Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1895 edition. Excerpt: ...sulphurous smoke poured forth from the abyss, and it was a relief when the pearly vapors once more shrouded the horrid place from mortal view. This is no imaginary picture of a volcano. In 1797 the Soufrie're hurled forth dense masses of ashes and pumice and sulphur smoke; in 1843 its convulsions shook the island and tumbled its towns into ruins; and before and since that date, smoke by day and flames by night have shown its fiery temper and unquenched power for evil, yet the French people increase, prosper, and are merry here. There are numerous coffee plantations on Guadeloupe, and also on Dominica. At the latter island I met a young Englishman, who had a small coffee plantation, which gave him a comfortable support and a visit home once in five years. The coffee plants are usually raised from seeds sown in beds, upon the mountains, where the thermometer varies from fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit in winter, to eighty degrees in the heat of summer. When they are two years old, the small shoots are set out in rows six feet apart each way. In three years they begin to yield; they are increasingly fruitful for fifteen or twenty years, and live for a century. It was February when we were at Guadeloupe, and the trees were in bloom; the fruit ripens from August to December, but blooms and green fruit and the ripened berry may be sometimes seen at once during the latter part of the year. The berry is red, of the size and color of a cherry, and coffee is made from the kernel or seed, which is divided into two hemispheres. This seed goes through a variety of processes before it becomes the coffee of commerce, and is prepared for use in the delicious beverage which is known all over the world. Most of the coffee of the French islands goes naturally...