beans that still hold together. Then the beans are passed on to be
spread in layers on trays in the full heat of the tropical sun, the
temperature being upwards of 140° F.[11] When thus spread, the women
can readily pick out the foreign matter and undersized beans. Two or
three days will suffice to dry them, after which they are put in bags
for the markets of the world, and will keep with but very slight loss
of weight or aroma for a year or more.

Between crops the labourers are employed in "cutlassing," pruning,
and cleaning the land and trees. Nearly all the work is in pleasant
shade, and none of it harder than the duties of a market gardener in
our own country; indeed, the work is less exacting, for daylight lasts
at most but thirteen hours, limiting the time that a man can see in
the forest: ten hours per day, with rests for meals, is the average
time spent on the estate. Wages are paid once a month, and a whole
holiday follows pay-day, when the stores in town are visited for
needful supplies. Other holidays are not infrequent, and between crops
the slacker days give ample time for the cultivation of private
gardens.

Labourers from India are largely imported by the Government under
contract with the planters, and the strictest regulations are observed
in the matter of housing, medical aid, etc. At the expiration of the
term of contract (about six years) a free pass is granted to return to
India, if desired. Many, however, prefer to remain in their adopted
home, and become planters themselves, or continue to labour on the
smaller estates, which are generally worked by free labour, as the
preparations for contracted labour are expensive, and can only be
undertaken on a large scale.