Evening star., 1922-01-29

selling crops at unfavorable times
will be done away with. BY intelli-
gent marketing the old system Of
dumping huge quantities Of coffee on
the. market and thus unduly depress-
ing the price will cease,s By propa-
ganda we Brazilians hope to educate
the peoples Of the world to drink
coffee as Americans do and as we
ourselves do. We shall also impress
upon our growers the Importance Of
raising only the highest grades Of
coffee"
Brazil contains at the present time
about 1,s00.0oO00o coffee trees, which
occupy about 100000 hectares, or
100000 acres. Of land. 1t is esti-
mated that in the state Of Sac Paulo
alone more than $500. .Ooo. 900 is invest
ed In this industry.
The coffee industry is a fascinating
one, especially to the visitor from
the United States. For the most part,
coffee is grown from the seed, which
is planted In the ground. except in
cases where it Is found necessary to
replace old trees which have died.
in. nursery and transplanted later
on. as soon as the plants are about
fifteen inches high. The coffee trees
are placed about ten or fifteen feet
apart, and in some instances the trees
are covered for protection from the
cold winds. In other cases shade
trees are planted among them to
shield them from the hot sun. The
shrub first flowers in the third year,
when 1t bears small quantity of
fruit. In the fourth year real pro-
duction begins. The length Of life
Of the coffee tree depends largely
upon the manner In which 1t is culti-
waited and the care which 1t receives
If it is kept healthy 1t Is likely to
grow vigorously, bear freely and live
to ripe old age; otherwise. not. The
life Of the average plantation runs
from fifteen to twenty years. Many
fazendas have individual trees which
are upwards Of seventy or eighty
years old and are still commercially
profitable.
X II y y
THE effect Of thousands of these
= graceful and stately trees laden
with their beautiful flowers, giving
out the most exquisite odor, is quite
beyond the power Of description to
one who has seen them waving gently
over the swelling slopes for as far
as the eye could see. It is a sight
which one never forgets.
The life Of the flower Is short
(from two to four days), and az soon
as it withers and drops to the ground
the green berry begins to form. It
rfpens usually in about six, or seven
months. when 1t looks very much
Hike ripe cherry In color.
Basilisns. unlike the Anbs, do not
permit the berries to remain on the
trees Until they ripen and fall, but
pick them BY hand, many women and
girls being employed in this process.
:, On many fazendas sheets are placed
beneath the trees and mon strip them
either from standing position ON
tho ground or by mounting ladders.
The berries fall on the sheets, where
they are gathered by women and
girls, who sift them and remove the
stems and leaves, after which they
are placed In baskets and conveyed
to large tanks and washed in run
ming water. The coffee is then pass1
ed through ''pulper" into q tank.
whore the pulp floats of, leaving the
seed. Each berry normally contains
two seeds or coffee beans, and seaoh
bean Ii enveloped by = thin; deIicate
skin, which in turn Ia covered by
: parchment, ana both are incIosed
by5s flsshy pulp, which Is the outer