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 COFFEE 
 PLANTING 
 
 H I LLMAN 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 WILLIAM S. MYERS, Director 
 Chilean Nitrate Propaganda 
 
 NITRATE OP SODA 
 Laic Proleoor in Chcmiitry In the State A4plcttltural College of New Jersey 
 
 13 John Street, New York 
 
Mi 
 
 Tbe Kiclurdion PrM« 
 
 159 WlUlani Street 
 
 New York 
 
Coffee Planting 
 
 A Short Treatise 
 
 Compiled with Special Reference to the Conditions 
 of Culture 
 
 Cuba and Porto Rico 
 
K-: 
 
 Preface 
 
 In the preparation of this brief treatise, 
 the following leading authorities, among 
 others, have been consulted : 
 
 The United States Census Returns of Cuba 
 and Porto Rico, 1899. (Washington 
 Government Printing Office, 1900). 
 
 Culture du Cafeier, par E. Raoul, Paris, 1 897. 
 
 Traite Pratique de la Culture du Cafe, par 
 A. Rigaud, Paris, 1896. 
 
 The Improvement of Indian Agriculture, by 
 Dr. J. A. Voelcker, London, 1893. 
 
 Tropical Agriculture, by P. L. Simmonds, 
 E. & F. N. Spon, London. 
 
 Ceylon Soils and Manures, a Report to the 
 Ceylon Coffee Planters' Association, by 
 John Hughes, London, 1879. 
 
 La Agricultura Espanola ; Cafe, by Miguel 
 Mayol, Valencia, 1901. 
 
 Joseph— HiLLM AN. 
 London, July, 1902. 
 
Coffee Planting. 
 
 A Short Treatise, Compiled with Special Reference to the 
 
 Conditions of Culture in 
 
 Cuba and Porto Rico. 
 
 FEW more profitable openings exist for the introduction 
 of capital and the application ot well directed energy 
 than are to be found in the skilled cultivation, on 
 scientific principles, of coffee plantations in these tropical 
 neighbours of the United States. 
 
 In Cuba, there are said to have been, in 1847, no less 
 than 2,064 plantations under culture with coffee; and the 
 annual crop, notwithstanding the thriftless system of 
 cultivation then existing, amounted to about 50,000,000 
 pounds annuallv. F"rom that date the production rapidly 
 declined, and in the last decades of the past century Cuba 
 imported a large proportion of her consumption of coffee 
 from Porto Rico. 
 
 During the same period, the cultivation of coifee in 
 Porto Rico increased, but it still remains capable of great 
 expansion on extensive tracts, now almost unproductive, 
 on the hills and in the valleys of the table lands. 
 
 The coffee of Porto Rico is distinguished by its high 
 quality, although hitherto it has chiefly found appreciation 
 in the markets of France, Italy and Spain. 
 
 Of the coifee of Cuba, it mav be said that it responds 
 to careful culture and preparation bv a richness of flavour 
 and capacity for heavy yields unsurpassed in any other 
 West India Island or in South America. 
 
 These well established facts should point to the revival 
 and development, under present favourable auspices 
 
 OCT 22 iyi3 
 
4 
 
 Coffee of good government and an enlightened agricultural 
 Planting system, of an important and highly lucrative industry. 
 
 The fault ot the old system of working coffee plantations 
 was that ot reckless exhaustion of the soil. Sites were 
 selected, clearings were made, and the land was planted and 
 worked for all it was worth, until its store of available plant 
 food had been used up ; then the plantation was abandoned 
 and the process of selection, clearing, planting, cropping 
 and robbery of the soil was repeated. 
 
 Such a mode of procedure was — it is scarcely needful to 
 point out — neither rational nor economical. It involved 
 the wastage of large tracts of excellent land, specially suited 
 for the culture of coffee, and a needless sinking of capital. 
 The life of a cotl^ee plantation managed under this vicious 
 system was limited necessarily to a comparatively short term 
 of years. 
 
 The abstraction from the soil of the constituents of a 
 succession of crops, of whatever nature, exhausts, sooner or 
 later, the store of natural fertility, or, in other words, the 
 supply of plant food, which the soil originally contained, 
 and sterility, more or less complete, follows for want of the 
 principal plant foods — nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash 
 and lime ; and this sterility or exhaustion can neither be 
 prevented nor remedied by any system of mere cultivation, 
 especially where no rotation of cropping is practicable. 
 
