184 AGRICULTURE IN THE TROPICS [PT. Ill 



In the independent countries of the tropics, a considerable 

 amount of planting also goes on. Americans have very large 

 areas under rubber in Mexico, under bananas in Costa Rica, 

 under sugar in Cuba; Germans, South Americans, and others 

 have considerable plantations of coffee in Central America and 

 Venezuela; there are large areas in cacao, sisal hemp, and many 

 other products in tropical America, and so on. 



We may now go on to briefly consider the general methods 

 of opening an estate. The land having been chosen, the first 

 work is usually to clear it, it being most often, perhaps, covered 

 with forest. The aid of the natives of the country is called in 

 to do this, and they are usually clever at it. The trees are all 

 cut on the same side, and then the fall is started, and often 

 takes place over a large area together, the trees falling in much 

 the same direction. They are then left on the ground to dry, 

 and presently burnt, either just as they lie, or after a certain 

 amount of piling by aid of elephants or otherwise. 



The plants which are to go upon the ground are meanwhile 

 raised in nurseries, and when the land is sufficiently clear are 

 planted out in holes made among the stumps and filled with 

 good soil. In a few years, except at very high elevations, decay 

 and white ants will remove all trace of the former timber. 



At this stage coolie labour of some regularity has to be 

 provided for, and this often, especially in the case of thinly 

 peopled countries, means importing it ; in this case, at any rate, 

 the coolies have to be provided with lines, as their single-roomed 

 dwellings are often called. Most commonly, perhaps, the coolies 

 are imported under advances of money made to pay for the cost 

 of passage, etc., and these advances are repaid to the planter 

 out of their pay. 



The bungalow for the superintendent, the coolie lines, and 

 any other buildings required at once have also to be put up in 

 the early stages of planting an estate. After this, there is 

 usually a period of greater or less length, varying from six 

 months in cotton to three years in tea, and six or seven in 

 rubber, before any actual return can be looked for (unless quick 

 growing catch crops are cultivated), so that it is obvious that 

 considerable capital is required for planting. In rubber, for 



