96 THE RUBBER TREE BOOK 



coolie to loosen the sub-soil at the bottom of the holes with a 

 fork. When planting-out the stumps two men should always 

 work together at the task. One coolie should be employed in 

 filling up the holes and the other in holding the stumps and in 

 seeing that they are set straight, and the roots not in any way 

 twisted. 



In filling up the holes only fresh surface soil scraped from 

 the surface round about should be employed, because the sur- 

 face soil is much the most fertile. The reason of this is that soil 

 near the surface is full of bacteria. The deeper one digs into 

 the soil beneath the surface the fewer are the bacteria present 

 in the soil. Below a certain depth from the surface no bacteria 

 are found to be present. 



On very many estates there are certain areas on which it 

 is found to be exceedingly difficult to establish seedlings or 

 stumps. The young plants sicken and die out, and these areas 

 have to be planted and replanted or very heavily supplied again 

 and again. Digging deep and wide holes, and leaving the soil 

 which has been excavated exposed to sunlight for several weeks, 

 is a great help in such cases. The soil in such instances is, 

 no doubt, from some cause sour and infested with maleficent 

 bacteria, and the sunlight kills them out so that the soil is ready 

 for fresh and vigorous colonies of beneficent bacteria. 



It is well known to farmers in England and elsewhere that 

 by burning soil in kilns it afterwards becomes exceedingly 

 fertile. The burning splits up particles of mineral matter and 

 renders available to fresh colonies of bacteria abundant food 

 supplies, while it destroys organisms that feed on bacteria. 



A little unslaked lime spread over the soil and powdered 

 into the holes corrects soil sourness and assists the beneficent 

 bacteria to recover the soil into a good state. In cases of low- 

 lying land which has been swampy, lime is especially necessary. 

 As a well-known planter is fond of repeating about such areas: 

 lime and time do the business. 



If two men working together do the planting and filling up 

 of fifty holes in a day, this is good work. It is much more im- 

 portant to have the planting well done than to have twenty or 

 thirty additional holes filled up per day. The soil filled into 

 the holes should be well trampled down by the coolies, who 

 should be careful to see that the roots of the stumps are well 



