Chapter IV · CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. (continued 2)

BUILDINGS AND STORES.

Though there is no necessity for curing the Coffee, and it may be hulled at once if desired, the exigencies of climate render a properly constructed warehouse one of greatest desiderata. The characteristics of structure must be, first, dryness combined with security; hence, galvanized iron forms the best material. It is generally of two stories, the lower floor being sometimes boarded or asphalted, but the upper must always be so made so as to admit of free circulation of air through the Coffee placed in it. This object may best be obtained by laying wire gauze or coir matting over reapers about one inch apart. Abundant ventilation must also be provided, and it will be necessary to watch for any signs of heating. Immediately on its appearance the Coffee must be turned over rapidly. An improved form of Coffee structure is that built on what is termed the Clerichew principle, in which the floor of the upper story is constructed as in the former case, resting on joists running lengthwise in the building. A ceiling is provided for the lower story by tacking to the joists cloth which has been well soaked in boiled rice water and lime, to render it air-tight. Continuous air-passages are thus made beneath the floor. About ten feet of one end of the lower apartment are partitioned off, and its sides are made as nearly air-tight as possible, and it has no ceiling other than the floor above, so that the passages all open into it. In an opening in the wall of this chamber a pair of large revolving fans are placed, their rapid vibrations drawing a continuous current of air from the inside, and therefore through the Coffee itself. In this manner dried parchment Coffee can be kept in perfect condition without any turning over, and by using heated air on the same principle as before Coffee may be housed while still only partially dry and yet not suffer from fermentation.

PACKING AND SHIPPING.

As soon as the Coffee is sized and graded it is ready for the market. Bags are most commonly used, but it is best packed in air-tight casks, made from wood, which is not likely to taint the Coffee in any way. In shipping Coffee great care is required to prevent its coming in contact with any merchandise that may communicate to it a foreign flavor or odor. Vessels engaged in the Coffee trade should have perforated ventilating tubes from the bottom of the hold, passing through the cargo, so as to allow the escape of all steam and gases generated during transit; without such an appliance the beans will be discolored and classed as “damaged,” an injury which cannot be covered by insurance. In well-ventilated ships Coffee loses about one-half per cent. in weight but gains in quality during transit; while under bad ventilation there will be a gain of one-half per cent. in weight but a loss of color, and consequent depreciation in value.

COST AND PROFIT.

Here a few remarks on the cost, prospects and profits of coffee planting may not be out of place. How much does it require to start on safely is frequently asked. From ten to twenty thousand dollars may be considered a fair capital. As to what kind of a plantation that can be had for these sums is a question that from the shifting nature of prices, and the varieties of climates, soils and situations, cannot be accurately answered, or with even an approximation to accuracy. With regard to the profits of coffee planting the investor may get a very large return, a moderate or a small one, and he may even suffer, as many who have tried it have done, a considerable loss. No reliance whatever can be placed on the estimates so often published, and though many of them may be accurate enough as far as they go, assuming that everything goes well, good soil, climate, cheap labor, good health, and good seasons must be taken into account, in the brilliant reports of the returns to be expected in the first few bearing years, usually terminating with the assertion that “the profits subsequently to be derived will be something fabulous.”

Transport facilities are another important factor and deserving of much consideration. In many countries they exceed the cost of growing and preparing the crops for market, and it frequently occurs in the interior of Brazil, Mexico and other countries, that it does not pay to forward the coffee to the markets at the ports of shipment. But whatever may be the ascertained advantages in point of soil, temperature, moisture and situation, and however bountiful may be the yield of the plants, the speculation must always be estimated in connection with the cost and vicissitudes with which coffee planting as a business is unhappily associated. Anxiety must be inseparable from an undertaking exclusively dependent on native labor, and liable to be affected at the most critical moment by its capricious commercial fluctuations. The crops in most of the coffee-growing countries, when saved on the plantation, has either to encounter the risk incident to transportation by hand through mountain districts as yet unopened by roads, or the chances of deterioration to which it is exposed in bullock carts during long journeys to the coast. The real facts being that the difficulties in the way of forming accurate agricultural statistics are in the coffee-producing countries almost insuperable, there being either a tendency to exaggerate or depreciate the yield, as it best serves the interests of the cultivators. And again as regards coffee in particular, there is no means whatever of estimating the product. A great deal being said, but very little known in the way a man generally requires to know that he may wish to publish as reasonably near the truth. So in going into coffee planting in any country it signifies little whether you know what certain plantations have yielded or what amount of profits may be expected. One fact may be relied on, however, that is, if an estate frequently changes hands, it is certainly a bad or indifferent one, if seldom it is sure the coffee growing pays well, and further it is not necessary to inquire, for hardly any landed investment pays so well as good sound coffee property, and the owners are therefore seldom inclined to part with it.

The extent of coffee plantations varies from 100 to 300 acres, the annual product ranging from 500 to 1,000 pounds per acre of prepared coffee, according to location and care bestowed on the plantation. The profits also vary with the ruling market price of the coffee at time of sale, of labor, transportation and the inscrutable effects of the season. But a cost of from $350 to $500 per 100 pounds may be considered a fair average; any yield under 300 per acre scarcely paying expenses, any over 700 paying a handsome profit.