COCONUT PLANTER'S MANUAL. 55 



penetrate the thick outer covering of the old grass. Hence, regarding 

 this,and bearing in mind that lalang must have sun, the planters decided 

 upon making use of the lalang itself as a weapon of extermination. 



The method thus adopted and which is now in use all over Sumatra 

 is to mow down the lalang by aid of an instrument called by the 

 Malay a " Tajak," which consisted of a sharp heavy blade about four 

 inches broad by I| to 2 feet long, with a handle from 4 to 5 feet long 

 sloping at an angle of 45° from the blade upwards when the tool is 

 laid flat upon and parallel with the ground in a position for cutting. 

 This long handle enabled the coolies to use the same constantly with- 

 out suffering from that universal complaint among Asiatics of " Sakit 

 Pingang " (or pain in the back.}. The lalang was thus hewn down 

 close to the roots by this tool, and was then gathered up in bundles 

 and carefully laid upon one side ; the ground was then dug up ox- 

 hoed about 4 to 6 inches deep sufficient to turn comp'etely over the 

 thickest part of the lalang root ; the implement used for this purpose 

 is a big hoe, called by the Malays a "chunkol" and by the Tamils a 

 "mamoty." It is usually very sharp and heavy and measures from 8 

 to 10 inches in breadth and is from 10 to 14 inches in length. The 

 Malays and Tamils use a short handle from 2 h to 3 feet long, but the 

 Chinese use a handle from 5 to 6 feet long. 



Each coolie is alloted a certain task, which he has to complete for 

 his day's work before he can get a full day's pay. When the ground 

 has been completely hoed over, it is then inspected by the supervising 

 assistant planter in charge of the gang, and if the work 

 is correct, permission is given to shade the ground with the 

 lalang grass previously cut. This must be done very carefully, as not 

 a vestige of ground must be visible to the sun's rays, otherwise the 

 lalang will grow again. 



The above remedy is very effectual, and is not expensive, and it 

 seldom fails to completely rid the soil of the lalang. The roots that 

 are left in the soil rot, and serve to make the ground more porous and 

 to manure it. The operation should be attended to before the lalang 

 goes to seed. The ground should also be left covered by the lalang for 

 several weeks, and then just before planting one's crop it is well to 

 give the ground another hoe over and bury the now rotten grass. 



I have myself seen very excellent tobacco grown on lalang ground 

 treated after the foregoing method, and it is well known how excessively 

 tobacco take its richness out of any soil. Again, the tapioca plant 

 is considered by the Malay and and Chinese cultivators to be a plant 

 that can effectually combat against the grass if planted in a lalang 

 field treated as above. I have often seen tapioca planted by the 



