The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1888-05-24
COCOA AND COFFEE.
Their Production in Guatemala.

The part of Guatemala we are now in is
called the COSTA Cuca," and from San Sc
bastian to San Felipe, 10 miles away and near
the mountains, the rofd passes through a sue
cesson of coffee plantations. To one not ia
miiar with it it would appear to be a bright
fresh-leaved tree of rather rich and glossy
green, but with its limbs covered with a para
stical green growth resembling small ac0rns,
which illusion is dispelled when the regular
rows Of trees are seen and the careful eultiva-
ton of the ground noted. While great care
must be taken Of the coffee tree, it is not cir
cumstance to that required by the cacao plant,
which much resembles it. Cacao, or in English
cocoa, the source of chocolate is more album
dainty grown in Ecuador than in any other por-
ton of this hemisphere, and the Guayaquil
cocoa of commerce commands price in Qua
temala City Of $1S per Carga," or go pounds,
so it may be seen that it is valuable
crop. The cocoa Of Guatemala is a much finer
variety and sells sEr S35 per carga, right here
in the country, but the amount raised is not
sufficient for home consumption, and but little
OF 1T finds its way into the outside world. The
plant has so many natural enemies that many
fnqHerOs arc deferred from attempting It's Gull
tiyation. The tree is planted from the seeds
which are no sooner put in the ground than
large ant searches for them and ruins many
when the tree appears and is about three feet
tall, deer, attracted by the richness of the leaf,
FISK LuGlE lives LOT u IcSu OF II, Wne0 bDeSg
dangers are past and the fruit appears squirrels
come TO eat it inlargenumbers, and any decent
sized cacdotGt must have two huntsmen to kill
squirrels. Thus it may be seen that chocolate
is q universal favorite. During this time the
ground must be as well weeded and cleaned as
a Chinaman's kitchen garden. And in addition
to this each cocoa tree requires a nddre or
mother, which is a shade tree planted for it's
own particular use. With such great care
III &c mt o. hot,
coffee planting.
And it occurs to me, how few who sit slipping
Maillards and MeunieF's chocolate ever give a
thought or ever know Of the immense labor of
its production! On the other hand it has its
advantages, for while coffee tree is fairly on
| the down grade to worthiessness after bearing
eight years, the cocoa rec is said to bear album
dainty for 70 years, and even more. Some
cacaotals near the from er of San Salvador are
so old that the oldest indians in the vicinity
| testify that they We're iourishing plantations
! when they were children, and the tree bears as
! we'll to-day as ever. lie coffee estates near
San Felipe were nearly all planted at the same
/ time, every available 81 &c was utilized; cofse-
| qnently they all failed at the same time, and
/ san Felipe, from beieg thriving busy town,
| became but place t. i've in, and | failed to
| see its attractions even in that respect. When
| the coffee trees failed many Jfsqueros planted
/ sugar cane. This requires, from planting to
| maturity, only nine months but is not so
/ profitable as coffee. che cocoa fruit as it APP
pears on the tree is a pear-shaped green mass
about nine inches long, and in circumference
not so large as an average pineapple. The in
! side OF this PUPPY sheath is divided into cells,
| about 20, each containing one cocoa berry.
| Children and women are employed to prepare
| it for market and it is not sight which would
induce one to be anxious to drink the cocoa he
has seen cleaned. Each berry is surrounded in
its cell by sweet, pasty brown and greasy sub
stance, which the Indians like so each berry
| goes to an Indians mouth, where the sweet
coating is sucked of and cheWed but this in
| reality does not affect the berry, because under
the brown paste there is a parchment-like
shell, which is imperyi0us to the Indiana saliva,
| and comes off only III she roasting, leaving the
| inside meat pure