Coffee Cultivation in Berbice. 275 
All the coffee-estates were pleasant places to visit. 
The managers generally had a good deal of leisure 
time on their hands. They kept nice gardens, and 
had abundance of vegetables and fruit to spare; 
the hedges were neatly trimmed ; and altogether 
the surroundings were very picturesque and at- 
tractive. 
The cultivation of the coffee was a kind of gardening, 
and consisted of weeding between the coffee-bushes, 
and trimming the old branches so as to promote the 
growth of new wood, from which alone fruit was to be 
expected. The coffee was planted under the shade of 
tall trees called in Berbice Sand-Kokers, in Demerary 
Oronoque-trees, and botanically Erythrina cristagalli. 
Coffee, at the best, is a very uncertain crop. It 
requires peculiar weather : a spell of dry weather to 
check the growth, followed by copious rains to bring 
out the blossom. If instead of this there were con- 
tinual showers when the trees were " working," as 
it was called, the result was a development of leaf, 
instead of flower-buds ; and there was no crop. 
Were all things favourable, and there were signs 
of a good blossom, the news soon spread through- 
out the colony, and all parties connected with coffee- 
estates were a-stir, and eager to go and witness the 
"coffee-blossom." ft was best seen in the early mor- 
ning, before the sun was high, and you had to start 
at a very early hour. Some enthusiastic planters would 
take their hammocks and sleep aback, in order to see 
the blossom to advantage, and make an estimate of 
the probable extent of crop. 