 Cultivation carried out with thoroughness will, indeed, 
 hasten the natural processes by which the fertilizing elements 
 contained in the soil are rendered soluble and capable of 
 assimilation by the plant, but it cannot replace what has 
 been removed in the shape of crop, leaves and prunings. 
 On this fact is based the necessity for the use of manures ; 
 and in manuring amply and judiciously lies the secret of 
 the maintenance ot the plantation. 
 
 Before pursuing this branch of the subject, however, it 
 will be well to lav down some rules for guidance in the 
 important matters of soil, climatic conditions and shelter. 
 
 The coffee shrub requires a deep soil. If the tap root 
 be stopped by rocks, tufa, or compact clay, the plant dies. 
 The composition of the best coffee soils varies considerably, 
 but in those of Porto Rico it is found that sand is a principal 
 constituent of the majority of them, whilst the surface is 
 rich in humus, the product of decayed forest vegetation. 
 
Heavv clays are altogether unsuitable, and the propor- Coffee 
 tion ot" clav must, in no case, be such as to induce the Planting 
 retention of stagnant moisture. 5 
 
 Calcareous soils are not suitable, although the presence 
 of a moderate quantity of lime is an advantage. 
 
 A relatively high percentage ot iron in the soil and sub- 
 soil is not an objection; indeed, ferruginous and silicious 
 soils have been sought after since it has been remarked that 
 the ravages of the hemileia vastatrix, or leaf blight, are less 
 frequent ami less sex'ere on them than elsewhere. 
 
 The presence in the soil of a large proportion of potash, 
 as in the ter-ra roxa of Brazil, is undoubtedb' an advantage. 
 
 A poor sub-soil may be put up with, pro\'ided that it 
 be not formed of a damp clav or a compact tufa. 
 
 The climatic conditions favourable to the remunerative 
 culture of the coffee shrub are tolerablv well understood. 
 The mean temperature of the highlands of both Cuba and 
 Porto Rico, affording as it does a climate of perpetual 
 spring, with a range of scarceh' more than eleven degrees 
 between the temperature of the hottest and coldest months, 
 is admirably suited to the requirements of the plant. 
 
 In Horto Rico, the finest coffee has hitherto been 
 produced at altitudes between 600, and 2500 ieet above the 
 sea level. Upon these highlands, a constant breeze cools 
 the atmosphere, and the well-distributed rainfall, averaging 
 from 60 inches annually at San Juan, to 100 inches in the 
 northeast of the island and upon the highlands of the 
 interior, tends to equalize the temperature of the seasons. 
 Thus, vegetation does not suffer even in periods of com- 
 parative drought, whilst during the rainy season the 
 precipitation is seldom torrential. On the so uthern slope 
 of the island, however, both rainfall and atmospheric 
 moisture are considerably less, so that in some districts 
 irrigation is advantageous, if not absolutely iiecessarw 
 
 As regards Cuba, whilst coffee will grow almost any- 
 where in the island, it thrives best at altitudes of between 
 T,500 and 2,500 feet. 
 
 The question of shelter and shading is one of some 
 little difficulty. It was formerly the general practice in 
 Porto Rico, and in parts of Cuba, to provide shade trees, 
 under the belief that the coffee shrub would not develop 
 properly or thrive continuoush' without them. But later 
 
H 
 
 Coffee experience has shown that, in the less torrid districts, shade 
 Planting is unnecessary, it not prejudicial. This is explained bv the 
 tact that the only benefit afforded by the presence of shade 
 trees is that of lessening the force of the sun's rays; whilst, 
 on the other hand, the consumption of the fertilizing matters 
 of the soil and manures by the shade trees is to the detriment 
 of the cotfee plant. 
 
 In Java, shading is universal, it is general also in 
 Venezuela; in Brazil, however, the absence ot shade trees 
 is believed to ensure larger yields, although it is said bv 
 some to lessen the duration of the producing power of the 
 plantation. Voelcker is emphatic as to the advantages of 
 shading in Coorg and Mysore. 
 
