70 THE PLANTATION 



with cash and a means of raising food, it enables 

 them to remain practically their own masters. 



Whatever may be the character of the land, it 

 must be thoroughly cleared at first if the planter 

 expects to avoid a number of costly, irritating 

 drawbacks in the future. Lalang and elephant 

 grass must be uprooted, the quickest and most 

 effective method being the use of a plough wherever 

 possible. Lalang especially is most difficult to 

 eradicate and equally dangerous to leave in the 

 ground, for it reproduces itself with startling 

 rapidity, shooting its roots deep down in all 

 directions. This obnoxious grass not only retards 

 the growth of the crop, but when the trees do come 

 into bearing, which is usually later than when the 

 estate is clean, the yield is meagre and unprofitable. 

 Again, there are many varieties of the wild palm 

 that have to be eradicated, for they increase and 

 multiply with all the vigour and persistency that 

 characterises the majority of weeds. 



When the clearing work has been completed the 

 felled trees, stumps, and other refuse that have 

 collected are carefully stacked in big piles and 

 thoroughly dried under the rays of the sun for 

 anything from a few days upwards, according 

 to circumstances. Considerable ingenuity is required 

 to arrange the piles in such a manner as to make 

 certain that everything, including the dampest 

 portions, will burn properly. The planter, selecting 



