COFFEE 



COFFEE 



243 



Suckers should be removed as they appear and 

 dead branches and unnecessary and undesirable 

 parts cut away. The practice of pruning is falling 

 into disuse in many coffee-growing regions because 

 of labor and financial conditions, and has been en- 



Flg. 349. 



Coffee seedling. 



tirely abandoned in Hawaii. It is frequently advis- 

 able to allow a lower shoot to remain to replace 

 the original stem which has suffered from the 

 dying off of the lower branches. When the new 

 stem begins to bear, the old one may be removed. 

 Shade. — The most mooted question in coffee-cul- 

 ture is that of shade. The opinion that heavy shad- 

 ing is necessary has led to much injury of the 

 industry, notably in Porto Eico. That high-grade 

 coffee can be grown without shade has been shown 

 in Guatemala and Brazil. The prevalent idea that 

 shading benefits the foli- 

 age and fruit is erro- 

 neous. However, it is 

 quite probable that 

 shading the ground is a 

 cultural advantage. Le- 

 guminous trees are 

 frequently planted for 

 shade, and their nitro- 

 gen-collecting powers 

 have no doubt been bene- 

 ficial to the coffee-plants. 

 In Java, Ceylon and 

 Africa, leguminous trees 

 are used largely. Other 

 possible advantages are 

 protection against 

 drought, and the moder- 

 ation of the temperature 

 of the upper layers of 

 soil. The shade trees 

 must not be so dense as 

 to shut out light and air. 

 A single tree may be 



placed in the center between blocks of four coffee 

 trees each ; that is, each block of four trees will 

 have a shade tree on each side of it in the row. 

 For a discussion of this subject the reader should 

 consult Bulletin No. 25, Division of Botany, United 

 States Department of Agriculture, Shade in Coffee 

 Culture, by 0. F. Cook. 



The trees used for shading in Porto Rico are 

 guaba (Inga vera), guama (Jnga laurina), moca 

 (Andira inermis), and bucare {Erythrina microp- 

 teryx). The first two are used most extensively. 

 In Mexico, the shade tree is Inga Inicuil. In- 

 Hawaii, coffee shading is practiced, the trees used 

 being, in order of importance, silky oak {Grevillea 

 robusta), kukui, Java plum and Monterey cypress. 

 The native ohia tree, the principal forest tree in 

 Hawaii, is usually left standing at intervals in new 

 land until the planted grevillea is large enough to 

 afford protection. (Pig. 350.) In Hamakua, the 

 Grevillea robusta has been found so much superior 

 to all other trees that it is now the only one recom- 

 mended. It is clean and free from blight, and 

 throws off leaves profusely, thus reducing the hoe- 

 ing and supplying fertilizing material to the soil. 

 Furthermore, the shade is variegated, and not too 

 dense. The best practice seems to be to provide a 

 row of shade trees every thirty-five or forty feet. 



The shade trees are pruned generally by cutting 

 away the lower branches and clearing them of dead 

 wood ; and they are thinned out when neccessary. 



In new plantations the ferns are allowed to re- 

 main to supply shade for the coffee seedlings, and 

 more especially to lessen the loss from cutworms, 

 which are very destructive to cultivated plants 

 when the field is completely cleared. 



Most of the planters hold to the idea that if the 

 coffee trees are topped, shade is a necessity ; if the 

 trees are not topped, no shade is required ; but if 

 the soil is poor or the field wind-swept, shade is 

 beneficial. 



Harvesting.— The coffee trees begin to bear 





Fig 



A coffee plantation in an Ohia forest, Hawaiian islands. 