 On the whole, it may be assumed that shading is a 
 matter in which local practice will be, in most cases, a safe 
 guide, especially if viewed in conjunction with other and 
 economical considerations. In particular, there is the fact 
 that, both in Cuba and Porto Rico, numerous marketable 
 fruits are borne on trees suitable for shade and shelter 
 purposes. Thus, a plantation may be utilized for both 
 fruit and coffee culture without detriment to either, and 
 with corresponding profit to the planter, if only regard be 
 had to proper cultivation and to the adequate supply ot 
 available plant foods. 
 
 Only in cases where trees of the leguminous order are 
 employed for shade purposes is any complication involved 
 in the question of the nature of the manures to be applied. 
 Plants of the order o{ kguminosic have the unique faculty of 
 deriving their supplies ot nitrogen mainly from the atmos- 
 phere, and ot accumulating nitrogen in the soil. Thus, in 
 the case of the introduction ot plants of this botanical order 
 as shade trees, allowance has to be made tor this special store 
 of soil nitrogen when making provision, in the shape of 
 manures, for the nitrogenous plant-food ot the cotfee shrub. 
 It has, however, to be borne in mind that it is only the 
 requirements of the plantation in nitrogen that are thus 
 affected ; the leguminous shade trees, like those belonging to 
 other orders, making demands upon the constituents of the 
 soil and manures for the phosphates, potash, lime and other 
 mineral elements of their plant-food. 
 
 Where it may be deemed advisable to plant shade trees, 
 simply as such, the Albizzia Lebbeck — the French Bois 
 noir, — which has always been employed by coffee planters 
 
in the Antilles, would appear to unite the greatest number ot Coffee 
 desirable qualities and, locally at least, to give the best results. Planting 
 
 The Brysonima spicata is a shade tree much employed in ~j 
 the British West Indies. It possesses the advantages ot 
 sparse foliage, rapid growth, of affording shelter against the 
 wind as well as the sun, of great hardiness and of not 
 attaining too great a size. 
 
 The method of propagation which has, in the past, been 
 largely adopted in Porto Rico, by utilizing off-shoots and 
 self-sown plants, is to be deprecated, and the system of 
 sowing carefully selected seed in specially prepared seed- 
 beds is that which should be followed. 
 
 The site chosen for the seed-bed should be on a slight 
 incline, so as to afford natural drainage; it should occupy a 
 sheltered position and possess a good surface la\er of 
 vegetable soil, which must be worked until a fine tilth is 
 secured. It will have been cleared of all roots, stones, etc., 
 and, in most cases, it should be enriched with a good dress- 
 ing of well-rotted barnyard manure. 
 
 The sowing is best made in the month of February, 
 and the coffee grains to be sown should be selected for their 
 size, weight and perfect formation. The grains are planted 
 at a depth of about an inch and a half, the finger or a small 
 stick being used for the piurpose, and after they are placed 
 in the hole the earth is pressed down over them with the 
 hand. The sowings should be made in rows distant about 
 six inches from each other, the space between each grain 
 sown being the same. In about twenty days the young 
 coffee plants will begin to appear, and they will remain in 
 the seed-bed for a year and a half, when they will have 
 attained a height of about thirty inches and be ready for 
 transplantation to the site selected for the coffee grove. 
 
 The seed-beds must be carefully kept free from weeds, 
 and be irrigated frequently with small quantities of water, 
 so as to maintain a constant, but not excessive degree of 
 moisture; provision must be made also for sheltering the 
 young plants from excessive solar heat and from strong 
 winds. 
 
 Before transplantation, the lower branches of the young 
 shrub are cut away, so as to obtain a clean and straight 
 stem with a crown at a convenient height for the gathering 
 of the crop. 
 
Coffee The best season for transplantation is the autumn 
 
 Planting equinox. 
 
 ?_, To obtain maximum yields, the following directions 
 
 must be carefully adhered to in laving out the plantation : 
 
 1. Select a fertile soil, rich in humus, and lying so that 
 
 natural drainage and a good aspect are secured. 
 
 2. Pick out vigorous and well-grown young plants. 
 They must be removed without breakage of the 
 roots and with a good ball of earth about them. 
 
 3. It the tap root project beyond the ball of earth, it 
 should be cut with a sharp knife, reducing it to a 
 length of about eight inches. 
 
 4. Plant in rows eight feet apart and at a distance of 
 
 eight feet in the rows. This will give approximately 
 700 plants to the acre. This as a general rule, but 
 in the case of exposed situations closer planting is 
 advisable. In such conditions, small, compact trees, 
 topped at about 2 feet 6 inches, will give the best 
 results. 
 
