GENERAL CULTIVATION. 43 



or bound, and where heavy forest has existed, and the 

 land is much encumbered with roots and stumps, the 

 gradual decay of these loosen the soil and enable the 

 coffee roots to penetrate in all directions. There is, 

 however, a description of land, which until lately, was 

 rejected by the majority of planters, but which has of 

 late been found extremely productive, and this is what 

 is known as bamboo land, or gentle undulated slopes 

 sparely covered with large trees and bamboo thickets, 

 the soil being generally heavy, and deep, but hard, and 

 bound, and very full of grass seeds and other weeds. 

 This land is generally inexpensive to clear, and is easily 

 pitted, but it is absolutely necessary that it should be 

 trenched over, at least twelve inches deep, both to 

 enable the roots of the coffee trees to get abroad, and 

 to eradicate the numerous weeds, which have peren- 

 nial roots, and which would render the usual work of 

 weeding almost ruinous, but where this operation is 

 well done, and the soil is satisfactory, land so cultivated 

 will be found, both more productive and more easily 

 kept up than what is commonly known as forest land; 

 and moreover, land thus treated will stand long 

 drought, and produce more steady crops than estates 

 cultivated on what may be called the old system. The 

 routine of cultivation somewhat differs in this land, 

 from what has been indicated above ; the land after 

 being felled and cleared, should be trenched over at 

 once with mattocks, about six inches deep, it should 

 then be lined and pitted, and much narrower pits may 

 be permitted, than in land which is not trenched. 

 Directly after the coffee plants are planted, it should 

 be trenched over again to the depth of twelve inches, 



