CHAPTER VI. 



OPENING AN ESTATE. 



FEOM what has been said in the last chapter, it will be 

 evident that too much care and trouble can scarcely be 

 taken in the selection of suitable land in the first 

 instance. 



Several most important qualifications are necessary, 

 the absence of any one of which may neutralize the 

 others. Perhaps the majority of planters will agree 

 that the salubrity of the proposed scene of operations 

 is one of the most important considerations ; and next 

 is an elevation and climate suitable for the plant both 

 these essentials being almost beyond the power of art 

 to remedy. Land of a gentle slope and proper aspect, 

 and on which a system of high cultivation, such as 

 manuring, trenching, and irrigation, if necessary, can 

 be practised, is also of the utmost importance ; whilst 

 a good deep soil of tolerable quality, and capable of 

 improvement by ordinary cultivation, is also a sine qua 

 non. Of less consequence, but by no means to be 

 overlooked, is the point of distance from towns and 

 villages from whence labour can be procured, and the 

 means of access and egress from the estate should also 

 be considered. 



The several operations comprised under the one 

 head, "Opening an Estate," are 1. Formation of 



