62 COFFEE : ITS CULTIVATION AND PROFIT. 



before falling to work upon the clearing of his 

 nursery plot, calculate out to a fraction how much 

 seed he will have to plant to cover so many acres of 

 open land. But since there will be many failures, 

 both in the germinating of the seed and by dying 

 off of young plants when set out, some thousands 

 over should be allowed for this. If of a rough-and- 

 ready turn of mind, he may well rely upon intuitive 

 perception in the matter. 



Then commence active operations. The under- 

 wood all over the land to be cleared is carefully 

 grubbed up and put back into the jungle, where, 

 with a little assistance from stakes, it forms a rough 

 fence useful for keeping wild beasts out, as they 

 often do considerable damage, deer especially tread- 

 ing down the young plants. Then some of the 

 trees must fall, if they be at all thickly set, to let in 

 light and air to the ground beneath, and the logs 

 cut up if possible and rolled off the ground. The 

 fall of a tree can generally be regulated by cutting a 

 deep notch half through it on one side, and another 

 higher up on the opposite side. It descends on the 

 side of the lower cut. A hundred yards by fifty yards 

 is a good size for a first nursery. Logs, roots, big 

 stones, and branches of all kinds moved away, and 

 the ground cleared nicely, the beds are then marked 

 out in preparation for digging. The only thing to 

 be said here is that the deeper the soil is stirred 

 the better. A broad 6-feet central path should run 

 down the centre. On either side of this the beds 



