In starting a coffee plantation, it is usual to form a nursery, where the seeds are planted at the beginning of the rainy seasonsay April or May. Thus the young plants are growing while the land is being cleared. The following year, about the same time, the plants will be ready to set out, which is usually done when they have attained a height of 18 to 20 inches. The plants require plenty of air, light, and water, but should be sheltered from the full glare of the sun. The best time for watering is in the evening. Nursery beds should always be in operation, either for extending the plantation or replacing defective or worn-out trees. In transplanting, the new ground should be carefully prepared, and holes dug to receive the plants from 10 to 15 feet apart.

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The coffee tree is essentially a tender shrub, and needs protection from the sun from the time of planting and even for years after it has begun to bear. For this purpose, bananas, plantains, or quickgrowing, wide-branching trees are planted between the rows. no time, from its first sprouting until its death from old age, should a single weed be permitted to remain in the vicinity of a coffee plant. Even after the tree has reached maturity and is in full bearing the plantation must be thoroughly weeded five or six times in the course of the year. This work must be carefully done by hand. As the tree grows, it is improved in health and condition by pruning, but this must be judiciously done and at a time when it is not bearing. In two years, the trees will begin to bear a small number of berries, and at the end of three years, a fair crop will be produced, which will continue to increase until the plantation is seven years old, by which time it will have reached its maximum. For persons who have the necessary capital to start and cultivate a plantation and wait until its maturity for returns, there is no more profitable industry in existence at the present day. The fruit should never be picked until fully ripe, as any admixture of green berries has a detrimental effect on the remainder. After the berries have been picked, the preparation of the

coffee for the market must be carefully conducted, as on this depends in great measure the value of the crop. The berries are first lightly ground and washed in running water and allowed to ferment. In some cases the grinding is omitted, but the fermentation is essential. The berries are thus freed from the outer skin and pulp which surrounds them. They are then spread out in the open air in patios or yards, where the drying is effected by the heat of the After they are thoroughly dried, they are passed through a mill to remove the fine skin which covers each grain. The coffee thus prepared is then sorted, the grains being separated according to size and quality, and all broken and damaged ones removed. This work is usually performed by women and children.

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For some years past, in consequence of the high price of coffee, a great impulse has been given to its production. According to the public records, between December 1, 1889, and December 1, 1890, 24,598 manzanas of public land were taken up, of which 16,740 manzanas, it is estimated, were fit and intended for the cultivation of coffee. Of these, 8,491 manzanas are in the department of Matagalpa, and 4,101 in that of Managua. In the department of Matagalpa alone, there are now about 2,000,000 of young trees under cultivation, which will begin to yield in about a year. The amount of coffee exported from Nicaragua during the ten years, 1881-1890, is as follows:

The main obstacle in the past to the progress of this most important industry has been the lack of facilities for transportation. But few of the roads are practicable for wagons or carts, necessitating the moving of freight on the backs of mules. The Gov

ernment is doing all in its power to remove this obstacle by making new wagon roads, and the opening of the railroad to the Pacific coast and the increase of steam navigation on the lakes have been of the greatest assistance. The freight on coffee by rail and steamer is as follows:

From Granada to the port of Corinto, per 100 pounds, 65 cents. From Masaya to the port of Corinto, per 100 pounds, 62 cents. From Managua to the port of Corinto, per 100 pounds, 55 cents.

Coffee can be shipped also by steamer on the lake from Granada to San Jorge, thence by wagons or carts to the port of San Juan del Sur on the Pacific; or it can be sent by way of the lake and the San Juan River to San Juan del Norte (Greytown) on the Caribbean coast, but in the dry season, this route is inconvenient on account of the scarcity of water and obstructions in the river at certain localities. The construction of the Nicaragua Canal and of railroads that are projected to the Atlantic coast will give an immense impetus to coffee growing, as they will quicken and cheapen access to the markets of the United States and Europe.

INDIA RUBBER.

The production of India rubber is an important industry in Nicaragua, but it is yearly decreasing from the reckless slaughter of the trees. Even with the most careful treatment, they will stand but a few years of tapping, and as they have not been cultivated to any extent, the export of India rubber will dwindle into insignificance at no distant period, unless there is a change in this respect.

India rubber, called in South America caucho, and in Central America hule, is obtained in Nicaragua from the siphonia elastica, a tree growing to 50 or 60 feet in height. The collectors of rubber, called huleros, employ several methods to obtain it. The following are the three most generally used.

1. The trees are felled and V-shaped channels about 2 inches