COFFEE COUNTRIES. 23! 



Cinchona, as delays in the instance of applying to 

 Government for waste land are endless and very 

 vexatious. 



Trees are planted out usually 7 by 8 feet apart, 

 i.e., 780 to the acre. The " dadap " is the favourite 

 shade tree, while the planters have a curious plan of 

 letting the grass grow tall and strong between the 

 rows until their Coffee is established. At two years 

 old bushes flower and bear. 



The " voor pluk " begins in February, the 

 " main pluk" in Mayor June. This is the "full 

 pluk," when the heavy portion of the crop is 

 gathered. The " after pluk" is a general sweep of 

 fallen seed. Plucking must be got through in two 

 months. The yield is an average of from three 

 quarters of a pound to one and a quarter pounds 

 of clean Coffee per bush. Much of the seed is 

 " hulled " i.e., dried as a cherry on the drying 

 grounds, the brittle pulp after fifteen days or a 

 month's exposure being knocked off in a special 

 machine. 



The cost of plucking varies, but may be set 

 down at 2 rupees (is. 3d.) per picul of 136 Ibs. of 

 clean Coffee. Six piculs of red berry equal i picul 

 of clean Coffee. 



The wages for cultivation are very trifling. There 

 is a teeming population of workers in Java, and, 

 as a consequence, wages are almost nominal. The 

 style of payment in vogue in Java is to give a man 

 a bit of rice ground, on which he grows his own 



