conveyed in the green state, though it is called ripe, to the
mill, where it is crushed to a complete pulp between stones or iron
rollers. After the juice is thus extracted the material left is spread
out in the sun to dry, and is after being thus "cured" used for fuel
beneath the steam-boilers, which afford both power to the engine and
the means of boiling the juice. Lime-water is employed to neutralize
any free acid as well as to separate the vegetable matter. The
granulation and crystallization are effected in large flat pans, or
now more commonly by centrifugal machines, rotating at great speed. It
is then crushed and packed either in hogsheads or in boxes for
exportation; canvas bags are also being largely employed, as they are
easier to pack on board ship, and also to handle generally. A
plantation is renewed when deemed necessary, by laying the green canes
horizontally in the ground, when new and vigorous shoots spring up
from every joint, showing the great fertility of the soil.

Coffee was introduced by the French into Martinique in 1727, but it
did not make its appearance in Cuba until forty years later, or, to be
exact, in 1769. The decadence of this branch of agriculture is due
not only to the causes we have already named, but also to the inferior
mode of cultivation adopted on the island. It was predicted some years
before it commenced, and when the crash came the markets of the world
were also found to be greatly overstocked with the article. While some
planters introduced improved methods and economy in the conduct of
their estates, others abandoned the business altogether, and turned
their fields either into sugar-raising, fruits or tobacco. Precisely
the same trouble was experienced in the island of Ceylon, which was at
one time a great coffee-raising centre, but now its planters are many
of them abandoning the business, while others adopt new seed and new
methods of culture. In Cuba it was found that the plants had been
grown too closely together and subjected to too close pruning, while
the product, which was gathered by hand, yielded a mixture of ripe and
unripe berries. In the countries where coffee originated, a very
different method of harvesting is adopted. The Arabs plant the
coffee-shrubs much farther apart, allow them to grow to considerable
height, and gather the crop by shaking the tree, a method which
secures only the ripe berries. After a few weeks, or even days, the
field is gone over a