TREES THAT COUNT MANIHOT GLAZIOVII 53 



Another excellent method is to spread the seed 

 upon felt or any blanket material that has been pre- 

 viously well damped ; cover the whole with a sheet 

 of corrugated iron raised a few inches from the 

 ground, and expose to the sun. Sprouting will gener- 

 ally take place in a few days, when the seeds will be 

 ready for planting. 



In " sowing to stake " — which, in other words, 

 means putting the seed into the actual position in 

 the plantation where it is destined to remain and 

 become the mature tree, a system largely followed 

 in East Africa — the ground must first be cleared. It 

 is then measured and " lined ". Lining is the pro- 

 cess of marking out the place and distances at which 

 the tree is to grow. This having been accomplished, 

 the workers should be marshalled in rows equal to the 

 distances of the " lining ". Thus, if the Manihot is 

 to grow 8 feet by 8 feet, the workers will line the 

 field 8 feet apart, each with his cultivator in hand. 

 He commences at the extreme end of the planta- 

 tion, "dibs " two holes 4 inches deep and 

 paces forward another 8 feet, and so on until the 

 line is completed. Immediately following the 

 11 dibber " is the woman or boy with the seed, two 

 of which are dropped into the ground and the soil 

 replaced with the foot. In this way plantations are 

 very quickly sown. 



When the young plants are 6 to 8 inches high the 

 stronger of the pair is allowed to remain, whilst the 

 other is taken away and set out in another planta- 

 tion. They make rapid growth, often reaching 

 20 feet in eight months. A careful planter will tend 



