OHAP. XVII.] 



COFFEE PLANTATIONS. 



247 



Minahasa, and probably in all Celebes. Here I had de- 

 termitied to stay for some time to see wlietlier this eleva* 

 tion would produce any change in the zoology. The 

 village liad only been formed about ten yeara, and was 

 quite as neat as those I had passed through and much 

 more pictiireaqua It is placed ou a small level spot, trom 

 which there is an abrupt wooded descent down to the 

 beautiful lake of Tondano, with volcanic mountains l>e- 

 yond. Ou one side is a ravine, and beyond it a hut? 

 mountainous and wooded country. 



Near the village are the coltee plantations. The trees 

 are planted in rows, and are kettt topped to about aeveu 

 feet high. This causes ihe lateral liraiiches to grow very 

 strong, so that some of the trees become perfect hemi- 

 .spheres, loaded with fnut from top to bottom, and pro- 

 ilucing fixnn ten to twenty pounds each of cleaned coHee 

 annually. These plantations were all formed by tlie 

 (iovernmcnt, and are cultivated by the viiliigers under 

 the direction of their chieC Certain days are appointed 

 for weeding or gathering, and the w^hole working popu- 

 lation are summoned by sound of»gong. An account is 

 kept of the number of hours' work done by each family, 

 and at the year's' end the produce of the sale is divided 

 among them proportionately. The coffee is taken to 

 tiovernment stores established at central places over the 

 whole country', and is paid for at a low fixed price. 

 Out of this a certain percentage goes to the chiefs and 

 majors, and the remainder is divided among the inha- 

 bitants. This system \\*orks very well, and I believe is 

 at present far better for tlie people than free-trade woiihl 

 be. There are also large rice-fields, and in this little 

 village of seventy houses I was infomied that a hundred 

 pounds' worth of rice was sold annually, 



I \m\ a small house at the very end of the village, almost 

 hanging over the precipitous slope down to the stream, 

 and witli a splendid view from the verandah. The therrno- 

 nieUn- in the morning often stood at 62" and never rose 

 so high as 80", so tlmt with the thin clothing used in 

 the tropical plains we were always cool and sometimes 

 positively cold, while the spout of water where I went 

 daily for my bath had quite an icy feel. Although 1 



