations the intending planter 

 must be prepared to pay. It will here, as in most 

 crops, prove the cheapest investment to buy the best 

 land even if £4, £5, or even £6 be paid per acre — - 

 cheaper than paying £2 for the second best or than 

 taking the third best as a gift. 



Having chosen his area of two, three or 500 acres, 

 the planter will make and sow his seed-beds, and at 

 the same time will prepare the first field for the 

 reception of the young plants, and will take off it an 

 initial crop of beans, mealies, wheat, etc. In the 

 interim he will be well advised to prepare his mind by 

 a thorough study of works relating to coffee generally 

 and more especially to any hints that he can get as to 

 local conditions. The seed beds can hardly be too 

 carefully prepared. They must be of the best soil 

 available and handy to water. Also they will require 

 head-cover of banana-leaves or something similar. If 

 the young plants are put out at the right season and at 



