preparation of tbe 6rount> for planting Coffee* 313 



for if this should be the case, the water would settle in it and rot the 

 root. To avoid these dangers, and when the main root is very long, 

 that part of it which seems most flexible is cut off obliquely with a 

 sharp knife. 



A bushel of coffee in the hull will produce 30,000 plants. 



4. PREPARATION OF THE GROUND FOR PLANTING COFFEE. 



The preparation of the ground for planting coffee includes the fol- 

 lowing operations : 



A. Felling the trees. 



B. Simultaneous sowing. 



C. Forming of a plan for the plantation. 



D. Staking. 



E. Digging holes. 



Each of these operations will receive due consideration. 



A. Felling the Trees. Virgin soil being preferable, as has been 

 already said, for making the plantation, the first thing to be done is to 

 clear it, an operation which is performed about the beginning of De- 

 cember, when the dry season begins in Soconusco. The trunks of 

 the trees as well as their layer branches must be chopped in pieces as 

 soon as they are felled. The cutting should begin as soon as the trees 

 are felled, for, as has been already observed, they are much easier to 

 put up when green than when dry. The clearing of the ground should 

 be finished by the end of February, the three operations here called 

 " stubbing," " hewing," and " chopping " having been performed in 

 the manner already pointed out in speaking of the nature of the ground 

 suitable for the nursery. 



When the trees are planted in broken ground, the process of clear- 

 ing the ground should be performed from below up, for otherwise the 

 trees felled would present great obstacles to the work of clearing. 



Dead trees should not be left standing, for if blown down by 

 the wind they would seriously injure the plants on which they might 

 fall. 



The trunks and branches of trees that decay slowly should be piled 

 between the furrows, in order that they may not interfere with the 

 work of planting. 



In many places the custom prevails of clearing the ground by felling 

 and chopping the trees in the dry season and burning the fragments 

 when they are dry, so that they may not be an impediment to the 

 work of planting. 



The advantages of this system are the following: 



1. The staking and the other operations of planting are greatly 

 facilitated, as the ground is left clear and free from obstacles. 



2. The burned ground produces fewer weeds, as the outer crust 



