March, 1910.] 



251 



Miscellaneous. 



One of the plantation managers in this 

 district realising that by proper culti- 

 vation the coffee business would still 

 yield a profit, purchased twenty of these 

 defunct coffee estates, and secured an 

 able manager for each one. I visited 

 one of these estates and saw coffee 

 culture from the planting of the seed 

 to the sewing up of the sacks for export. 

 I was told that this plantation was 

 purchased for P 13,000, and that the 

 profits for the first two years equalled 

 the original cost. The estate is now 

 valued at P 160,000. It is apparent that 

 the manager realises that good plant- 

 ation management costs money, but 

 that in the end such management is 

 the cheapest. 



He insists that the soil under and 

 between the coffee trees shall not be 

 cultivated, but the weeds are pulled 

 every ten days, and the trees are also 

 trimmed at this time. This pulling of 

 weeds makes it possible to remove them 

 with the least possible disturbance of 

 the soil. Th6 weeds and leaves are left 

 beneath the trees. The reason for this 

 method is to imitate as near as possible 

 the conditions found in the natural 

 forests. The object is to keep the trees 

 hardy and free from disease, and to 

 maintain these conditions the too ready- 

 growth is prevented by keeping the soil 

 under the trees packed, On this plant- 

 ation every operation is thoroughly 

 systematised and every cent put out 

 for labour is for value received- The 

 plantation is divided into several 

 sections, each one of which is managed 

 by a Dutch assistant. 



Coffee is gathered in Java during the 

 months of January, February, March, 

 April and May. The same tree is 

 repicked every ten days. Coffee pickers 

 earn comparatively large wages, some 

 as high as 30 cents per day. The same 

 day that the berries are picked they 

 must be hulled, as otherwise a lower 

 grade of coffed is secured. The berries 

 are passed through the pulping machine, 

 which remove the outer soft skin. The 

 hulled berries are then carried by a 

 flume to the fermenting tank. After 

 a day or so they are removed to the 

 drier where they are dried either by 

 the sun or a wood fire. A machine 

 then removes the parchment seed coat, 

 after which the kernels pass through 

 a cylinder which grades the coffee 

 according to size. The round berries 

 are worth the most and are carefully 

 picked out by hand just before the 

 coffee is packed. These berries are said 

 to contain more pith, which is the part 

 of the bean producing the most desir- 

 able flavour. The coffee is sacked in the 

 same way as rice. 

 82 



The plantation I visited contained 

 scattering trees of Liberian coffee. 

 These trees are allowed to grow 18 feet 

 high. The berries are reached by means 

 of a ladder and are picked every week 

 during the year. No more Liberian 

 trees are being planted. 



Coffee is planted in raised seed beds 

 that are well shaded. The seeds are 

 planted 6 inches apart, and it requires 

 about 40 days for them to germinate. 



Considerable damage is done on the 

 coffee plantations by a squirrel-like ani- 

 mal which eats the coffee berries. 



The dadap tree is used to shade the 

 coffee The trunk of this tree is also 

 used as a support for pepper vines. 



When a coffee tree dies it is replaced 

 by another coffee tree, but when a small 

 section of coffee trees die that section is 

 replanted with white cacao. The white 

 cacao trees withstand disease better 

 than the red. Cacao trees are inspected 

 every five days. The pods are ripe when 

 they turn a little yellow. I was told 

 that red ants eat the bark, which is 

 then attacked by a fungus growth which 

 sometimes kills the trees. When one 

 tree is removed its place is not refilled 

 until after one year. 



Before planting cacao, a hole 1 meter 

 eacli wa y is dug and left open for two 

 months ; the hole is then filled and after 

 the rains have packed the soil well, a 

 young plant is inserted. To prevent 

 wild deer from browsing the young 

 trees, each tree is inclosed in bamboo 

 structure. The cacao seeds are first 

 germinated and are then planted in a 

 narrow, loosely woven basket. 



The seeds which are prepared for 

 market are allowed to ferment in a box 

 or basket covered with an old coffee 

 sack, The seeds of both the coffee and 

 cacao become quite warm during the 

 fermenting process. After two or three 

 days the seeds are washed in water and 

 are then dried, sacked, and shipped. 



Cassava. 



At Nagadilaoewer I visited a cassava 

 plantation owned and operated by an 

 Armenian. Formerly the volcanic sandy 

 soil found here produced coffee, but 

 owing to the drop in prices previously 

 referred to, the coffee estates were 

 abandoned. The owner of this plant- 

 ation purchased several of these defunct 

 coffee estates for a small sum. He 

 pulled out all the coffee trees and 

 planted cassava, though at the present 

 time the price of the finished product is 

 not as high as it was formerly. 



