PLANTING AND PICKING. 69 



are exposed to the air for more than a few minutes, the 

 roots should be covered with wet moss or some other 

 damp material A dull, cloudy day should be chosen 

 for this operation whenever possible, as in bright sunshine 

 the plants would be all burnt up. The plants are carried 

 in batches in wicker trays or baskets to the plantation 

 and are placed in the ready prepared holes by hand, great 

 care being taken that no roots are doubled up, that the 

 plants are upright and that they are placed no deeper in 

 the ground than they were before, and in treading the 

 earth down around the plant every precaution is neces- 

 sary to 'prevent leaving holes for the accumulation of 

 water around the roots. The surface must also be made 

 firm and level as possible, but on a steep slope the outer 

 .edge may be slightly higher than the inner, to check the 

 effect of any wash that may occur, but in subsequent 

 weeding it will be necessary to guard against exposing 

 the lateral roots. There is some diversity of opinion as 

 to the size and age most suitable for putting out nursery 

 plants, but when dull, rainy weather can be depended on 

 for some little time, nursery plants of the second year 

 are the most satisfactory, plants of one season only being 

 too tender for the operation, but under ordinary condi- 

 tions and with due care no serious loss of plants should 

 be incurred in this way. A novel plan, one which may 

 be advantageously adopted on small plantations, is the 

 one resembling the method of planting Cinchona. A 

 number of calabashes are deprived of their small end 

 and emptied of their contents, into these the seedlings 

 are placed and gradually exposed to the sun as they 

 grow and finally planted in the calabashes ; the latter soon 

 rot and form manure for the plants. A new plan that 

 has been much followed is the substitution of " stumps" 

 for nursery plants that is, plants that have been in the 



