350 Coffee Culture on tbe Soutbern Coast of Cbtapas. 



When the coffee is perfectly clean the bean assumes a bluish color 

 which afterwards changes to a grayish green. 



The final operations of preparing the coffee for market are per- 

 formed in Colombo, and consist in drying the bean until it becomes 

 very hard, removing from it the parchment-like hull and the pellicle 

 underneath, cleansing it by means of a fanner, sorting the beans 

 according to size and shape, and removing by hand black or broken 

 beans. 



The grades of Ceylon coffee are No. i, No. 2, pea-berry and waste 

 coffee. 



Ceylon coffee is sent to market in casks or barrels. The coffee of 

 Soconusco and Guatemala is sent to market in bags. 



VI. 



PROFITS OF COFFEE CULTURE. 



The best manner of showing the profits of coffee culture is to make 

 an approximate estimate of the cost and of the product of a plantation 

 of a given size. Such an estimate, however carefully made, cannot be 

 altogether exact, and at most can only be considered as approximate. 

 It frequently happens, that in the same place and with the same sys- 

 tem of cultivation, one planter, because of his greater diligence and 

 aptitude, will raise a crop with much less cost than another. This 

 will be the case with still greater reason when different localities are 

 in question. It frequently happens, also, that unforeseen circum- 

 stances will render necessary fresh expenses, which were not calculated 

 upon at first. It is to be observed, too, that even in Soconusco it is re- 

 marked that year after year there is an increase in the price of pro- 

 visions and of the necessaries of life, which will of necessity increase 

 the cost of labor, as well as the other expenses of the plantation. An 

 estimate which, made now, might be approximate, within a year or two 

 would be too low. 



The cost, productiveness, and profit of a coffee plantation, in 

 different localities, in order to form a more correct estimate, will now 

 be considered. 



1. Cost, productiveness, and net profits of a plantation in 

 Soconusco. 



2. Cost, productiveness, and profits of coffee in Barcenas plantation. 



3. Cost and productiveness of a coffee plantation in Ceylon. 

 Each of these subjects will be separately considered. 



I. COST, PRODUCTIVENESS, AND NET PROFITS OF COFFEE IN SOCONUSCO. 



To proceed in regular order the following subjects will now be 

 considered : 



