488 MANUAL OF THE NtLAGlHI DISTRICT. 



CH. XXVIII. these, it behoves the planter to ascertain that the laud which it is 

 proposed to take up possesses a stream of water which runs all 



Cultivation, the year round, or, at any rate, will continue to flow until the 



crop season is over; for without a sufiicient supply of water it 



is impossible to pulp the coffee. Unless, therefore, the land in 

 question possesses a stream, or there are facilities for leading 

 water from no great distance, the selector must make up his mind 

 either to abandon it or to follow the native plan and dry hia 

 coffee in the cherry, which plan not only entails a serious diminu- 

 tion in the value of his coffee, but, in cases of plantations of any 

 extent, is really impracticable owing to the enormous extent of 

 drying ground that would be requisite. Then the land should be 

 sheltered from the wind, situated, if possible, in the line of the 

 showers which fall early in the year and go far to ensure good 

 crops, and should not be exposed to the full fury of either the 

 south- west or north-east monsoon, with the accompanying 

 excessive damp and constant and injurious mists and fogs. 

 Great care should be taken that frost never affects the land, as 

 this is fatal to coffee, scorching and withering it as if fire had 

 passed over it. Another deadly enemy to coffee is damp at the 

 roots, so that swampy land or land that is nearly flat must be well 

 drained before it will grow coffee. 



—elevation. The range for coffee varies from about 3,000 to 4,500 or even 



to 6,000 feet on the eastern slopes above the sea level, and about 

 the best possible site that could be selected is a well sheltered 

 valley with a gentle declivity and a stream flowing through the 

 centre. It should also be remembered that the greater the 

 altitude the finer the quality of the berry, which is to a certain 

 extent only neutralized by the smaller quantity yielded. 



—opening out Having selected and obtained his land, the first thing for the 



*^"^' planter to do is to run up temporary huts or cooly lines, unless he 



can rely upon a sufficiency of local labour, such as Badagas or 

 Kurumbas, to fell, pit, and plant his land. To save time and 

 labour the planter should make arrangements to purchase plants 

 from some of his neighbours, and these can usually be bought 

 in sufficient numbers at from 8 to 12 rupees per thousand ; but, 

 if this is impracticable or the planter has a fancy for importing 

 seed from a distance, he should lose no time in making a nursery. 



—nurseries. A plot of ground as nearly level as possible and close to water 

 should be selected, carefully dug all over to the depth of 2 or 

 even 3 feet, all the stones picked out and beds made about 



be but small, or about £2-10 per acre. If, however, the small yield of coffee 

 cultivated in native gardens be taken into consideration, and the fact that aban. 

 doned or quasi- abandoned lands are often included in the areas returned, the 

 net average profits probably do not fall short of €5 per acre, or £1,000 per annum 

 for an estate of 200 acres. 



