lav of land. 



520 MANUAL OF THE NiLAGIRI DISTRICT. 



CU XXIX. With regard to the lay of the land, the less the slope the better ; 

 ■Tk\. ^^ ^^^^ ^^* lands, provided they possess good drainage and are 

 not subject to frosts, are the most suitable. Steep lands, if 

 stony, may be terraced, a practice which should be carried out 

 more extensively than it now is on these hills. The soil is of 

 as great importance to the planter as his capital. Whenever 

 the surface soil with its strong proportion of organic matter has 

 been lost, there remains little but the inorganic subsoil, which 

 unless heavily manured cannot maintain the vigour of the plants. 



—clearing. The first operation to be performed is the clearing of the 



natux'al growth on the land to be opened out. On heavy forest 

 lands the general rule is to cut every thing, except a few of the 

 trees whose timber is valuable : these are rung and left standing. 

 The usual rate for clearing these lands by contract is Rupees 

 12 per cawny (1^ statute acres). On the more lightly wooded 

 lands, many planters leave a few trees here and there for 

 appearance sake ; but this should be done with caution, as many 

 of our jungle trees are infested throughout the greater part of 

 the year by swarms of caterpillars, which descend at night and 

 commit great havoc amongst the leaves of young plants. More- 

 over there are but few trees beneath whose shade, or within 

 range of whose roots, tea plants will make a satisfactory growth. 

 The trees where rung can subsequently, when seasoned, be felled 

 and cut up for timber. They are not likely to injure the plants 

 materially by their fall, as would be the case on a coffee or 

 chinchona estate. 



— stieiter. It is very necessary on forest land to leave belts from 20 to 30 



yards wide on all exposed ridges, or on the more open lands to 

 plant belts of quick-growing trees {eucalypti, the larger varieties 

 of chinchona, &c.) to check the violence of the monsoon gales. 

 Shelter fi-om strong wind is absolutely essential to good growth. 

 Moreover the soil on ridges of the above description is seldom 

 of very superior quality, and the planter must bear in mind that 

 one acre of well sheltered tea is worth two that are exposed or 

 planted in a hard gritty sub-soil. Both the sources and course of 

 springs and streams must be left well protected by natural wood, 

 or the water-supply will be much diminished, in some cases lost 

 altogether. It is false economy in order to secure an extra acre 

 or so of tea, to run the chance of losing one's water-supply or 

 to lessen the power of attracting mists and clouds, and causing 

 the moisture they contain to be precipitated. 



A heavy burn is only desirable on strong clays. On the lighter 

 lands it sets free, to a great extent, in the form of gases, the 

 organic matters contained in the surface soil. Roots and stumps 

 should, as far as practicable^ be collected and either carried away 