 5. Plant in rainy weather and with the soil in a tolerably 
 
 moist condition. 
 
 6. Previous to planting, prepare holes eighteen inches 
 square and eighteen inches in depth. In preparing 
 the holes, the surface soil should be placed to the 
 right, and the soil from the bottom of the hole to 
 the left. The latter should be mixed with about two 
 pounds of well-rotted dung. About eight days 
 should intervene between the opening of the holes 
 and the planting. The surface soil, which from 
 having been exposed to the atmosphere is most 
 suitable for contact with the roots, is first to be used, 
 and the hole is then to be filled up with the remain- 
 ing, manured soil. The plants must be carefully 
 placed and the holes filled so as to leave no lodgment 
 for water. 
 
 7. Three or four months after the planting, the ground 
 
 should be gone over and any dead or unsatisfactory 
 plants be replaced with others of the like size, so 
 that the entire grove may develop evenly. 
 
 8. All suckers and undesirable shoots must be removed 
 as soon as they appear. 
 
To obtain maxiniuni crops and to avoid inequalities and Coffee 
 intermittency ot yield, so far as seasons and weather will Planting 
 permit, must be a chief aim of the planter; and questions ... 
 
 of soil, planting, pruning and cultivation having been care- 
 fully studied, the application of suitable fertilizers inadequate 
 quantity and in proper season becomes the paramount 
 consideration. 
 
 In the past of coffee-growing in the Antilles, rational 
 manuring did not exist. At most, the pulp and parchment 
 were returned to the soil, and anv barnyard manure that 
 might be available was applied haphazard, in fact, the 
 capital stock of the land was the bank drawn upon for the 
 production ot crops. 
 
 Under a better system ot agriculture, the application of 
 dung or barnyard manure is the time-honoured method of 
 restoring to the soil the elements of plant-food of which 
 successive crops have depleted it; but an adequate supply 
 of barnyard manure is not always available, and the carriage 
 ot so bulky a material is costly. Moreover, although farm- 
 yard dung is, in a general sense, rightly termed a complete 
 manure, and is especially valuable for its mechanical action 
 on soils, the proportions in which the principal constituents 
 ot plant-food occur in it do not correspond to the require- 
 ments, ot the coffee shrub, and barnyard manure will need 
 to be supplemented if heavy cropping and healthy growth 
 are to be secured. 
 
 At the present day, the application of the scientitic 
 principles which underlie the question of plant-foods and 
 their supply, is become general, and the grower, whether of 
 farm crops, garden stuff or fruits, looks to the teachings of 
 agricultural science for guidance in maintaining the soil of 
 the farm or plantation in such high condition as to ensure 
 maximum yields and enable the plants to resist unfavourable 
 seasons and the attacks of parasites by sustained vigour of 
 growth. 
 
 The planter cannot be too strongly recommended to 
 have the composition of the soil of his plantation ascertained 
 by careful analysis, made by an expert agricultural chemist. 
 The incidental cost will be amply compensated by the clear 
 indications which such analysis will afford in determining 
 the nature and quantities of the manures to be applied. 
 There is more money sunk in ignorant and careless systems 
 of manuring than many proprietors think. 
 
Coffee It has to be borne in mind that, to manure successfully, 
 
 Planting it is necessary to be acquainted not only with the food 
 io requirements of the plant and crop, but also with the con- 
 
 stituents available in the soil for supplying the foods. From 
 a comparison ot the demands made by the crop and the 
 materials at hand for meeting them, we discover what 
 deficiencies exist and are able to determine the most suitable 
 and economical materials for supplying them. 
 
 The results ot analyses of the various parts of the coffee 
 shrub, and particularly of the grain, show very considerable 
 discrepancies, but the essential data which bear upon the 
 manuring of the plant may be arrived at without difficulty. 
 They indicate that nitrogen and potash are the dominant 
 constituents of the shrub and its fruit. Thus, for every 
 i,ooo pounds of merchantable coffee produced, about 
 twenty-four pounds of nitrogen, twenty-nine pounds of 
 potash and four pounds of phosphoric acid are removed 
 from the soil. Lime also is an important factor, and, if it 
 be deficient in the soil, an occasional artificial supply of 
 sulphate of lime, or slaked lime, will be attended vyith good 
 results. Kspecially on flat land, rich in vegetable remains, 
 lime is valuable for improving the physical as well as the 
 chemical condition of the soil. 
 
