m 



made. The open system was then finally declared a failure 

 or at least entirely unsuited for adoption in this Province. 

 For several years attention was directed to the formation 

 of new clearings under shade, and year by year, efforts were 

 made to reclaim those portions where failure had taken 

 place. Season after season these latter places were plauted 

 up merely to die out again in the following hot weather.. 

 Manures and high culture had no appreciable effect and 

 .finally many a block was abandoned in order to allow shade 

 to spring up j but in many cases nothing but the rankest 

 grass and most useless vegetation was the result. The 

 absolute necessity of introducing a regular system of shade 

 tree planting was now fully realized, but as the requirements 

 of such an operation were entirely unknown much time and 

 money were uselessly expended. Many built their hopes 

 on the " Charcoal Tree'' (Sponia Wightii) which is too well 

 known to require description ; suffice it merely to say, that 

 such was subsequently found to be perfectly unsuited for the, 

 requirements of reclamation, although useful for many other 

 purposes. The seed of the Pbnciana Regia and Cassia Florida, 

 were next introduced, and extensive Nurseries made. Every 

 tree that was planted out succeeded and grew rapidly, but It 

 was soon found that the Ponciana at least had an absolutely 

 pernicious effect on the coffee, which languished and nearly 

 died all around it. The axe again came into use and the 

 Charcoal and Ponciana were removed and converted into 

 firewood for the surrounding population, who alone bene- 

 fitted by the experiment. In one year I felled over 40,000 

 of these Gold Mohurs. Would that they had been Gold Mo- 

 hurs of another description ! ! I had procured the seed by 

 the rnaund from Madras and Bengal and had carefully raised 

 the plants in Nurseries, whence they were removed and 

 planted like Coffee, in holes in the Estate. A good axe- 

 man had some difficulty in disposing of a dozen in a day, 

 as many were three feet in circumference, the wood how- 

 ever is very easily cut, and as I remarked before, makes 

 excellent firewood and charcoal. The Australian Wattle aud 



