120 SPICES 



CHAP. 



Penang, and was rather expensive, costing 3 dollars for 

 100 little baskets. 



These animal manures are not used in great quantity. 

 Prawn -dust, which costs from 1 dollar and 80 cents 

 a pikul (133 lb.), is dug into the ground once a year at 

 a point just outside the spread of the branches, each tree 

 receiving 10 or 12 lb. a year. It would be better, 

 perhaps, either to put the manure on the ground and 

 let it rot in, as the Malacca planters do with cow- 

 dung, or to prick over the ground and after throwing 

 in the manure, to cover it up with soil. The nutmeg 

 roots high and produces such a network of roots round 

 the tree that it would be impossible to dig in manure 

 without injuring them. 



Mulching with cut grass and dead leaves is useful, 

 and is used by the Chinese, who spread cut lalang-grass 

 (Imperata cylindrica)sitthQ foot of the trees and between 

 them. It has the advantage of keeping down weeds, 

 keeping the ground cool, and supplying as it decays a 

 certain amount of food for the plant. I observed too, 

 that in Province Wellesley the trees so treated were 

 less attacked by the nutmeg beetles. The Chinese also 

 use grass dug into trenches round the young plants, as 

 described by Dr. Oxley. This, however, should be 

 avoided, unless done when the plants are quite young 

 and the trenches made at some distance away, so that 

 the roots cannot be interfered with. In the early days 

 of the plantation the weeds can be utilised in this way, 

 being dug into the trenches running between the rows 

 of young plants. 



Pruning is really seldom necessary, but if the trees 

 take to throwing up vertical shoots among the spreading 

 branches, these should be removed as early as possible. 

 As the tree bleeds rather freely on being cut it is recom- 

 mended, when removing large branches, to seal the 

 wounds with a mixture of two parts of pounded lime and 

 one of tar, applied warm. All dead branches and twigs 

 and all parasitic plants, such as the Loranthi or 

 mistletoes, should be removed as soon as seen. It is 



