Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-04-13
A COFFEE ESTATE.
METHOD OF RAISING THE POPULAR
BERRY IN GUATEMALA.


SeIeefiug the Ground Tor . flautAttons
Nursery Of Coffee Tuigs-Labor Per-
formed by Misunderstanding and Pick
ing-g~ady for Market.
He who makes up his mind TO create
his own coffee estate or ''finca," must
also be prepared TO endure from four to
six years of the hardest work. In clear
ing he must chop wood, cut away under
brush and weed his land He must lie
ready to work from sunrise to shutdown.
Neither the damp cold OF the morning,
the heat of the noon, nor the heavy after
noon rains should deter him from his
work. II is true he may hire native
labor to assist him, but that labor cannot
be depended upon should ne turn his
back upon it. In selecting the ground it
is the best to choose well drained sur
face, so that the heavy rains Of the wet
season will not prove too much for the
trees and rot them. 1t is not necessary
TO have one general slope, but hillocks
and hillsides give as good results as any
other surface; in fact. 1t has been my ex-
perience that the more inaccessible the
point the better grows the tree.
After his ground Is well cleared he
starts his nursery by planting coffee twigs,
which for three years must be carefully
nurtsred and attended 10, when they are
transpianted to their proper places. each
being eight feet distant from its immedi-
ate neighbors. At the close OF the fourth
year comes the blossoms, closely followed
by the fruit. Then may the proprietor
complacently contemplate his growing
fortune the beautiful tube rose like"
white flower, showing against the dark,
lustrous green OF the leaf, passes away;
then appears the green berry, ripening
gradually, first delicate pink, changing
by degrees to dark cherry red, when il
is ripe and ready 10 be gathered. The
management Of a fiuca requires experience,
great activity and attention to details.
As few are better able to care for children
than mother who has raised them, few
are more competent to manage Il finca
than he who has cared for it since its very
birth.
All the labor is performed by Indians,
called Ia Central America mozos. 1t Is
paid very low, and great tact is necessary
In it's management The demand for
mozos IL no greater than the supply, but
the moZo laborer can find enough work to
keep him alive almost anywhere, and as
he requires very little, even less than a
Chinanan he will not work more than is
necessary for his own comfort. He well
knows That his class Of work Is paid low,
and he recognizes the fact that he cannot
acquire sufficient wealth to hire others to
work for him; that Is, he is IL laborer for
life. Thus, having no ambition, he will
suffer nothing TINT may seem to him to
be hard or unjust treatment merely for
the purpose OF earning few dollars more.
The average mozo character is composed
Of few virtues and many vces-he Is in
III - . l l.
make them work, take their wages, get
drunk, and repay them with brutal treat
ment he is a born gnmber, will steal any
thing he can lay his hands upon, and is
all unmitigated liar His principal food
is the tortila, a slap jack made Of ground
corn and water, raw sugar cane, baked
plantain, cinnamon, and all the whisky
he can get. The important work on
coffee estate is TO keep the "cafetal," or
coffee trHct, clean" that is, the ground
well cleaned Of weeds and the trees them
selves freed from moss and all parasitcal
growth which thriVes in the damp local.
ties This wedding every three months
not only adds to the richness and abund
ance of the berry in the ensuing crop, but
the ground being clean the berries which
ripen and fall during the gathering are
easily seen and saved by the coffee pick
ers. The value of the berry is so great
that many precautions are taken pre-
vent the pickers from stealing it. For
this mozos OF Il high class are employed
designated ms corporals and paid salaries:
each corporal IL placed in charge of a
squad OF plckers, and 1t is his duty to see
that no thieving occurs and that those
under him work. But even this some
times fails, and not seldom these corpo-
Il
their subordnates
The picker is paid in proportion to the
amount of coffee he gathers, a good steady
hand being able to earn 30 centavos per
day in the Guatemala currency, or about
35 cents in American gold. Few, how
ever, earn SO much, for the mozo is a
devil may care fellow. he will laugh
and talk instead of attending strictly to
stripping the tree in front of him. and
Will be satisfied If he earns 2 reals per
day, or % cents In other walks of life
his character i the same; he will sit in
the plaza all day long under hot SUM-
chatting away with his neighbors, making
or 10 cents net profit day, selling
native soap or corn. ami he will decline
many o : b III m h nt linn 81
day There is some vanity in this for
when he SITS exhibiting his wares he
imagines himself up 10 the level of the
shopkeepei, while if he performs manual
labor he feels that he has gone down the
social ladder.
At the close Of day the gathered coffee
is brought by the pickers to certain desig
mated and convenient points, where carts
are sent to carry il to the warehouse Tie
amount each individual has gathered is
measured by n responsible party, the
81 II
which is redeemed at the fnca Office at
the close Of the week, the holder receiving
in silver coin the amount due him The
surface II the to.fce berry is like the
smooth surface Of the acorn. and when
taken from the tree Is called 'cereza," or
cherry. by reason of its color This on
tie same day is put in cen ee water
tanks, and is well stirred by men with
wooden rakes and shovels in order to
separate the good from the poor. The
poor or light grains rise to the top of the
water and float away on the surface,
through n small gate, to their own tank.
This soaking also swtlls the outer shells.
1t Is then worked In machines called
"despulpadores, which remove the out
side heavy sheath, allowing the twins to
separate, for there are two grains in n
pod, except in the rare highest quality, In
which there is but one spherical grain.
1t is now called "cascavilla" or per
Canine" each grain being clothed in
thin shell, which when sun dried becomes
crisp and brittle. and is easily removed in
mortars; the coffee is then said to be in
''oro, " or gold, from its yellow color, and
Is practically ready to be toasted and
ground for table use After this il il re-
volved in the "septadores, " or hot cylin-
Ja- II bnla
1t according to the size Of the grains and
It is then placed in sacks to be shipped to
market Heat is necessary in the grading
process only; all of the other manipula-
ton Is done with water power.-Francis
]. \. Dare in New York Times.
Honest Rubber Goods.
Customer Ito rubber overshoe dea!erl-I
want 10 get n pair OF rubbers.