CHAPTER XV. 



Supplying vacancies Causes of vacancies Prevention better 

 than cure Opening the pit New soil desirable Poonac 

 Strong plants required " Supplies " put in early 

 Necessity of keeping them free from weeds. 



IN newiy-planted clearings, as well as in old fields 

 of coffee, a certain percentage of the plants may 

 always be expected to die out from one cause or 

 other, and it becomes necessary to fill up regularly 

 and promptly the vacancies thus occurring. The 

 causes of the plants dying out are various : some 

 do so from bad planting, such as being put in with 

 the roots doubled up, some from the tap-root having 

 come upon a slab-stone at the bottom of the pit, 

 and being thus prevented from sinking further into 

 the soil ; others from the attacks of insects, grubs, 

 &c. ; from being smothered by weeds ; from drought, 

 swampiness of the land, or from inherent disease. 



Old plants are naturally more subject to decay 

 than young ones, and consequently our attention 

 is here more particularly required to the filling up 

 vacancies in old fields. 



Prevention is always better than cure, and it is 



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