Sept,  i,  TS96.) 
THE  TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
147 
Irrigation  and  Manuring.— Irrigation  and  also  ma- 
nuring are  sometimes  resorted  to  in  Mexico,  Imt  if 
a suitable  site  has  been  selected,  neither  will  be 
necessary  on  a new  plantation.  It  may  be  added 
that  the  practice  of  manuring  the  nursery  ground 
is  not  a good  one,  as  it  unfits  the  young  plants  for 
their  ultimate  destination. 
Cueaning. — It  is  very  necessary  that  the  young 
trees  should  be  kept  clear  of  weeds,  a matter  to 
which  in  Me.xico  insufficient  attention  is  generally 
paid.  Weeding  should  be  carried  out  every  month, 
and  though  it  is  an  expensive  operation,  the  cost  of 
the  labour  will  be  amply  rapid  by  the  yield  of  coffee. 
Hand  weeding  is  to  be  preferred  as  being  both 
cheaper  and  more  effectual. 
Topping  and  Pruning. — In  Mexico,  where  empiric 
methods  have  hitherto  largely  prevailed,  there  is 
some  divergence  of  opinion  on  this  subject.  In  other 
coffee-growing  countries,  however,  no  doubt  is  enter- 
tained that  the  plant  should  be  topped  at  from  3 
to  5 feet  from  tbe  ground,  the  object  being  to  con- 
fine the  sap,  so  that  not  only  primary  branches  but 
secondaries  and  tertiaries  may  also  bear  their  crop 
from  9 inches  from  the  ground  upwards.  On  rich 
soils  the  trees  may  be  allowed  to  grow  taller  than 
on  poor  lands.  Topping  should  be  done  with  a 
knife,  and  only  on  the  matured  wood,  otherwise  the 
wound  will  bleed  and  the  tree  will  be  ruined.  The 
trees  are  genei'ally  pruned  between  the  second  and 
third  year,  after  the  crop  has  been  gathered.  The 
operation  is  repeated  in  subsequent  years,  and  the 
plant  is  kept  as  far  as  possible  in  the  shape  of  a 
low  symmetrical  bush,  without  straggling  or  unpro- 
ductive branches.  On  badly  managed  plantations, 
and  particularly  where  the  shade  is  too  thick,  the 
plants  become  drawn  up,  poorly  furnished,  and  com- 
paratively unproductive. 
Harvesting. — The  coffee  berry  ripens  at  different 
seasons  in  different  places,  but  in  most  localities  the 
principal  picking  takes  place  in  the  late  autumn, 
and  in  the  winter.  The  berries  are  picked  off  as  soon 
as  they  become  bright  red  in  colour,  and  either  the 
same  evening  or  the  following  day  the  pulp  is  removed 
by  means  of  a machine  called  a pupler.* 
The  berries  fall  from  the  machine  into  a recep- 
tacle of  stone  or  wood,  in  which  they  remain  from 
12  to  21  hours.  They  are  then  passed  into  a lower 
receptacle,  iuto  which  water  is  poured,  and  are  stamped 
or  trampled  upon  until  the  sticky  glutinous  sub- 
stance disappears.  The  beans  which  float  on  the  top, 
being  of  inferior  quality,  are  collected  and  dried 
separately,  and  the  remainder  are  spread  out  in  the 
yards  or  on  mats  to  dry.  This  requires  4 or  5 days’ 
exposure  to  the  sun.  The  parchment-like  skin  is 
loosened  by  rubbing  the  berries  between  the  palms 
of  the  hands.  The  coffee  when  dried  is  stored  in 
granaries,  and  afterwardes  beaten,  winnowed,  sorted, 
and  packed  for  export.  All  these  operations,  though 
somewhat  complicated  to  describe,  are  really  of  a 
very  simple  character,  and  the  whole  art  of  treating 
the  coffee  after  it  is  gathered,  though  requiring  some 
care  and  attention,  may  be  acquired  with  very  slight 
experience.  Machinery,  which  is  comparatively  inex- 
pensive, is  gradually  taking  the  place  of  hand  labour, 
and  is,  no  doubt,  more  economical,  particularly  on 
large  plantations,  but  tbe  older  methods  are  still 
very  generally  employed.  It  has  been  estimated  that 
a complete  set  of  machinery  for  a large  plantation 
would  cost  from  600Z.  to  1,100/.  On  small  plantations, 
however,  a hand  pulper  costing  some  12/.,  or  rather 
more,  will  probably  be  found  sufficient  machinety 
with  which  to  commence  operations,  more  being  added 
as  occasion  requires. 
