Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1888-05-05


How the F'ruit IL Prepared Tor Com
merre and the Great Extent Of
the Industry.
| Coffee constitutes the chief article Of
| commerce Of Central America and Is in
| ConSel luence the real SQUIRE Of wealth.
+. The climate and soil Of this section
| this neck IF land joining the great
| Northern and Southern continents are
emlnently adapted 10 lis cultlvation, the
| high lands producing qualities rivaling.
| if not equa ing In flavor the famous
! brands of Mo sha or Java. Costa Hlca
! and Guatemala take the lead in Ccntpal
| America, their average yearly yield being
/ almost the same.
Near the hot springs and in the ilage
of Aqua Cahente. Costa Rica, i the
| plantation in which the most approved
machinery for the preparation Of coffee
for The foreign market has lately been
set up. The visitor, mounted on the
good steed which has carried him into
and out Of many dangers since hc began To
| make hi, tour Of discovery. rides slSwlv
through the hacienda along a road Dor
deIed with oranges and lemons, the
| snowy blossoms Of the oranges minglIpg
their delicious fragrance with the faint
odor exaled hv tie few waNen stars left
nesting under the evergreen FOLIAGE Of
the coffee trees Before rca a~hing tho
building in which the coffee passes
through the preparatory state the path is
lined with the drying patios, awiie slop-
ing terrace paved with cement OF so hard
h nature as to present the appearances Of
Iithe smoothcst and finest marble. These
~
| ries and men armed with an instrument
resembling an enormous wooden rake.
were engaged in turning over the red
denlng mass.
An enormous tank of solid masonry
was more than half full Of berries. large
and red almost exactly resembling cram
berries. After soaking for some hours
they are conveyed to the pulper, acylin
der which slowly revolves and separates
the outer skin from the seed After the
process of fermentation the h,rrics are
dried in the patio, care being taken to
keep them well shaken in order that the
| driving may be thorough The seeds
then pass into machine which removes
the gossamcr like coating and sets the
two halves of the berry free, then through
; another machine, whose graduated roll
qualities, the large, full grains being
known as the first class, and So on
through all the .radatlons, each variety
finding its way to It's own special rcccp-
tacle The first grade of Costa Kica cof-
fee is large. full bodied berry Of a gray
ish color, ranking in the foreign markets
: without a superior The infcriority of the
: lower grades may be detected even by
| II, aH of ola
: The traveller was struck with the vast
difference in the berries as they came
through the last machine, having found
|, all the big red fruit alike In the handful
he had picked up from the outer patio
In Costa RiCa banana trees are placed
at intervals in the long rows Of coffee
shrubs in order to shield the lipcninl
berries from too great heat and RAIN, the
| broad leaves furnishes iust the amount
Of shelter required. Greater climatic
I extremes can he endured by this tree
t than bv almost any other of the vegeta
ble kingdom, a, ii ,hrivcs in localities
VARYING as much As thirty degrees. /
averages in some localities no more
than eight or tea feet in height II
j others it att,ns a growth Of twenty feet
The foliage i dark green, luNurlant
J smooth and glossy, losing nothing i,
the change Of Season. 1t blossoms al
$ the year round. and at any times tn
ilelicate wa>en loneliness Of itsSblo-som
Q and the deepening red Of it. clustering
: berries NAV be seer 1t i raised II
\ nurseries from the seed, and is trans
! planted when about six months old
bearing in from two to four years. am
| under favorable circumstances yielding
Ia a. nj