The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-10-01

Liberian coffee would thrive in the
hot climates of Yucatan, Campeachy,
! Tabasco. and Veracruz. This is the
hardest of all the coffee trees adapted
TO the climates of Mexico, and will
stand very high temperature.
CONDITIONS OF SOIL AND Gil
NATE.
As the coffee tree has a long tapl DOT,
it will thrive better on land where the
| soil is deep. The best soil in Mexico
| is a weIl-drained, loamy one, either Of
a virgin mountainous composition or
/ of a volcanic nature, is very suitab bic
and less manuTing is then for the
| plants, as the rocks are continually
adding to the soil by the decOmpCs.ng
action of the air, and other natural
! forces.
The climate most adaptable IL Mex
leo is that found in the noun famous
regions, with range of temperature
| from 80 deg. to Sc deg. F. The BEST
coffee is grown at elevations varying
from 1920 to $500 feet above the sea,
! in sections south of Veracruz; but in
locations below latitude p deg. north,
the north limit of the coffee zone on the
Gulf side, the climate being cooler,
| the bush requires lower elevations,
ranging from 600 to 5000 feet.
| The plant is, however, cultivated b..
some planters at much lower levels,
and even within a few miles from the
seashore. For instance, in Misantla,
Acayucan, Nacayuca, and San Juan
Bantista, Tabasco. An extremely wet
climate is not favorable to the coffee
| will hri in
exposed situations.
| If proper aspect, as regards sun and
winds, can not be obtained, the ex-
posture can nearly always be modified
| by shelter belts of trees.
On the Pacific side, the prevailing
south winds must be avoided at low
| elevations, and on this side the tree
can be planted at much higher eleva-
tons, as the range which branches OF
at Jaliseo and joins the Toluca Noun
tain and the POpocatapetl Peak breaks
off the cold north winds and shelters
the regions below it. AS to direct suu
| exposure when it is desirable to take
advantage of the heat at high eleva-
tions, it is always convenient to ac-
quire, as far as possible, a southern
exposure, but where the elevation is
| low and the temperature is high, such
an exposure would be injurious to the
| plant, in which case it is better IT,
| procure an eastern exposure. General
| Iy, the action of the rains modifies the
temperature in the tropics, and at ele
vations between 1000 and 4,50G feet
above sea level, clouds gather along
| the mountains almost every day be-
| fore the rays of the noon sun bear
their strong influence in those lOcali-
| ties. On the Gulf side, the trees that
| have an eastern sun exposure, so that
| the sun strikes them during the morn
ing, thrive better and yield more.
PROPAGATING THE PLANTS.
Coffee plants in Mexico are mostly
propagated by seed, and the seedlings
are either raised in seed beds or taken
up from under cultivated trees After
or at the time of commencing the
clearing sheltered level piece of land
in a location within easy reach of a
good supply of water is chosen for a
nursery, which should have a soil of
the same quality and not less fertile
than that of the future plantation. The
plot should be thoroughly cleared and
| the seed bed prepared by stirring and
inverting the soil with hoes or mat
tocks, dug to depth of from 10 to IA
inches. and slightly raised to promote
drainage. The ground is divided into
sections feet in width and 40 feet
in length, leaving walks of 4 feet in
width and at slightly lower level
| than the surface of the beds, which
ought to be surrounded by drains.
NINO,s +In
! beds ought to be three times that re-
quired in the plantation, so that the
! planter will always have good trees to
select for transplanting, with re-
serve of trees for replacing those
I which fail.
The seeds adapted to termination
must be perfectly formed and have
reached a proper degree of maturity
the latter quality being recognized by
its having reached full development
and by falling from the mother plant
The bast-formed coffee is that which is
called planchuela but the ''caracOlillo'
! (pea berry, in it should be avoided.
After taking the pulp off, the berry,
slightly dalnpened, is exposed to the
sun for a day and then the seeds are
| placed with their fiat sides downward,
at a depth of about an inch below the
surface The sOwer makes narrow
! burrows in the earth with small sticks
across the ridges at a distance of s
( inches, the one from the other; an
other laborer follows placing the coffee
beans in the burrows, 6 inches apart,
until the ridge is completed. Imme-
diately afterward, the seed beds are
watered with a sprinkler, and this is
done every other day for forty days,
at the end of which the Seeding be-
gin to appear. This operation gen
orally takes, place in the months of
May and June, in places where the
rains are early as in Oaxaca, Michoa-
can, Puebla, MorelOs, and Guerrero,
that the nursery may receive the bene-