preparing tbe Coffee for flDarfeer. 347 



above the level of the sea, where the sun is visible only for six or eight 

 hours daily, the operation of drying the coffee is a much slower, and 

 consequently a much more expensive one. 



There is no operation in the preparation of coffee which may be so 

 easily simplified as that of drying, performing it by means of artificial 

 heat. Stoves for this purpose have been already invented in Guate- 

 mala, but thus far they have not given entirely satisfactory results. I 

 believe, however, that the day is not far distant when some speedy, 

 cheap, and efficacious means of drying coffee, other than the primitive 

 one of exposing it to the sun's rays, will be discovered. 



e. Shelling. After the coffee has been pulped, washed, and dried, 

 there is still another strong covering to be removed from it before it is 

 ready for the market. 



The alternate moisture and heat to which this covering is exposed 

 during the operation of washing and drying the bean, causes it to con- 

 tract and expand greatly, with the result that it becomes loosened from 

 the bean and in many cases breaks, this greatly facilitating its removal. 



Various instruments have been employed to facilitate this operation, 

 but the one which has thus far given the best results is the " retrilla." 

 This consists of one or two solid wheels of heavy wood, of from one 

 and a half to two yards in diameter, and from eight to nine inches 

 thick, set vertically, which are made to revolve over a species of circu- 

 lar box lined with wood, and are generally moved by oxen. In some 

 plantations I have seen iron " retrillas, " made in England, on the same 

 model as the wooden ones, and moved by water. 



The coffee in the husk is put into the box, and the wheel by its 

 weight and its movement removes the coriaceous covering from the 

 bean without breaking it, and loosens another thinner inner covering 

 which resembles the filmy-like skin of an onion. Combined with the 

 wheel is a sort of shovel which serves to move the coffee about. 



f. Dyeing. A bluish color in coffee, being highly esteemed in for- 

 eign markets, is given to it artificially on some estates by covering the 

 surface of the wheels which hull the coffee with sheets of lead, which 

 give it the desired color. If the demands of commerce render this 

 color indispensable, some other substance might be employed to give 

 it, which is free from the hygienic objections of lead. 



g. Winnowing. The coffee beans leave the machine mixed with the 

 two coverings above mentioned. To separate them from these the 

 fanner is used, and performs the operation quickly and efficaciously. 

 Some fanners have the additional advantage of sorting the coffee, an 

 operation which will now be described. 



h. Sorting the Coffee. The coffee being now perfectly clean must 

 next be sorted, as the beans differ in size, shape, and color, and some 

 are broken and others whole. As the different kinds of coffee differ 



