y method is followed, the choicest land of the
plantation is chosen for its site; and the seeds are planted in forcing
beds, sometimes called cold-frames. When the plants are to be
transplanted direct to the plantation, the seeds are generally sown six
inches apart and in rows separated by the same distance, and are covered
with only a slight sprinkling of earth. When the plants are to be
transferred from the first bed to another, and then to the plantation,
the seeds are sown more thickly; and the plants are "pricked" out as
needed, and set out in another forcing bed.

During the six to seven weeks required for the coffee seed to germinate,
the soil must be kept moist and shaded and thoroughly weeded. If the
trees are to be grown without shade, the young plants are gradually
exposed to the sun, to harden them, before they begin their existence in
the plantation proper.

[Illustration: COFFEE TREE NURSERY, PANAJABAL, POCHUTA, GUATEMALA]

[Illustration: DRYING GROUNDS AND FACTORY IN THE PREANGER REGENCY]

[Illustration: NATIVE TRANSPORT, FIELD TO FACTORY, AT DRAMAGA, NEAR
BUITENZORG]

[Illustration: COFFEE SCENES IN JAVA, NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES]

Considerable experimental work has been done in renewing trees by
grafting, notably in Java; but practically all commercial planters
follow the seed method.

[Illustration: COFFEE GROWING UNDER SHADE, PORTO RICO]

PREPARING THE PLANTATION. Before transplanting time has come, the
plantation itself has been made ready to receive the young plants.
Coffee plantations are generally laid out on heavily wooded and sloping
lands, most often in forests on mountainsides and plateaus, where there
is an abundance of water, of which large quantities are used in
cultivating the trees and in preparing the coffee beans for market. The
soil most suitable is friable, sandy, or even gravelly, with an
abundance of rocks to keep the soil comparatively cool and well drained,
as well as to supply a source of food by action of the weather. The
ideal soil is one that contains a large proportion of potassium and
phosphoric acid; and for that reason, the general practise is to burn
off the foliage and trees covering the land and to use the ashes as
fertilizer.

In preparing the soil for the new plantation under the intensive
cultivation method, the surface of the land is lightly plowed, and then
followed up with thorough cultivation. When transplanting time comes,
which is when the plant is ab