El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-10-26

try is now producing about 25OOOOOO
pounds every year, and the bulk OF
this goes to London and Paris. The
people here say their coffee is too rich
for American blCCd, and that they can
get several cents more pound from
tine Europeans than from US The
coffee trees are descendants OF the
Arabian plants. and some of the beans
look like Mocha, although the average
Is larger.
Most of the crop is raised on small
FARMS ranging in size from 40 to %
acres up to 400 acres. 1t is the fash
ion for the rich man to own his own
coffee plantation and nearly every
Wen to dc Of san Jose has a country
estate, the main crop OF which is COT
fee. He has Els Cwn home in the
takes his family and goes to his coun-
try home for January and February,
during whscl time ne harvests the
crop. The labor is done by the ma
day, and these, together with the fore
men suffice while the master is not
present
How Coffee Is Raised.
I have visited coffee plantations all
over the world, but those of Costa Rica
are different from any have seen in
Brazil Java OF elsewhere. The young
plants are set out in the shade, and
bananas and other trees are cultivated
with them. that they may keep off the
sun. The business is scientifically car
ried on and great care is taken in Sc
Letting the seed. This is from the best
plants and the best beans of those
plants. The beans are sprOuted ia seed
beds which have been prepared before
hand. The ordinary seed bed IS per
haps a yard square The beans are only
half covered with earth Indeed. they
are set in by hand SO that half of
each only shows above the earth The
sprout grows into leaves, and when the
plants are month old they are set out
in the nursery in rows about six inches
apart. They grow there for year,
and are then transplanted to an or
chard, where they are TO stay. The
plants are now about six feet apart
They are carefully cultivated and are
kept free from weeds. They begin to
produce fruit at three years and will
a good yield per tree is about one and
One-haIf pounds.
The harvesting season begins along
in December. The coffee is then ripe,
and the trees are covered with berries
much like red cherries. These are
picked off by girls and carried to the
factory, where the flesh is taken Oft
BY pulping, or by running the dried
seeds through the machinery. After
the beans have been pulped they still
have two thin coats Of skin. They are
taken off by machinery, and the beans
are then sorted, polished and packed
some American Planters.
7 find many American coffee planters
down here in Costa Rica. met in san
Jose a banker who has an estate OF 400
acres, and I saw several other Amerl-
cans who own estates on the railroad
between San Jose and the Atlantic
ocean I found big coffee plantation
on my way up Mount Poas. Ih1s be
longs to the British consul, Mr. Cox and
a young American, Jerome 3. Clarke
1t is one of the best managed coffee
estates in the country. The owners are
mixing their work with brains and are
adapting modern agricultural methods
to the raising Of coffee They cultivate
the trees so as to conserve the mols-
tUre. They use artificial fertilizers,
adopting the same formulas as those
used in Hawaii The effect Of this
work is already shown in their trees
and the trees are wonderfully thrifty
from far and near to see the results
The coffee plantation of Cox x Clarke
now consists Of $50 acres, which they
have chopped out of the Jungle 1t IS as
clean as a Dutchman'S flower garden.
and the trees are wonderfully thrifty
asked Mr. Clarke as to his LABOR. he
tells me that the ordinary wage IS 80
cents day, but that he finds II better
to contract for mis- work by the piece
The contractor labOrs with the men,
and in this way is able to get much
more work done. Mr.. Clarke has also
lumber mill. connected with which Is a
factory for making OK carts.
This Man Grows Oranges.
Among the other American planters L
of the Californian who built so many of
the South American railroads. Mr.
Meigs has an orange estate on the At
lantic slope which he is cultlvating
after modern scientific methods. lie is
also raising grape fruit. He has now
about 10000 trees. and they are just
coming into bearing. His fruit will go
first to Port Limon by railroad and
thence direct to New York.
Speaking Of American institutions IN
Costa Rica, by far the most influential
of all is the United Fruit company the
Costa Rican manager of which is now
William E. Mullins. This company has
millions invested in its banana industry
and III ranches and railroads Tt owns
the chief transportation lines Of the
Caribbean sea It has done more to de-
veIOp Costa Rica than any other one
thing, and it is today the chief influ-
ence in behalf Of the prosperity and
progress Of the country.
Frank G. Carpenter.
E-uuCsT-GON- VISITS II. PAgO