Clearing and Preparing the Land 161 



little piece is left in the ground it will bring 

 forth new tussocks and spread again rapidly and 

 persistently. This is not all, for the bacteria 

 and exudations from the rotting roots are most 

 inimical and detrimental to the roots of the 

 coco-nut trees that chance to come in contact 

 with them. Such land entails a great deal of 

 expense in getting it perfectly and definitely 

 clear of the lalang (cogon) grass and, if it occurs, 

 the only radical way of dealing with it effec- 

 tively is to plough it up as deep as possible 

 with power machinery. This, however, is 

 seldom possible, especially with beginners. 

 Another sore trial on otherwise good coco-nut 

 lands in many sections are the wild palms of 

 the pandanus variety, the dum-palm, the 

 ordinary pandanus, and the mkoma. Their 

 roots form a perfect network for many yards 

 round and run along close under the sur- 

 face, throwing up fresh clumps of trees as 

 they go. Their vitality is marvellous, and 

 after lying dormant several seasons they will 

 suddenly reappear with fresh vigour. Constant 

 attention is therefore necessary to eradicate 

 these as well as the elephant grass. 



In comparison with the above, secondary 

 jungle land is an easier task, but in this case the 

 drawback is the multitude of roots of the scrub 

 and trees which has to be dealt with in an efficient 

 and thorough manner, or one will have con- 

 tinual and never-ending bother with the recru- 

 descence of them, especially in the wet seasons. 

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