Oatbering of tbe Crop, 343 



c. Blossoming and Fructification of the Coffee- Tree. In the month 

 of January, in the low, and in March in the high lands, green buds 

 appear on the branches of the coffee-tree which afterwards become 

 white flowers, and later on fruit. At first the fruit is small and of a 

 dark green color; as time passes it grows larger, and when it begins to 

 ripen its color changes to a light green which, later, becomes whitish, 

 then yellowish, and then red, of a light shade at first, and afterwards 

 of a very deep shade. When the fruit is of this last color it is entirely 

 ripe. If not picked at this stage the fruit drops from the tree like any 

 other ripe fruit. 



The time of the ripening of the fruit differs in the high and in the 

 low lands, as has just been stated, as the power of the sun shortens 

 considerably, in the latter, the operations of vegetation. While in 

 plantations situated in low localities the fruit begins to ripen in Sep- 

 tember, and is all ripe in October, in lands situated three thousand or 

 four thousand feet above the level of the sea, the fruit begins to ripen 

 in November and continues to ripen gradually. In December not a 

 single ripe fruit is to be found in plantations situated in the low lands, 

 while in those situated in the high lands ripe fruit is still to be found 

 in February and even in March. 



It sometimes happens that in plantations situated as high as four 

 thousand feet above the level of the sea ripe fruit is to be found on 

 the trees all the year round. 



This is another advantage of plantations situated in high lands, 

 for when all the fruit ripens in the course of two or three weeks, as 

 happens in the low lands, there is danger of losing a considerable part 

 of the crop for want of hands which are sometimes very difficult to 

 procure, a danger which is greatly lessened or which does not exist at 

 all when the picking of the fruit may be done during three months, 

 instead of three weeks. 



d. Gathering the Crop. When the fruit is ripe it is to be picked by 

 hand, and with the greatest care, in order not to pick the fruit near by 

 which may not be quite ripe, or injure the branch on which it hangs. 



When the trees are very tall, from not having been topped, it will 

 be necessary to use ladders in picking the fruit. 



In very large plantations it is necessary to construct cart roads to 

 facilitate the transportation of the fruit to the place where it is to be 

 prepared for market. 



Women and children perform the labor of picking the fruit better 

 than men. 



The price paid for each measure of fruit picked varies in different 

 localities, being higher, of course, where labor is scarce. 



When the coffee-tree is not pruned it grows very tall. I have seen 

 trees seventeen or eighteen feet high, with a radius, at the widest 



