ASCENT OF THE GUADELOUPE SOUFRIERE. 335 
during the winter months, to eighty degrees during 
the hottest days of August. A few miles below, on 
the sea-shore, it reaches one hundred degrees. 
The coffee-plants are raised from seeds generally 
sown in beds. When from fifteen to eighteen months 
old, the plants are transplanted from the nurseries 
into the fields at a distance of six feet apart each way. 
The young trees sometimes give a light crop in the 
third year from setting out, and increase in yield from 
that time for several years. A coffee-tree is in its full 
strength and beauty at the age of twenty years, and 
will last a century. The tree blossoms, generally, 
every month from February to May. The fruit ripens 
from August to January, and is picked carefully by 
hand, there being ripe and green berries on the same 
branches, and, indeed, often blossoms also. As soon 
as the berries are all removed, the trees commence 
blossoming again, and so on for many years. The 
fruit, or “berry,” as it is called, is red, and somewhat 
resembles a cherry, and is quite sweet. The kernel, 
which is the coffee, is divided into two parts with their 
flat sides adhering. 
After having been picked from the trees, the ber- 
ries are passed through a mill made for the purpose, 
which divides the red pulpy skins from the kernel. 
These last, which are the only parts saved, after a 
slight fermentation of a few hours, in order to remove 
the mucilaginous coating with which they are cov- 
ered, are washed freely in cold water and then dried 
in the sun. They are still covered, after being dried, 
with a tough, yellowish pellicle, which is removed by 
placing the coffee in large mortars with ovoidal bot- 
toms, made of hard wood or-iron, and under the 
