The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1872-03-26
COFFEE.

n sHal evergreen Tree, Indigenous TO
Southern Abyssinia and Liberia. The
plant commences to bear in the fourth year,
and continues bearing for about twenty
years. There is one main crop in each
year, but, like other tropical fruits of the
same species, flowers and ripe berries are
to be found on the trees at all seasons
The ripe fruit resembles the cherry,
both in size and color, but contains two
seeds instead of one. These seeds are i'm
beded in pulp, which at a certain stage of
the ripeuing is eatable. Coffee is improv-
ed by allowing the pulp to remain in the
seed until perfectly dry. The demands of
trade, however, willsnot permit tho time
necessary for drying naturally; hence the
berries are gathered and spread out in the
sun 20 dry, after which the dry covering is
removed by machinery. The character of
the berry is greatly affected by climate and
soil. Dry hilly lands are said to produce
the best qualities of coffee. .....
Twothirds of all the coffee used in the
United States is produced in Brazil, in CON
sequence of which, the value of all cofiees
in this market is governed by the ruling
price for this, which is called Rio. In the
order of merit Jamaica coffee is most bigb-
ly esteemed by connoisseur while Rio
stands the lowest. Brazil is the lorcost
producer of coffee in the world, affording
more than one-half the total production.
In Brazil, coffee is either planted in a misery
or directly on the spot where il is intended
to grow. II sprouts in abolt n month and
if planted in n nursery is readv for trans
planting in from eight to ten months. The
transplanted scions are at first covered with
leafy bushes. TO protect them from tbo hat
of the sun. Afterward nntil abont Tho
fifth wear of tbeir yro,ytb +bev oro s,,odoJ
by other productions Of more r,nid ,,ror,tb
planted between the rows In +bis ~,
the planter can mako his soil nroftotio
during the five wears reouired fo, tho coerao
plant to reach maturity. The soil 10 kant
free from weeds by frequent boeinos nlow-
ing being but little known in Brazil. The
trees are planted ten to twelve feet ana,+
One laborer is reouired tn eac,, q ooo troos
between five and ten years Of aee and 70
each 1000 trees after that are Two vo,rs
after being transplanted. the free becins n
bear. At six wears il attains it's full v;uor
and produces annually three noupds ot
coffee in the provence of Rio do Jaro;ro
After its twelfth wear. the tree beo;ns 70
decline, and ceases to be nroftab,e Of From,
fifteen to twenty years of arc. Tho nso
of the plow and other modes of ,,odo,,,
cultivation has bowever ~ 10 sa;d in so,,,,
instances. PROLONGED the bear;no Of tbo troo
from five to ten wears. The cotfeo troo
blooms twice year: first the latter mart of
September. and again n month lotor Tho
blossom is a white flower A busbol of hor
ries yield about ten pounds of clean coffee
The berry begins to ripen in April. when
the picking season commences, lasting until
about the first of September. AS the
coffee tree, or rather bush. rarely attains a
height exceeding ten feet-being oenera,,v
from six to ten-the picking is not 6ifticult
and each laborer can gather from tbreo 20
five bushels per day of the berries eoual to
thirty or fifty pounds of clean coffee. Great
caution, with good judgement and exne-
rience is necessary in picking. in order to
gather only the fully ripe berries. as unon
this depends chiefly the oualitv of tho
coffee. After being gathered, the berries
are spread out on terraces to dry. These
terraces are usually built of masonry. with.
sufficient inclination to prevent water stand
ing on the surface. Another kind is made
of wood morntod on ,,hooIa =,