Early on the following morning we made an excursion to a mountain called the Pedra Bonita, immediately opposite the Gavea. In our way thither we visited the coffee plantations of Mrs. Moke, and Mr. Lescene. They adjoin each other, and were then considered the best managed near Rio. The great coffee country is much farther inland, on the banks of the Rio Parahiba. The trees are planted from six to eight feet apart. Those plants which have been taken from the nursery with balls of mould round their root are found to bear fruit in about two years, whereas those which have been detached from the earth do not produce till the third year, and a greater proportion of the plants die. They are planted when about a foot high, on the slopes of the hills, in the alluvial soil from whence the virgin forest has been cleared. They are only allowed to grow to the height of from ten to twelve feet, so that the crop may lie within reach. Till the trees are in full bearing, one negro can take charge of, and keep clean, two thousand plants: but afterwards only half that number is allotted him. Large healthy coffee trees have been found to produce as much as from eight to twelve pounds of coffee; the average produce, however, varies from a pound and a half to three pounds. When the berry is ripe, it is about the size and colour of a cherry; and of these berries a negro can collect about thirty-two pounds daily. In the course of the year there are three gatherings, but the greater part of the crop ripens during the dry season. The berries are spread out to dry in the sun, on large slightly convex floors; the dry shell is afterwards removed, either by mills, or by a series of large wooden mortars. It is only in some few estates in Brazil that the pulper is seen, which is so commonly used in the West Indies and Ceylon, for taking off the pulp from the fresh berries. Nothing is more beautiful than a coffee plantation in full bloom; the trees come into flower at the same time, but the blossoms do not last more than twenty-four hours. Seen from a distance the plantation seems covered with snow; and the flowers have a most delightful fragrance.