June i, 1888. THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
815 
I cannot say positively if the decomposition of tlie 
a-a has far enough advanced to ensure a permanent 
Success to coffee, as beneath the surface, s ty three 
or four feet, the a-a is not packed with soil, but 
lies somewhat loose. The trees I saw, however, 
upon the whole, were very good indeed. The proper 
distance apart lo plant coffee, must not be less 
than 11 x !i feet, whi h gi/es 510 trees to the acre. ' 
This distance ensures the light of day to circle 
round the tree. Grass lands are universally ack- 
nowledged to draw from the soil the fond n -pessary 
for coffee, and plantations open on old pastures 
have always been unsatisfactory. Therefore it will 
be well to avoid lands which are overrun with Kilo 
grass. I am of opinion, however, that if Hilo grass 
has only recently established itself on virgin lauds, 
the harm cannot be great. 
CHOICEST DESCRIPTION OF LAND. 
The choicest lauds are thos^ which are fern-clad 
and covered with bush or forest. I would also advise 
raising uurseries of plants, and not to propagate 
from seedlings which have grown from see Is dropped 
olf tho coffee trees. PlautS taken from a dense 
shade, are always weak, spindly and difficult to raise, 
whilst those propagated in nurseries possess clusters 
of roots, aud from the very beginning, when pivoted 
in the open, will form themselves into well shapo 1 
trees. After lining 'J x 9, the next work in the order 
of progression is to prepare tho holes for trans- 
porting. These holes should, as in the case of cinchona, 
be dog beforehand, and can be done iuany weather, 
thus facilitating planting when the proper season begins. 
The season for planting is daring the rainy weather, 
and care must, he taken not to plant until the grouu I 
is well saturated to a considerable depth. Plants put 
Out in semi-dry soil are likely to fail. (Joffee, to succeed 
onanoially, must be planted in the way described, in 
proper plantation form, and ou a scale large enough 
to take advantage of machinery for the purposo of 
pulping and curing. 
ACREAGE AND ESTIMATED RETURN. 
I should alvi<o not planting less than 200 acres. 
This aro i will y eld about .'5,000 quintals (one quintal 
luO lbs ) of clean dry colfee, annually, allowing 
that each coffee tree will yield an average of say 
thro - p, mn Is per tree. In making this estimate I 
take 600 trees per a re, whereas tho total amount 
of trees to tho acre planted 9x9 is actually 53". 
Th.- proposition will stand thus: 500 trees per acre 
X'-'OO 100,000, the number of trees planted on 200. 
100.000 ■ 3 ;illl|,not) • lod V< "> the number of quintals 
per acre annually returned. 
COMPARATIVE YIELD or OTKKIt countries. 
I beg to draw attention to the co nparison of 
yield of other countries of which 1 h ive personal 
knowledge and experience. In an article addressed 
to tho President of the Planters' Association, Honolulu, 
I gave some information on coffee culture, and beg 
to refer you for further information to that letter 
which is published in the Planter's Monthly for 
November. I therein stated that, where all the 
natural conditions for the cultiva'ion of any product 
aro in the highest degree of perfection, a planter 
can begin the cultivation of such product with con- 
fidence In his ability to compete successfully with 
the whole world, and that tho high price of labour 
holds a very lame, secondary place. This, of course, 
lias special reference to tropical agriculture where 
tho articles produced aro childly, if uot altogether 
o lusuiiied in the tetnperite zone, and whero no 
argument ot local produ :tiou aud consumption can 
he rose I. 
COFFEE IN GUATEMALA. 
To Mih.tantUte tins u'lienieiit I referred, in my 
letter, to Guate a da, 0 i . d America, where o iffee 
i- ra sed very extensively, and quote I thfl list of 
chirgcH against coffee in truisp irt from the chief 
colfee districts to tho stoamers. They aro as fol- 
lows: — 
* This is morn tho .l»v» an I Brazil »j-t in Mian 
tint of Ooylo i, whereabout l.'JiX) Ireva lo the acre 
was the rule, — Ku. 
