CH. VI 



SOWING AND PLANTING 185 



planting into liquid mucl. The best planting weather 

 is a constant steady drizzle, or, if this cannot be got, 

 then a cloudy day following after rain. It must be 

 borne in mind that in most plantations it is too 

 expensive to resort to hand-watering after the plants 

 have been put in, and that they should therefore be 

 put into soil having a sufficient amount of moisture 

 to supply the roots at once. In places where, owing 

 to deficiency of rainfall or nature of the soil, artificial 

 irrigation has to be resorted to, the planting season 

 may depend on the time when an ample supply of 

 water is available, and on whether frosty nights may 

 occur. In the latter case, planting should not be 

 started during that season. When the species to be 

 planted is leafless for part of the year, the best time 

 for planting is during the leafless season, as the roots 

 have not to start at once in supplying the leaves and 

 young shoots with water. In the Tropics there are so 

 many factors to be studied that it is not possible to 

 lay down any hard-and-fast rule, and the requirements 

 of individual species in the locality must be studied. 



After putting in leaf-bearing plants it is wise to 

 shade them. In a previous chapter I have already 

 stated that if leafy twigs are used they should not be 

 of species the leaves of which drop off on drying and 

 smother the young plants. Those whose leaves blacken 

 and then fall off seem to be particularly bad. Certain 

 stiff ferns do well, and also stiff wiry twigs. They 

 should not be pushed in so close as to exclude air or 

 light, and they may be put in sparingly on the side on 

 which the sun's rays are not likely to reach them, unless 

 the glare and reflected withering heat from the ground 

 are strong. In frosty localities the young plants require 

 most shelter from the sun's early rays, as frost-bite is 

 due to the sudden heating of juices and consequent 

 breaking of tender tissues in the plant. It is not 

 sufficient to put in the shading, but it should be 

 frequently examined, as the twigs or fronds bend down 

 and are apt to suppress the plants, and, if they are wet, 



