38 Coco-nuts The Consols of the East 



"Draining should be taken in hand as early 

 as possible. The object of draining coco-nut 

 estates on hard soil, and land with an un- 

 dulating lie, is the opposite of what it is on 

 up-country estates. On coco-nut estates the 

 cutting of drains or trenches should be to 

 catch all the rain-water that falls on -it, and 

 to allow it to pass through, not over, the soil. 

 On up-country estates contour drains are cut 

 to carry away the rain-water. This is neces- 

 sary, as the rainfall up-country is heavy, and 

 the lie of the land is generally steep. If the 

 soil be too saturated with water, there will 

 be the fear of whole hillsides sliding into the 

 valleys, especially where the soil overlies slab 

 rock. 



" The draining I am, however, referring to 

 is different from the draining of low ground, 

 which is generally done when lands are opened 

 and planted to drain off superfluous moisture. 

 I lay great stress on the absolute necessity for 

 catch-water drains on undulating land and for 



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hard soils. There are two systems in vogue. 

 The most common one, and that usually prac- 

 tised by villagers, is to throw the soil out from 

 drains on their upper side. This system is 

 more correctly terracing. The soil being 

 thrown on the upper side of the drain 

 effectually prevents rain-water finding its way 

 into them. Rain-water and silt are arrested 

 by the banks of earth, and find their way out 

 at the lowest level. What I preach and 