 Prom a well-managed plantation in full yield, an average 
 crop of one and one-half pounds of dressed coffee per tree 
 should be readily attainable; and this is the minimum result 
 of careful cultivation and liberal manuring that should be 
 aimed at. 
 
 Thus, an acre of plantation, representing 700 trees 
 thoroughly cultivated and in full bearing, may, at a moderate 
 estimate, be taken to yield 1,050 pounds of dressed coffee 
 annually. 
 
 Much larger and considerably smaller average yields are 
 obtained in other coffee-growing countries. In Ceylon, be- 
 fore disease ravaged the plantations, yields of 20 cwt. per 
 acre were not infrequently attained, and this is said to be 
 also the case in Guatemala. In Mexico, crops of two and 
 one-half pounds, and in Brazil three pounds, per shrub 
 are said to be common ; whilst, on the other hand, in 
 Venezuela the average yield is reckoned scarcely to exceed 
 one-half pound per tree. 
 
 In adopting the figure of one and one-half pounds of 
 dressed coffee as the lowest yield per tree that the planter 
 
should look to attain, wc have in view the fact that it Coffee 
 is always better to manure for a maximum crop when Planting 
 calculating the fertilizing elements to be supplied to the soil. u 
 
 As we cannot, in the present state of our practical and 
 scientific knowledge, calculate exactly, in the case of a 
 particular crop or of a particular soil, the quantities of 
 phosphoric acid and potash to be supplied in order to 
 produce the largest yield, or, what is the same thing, in 
 order to bring into full activity the assimilable soil nitrogen 
 and the nitrogenous manure that is to be applied in con- 
 junction with them, the rational course to be taken is that 
 of securing an excess of both phosphoric acid and potash in 
 the soil. There is no risk of waste or loss in so doing, for 
 both these plant-foods ^re fastened up in the soil, and will 
 be retained by it for later crops if the next following crop 
 is unable to utilize the whole of them. 
 
 With Nitrogen it is otherwise. The Nitrogen is not 
 fastened up by the soil, but remains freely movable, and 
 any residue left unutilized by the particular crop will, in 
 great part at least, be washed down during the succeeding 
 rainy months and be lost. The Nitrogen applied in manures 
 has therefore to be measured out to each successive crop as 
 exactly as possible. 
 
 Duly weighing the foregoing considerations, we arrive 
 at the conclusion that the following may be taken as a 
 standard formula — to be modified according to local circum- 
 stances — of chemical manures to be applied annually per 
 acre of coffee plantation containing 700 adult trees in full 
 bearing : 
 
 Nitrate of Soda 300 pounds. 
 
 Superphosphate of lime. . .450 pounds. 
 Sulphate of Potash 250 pounds. 
 
 In suggesting the foregoing quantities, we have kept in 
 view the average food requirements of shade trees. Should 
 these, however, be of a kind intended to bear heavy crops 
 of fruit, and thus making large demands upon the constitu- 
 ents of the soil and manures, the volume of the chemical 
 fertilizers applied will have to be judiciously increased. 
 
 One of the main points to be considered in relation to 
 the advisability of modifying the formula given above will 
 be the contents of the soil in lime. As we have already said, 
 recourse to a chemical analysis is strongly to be recom- 
 mended, but, failing this, the grower niav easily determine 
 
Coffee tor himselt, in a rough and ready way, whether the soil of 
 Planting his plantation contains a fair and practically sufficient 
 13 quantity of lime. 
 
 To quote from "Fertilizers and Feeding Stuffs" — a 
 useful manual from the pen of Dr. Bernard Dyer : 
 
 " It is only necessary (for this purpose) to obtain a fair sample 
 " of the soil and to dry and powder it and to treat it with some 
 "•common hydrochloric acid ('spirits of salts'). 
 
 " If the soil contains much vegetable or organic matter, a 
 " couple of ounces may be first heated red hot on an iron shovel o\ er 
 " the fire. The soil (or its ashes) should then be placed in a tumbler 
 "and mixed with water to a thin paste. A couple of ounces of the 
 " hydrochloric acid are then poured on it and stirred up with a stick 
 " of wood. If the soil effervesces briskh', there is a sufficiency of 
 "carbonate of lime. If the effervescence is so slight as to be 
 " scarcely noticeable, it is certain that the soil is very poor in lime." 
 
