TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 219 



and the branches rather spread hi breadth. When 

 the trees are four or five years old, the produce is 

 sufficiently considerable, and one negro is then 

 appointed to take care of every thousand trees. 

 While the trees are young and bear little or nothing, 

 one negro is sufficient to keep two thousand trees 

 in order, and to pull up the weeds. There are three 

 gatherings, which occupy almost the whole year j 

 at Rio de Janeiro, the first begins in the month of 

 April. Only the entirely ripe red berries are taken, 

 which easily part from the stalk, and the seeds are 

 separated without difficulty from the shell. These 

 berries are not thrown upon a heap and left to cor- 

 rupt, as used generally to be done, but the whole 

 fruit, when it is intended to proceed with particular 

 care, is dried with the outside coat, and, besides, a 

 kind of oil-mill is employed to take off the coat, 

 and the naked seeds are exposed to the sun a whole 

 month, that they may become perfectly dry. For 

 this purpose they make floors, fi-om about five and 

 twenty to thirty feet square of bricks or of stamped 

 clay, which are made convex for the rain to run off; 

 the berries being protected against sudden showers, 

 by portable straw roofs : about thirty arrobas may 

 be spread on each floor. The number of negroes, 

 each of whom can daily gather one arroba, de- 

 termines therefore the number of floors required. 

 The coffee when quite dry is kept in baskets, in a dry 

 place, and exposed to the wind. The Brazilian 

 planters, especially those at Rio, have the advan- 

 tage over those in the Antilles, that the greater part 



