Con&ftfons of Xanfc Suitable for Coffee. 291 



IV. 

 CONDITIONS OF LAND SUITABLE FOR COFFEE. 



For the successful cultivation of coffee, various conditions must 

 concur in the land selected to plant it, which will be briefly mentioned 

 here, and the principal of which are the following: 



1. Nature of the land and its configuration. 



2. Temperature. 



3. Altitude above the level of the sea. 



4. Exposure to the sun. 



5. Protection against prevailing winds. 



6. Humidity. 



7. Streams. 



8. Sites for building purposes. 



Each of these conditions will be briefly considered. 



I. NATURE OF THE LAND AND ITS CONFIGURATION. 



The following points concerning the nature of the land and its 

 configuration will now be touched upon : 



A. Land suitable for coffee. 



B. Layer of vegetable soil. 



C. Depth of the layer of vegetable soil. 



D. Land of volcanic formation. 



E. Virgin forest soil and cultivated soil. 



F. Configuration of the land. 



It will be necessary to consider separately each of these points also. 



A. Land Suitable for Coffee. As I do not know of any chemical 

 analysis having been made of the soil most suitable for coffee, for the 

 purpose of determining with exactness its component elements, I can 

 give, on this subject, only very superficial ideas, entirely empirical, and 

 many of them possibly erroneous, notwithstanding that they are based 

 on experience. 



It has been observed that land which has a clayey sub-soil is better 

 adapted for coffee than that which has a sandy sub -soil. Among the 

 clayey lands of Soconusco some, and these are the most abundant, are 

 of a reddish hue, more or less vivid, and others of a yellowish color. 

 These last are to be preferred for the cultivation of coffee. To this 

 class belong those of " Union Juarez," in this District, and those of 

 the " Cuca Coast " of Guatemala. 



The soil of Cordova, a district which is also suitable for coffee, is 

 in general of red clay. 



Some consider pebbly ground favorable for coffee, as the pebbles 

 give the soil greater consistency. Vertical thin strata of rock are also 

 considered advantageous. The ground of the plantations in Guatemala 



