Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1890-03-27
VENEZUELA PRODUCTS.
Wealth in Coffee and Cocoa.
AnslntereSting Story ofHow Two Pop,
MAR Berries Are Planted. Gather
ed, and Sent to Market The
Stuff the Americans Buy
and Consume.

tire history of the country Not only has
the coffee crop been unprecedented in
quantity but the price has been higher
imam Tor many years, owing to the
drought and epidemics in Brazil. They
say 1t Is an i'll wind that blows nobody
good, and Venezuela and other coffee
growing countries have proSpered as
Brazil has suffered. The emancipation
OF the slaves in Brazil also has demon
allied labor and the planters down there
are finding, rs those of our own country
did after the war, that free negro will
not work like slave, and that it costs
more TO keep him as well as to pay him
wages The emancipation has been a
good thing for countries like Venezuela,
where labor has been free since 1854, but
it will take Brazil a good while to re-
cover from it.
COFFEE PLANTATIONS COME HIGH.
One cannot buy coffee plantations in
Venezuela except for more than their full
value, for they have gradually passed into
the possession of men of means, who re-
CARDS them as one of the safest and most
profitable of investments A good plan
tation yielding 1000 quintals of coffee
they don't go 10y acres, but 10y the number
of trees and their average yield and a
quintal is l25 pounds is worth, at the
lowest estimate. $50, 000 and could not be
bought anywhere near Caracas for much
less than that. But it would pay net
income Of $4,000 year at present prices,
and from $4,000 to $4,000 at ordinary
prices. Coffee has sold in years back as low
as 50 so hundred Now it is worth S21 so
in the Carcas market But even at the
lowest price such plantation would pay a
revenue ofS5, 900 a year or 10 per cent. net
upon the value Ihaye named.
The situation of a plantation also gov
erns its value considerably. The health
fulness and temperature of the location, its
convenience to market; the amount of water
availments and the character Of the i'm
prOyements add to or detract from the
worth of the property, but the planter sell
dom lives upon his qulnta for more than a
few months in the year. but must keep up
an establishment in the city, where his
wife can have social enjoyments and his
children an opportunity Of attending
school. There are some plantations in the
immediate neighborhood of Caracas which
would not be sold for twice the sum | have
named, and the income they furnish their
owners justifies the value at which they are
held. Venezuela exports 100000, 000
pounds of coffee, and at a profit this year
Of from to cents a pound, which shows
the magnitude of the business and the
wealth it is bringing into the country.
PALAiED OFF As A GENUINE MOCHA.
About one-haIf Of this product now goes
to the United States, where it is sold for
Mocha mostly. 1t comes so near Mocha in
flavor and appearance, that none
but an expert can detect
the difference, and has almost entirely
driven the genuine berry out of the market
Three or four years ago there was plague
in Arabia, where the Mocha coffee is
grown, and shipments were almost
entirely stopped. Then the merchants
were obliged to find a substitute, and the
Venezuela berry was so popular that 1t has
kept his place. Ten years ago there were
not a hundred bags of Caracas coffee sold
in the United States annually, but now the
export according to the authority of Mr.
Bouton, the largest dealer and the owner
of the steamship line, reaches nearly So
100000 pounds. Ten years ago the house
of Boulton was alone in the trade Now
there are q dozen houses in the United
States and several in Canada that make it
their entire business.
HOW COFFEE is GROWN.
The product is not Increasing in Vene
zuela, and that keeps up the price. Few
new plantations are being started. Al
former prices, and when the government
was unsettled, it did not pay to invest
money in starting plantations, for it take,
about seven years to bring the trees to the
producing age. First the ground is clear
ed and burned OYER two or three time, to
get rid of the brush; then 1t plowed and
laid off into squares. Then shade tree.
must be planted to shelter the coffee bush.
es from the sun Every plantation j,
shielded Banana trees are put ont origin
aIy to protect the young plants, for they
shoot up rapidly and have luXurious fol-.
age. but for permanent shade q large
uuick-grOwing tree called the bucuara,
which resembles the sycamore, is used. The
coffee seed is planted in a nursery and the
seedlings are transplanted to The
field when they are about a foot high
They must be kept free from weeds and
have a rood deal Of water A coffee pin
IdLltU WlLUDub tiIlE ctAllA At'' NUTS
worthless. but after the bushes are fully
grown they are not so much trouble or eX-
pense TO care for.
The blossoms. which are as beautiful
as those of the orange flower, begin to APP
pear about the third year, and the fifth a
small crop may be expected, hut the tree,
do not mature until the seventh year and q
full crop will not be gathered before the
eighth. A well-shaded estate will last SIX
ty or seventy-fye years and bear fruitregu-
larry. There is one plantation Just outside
the city of Caracas which was planted ~
1910. and another that was planted ut the
end of the last century. Both Of them are
producing uxuri0usIy. Coffee is a tough
crop. is never affected 10y bugs or worm.
or grasshoppers. although the trees may
perish from thirst or the fruit may rus'
from too much rain.
PREPARING COFFEE FOR MARKET
There are several kinds of coffee Ih'
'.Caracus washed j, the best. and its su
perioritv is due to the fact that it is treat
ed with So much care while being cured
An the pulp and extraneous substances ar'
carefully washed by hand from the berry
ard therefore there Is nothing 10 impau
II. flavor. When ripe the color Of th'
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