February i, 1892.! 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
53 ? 
the lata John Gomes 0 . e., and where hie widow 
lives. The land lies on a gentle s'ope. scenas to 
have been large ohena land, judging by the absence 
ot charaoteristio tree stumps which are left protruding 
above the highest coffee trees if latter be planted 
in virgin soil. Coffee seems planted the regulation 
distance 16 by 10 palmas (llj by llj feet), the 
older coffee covers the grounrt well and the younger 
is very equal in height. There is a saw mill, a 
Vortical one, which wo notice from the road sawing 
up huge logs which have been taken from a clump 
of virgin forest in low land which would bo sul'jeot 
to frost. Wo rode for about a mile through the 
plantation ascending the hill all the time. From 
the top of the hill a nice view is got of the valley 
through which we have ridden. We see hills 
covered with green coffee treep, on tho two sidrs of 
the valley. After passing through a piece of largo 
ohena on the top of the bill, we oommcnce to 
descend on the other side, and soon we outer 
auatht.r coffee plautation. This cne had been badly 
treated and but four years ago wbh purohased by 
its present owner for a small sum. The now owner 
out down the fitst planted trees about a foot from 
the ground, and tho result now is a beautiful fi-ld of 
dark green coffee busheo, with not mueh crop for 
coming season, but a flush of young wood for the 
coming blo-soming season. Sept, and October. 
The owner now asks £10,000 — for what ho paid 
£3,OCO. 
We now dtsoend gradually down the right side 
of another valley; the stream in the middle of it 
r uns in a different direction, from that wo have 
come and we find we are on a range of hills ; 
which seems to bo formed from the parent hill 
we have just crossed. 
Thr. ugh long geological ages they have been 
forming, for we find those ridges all run paralell 
with undulating hollows through which runs a 
stream. Almost every aval able pieoe of forest on 
the upper slopes is planted with coffee of ages 
from one to seven years and in many cases just 
newly cleared and planted. In the distance are 
seen further ranges of hills covered with coffee, or 
newly burnt clearings. 
Wo rode along the side of this valley for a few 
jniles and then we arrived at out headquarters 
mr the day, the fazenda of “Lsrradas." This 
kazenda forms one of a group of some four or 
nve estates lieicngirg to tho Jorqutiro family tho 
same to whom I have referred in these present 
potee as having been the holders of 360,036 acres 
■n 1876. 'I'his group now forms the remnant of 
that large block. Beginning with the breaking np of 
the block in 1878. in three years it was all sold 
except what they now retain, and that is about 
6.000 acres. 
The proceeds of tho oalos — although receiving 
what would be called a small price per acre for ooffee 
land— ma'lo them all (tho members of tho family) 
very rich. 'J bey were thus in a position to build 
houses for, and locate on their lands many European 
colonist families; eonsequontly their coffee fields — 
jroin the lime they wore plai.t d, unlike many others 
lerehavebccn kept in first rate order. The acrago un- 
ner coffee of all ages in about 3,000 or 1,000,000 trees. 
. 1 their land is prslure or forest under 
wnat we may onll the Fragt line. 
'• IS in the hollows in tho mid.st ot artificially 
auo pastures whoreare located the colonists’ houses, 
toe looking white-washed tile covered buildings 
or partaking of a hearty breakfast which was 
. ® , jO '®! to any of the finest country hotel 
ealvfaats, at the house of Senher Joaquim Foi mino 
0 Andraee JunqU'iro and enjoying a cigarette — 
, . ® p* some tobaooo of his own growing (in 
wniQb ho prided himsoll as being equal to tho best 
grown in these famous tobacoo growing western 
lands) — and a cup of strong but full-flavourrd blank 
coffee— fresh horses were supplied to us, and we 
began in Visiting Agent style an inspection of 
these groups of estates. 
I can scarcely express the pleasure this gave. 
The old Ceylon life came back to me, and but for 
the extra height of the trees, and the less aoci. 
dental nature of the formation of the land, one 
could imagine one's self riding th ^ ugh the Hunas- 
giriya, Matala East, and Kelebokka districts in the 
days of old. 
Our road at first was across the pasture, passing 
on the way a large village of Italian oolonists. 
The oontented look of the old people, and the 
healthy look of the children who were playing about 
as if they were in Southern Europe, the well filled 
corn huuss situated in the back yard, the piggery 
and the fowl house, the enclosure for the calf to 
keep it away from tho cow, the open stable for 
a horse, and last but nut least in the back yard 
the largo dome, well clayed over which serves for 
an oven, all inclined to make us believe that 
whatever may be said to tho contrary, these people 
have not ouly bettered their position, but are 
supplying a necessary want to the cultivation of 
coffee in this country. 
A barbed wire fence divides tho pasture from the 
coffee fields. The large regulation wooden gate, 
whiub takes tho strength of a man on borsebaok 
to open, and being hung at an angle closes auto- 
matioaily with tremendous force, is generally hold 
open by the first of a group ot people who may 
psBS through. Here we have a delightful sight, 
ooffee six and seven years old so loaded with 
green Iruit that tho branches were bending down 
to the gmund. The trees are about twelve feet 
high planted 16x16 palmas (ll^xllj feet,) not a 
weed was to be seen and not an opon space, to 
pet along; the labourers had to bend their bodies or 
almost crawl. I should say there was about 15 
owt. to the acre, the green berries were well filled 
and at this season (April) many were growing 
yellow. (The picking season extends over Juno, 
July, August, Seplcraber and October.) 
The roads are all made on straight lines, wido 
mioiigb for cart traflic and they all run at right 
anglte. In picking the coffee cherry is heaped at 
the side of the road and a cart comes and takes 
it away to tho barbaouo. where it is dried in the 
cherry. Owing to iho stylo of picking — taking half 
ripe, full ripe and dried beans, which may bo on 
the trois or on the ground, very little is done 
in the way of pulping. Very little rain falls during 
the picking season, from June to October, therefore 
tho cherry lies outside on the baibacuo until it is 
dry enough tor storing without heating. Admirable 
machines arc now' in use for hulling, and this is 
done at any time (luting tho year Coffee keeps its 
colour better in the dry cherry than v hen it is 
oIea<ied. So if tho farmer wishes to wait lor a high 
price later in the season, ho keeps it in store on- 
hulled. The rule however is that ho tries to got 
it off to market as soon as he can. 
Young coflao is treated similarly to what it is in 
your country but it is not topped. A groat many 
plants with seed, that is to soy four or five ocffoo 
benns are put into taoh hole and after two years 
all but two are pulled out. The leaving of two 
plants is a new custom lor formerly all planting 
was done by coffee plants from a nursery large 
enough to be made into stumps | to J an inch in 
diameter and only one to each hole. Tho pulled 
out plants do well for supplying vacanoies or for 
planting up m w uleaiings, but they must bo pulled 
when tho soil is soft and moist after or during heavy 
rain ; no damage is done to the toots ot (hose 