 It the result of this simple test shows a deficiency of 
 carbonate ot lime — and it is onl\- lime present in the form 
 of carbonate of lime that affects the question — it will be well 
 to mix thoroughly the 450 pounds of superphosphate indi- 
 cated m the formula with" an equal weight ot bone dust, 
 allowing the mixture to stand for some little time before 
 being used. As an alternative, 800 pounds of basic slag 
 (Thomas phosphate) may be used instead of the super- 
 phosphate ot the formula. When, to provide for the case 
 of a deficiency ot lime, either of these substitutes tor the 
 superphosphate is used, it should be well incorporated with 
 the soil, and it will be unnecessary to apply any phosphatic 
 manure in the following year, the sulphate of potash and 
 the Nitrate ot Soda of the formula being, however, used 
 every year. 
 
 A recently introduced fertilizer — the " basic superphos- 
 phate," patented in England by Mr. John Hughes — which 
 is superphosphate "precipitated" or neutralized by the 
 addition ot lime, forms a useful phosphatic dressing for 
 soils poor in lime. In its case also, 800 or 900 pounds per 
 acre should be used to take the place of the smaller quantity 
 of acid superphosphate; and, like basic slag, it should be 
 applied every other year. 
 
 It may be well to point out here that coffee soils being 
 generally rich in humus, it will usually be the case, at the 
 outset of the life of the plantation, that Nitrogen is present 
 in quantity more than sufficient to meet the requirements 
 
V 
 
 ot the shrub tor the production of sev-eral successive crops. Coffee 
 But, on the other hand, this Nitrogen will be in organic Planting 
 form, and will only become available for plant food after it 13 
 
 has been converted into Nitric acid and Nitrates bv the 
 natural processes known as Nitrification. Under the con- 
 ditions of tropical climate and raintall, provided there be a 
 sufficiency ot lime in the soil, the processes ot Nitrification 
 will go on with relative rapidity throughout the vear. But, 
 during the large portion of the year represented by the rainy 
 season, the Nitric acid and the resulting Nitrates formed 
 from the soil humus will be washed down and quickly pass 
 into the sub-soil, so that there will be but scant accumulation 
 of them in the surface soil, in which alone thev can be 
 reached b\- the rootlets ot the shrub and be assimilated to 
 build up the structure of the plant and go to feed the crop. 
 
 It is in these circumstances that applications of Nitrate 
 ot Soda have their special advantage. The Nitrogen of 
 Nitrate ot Soda is in a form in which it can be immediately 
 taken up by the plant and is at once available for its 
 nourishment, it can therefore be measured out for the 
 supply of its nitrogenous wants in the development of 
 foliage, flower, fruit and wood. 
 
 rhe pulp and parchment ot the coffee berrv will, on a 
 well-managed plantation, be restored to the soil, either alone 
 or after being mixed with a little lime and watered, which 
 will hasten their decomposition. 
 
 In addition to a moderate proportion of potash, coffee 
 pulp in its natural state containsabouto.^jio per cent of Nitro- 
 gen ; and the best method of utilizing it is bv mixing it with 
 concentrated fertilizers like superphosphate or wood ashes. 1 1 
 should be placed under cover and not be allowed to wash out. 
 
 Wood ashes form a concentrated potash manure, and 
 where thev can be had in quantity thev should he applied 
 together with the pulp, the bulk of which will facilitate 
 their uniform distribution. 
 
 1 1 has to be remembered that potash enters largely into the 
 composition not only of the coffee bean, as has been shown 
 above, but also of the leaves and young wood of the tree. 
 
 Obviously, the restoration to the soil of the pulp and 
 parchment will diminish to an extent corresponding to their 
 contents in Nitrogen and potash the quantity of chemical 
 manures to be applied in compensation for what has been 
 removed by the crop. 
 
Coffee Most soils naturally suitable to coffee contain magnesia 
 
 Planting in abundance; some Jamaica soils contain upwards of two 
 li per cent, of it after having been in coffee for a long series 
 
 of years. In the case of soils that may be shown by analysis 
 to be deficient in magnesia, it will be well to substitute for 
 the sulphate of potash in the formula given above 500 to 
 600 pounds of kainit. 
 
