10 ODOROOlJArillA. 



being clothed with a dark-coloured carbonized mould formed by 

 the slow decay of* falling leaves and mouldering trunks of trees, 

 and next to these are to be ranked the open plains. Declivities 

 are objectionable from the risk of the precipitation of the mould 

 and manure into the adjacent ravines by the heavy torrents of 

 rain that occasionally deluge the country. Above all, the planta- 

 tion must be protected from the southerly and northerly winds by 

 a skirting of lofty trees, and if nature has not already made this 

 provision, no time should be lost in jjelting the grounds with a 

 double row of the Cassuarina littorea and Cerhcra mauglicis, which 

 are well adapted for this purpose. This precautionary measure 

 will not only secure the planter against eventual loss from the 

 falling off' of the blossom and young fruit in heavy gales, but will 

 prevent the up-rooting of the trees, a contingency to wdiich they 

 are liable from the slender hold their roots have in the soil. If 

 the plantation is extensive, subsidiary row^s of these trees may be 

 planted at convenient distances, ^o large trees whatever should 

 be suffered to grow among the spice trees, for these exclude the 

 vivifying rays of the sun and arrest the descent of the salutary 

 night dew^s, both of which are essential to the quality and quantity 

 of the produce. They further rob the soil of its fecundity and 

 intermingle their roots with those of the spice trees. It is true 

 that by the protection they afford they prevent frequently the 

 premature bursting of the husk, occasioned by the sudden action 

 of a hot sun upon it when saturated with rain, but the loss sus- 

 tained in this way is not equal to the damage the spice trees suffer 

 from these intruders. 



In originating a nutmeg plantation, the first care of the 

 cultivator is to select ripe nuts, and to set them at the distance of 

 a foot apart in a rich soil, merely covering them very lightly with 

 mould. They are to be protected from the heat of the sun, 

 watered in dry weather every other day, and occasionally weeded. 

 The seedlings may be expected to appear in from thirty to sixty 

 days, and when four feet high, the healthiest and most luxuriant, 

 consistino; of three or four verticels, are to be removed at the 

 commencement of the rains, to the plantation, previously cleared 

 of trees and underwood by burning and grubbing up their roots, 

 and placed in holes dug for their reception at the distance of 

 eighty feet from each other, screening them from the heat of the 

 sun and violence of the winds. It is a matter of essential 



