mill,
and this operation is continued till all the coffee is stripped of
the pulp, and the parchment beans are in the basket. When the
parchment coffee is thus separated from the outer skin, it is thrown
into the washing troughs, and remains there for twenty-four hours;
this drains from it the slimy substance adhering to it. After being
thus steeped, it is washed with pure water two or three times in the
basket, so that it becomes quite free from slimy matter. The parchment
coffee is then spread out on drying frames, and exposed for six or
eight days to the heat of the sun, till the outside is perfectly dry.
To do this equally it must be stirred about every hour. These frames,
which serve also to dry the coffee in the pulp, are made as
follows:--A bamboo roof is set up, resting on four wooden pillars, and
sloping considerably; it is covered closely with reeds; its length is
ten feet, its breadth six feet; the pillars are from nine to ten feet
high; a wooden framework is attached to this, about thirty feet long,
or three times the length of the space covered by the roof. On this
frame are brought out three platforms, one above the other, which are
pushed out by means of little rollers under them; they are ten feet
long by six broad, and six inches deep. The borders are of wood, and
the bottom of platted bamboo. In rainy weather, or when the drying
cannot go on, the three platforms are pushed under the covered space.
These drying places are set up near the overseer's dwelling, where
they stand free, and are not shaded by trees or buildings. After this
first drying on platforms, the parchment coffee is again dried inside
the house, and bamboo huts are for this purpose erected on each side
of the outhouse of the planters. These huts have trays, divided into
two or three compartments, one above the other, to keep the coffee
separate, according to the time of its having been picked. The
parchment coffee is spread out as thin as possible, and turned over
with a small wooden rake every hour. In proportion to the dryness of
the weather, from one to two months are required to dry the coffee
fully. In drying inside the houses, the greatest care must be taken to
prevent heating the coffee; this is the great object of the West
Indian system, as such heating is very prejudicial. On this account
the huts in which the platforms are placed must be very airy, so that
the wind may have good play among the trays, on which the coffee must