 Where the soil of the plantation is distinctly poor in 
 lime, the deficiency may be supplied by the application, at 
 intervals of two or three vears, ot 400 to 500 pounds of 
 gypsum (sulphate of lime) per acre. In such conditions, a 
 dressing of gypsum often produces excellent effects, since 
 it renders available the potash present in the soil, besides 
 supplying lime in a readily assimilable form for the needs of 
 the shrub. 
 
 Where dung is available, it should be put on at as 
 frequent intervals as possible — say of from four to six 
 months — and, in the meantime, the heaps should be pro- 
 tected from being washed by rain bv a covering of soil 
 beaten as hard as possible. 
 
 The general state of vegetation on the plantation will 
 afford guidance as to the greater or less quantity to be 
 applied of the several manures. On estates where it is 
 observed that the trees are making plenty ot wood and leaf, 
 the supply of nitrogen is evidently adequate ; on the other 
 hand, on washed estates, it will almost certainly need to be 
 increased. The appearance or numerous shoots up the 
 stem mav be taken as an indication that the manuring errs 
 on the side of excess; a good and sufficientlv manured bush 
 will have a healthy grovyth of new wood on the branches to 
 form the fruit-bearing branches of the succeeding year. 
 
 It is more prudent and economical to manure and prune 
 for a heavier crop than for a lighter. If a high proportion 
 of the blossoms set, and fear is entertained ot the trees over- 
 bearing, thev may be assisted in time by the application, in 
 May, June or, at the latest, in July, of an additional dressing 
 of quick-acting manures in the form of Nitrate of Soda, 
 superphosphate of lime and sulphate of potash. 
 
 In dealing with a neglected estate, discouragement must 
 not be felt if the first application of fertilizers does not 
 bring about all the results that are desired. It has to be 
 borne in mind that the trees will need to be brought into 
 condition. Their partially dried up arteries, through which 
 
the impoverished sap is only languidly circulating, have to Coffee 
 be restored. And when the planter has secured a reniu- Planting 
 nerative crop, he must not think that he has done enough. 15 
 
 He must persist in the course which has brought about the 
 improvement. Manuring must not be intermitted even for 
 a single season. Instances are only too numerous of the 
 disastrous results of starving estates previously well culti- 
 vated, and of false and short-sighted economy which has 
 cost owners thousands of dollars in addition to the deterio- 
 ration of the properties. 
 
 A point that should be steadily kept in view is that 
 moderate and frequent applications of well-balanced manures 
 are decidedly the most eifectiye and the most economical. 
 
 The superphosphate and potash ot the formula given 
 above, as also the pulp and parchment after having been 
 treated in the manner suggested, should be applied shortly 
 after the gathering of the crop has been completed, advan- 
 tage being taken of the plowing given at that period to 
 turn them under. 
 
 The Nitrate of Soda should be applied broadcast, in two 
 or, better still, in three equal dressings, at intervals of about 
 a fortnight, the last dressing being given not later than the 
 second week in February. 
 
 The practice of depositing the fertilizers in close 
 proximity to the stems of the shrubs is to be avoided. 
 The dressings should be distributed as evenly as possible 
 over the entire area beneath the branches ot the coffee shrubs 
 and of the shade trees. 
 
 Constant attention must be given to the mechanical 
 cultivation of the soil, and it should never be allowed to 
 become hard. Ordinarily, two plowings are given ; the first 
 shortly after the crop has been gathered and the second five 
 or six months later, advantage being taken of a period when 
 the soil is in good working order. To go on the land when 
 it is wet is certain to do harm. Perfect drainage — either 
 natural or artificial — is of the greatest importance. 
 
 Where the site of the plantation does not allow of the 
 use of the plow, cultivation by the spade or the fork has to 
 be substituted, the soil being stirred to the depth of about 
 a foot, in order to favour the retention of moisture and to 
 obtain the greatest possible advantage from the rainfall. 
 
Coffee Great care must at all times be taken to avoid injury to 
 
 Planting the main lateral roots of the plant in the process of cultiva- 
 le tion. It is especially important not to plow, or even to hoe 
 
 deeply, at the time of flowering, in order not to destroy the 
 delicate hairs which the rootlets oi the shrub put forth at 
 that period. These root hairs are believed to have tor 
 their purpose the supply of additional nourishment to the 
 plant to assist in the formation of the truit. 
 
