acked
open. The second way is called the wet method; the sarcocarp is removed
by machine, and two wet, slimy seed packets are obtained. These packets,
which look for all the world like seeds, are allowed to dry in such a
way that fermentation takes place. This rids them of all the slime; and,
after they are thoroughly dry, the endocarp, the so-called parchment
covering, is easily cracked open and removed. At the same time that the
parchment is removed, a thin silvery membrane, the silver skin, beneath
the parchment, comes off, too. There are always small fragments of this
silver skin to be found in the groove of the coffee bean contained
within the parchment packet.

[Illustration: COFFEA ARABICA IN FLOWER ON A JAVA ESTATE

From a photograph made at Dramaga, Preanger, Java, in 1907]

[Illustration: LIBERIAN COFFEE TREE AT LAMOA, P.I.]

We have said that the coffee tree yields from one to twelve pounds a
year, but of course this varies with the individual tree and also with
the region. In some countries the whole year's yield is less than 200
pounds per acre, while there is on record a patch in Brazil which yields
about seventeen pounds to the tree, bringing the yield per acre much
higher.

The beans do not retain their vitality for planting for any considerable
length of time; and, if they are thoroughly dried, or are kept for
longer than three or four months, they are useless for that purpose. It
takes the seed about six weeks to germinate and to appear above ground.
Trees raised from seed begin to blossom in about three years; but a good
crop can not be expected of them for the first five or six years. Their
usefulness, save in exceptional cases, is ended in about thirty years.

The coffee tree can be propagated in a way other than by seeds. The
upright branches can be used as slips, which, after taking root, will
produce seed-bearing laterals. The laterals themselves can not be used
as slips. In Central America the natives sometimes use coffee uprights
for fences and it is no uncommon sight to see the fence posts "growing."

The wood of the coffee tree is used also for cabinet work, as it is much
stronger than many of the native woods, weighing about forty-three
pounds to the cubic foot, having a crushing strength of 5,800 pounds per
square inch, and a breaking strength of 10,900 pounds per square inch.

The propagation of the coffee plant by cutting has two distinct
advantages over propagation by seed, in th