l82 COFFEE : ITS CULTIVATION AND PROFIT. 



and through which the heated air passes as it 

 lies spread out on coarse matting resting upon 

 open rafters. 



All this may seem very complicated, or even 

 unintelligible, to those who have not witnessed the 

 work, but a short familiarity with the routine soon 

 renders it intelligible. The gist of the matter is 

 just this : Pick your crop promptly as it ripens, 

 taking the cherries when they are just at their 

 plumpest ; allow as little delay as possible to inter- 

 vene between plucking and pulping (if there must 

 be a delay let the Coffee lie in water tanks) ; do not 

 overdrive your pulper, whether a time-honoured 

 11 rattletrap" or the latest thing out from London; 

 wash clean in the tanks, and dry thoroughly on 

 the barbecues or drying tables. 



Coffee stands two days in the fermenting cistern 

 in high districts, but one is sufficient lower down 

 to loosen and soften the sticky remains of pulp. 



Under the head of Buildings, the cost of store 

 and pulping house erection is indicated, but no 

 two estate managers follow the same style of 

 architecture. Wattle and daub buildings are half 

 the price of stone and timber ones, while those 

 vary again infinitely according to the supply of 

 crude material. Picking, pulping, and drying say 

 400 cwt. of Coffee off 100 acres viz., 4 cwt. at 

 Rs. 3 ought to come under Rs. 1,200. To this 

 must be added rail, water, or cart carriage to the 

 coast, and low country charges, curing, packing, 