 Hoeing should be specially attended to immediately 
 before the period of flowering, in order to destroy weeds 
 and stray plants which would otherwise appropriate the 
 manures applied for the nourishment ot the crop and w ould 
 also tend to choke the plants and monopolize air and 
 light. 
 
 Where irrigation is had recourse to, it should not be too 
 frequent or in too great quantity, since the efl'ect ot an 
 opposite course is said to be to diminish the aroma and thus 
 to depreciate the quality of the crop. At the period of 
 flowering, irrigation must be suspended, even rain being 
 prejudicial to the formation ot the berry. 
 
 At all stages of their growth, the trees must be system- 
 atically and carefully pruned, with the object of keeping 
 them open, so as to insure the penetration of light and the 
 free circulation of air, and so also as to preserve only such 
 portions of the wood as will bear fruit abundantly and of 
 good quality. As in the case of plants in the seed-beds, so 
 in the plantation, all suckers and undesirable shoots must 
 be removed immediately they appear. 
 
 We have advisedly abstained in these pages from multi- 
 plying specific directions, especially any of a hard-and-fast 
 character. Such guidance is, for the most part, unnecessary 
 in the case of the practical grower, and it might be worse 
 than useless to the inexperienced planter, since the adoption 
 of such rules must be largely subordinated to considerations 
 of soil and season and to the special conditions existing on 
 the particular plantation. 
 
 The object which we have had in view has been that of 
 stating and enlarging upon the broad and fundamental 
 principles which must underlie and govern all sound and 
 successful practice. 
 
THE Chilean Nitrate Propaganda is not engaged 
 in the sale of Nitrate of Soda, but will furnish 
 a list of dealers to all who apply for it. 
 
 It should be remembered that the original pack- 
 age of Nitrate of Soda contains approximately 300 
 lbs. of normally dry Nitrate of Soda. Sacks of 100 
 lbs. and 50 lbs. are now on the market. 
 
 Nitrate of Soda is generally sold in the origin.,! 
 packages and should be stored or kept in a dij 
 place. Glass Works and Manufacturers of Dynamite 
 and Gunpowder usually have Nitrate on hand. 
 
 If you have any difficulty in obtaining Nitratt, 
 either by reason of prohibitive prices or undue delay, 
 or on account of inability of dealers to supply you 
 promptly, let me know at once, and the difficulty 
 will be investigated immediately. 
 
 Correspondence concerning freight charges is 
 invited. 
 
 WILLIAM S. MYERS, Director 
 
 CHILEAN NITRATE WORKS 
 
 1 2 John St., New York 
 
OMMUNICATIONS tecehred from 
 farmers and prospective consumers 
 interested in the use of Nitrate of 
 Soda, who are unable to secure it in 
 their immediate vicinity, will be 
 promptly referred to reliable dealers 
 who will furnish them with this 
 
 special fertilizer. Formulas and valuable information 
 
 sent free. 
 
 Below will be found a list of pamphlets relating to 
 
 the use of Nitrate of Soda as a fertiliser, which will be 
 
 furnished gratis to persons desiring information upon 
 
 any of the subjects named, by applying to 
 
 WILLIAM S. MYERS 
 
 12 John Street j» New York 
 
 How Money Crops Feed. 
 
 How to Use Nitrate. 
 
 Manuring of Orange Plantations. 
 
 Nitrate in the Garden. 
 
 Field Experiments on Market Garden Crop*. 
 
 Food for Plants. 
 
 Nitrate for Money Crops. 
 
 Can the Yield and Quality of Grapes be improved 
 
 by Fertilization ? 
 Nitrate of Soda a Blessing to the Arts and to 
 
 Agriculture. 
 Notes on Four Years* Experiments on Hop Manuring. 
 Sugar Beets for Profit. 
 Olive Culture. 
 Stable Manure and Artificial Fertilizers upon Fruit 
 
 Trees. 
 Usefulness and Comparative Value of Nitrogen in 
 
 Commercial Forms. 
 A Review of the Present Knowledge of Sodium 
 
 Nitrate, together with the Origin, Production and 
 
 Destruction of Nitrates in the Soil. 
 Grass Experiments. 
 Market Gardening with Nitrate. 
 

 
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