Amount  of  Capital  Required  and  Price  of  Land. — 
The  intending  planter  will  find  a capital  of  1,500/. 
amply  sufficient  for  his  requirements.  It  is  far  better 
to  begin  planting  on  a comparatively  small  scale, 
and  to  gain  thorough  experience  of  the  country  and 
the  business  before  embarking  on  an  unnecessarily 
large  undertaking.  Some  250  acres  is  as  much  as 
a beginner  should  attempt  to  deal  with,  and  even 
* Small  native  cultivators  do  not,  as  a rule,  use 
a pulper.  They  first  dry  the  berry  and  then  tread 
out  the  grain  from  the  dry  husks  with  the  feet. 
of  this  only  200  acres  should  be  planted  with  coffeei 
■ ■")  acres  being  left  ur.der  timber,or 
purposes. 
planting  can  be  obtained  at  from 
18s.  to  1/.  lO.s.  per  acre,  and  soiuetiuies  even  cheaper. 
If  then  we  take  the  mean  between  these  two  prices, 
250  acres  would  cost  .300/.,  and  the  planter  with 
1,500/.  capital  would  still  have  1,200/.  in  hand  with 
which  to  meet  initial  expenses  and  to  maintain  him- 
self until  his  plantation  came  into  full  bearing.  At 
first  sight  this  sum  will  appear  unnecessarily  large, 
but  in  a country  where  credit  is  not  easily  obtained, 
and  where  the  interest  on  borrowed  money  is  very 
high,  it  is  well  to  bold  a reserve  of  capital  as  an 
insurance  against  unforeseen  accidents.  The  failure 
of  a large  number  of  foreigners  in  this  country  may 
be  attributed  to  neglect  of  this  precaution. 
Cost  and  Profit. — This  is  a subject  on  which  there 
exists  an  extraordinary  diversity  of  opinion,  and 
many  estimates,  though  quite  honestly  put  forward, 
are,  in  fact,  far  too  favom  able.  Calculations  based 
(as  is  frequently  the  case)  on  the  ascertained  pro- 
duce of  a single  plant  are  especially  misleading,  for, 
however  favourable  the  coi:ditions  may  be,  the  different 
plants  vary  both  in  the  quantity  and  quality'  of  their 
yield,  and  some  are  altogether  unproductive.  Per- 
haps the  best  plan  is  to  take  the  average  cost  of 
cultivating  an  acre,  and  then  to  give  an  estimate  of 
the  value  of  the  crop  for  the  first  6 years.  The 
following  figure  will  be  found  to  be  pretty  near  the 
mark,  but  if  anything  they  show  a smaller  return 
than  may  be  expected  if  all  the  conditions  are 
favourable 
cost  of  cultivation  per  acre  during  first 
FIVE  YEARS. 
Amount. 
tne  remaining  at 
applied  to  other 
Good  lands  for 
Clearing  land 
Staking  and  digging  holes  for  1,000 
trees 
Purchase  of  1,000  young  coffee  trees 
Planting  1,000  trees 
Replacing  loss  of  coffee  trees 
Monthly  cleaning  for  five  years 
Cost  of  harvesting  2,6001b.  of  coffee 
including  freight,  taxes,  &c.,  at  8 
Mexican  cents  per  lb. . . 
Total 
First  year 
Second  year,  200  lb.,  sold  at  21  Mexi 
can  cents 
Third  year,  400  lb. 
Fourth  year,  800  lb. 
Fifth  year,  1,200  lb. 
Total 
£ 
8. 
d. 
1 
4 
0 
0 14 
0 
0 
10 
0 
0 
6 
0 
0 
3 
0 
6 
0 
0 
21 
10 
8 
30 
7 
8 
:re. 
Amount, 
£ 
s. 
d. 
Nil.l 
4 
11 
0 
9 
2 
0 
18 
4 
0 
27 
6 
0 
59 
3 
0 
In  making  these  calculations  it  has  been  assumed 
that  a good  site  has  been  chosen,  and  that  the  land 
and  its  produce  have  been  properly  treated.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  price  obtained  for  the  bean— a 
matter  which  is  not  entirely  in  the  planter's  control 
— has  been  estimated  at  a low  figure.  It  may  be 
mentioned,  however,  that  scientific  cultivation  of  the 
plant  and  careful  treatment  of  the  bean  after  pick- 
ing will  often  raise  the  value  of  the  produce  by 
improving  its  quality  as  much  as  25  per  cent. 
The  cost  of  making  the  nursery  and  the  necessary 
roads  or  tracks  has  not  been  included  in  the  above 
estimate,  but  these  expenses  are  not  heavy'',  and  ap- 
pear altogether  inconsiderable  when  calculated  per 
acre.  Moreover,  as  this  work  is  of  a permanent 
character,  it  may  fairly  be  charged  to  capital  ac- 
count. The  same  may  be  said  of  buildings,  tools,  &c., 
the  cost  of  which  has  been  estimated  as  low  as  501. 
for  a moderate-sized  plantation.  It  seems  unlikely, 
