IQ4 COFFEE I ITS CULTIVATION AND PROFIT. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



MANURES AND MANURING. 



FOR new estates neither manure nor manurings 

 ought to be necessary for some time, since the 

 soil should be so deep and rich in virgin fertility 

 that the, plants will grow and thrive without 

 artificial stimulation. It is when estates are being 

 drawn upon heavily, or past their prime, say from 

 ten to twenty years old, according to soil, their 

 resources begin to fail, and have to be made good 

 by imported materials. Besides this exhaustion 

 from simple usage, there is the other one wherein 

 a condition of practical barrenness is produced by 

 removal of fine top soil, following upon "wash" 

 caused by the exterminating of trees and under- 

 growth over hill ranges, as previously mentioned. 

 To prevent "wash" (the most rudimentary 

 process in preserving a garden in a state of 

 productiveness), we have one system of drainage 

 with frequent channels, run slightly downwards 

 across the face of the slopes and into the nearest 

 watercourse. These preserve our top soil, and 

 save any manure we may put on from being 

 swept away. There is another kind of drain 

 sometimes useful in drawing water from hollow 



