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Show COFFEE AND COCOA. ! The Products and People of Guatemala. SAD UDiMiS AUD THEIR WAYS. Why Cocoa Trees Need More Care Than a Coffee Plantation. The part of Guatemala we are now in is called the "Costa Cuca," and from San Sebastian to San Felipe, ten miles away and near the mountains, the road passes through a succession of coffee plantations, To one not familiar with it, it would appear ap-pear lo be a bright, fresh leaved tree of a rather rich and glossy green, but with its limbs covered with a parasitical green growth resembling small acorns, which Illusion is dispelled when the regular rows of trees are seen and the careful cultivation cul-tivation of the ground noted. While great care must be taken of the coffee tree, it is not a circumstance to that required re-quired by the cacao plaut, which much resembles it. Cacao, or in English cocoa, the source of chocolate, is more abundantly abun-dantly grown in Ecuador than In any other portion of this hemisphere, and the Guayaquil cocoa of commerce commands a price in Guatemala city of $18 per "carga," or sixty pounds, so It may be seen that it its a valuable crop. The cocoa of Guatemala is a much Gner variety and sells at $35 per carga. right here in the country, but the amount raised is not BufRcient for home consumption, and but little of it Gnds its way into the outside world. The plant has so many natural enemies that many fiuqueros are deterred from attempting at-tempting its cultivation. The tree is planted from the seeds, which are no sooner put in the gTound than a large ant searches for them and ruins many; when the tree appears aud is about three feet tall, deer, attracted by the richness of the leaf, risk their lives for a feed of it; when these dangers are past and the fruit ap- ! pears, squirrels come to eat it in large , numbers and any decent sized eacaotal must have two huntsmen to kill squirrels. Thus it may be seen that chocolate is a universal favorite. During this time the ground must be as well weeded aud cleaned as a Chinaman's kitehen garden. And In addition to this each cocoa tree requires a madre or mother, which is a shade tree planted for its own particular use. With such great care necessary, it is not strange that many prefer coffee planting. ANOTHER VIEW OF IT. And it occurs to mo, how few who Bit sipping Maillard'B or Mennier's chocolate ever give a thought or ever know of the immense labor of its production! On the other band it has its advantages, for while a coffee tree is fairly on the down grade to worthlessuess after bearing eight years, the cocoa tree is said to bear abundantly for seventy-five years, and even more. Some cacaotals near the frontier of San Salvador, are so old that the oldest Indians in the vicmity testify that they were flourishing plantations when they were children, and the trees bear as well today as ever. The coffee estates near San Felipe were nearly all planted at the same time, every available space was utilized, consequently they all failed at the same time, and Sau Felipe, from being a thriving, busy town, became but a place to live in, and I failed to see its attractions even In that respect. When the coffee trees failed many finqueros planted sugar cane. This requires, from Elanting to maturity, only nine mouths, ut is not bo profitable as coffee. The cocoa fruit as it appears on the tree is a pear shaped green mass about nine inches long, and in circumference not so large as an average pineapple. The Inside of this pulpy sheath is divided into cells, about twenty, each containing one cocoa berry. Children and women are employed to prepare it for market, and it is not a sight which would induce one to be anxious to drink the cocoa he has seen cleaned. Each berry is surrounded In its cell by a sweet, pasty brown and greasy Bubstanco which the Indians like, so each berry goes to an Indian's mouth, where the sweet coating is sucked off and chewed; but this in reality does not af feet the berry, because under the brown paste there is a parchmentlike shell which is impervious to the Indian's saliva, and comes off only In the roasting, leaving the Inside meat pure. SOMETHING ABOUT DAD INDtAKS. A marked difference is apparent between the true Indian of the Indian town and the one who has had much contact with whites and ladinos. The former is always respectful and polite aud he is a natual gentleman. He never approaches you to speak without removing his hat and bow-bug bow-bug low, and he never retires without excusing ex-cusing himself until he may return. The latter is usually disrespectful and of an insolent disposition eager to take every undue advantage of Mb master's leniency and has to be taught by the generous use of a club. The ordinary feelings of the human heart are unknown to him. You can govern him, and govern him well, by simply causing him to fear you. The art of lying is unknown in the United States when compared with the state of perfection it has reached among some of these Indian tribes. You may tell ! an individual in your employ to do a certain cer-tain thinij, but you must accompany him to see that ho does it, because if he does not feel like doing It ho will come back and lie about it. Hit- one of them with your fist or kick him out of your house, and he will complain to the nearest alcalde, al-calde, and will have twenty witnesses to swear that they saw you beat the complainant com-plainant over the head with a club until he lay insensible In his own blood, and this though they may have been miles away at the time. Many of the Indians are weavers and pottery makers. The cloths they produce are very pretty bright colored fabrics, beautifully embroidered in cotton or silks as the wearer may desire. Tlie shirt of their costume is made like a square bag, with a holo for the head and holes for t he-arms, he-arms, and when tho skirt is fastened around thft waist witli their pretty belts, the lower part of the skirt becomes a pet ticoat. Dress a prettily shaped and well washed Indian girl in this costume, give her a bright turban, and lot her balance the earthen water jar gracefully on her head, and you have a picture not soon to be forgotten; and yet they seem to bo unaware un-aware how picturesque they look. Guatemala Guate-mala Cor. New York Times. |