1 1 8 Coffee Planting. 



It is almost superfluous to say, that no plant 

 should ever be kept out of the ground an hour 

 longer than is unavoidable ; there are, however, 

 times when some lapse of time during removal 

 from the rearing-beds to the clearing cannot be 

 avoided. In these cases, the plants may be pre- 

 served by means of " puddling ;" that is, by dipping 

 the roots, or even the whole stump and roots, in a 

 composition of stiff earth or clay and water of the 

 consistency of gruel. In this way not only is the 

 natural moisture of the plant retained, but an 

 additional supply is likely to be absorbed from the 

 atmosphere. Mr. Loudon remarks on this sub- 

 ject, " When the plants have been brought from 

 a distance, Pontey strongly recommends "puddling" 

 them previous to planting ; if they seem very much 

 dried, it would be still better to lay them in the 

 ground for eight or ten days, 1 giving them a good 

 soaking with water every second or third day, in 

 order to restore their vegetable powers ; for it well 

 deserves notice that a degree of moisture in soil 

 sufficient to support a plant recently or immediately 

 taken from the nursery, would, in the case of dried 

 ones, prove so far insufficient that most of them 

 would die in it." 



In putting in the plants great care must be taken 



1 This, it must be remembered, refers to a cold, damp 

 climate, and would be quite unsuited to the tropics. 



