The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-04-08

llinGtrated Lecture by Judge l.. p.
Dcming ut BOnrtsmnn,

pcming ut BORrdmnn,
EX-Judge Lucius p. Deming delivered
an Illustrated lecture at the Boardman
school yesterday noon on the subject
Experiences in Central America" The
lecture was highly interesting, telling
as it did of the speakers own personal
/ experiences in the country, and he
| held the rapt attention OF his audience
for more than an hour.
Beginning, he took his hearers on de-
lightful trip down the Shenandoah val
ley, and through the southern states,
depicting the scenes to be met with by
the way in an entertaining manner.
Arrived at New Orleans, steamer is
taken for La CURE, the shipping port
of Venezuela. From there he started
back UP the coast to Central America,
until he arrived at Livingston, Guate-
mala, from which place, with a convoy
of natives as attendants, he started on
a journey across the mountains.
Here the speaker gave splendid de-
scription of the coffee raising of this
region, illustrating the different pro-
cesses with lantern views. OF it he
spoke as follows:
III CTUSSlUS the mountains the large
coffee Thinkers Of the department of AL
ia Vera Paz are passed through. Here
the finest coffee In Central and South
America is raised These coffee estates
lie at an altitude Of from $500 to 5000
feet above the level of the s2a. The cul-
tivation of the coffee is carried on in
the following manner: The ground is
first prepared by grubbing all the roots
of trees and plants until the bed Is as
soft and well worked as a flower bed
in one of our own gardens The cof-
fee seed is first planted in small beds.
When the plant is from two to three
inches long, it Is transplanted into a
second bed, where it remains for two
years 1t is shaded by placing short
sticks in the ground between the plants
and covering the entire bed with palm
branches. The third year the young
plants are transplanted to a permanent
bed and are placed from eight to twelve
feet apart Between the plants banana
sprouts are set out, which in growing
furnish shade for three years more.
When The coffee shrub is three years
old and strong enough to live without
shade. the eight year plant produces a
full crop, the first part Of the crop be-
ing produced in four years. In from
eight to sixteen years, with fair cult
walton, large crops are produced. The
plant blossoms and natures its fruit
continuously so that blossoms and fruit
in all stages of growth are seen upon
the plants at the same time. Picking
Is continued for eleven months of the
year. The work Is done by Indians,
whose pay is reils, or twenty-five
cents In silver, per day, in gold, four
teen cents, they boarding themselves.
Coffee grows in pod similar to a
bean pod except that but two coffee
seeds grow in one pod. When the cof-
fee is ripe the brown pods are picked
and under a rev process soaked in
water for a day or two, after which it
is placed in a large sheet iron cylinder,
which by revolving separates the seed
from the shucks, the shuck passing out
of one opening and the berry out Of |
another The berries are then spread |
upon the drying floor, where they are
raked and turned by Indians until the
sun has evaporated all moisture from
them, when they are again placed in .
the revolving cylinder, which is made
to revolve, tumbling the berries against
each other and against the sides of the 4.
cylinder until they are sufficiently pol
ished They are now placed In bags
or sacks weighing each about 112 pounds
and with Indians, called Cargadores
are carried to the tide water to be ship
ped to the market.
1.-The cultivation of coffee is mostly In
the hands of Germans who rarely sell
It to market, but to agents from the
states and Europe. who purchase it in
the storehouse and transport it to
market. A large proportion Of the cof-
fee raised in this region is sent to Eu-
rope In 1893 orly one American firm
located in Boston received any of the
coffee. In Europe rs per cent. more is
charged for this coffee than for that Of
any of the other Central or South
American states,'
After this description Of the coffee in
lustry of this region the speaker told
'urther of the manners and customs of
he people and the characteristics of the
1.-THE first thought of the
stranger" he said, ION entering the
and Is that centuries have brought no
,hange for the better; that everything
s in the primeval state" He told fur
her of the luxuriant tropical vegeta-
ion of the country and Of the indus
ries of the people. ]
RECEPTION TO REV. DIR. LEETE. 6