3 



PARCHMENT COFFEE. 



In Bulletin No. 12, the price was quoted for coffee sent home in parchment, as ranging from 76s- 

 to 90s. per cwt. There was no means then of comparing the price with that of fully cured coffee, but 

 Mr. John Davidson of Bellevue has since informed me that he was the shipper, and has been good 

 enough to send me the sale note of cured coffee sent home at the same time. 



It will be seen from his letter below, that parchment coffee compares favourablj with cured coffee 

 in price Mr. Davidson speaks for those who have the full complement of machinery and abundance of 

 water power, when he says there is no appreciable difference in price. For those who have no mill, 

 it is a great boon to be able to export their coffee in parchment. 



W. F. 



John Davidson, Esq., to the Director Public Gardens and Plantations. 



Bellevue, April 30th, 1889. 



W. Fawcett, Esq. 

 Dear Sir, 



I enclose you a sale note of 11 brls. coffee sold at the same time as those sent home in parchment 

 and mentioned in the Bulletin. There is no appreciable difference, the only advantage that I can see 

 is in cases where the machinery is either incomplete or defective, and where there is no water power. 



1 do not think much, i. e. any money is saved, but pilfering is avoided which is sometimes carried on 

 particularly at one stage before sending away the coffee; for settlers' coffee it would hardly answer, un- 

 less bought in the berry, as small lots from several places to make up a shipment would be all diffe- 

 rent, and indifferently cured, and once the coffee has gone wrong in the parchment you cannot get it 

 straight again, 



Yours faithfully, 

 (Signed) John Davidson. 



Copy. Sale Note. 12th December, 1888 



From Park, Macfadyen & Co., * To John Davidson, Esq., 



25 Lime S. West, Jamaica. 

 London, E. C. 



Ex. Ship Mark Produce Description Price 



D 



Medwa . BV. 11 Barrels Coffee Fine fine ordinary green. 87/6. 



CACAO.— PLANTING AND CURING. 



Situation. 



Mr. Morris in " Cacao : how to grow and how to cure it," gives it as his opinion that " Cacao to 

 be successfully cultivated in Jamaica, must be confined for the most part to our moister valleys and 

 hollows. Where the plains meet the hills, at elevations say 150 to 500 feet, and, where there is good 

 shelter from prevailing winds, Cacao should thrive well. . . . The rain-fall should not be below an 

 average of 60 inches per annum, nor should the mean annual temperature be below 75° F." 



Soil. 



The soil should be rich and moist, and more important still, should be deep, for the tap-root is 

 long, and if it reaches rock or clay, the tree dies off. A soil with a certain amount of lime or marl is 

 to be preferred. 



Nurseries. 



When seed is very plentiful, it is sometimes the custom to sow 2 or 3 seeds together in each hole 

 and when the plants are from 4 to 7 months old to pull up the weakest, leaving only one at each spot. 



It is a better plan, however, to sow the seeds first in a nursery, and then plant out with the first rains. 

 If the number is small, the seeds may be sown in bamboo pots, which can be readily slit, when taken 

 out into the field. If beds are used, they should be about 20 feet long by 3 feet wide, somewhat raised 

 and composed of leaf -mould or friable loam shaded with Palm leaves or thatch. The plants should 

 be transferred to the Cacao-walk when they are from 6 to 8 inches high. 



Planting. 



The young Cacao-plants are placed at intervals of about 13 feet apart every way. Between every 



2 Cacao-plants, a banana must be planted to afford shade for the first 2 or 3 years ; and at intervals of 

 39 feet, trees are grown for the sake of permanent sheds when the bananas are cut down. It is also 

 necessary for the first few months to grow such plants as cassava, chillies, or gungo peas, close to 

 the seedlings. It is well to have all these various kinds of shade-plants put into the ground before, 

 or at any rate at the same time as, the Cacao. For permanent shade, such trees as the Sandbox Tree, 

 the Jac-Tree, the Guango, and the Hog Plum are recommended. 



Curing. 



The Cacao exported from Jamaica obtains a price so far below Trinidad Cacao, that it was deter- 

 mined to make some experiments in curing, in order to be sure that the low price was due, not to bad 

 seed, but to bad curing. 



The first experiment consisted in curing mainly according to the directions given in Mr. Morris's 

 pamphlet. The beans were taken from the pod, and [placed to ferment in a barrel with holes in the 

 bottom through which the moisture drained out. The temperature never rose above 92 Q F, and remain- 

 ed for some days at that point. After 6 days, the beans were taken out, and spread in the sun in a 

 thin layer, women being employed to rub them occasionally between their hands, and remove the refuse. 

 They were turned over at intervals to prevent scorching, and were shaded during the middle of the day 



