Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-04-29
COFFEE.
How ID is Grown and Gathered
An Interesting Sketch Of
q Brazilian Plantation.

From "A Journey in Brazil" by Agassiz.l
The next day was that of our depart
ure. Before leaving, we rode with Mr.,
Lage through the plantation, that we
might. understand something of the pro-
cess Of the coffee culture in his country.
am not sure that in giving an account
Of this model fazenda, we give just idea
of fazendas in general. Its owner carries
the same large and comprehensive spirit
into all his undertakings, and has intro.
duced extensive reforms on his planta.
tions. The Fazenda de Fortaleze de
Santa Anna lies at the foot of the Sierra
de Babylonia The house itself as l have
already said, makes a part of a success
sion of low white buildings, inclosing an
oblong square divided into neatlots des.
tined for the drying of coffee. :
This drying of the coffee in the imme-
diate vicinity of the house, though it
seems very general custom, must be an
uncomfortable one; for the drying lots
are laid down in dazzling white cement,
from the glare of which, in this hot eli
mate, the eye turns wearily away, long
ing for a. green spot on which to rest.
Just behind the house, on the slope of
the hill, is the Granger. am never tired
of these golden orchards; and this was
one of special beauty. The small deep.
colored tangerines, sometimes twenty or
thirty in one cluster, the large, choice
orange, Larania selecta," as it is called,
often ten or twelve together in single
bunch, and bearing the branches TO the
ground with their weight; the paler
"Eimso doce," or sweet lemon, rather
insipid, but greatly esteemed here for its
cool, refreshing properties; all these,
with many others-for the variety Of
oranges is far greater than we of the
temperate zone conceive it to be--makes
q mass OF color, in which gold, deep Or
ange and pale yellow are blended won
derfully with the background of green.
Beyond the house Enclosure, on the
opposite side of the road, are the gar
dens, with aviary and fish ponds in the
center. With these exceptions, all the
property which is not forest is devoted to
coffee, covering all the hillsides for miles
around. The seed is planted in nurse
ries especially prepared, where it
undergoes its first years growth. 1t is
then transplanted to its permanent home,
and begins to bear in about three years,
the first crop being, of course, very
light one. From that time forward,
under good care, and with favorable soil,
it will continue to bear, and even to
yield two crops or more annually, for
thirty years in succession. At that time
the shrubs and soil are alike exhausted,
and, according to the custom Of the
country, the fazenderio cuts down new
forest and begins a new plantation, COM
pletely abandoning his old one, without
thought of redeeming or fertilizing the
exhausted land.
One of the long. sighted reforms un-
dertaken by our host is the manuring of
all the old deserted plantations on his
estate; he has already q number of vig-
orous young plantations which promise
to be as good as if virgin forest had
been sacrificed to produce them. He
wishes not only to preserve the wood on
bis estate, and show that agriculture need
not be cultivated at the expense Of taste
or beauty, but to remind his country
people also that extensive as are the tor
ests, they will not last forever, 80 that 1t
will be necessary to immigrate before
longto find new coffee grounds if the old
ones are to be considered worthless. An
other of his reforms is that Of the roads,
already alluded to. The ordinary roads
in the coffee plantations, like the mule
tracks all over the country, are carried
straight up the sides Of the hills between
the lines Of shrubs, quilted by every rain,
and Offering, beside, so steep an ascent
that even with eight or ten oxen it is
often quite impossible 10 drive the
clumsy old d-fashioned carts uptbe slope,
and the negroes are obliged to bring
great part Of their harvest down on their
heads.
An American, who has been a great.
dead on the coffee fszendas in the region,
told me that he had seen negroes bring
ing enormous burdens Of this kind on
their heads down almost vertical slopes.
On Senor Lagos estate all these old
roads are abandoned, except where they
are planted here aud there Eith alleys Of
orange trees for the use cs negroes, and
l. h.s substituted for them winding
roads in The side Of the hin, With very
rredual ascent, 90 that ligtt carts dragged
~ = single mule can transport al the
harvssis from the summit Of the planta-
tic= % the drying ground. Il was the