S8 



as soon as the soil is moist at 'the beginning of the mon- 

 soon and should be allowed to lie in a cool shady place for 

 three days, this is to allow the sa,p to thicken otherwise 

 they are likely to " bleed" too freely. A few coolies are 

 then sent, and each stake should be held in the hand, and the 

 lower extremity cut like the mouth of a flute with one stroke 

 of a sharp Bill-hook or " Curcuttee," These are ROW taken 

 to the holes, and pressed firmly into the new soil care being 

 taken, not to allow any force to be used, as such would fray 

 or peel the bark; the remainder of the soil is now filled in, 

 well trodden down, and a litfcle cowdung and mud, which has 

 been previously well mixed together with water, should be 

 smeared over all the wounds made in forming the cutting. If 

 the operation is successfully managed, shoots will appear 

 within twenty days or a month. The first time I tried 

 these cuttings I made a very foolish mistake and as others 

 may perhaps follow my example I may as well relate what 

 I did. I duly made the holes, but did not fill them. I 

 carefully prepared the cut tings but cut the ends off without 

 leaving a slope, I then proceeded to put a stake in each 

 hole and filled in the soil. Out of 6,000 I only now have a 

 few representatives. The young roots doubtless appeared, 

 but found nothing but a hard bed of gravel for their recep- 

 tion ; and I only found out when too late, that such proceed 

 from the bark where it is cut, and do nob come out laterally 

 until the cutting has firmly taken root at the bottom. A 

 moment's reflection will clearly show that even the native 

 method of sharpening to a point, and then driving in like 

 a hedge stake, had a better chance of success thanmy first 

 attempt. I have seldom had failures since and have now 

 thousands of luxuriant young trees ranging from 30 to 40 

 feet in height and giving excellent shade to the coffee below. 

 With care, culture, and due attention to judicious lopping, 

 a slight covering for coffee may be produced under favora- 

 ble circumstances, in 10 years; but the operation requires 

 lots of care and a liberal expenditure. 



