"They are planted in rows and sometimes grow as high as twenty-five feet. Usually they are between ten and fifteen feet high when they first bear fruit," said the Senhor. "It takes from three to five years for them to bear." "When is the harvest time?" asked Maria. "We have two crops so there are two harvests, one in February and one in August. Sometimes you see fruit and flowers on the same tree at the same time. The blossoms grow in little white bunches and are very fragrant." "I should think it would take a lot of people to pick all this coffee," said Affonzo. "It does. If you were to be here next February you would see hundreds of negroes and Italians, men, women, and children, busy up and down these long rows. Many of them live in those little houses," he said, pointing to a street lined with small wooden huts crowded close together. About the houses were scores of small, dark-skinned children at play. "At the present time," said the Senhor, "the men and women are at work in the sheds and ware-houses making the coffee ready for market. We shall ship thousands of pounds next month. To-morrow I will take you about and show you what we have to do. I wish you might have been here during the harvest season. It is very interesting to watch the pickers with the huge baskets strapped to their shoulders. There is great rivalry among them to see who can be the fastest picker on the place." Before they reached the _fazenda_ their carriage passed through two gates which closed after them with a spring, and the Senhor said, "The _fazenda_ factory is always enclosed by one and sometimes two fences, for the cattle graze loose with only a pickaninny or the _madrinla_[13] to watch them." "It looks like a fortress," said Maria. "Yes, and some _fazendas_ are called 'fortaleza' for that very reason," said her uncle. "It is really very much like the old fortresses of feudal times, within the walls of which went on all manner of things. Inside the _fazenda_ palisades there are the houses of the labourers, apothecary's shop, hospital, ware-houses, and _terrerios_,[14] besides the house of the owner." "Why are there so few trees?" asked Lola. "Nearly all the trees are cut down to make pasture lands and only a few shade trees are left, such as those fine palms. Here we are at the house. When you are rested I will take you about and show you how the coffee is made ready for market." FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 13: The bell cow.] [Footnote 14: Drying fields.] CHAPTER X A TREAT IN PROSPECT THE week at the _fazenda_ was a time of pleasant rest to the elders and full of delight to the children. They rode the horses and saw the cows milked and fed the pigs. These last were always taken very good care of by the _fazendeiro_,[15] for they afford the principal food for all on the plantation.