From the plantation to the railway station, about 
S2 per quintal. The railway has a concession from 
the Government; which givos it a monopoly and 
right to charge sixty cents per quintal. The wharf 
company have auother concession which entitles 
them to charge thirty cents per quintal, and a still 
further charge of thirty-two cents, to deliver from 
the wharf to the steamer. In additi m to all these 
charges the Government have an export tax of twenty- 
five cents per quintal, making in all, SoVlZ per 
quintal, or at the rate of nearly (,70 per ton. I 
also stated that alongside of the high price of labor 
which is paid here, I think it only fair to meutiou 
the great facilities of transport in this country, 
which would proportionately cheapen the cost of pro- 
duction. I beg also to add further testimony in 
support of my position, because the price of la'ior 
appears to be the gre.it stnmblingblock iu tho eyes 
of many peaple here. 
COFFEE RETURNS IN CEYLON. 
The largest export of plantation colfee, and the 
maximum average rate of production per acre, (5£ 
cwts, per acre for the country) were attained 
in 1870. 
COFFEE IN GUATEMALA. 
To return again to Guatemala, which is a volcanic 
c mntry, and has all the natural requirements for 
the coffee tree in the highest degree of perfection, 
the average yield of coffee par acre rauges from teu 
to fifteen quintals, that is, on the choicest plau- 
titions. An important factor iu estimating tabor 
cost, is to consider at the same time, quantity pro- 
duced. For instance on a plantation which produces 
but four quintals to the acre, a coolie can pick 
only about one-third of the quantity that he could 
on an estate that has a crop of fifteen quintals 
l>er acre. And as the pickiug of the crop is the 
principal charge against the p'antation, the saving 
is accordingly proportionate. 
COMPARISONS— GUATEMALA! INDIA. 
Further, table No. I shows the return of all Indh 
to be 351,898 cwt. of coffee, whereas Guatemala, 
with its enh meed charges, exports m arly 600,000 
quintals. This, to the ordiuary observer, is very 
remarkable, when it is considered that the latter 
c.mntry pays nearly three times the price for its 
labor. The high charges of trausport aud export 
duties, mentioned above, aud worst of ail, a most 
fickle, uncertain and thoroughly corrupt government 
where tyranny prevails, and the administration of 
law is a complete dead letter, makes the case still 
more remarkable. And yet notwithstanding this 
drawback, the colfee plantations pay handsome re- 
turns; a result unattainable in either India or Ueylou. 
I have gone moro fully into this matter than is 
perhaps necessary, but have done so in order to 
satisfy those who are not familiar with these nut- 
ters, and moreover who have preconceived ideas 
concerning coffee, anil how its future may be affected 
byj the price of labor prevailing in this country. 
I may also mention, before dismissing this section 
of my subject, that * man unused to colfee picking, 
may work steadily all day long, and gather less than' 
one-half the quantity of an expert picker. Uoutin- 
ml practice is necessary to attain efficiency in this 
respect< 
RAINFALL. 
R ai nfa l l exercises a great influence for good or evil 
upon colfee culture. The rmge is accepted to he from 
70 to 150 inches, nicely distributed throughout the 
year. Below seventy inch •s the trees requires . 1 1 I. 
Above 150 the effect ou the tree is to cause un luo 
growth tbo whole year round, miking wooG every 
month, and for want ot re t , mi le. I to excessive mois- 
ture, tho blossom is apt to | i ,ro it nets ou tUo 
true. Thu trail to >, heoomos deuuurato I, being insiufd 
and watery. The ttee will exhibit a mint luxurious 
foliage and groat site, whiih is very deceiving to one 
not thoroughly aoqutinted with its cuituro. These 
conclusions »r • • »• iered Iro n personal observation, 
aud aro tOOepUM oy pi inters of wide oxpc aoo. 
