^Temperature* 295 



2. Greater facility for shielding the plant from the sun for a part 

 of the day ; as, when the hills run from north to south, which is their 

 general direction in this Cordillera, the side facing the east receives- 

 the sun until mid-day, and that facing the west after mid-day. 



3. Greater facility for obtaining water, whether for irrigating the 

 plantation or moving the machinery. 



4. Facility for obtaining laborers ; for, the hilly land in the Cordil- 

 lera being situated at a considerable altitude above the level of the 

 sea, the Indians of Guatemala, who would not go to the plains, which 

 are here low and hot, are willing to go there. 



c. Configuration of the Ground best Suited for Coffee. The advant- 

 ages of hilly over level ground, especially the two last mentioned, are 

 so notable in Soconusco that many think, and I share their opinion, 

 that hilly ground, with the hills running from north to south, is that best 

 adapted for the cultivation of coffee. 



The coffee planters of Ceylon, pursuaded of the superior advant- 

 ages of hilly over level ground, also prefer it for their plantations. 



The prevailing opinion regarding the climate most suitable for cof- 

 fee is a very erroneous one. It is generally believed that the coffee- 

 tree is a native of the tropics, and that, consequently, the hotter the 

 temperature of a place the more suitable it will be for coffee, provided 

 that the other conditions favorable to its cultivation exist there. 



Experience has shown that the zone most suitable for the cultivation 

 of coffee is bounded by isothermal 1 lines, the mean temperature of which- 

 is from 17 50' to 20 centigrade; that is, a temperate climate, but 

 where it never freezes, as frosts would ruin the plant. 



The mean temperature of the localities in Soconusco which are con- 

 sidered best for coffee is, according to the observations of the able 

 engineer, Don Miguel M. Ponce de Leon, as follows: Cacahuatan, 

 21 15' and Union Juarez, 17 57'. 



3. ALTITUDE ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE SEA. 



The temperature of a place has a direct relation to its altitude above 

 the level of the sea, for, as a general rule, the greater the altitude the 

 lower will be the temperature. 



The following points relating to this subject will now be considered i 



A. Productiveness of the coffee-tree in relation to altitude. 



B. Advantages of high lands. 



C. Altitude most suitable for coffee-raising. 



D. Altitude of various places in Soconusco. 



1 1 will insert in the Appendix to this paper, a brief statement of the causes affect- 

 ing the climate of a locality, written since this book came out in Spanish. 



