164 CENTRAL AMERICAN COFFEES. 



the natural consequence to the suddenly increased 

 number of producers, of which the reflex cannot 

 be but felt in the economic conditions of the country. 

 Land which was but a few years ago uninhabited, has 

 been suddenly converted into smiling and well-cultivated 

 coffee plantations, towns and villages long in decay 

 have risen around them as if by magic and are steadily 

 increasing in wealth. New roads to facilitate transporta- 

 tion to the ports are being constructed, commercial 

 transactions are multiplied, the revenue of the country is 

 increasing, public credits re-established on a sounder 

 basis, and what was but a short time ago a poor, declin- 

 ing and almost ruined State has been suddenly, by the 

 cultivation of coffee, converted into a rich and prosperous 

 commonwealth. 



Nicaragua Is a medium-sized regular-formed bean, 

 solid and heavy in the hand, greyish-yellow in color, 

 what is technically termed " foxy," and a smooth roaster. 

 The drinking qualities, however, are only fair, the liquor, 

 while heavy, being devoid of snap and fragrance, approxi- 

 mating more to a Rio in flavor. 



Salvador Is allied to Nicaragua in appearance and 

 character, and classed the same, but possesses much finer 

 roasting and drinking properties. The natural bean of 

 the finer grades is, if anything, better developed and 

 more uniform, while the poorer ones are very uneven, 

 broken and " mottled " in appearance ; the liquor thin in 

 body and lacking aroma. 



Honduras Is a yellowish, heavy-bean coffee, assum- 

 ing a rich straw color with age, and having an attractive 

 appearance in the hand. As a general rule it roasts even 

 and smooth, becoming a rich brown color when parched ; 



