in the berry. That fermentation promotes the drying and
loosens the silvery pellicle which is attached to the bean inside the
parchment, and which cannot be entirely got rid of in any other way.
Coffee which still retains that pellicle is called in trade "grey
coffee," and is lower priced than good clean sorts. After the
fermentation, the coffee is spread out in rather thick layers, and
turned over twice a day. If it rains during this first spreading out,
the coffee does not require to be sheltered, as the washing causes the
juicy substance to evaporate, and this accelerates the drying
afterwards.

In proportion as the coffee becomes dryer, the thickness of the layer
must be reduced, and the turning over must be more frequent till the
coffee is quite dry outside and the pulp has become hard.

Then the coffee is laid out on drying floors, which can be easily and
speedily covered in rainy or damp weather, and is dried by the
powerful heat of the sun.

This system of drying in the pulp requires six weeks or two months, as
it is advisable not to be over hasty with drying.

When the coffee is entirely dry, it is either at once pounded or
placed in the stores to await that operation. In order to know if the
coffee be sufficiently dry, take a handful of it and shut your hand
close; shake it to your ear, and listen if the beans rattle freely in
the pulp. Or try them by biting the berry, and see if the bean and
pulp are both brittle and crisp, which shows that the fruit is dry
enough.

_Preparation of the coffee in the parchment, or the West India
system_.--Only sound and fully ripe beans can be prepared in the West
India manner. In picking, therefore, all unripe, green, or unsound
beans must be taken away to dry in the pulp. As soon as the coffee is
brought in, it must be pulped. This operation is performed by means of
small peeling mills. These mills consist of two horizontal wooden
cylinders rubbing on a plank; they are covered with hoop-iron, and set
in motion by a water-wheel. The coffee is driven under the cylinder,
and kept constantly moist; by being turned through the mill, the pulp
is so bruised that the bean in the parchment falls from it into the
bamboo open frame, which is placed in front of the mill. The coffee is
then pressed with the hand, and falls through the frame into a basket.
The pulp, and beans not rid of the pulp, remain on the frame; the
first is cleared away, the rest passes a second time into the