314 Coffee Culture on tbe Soutbern Coast of Chiapas. 



of the ground is calcined, and the cost of keeping it free from weeds is 

 thereby lessened. 



On the other hand, the objections to burning the ground are as 

 follows : 



1. The richest and best part of the soil, which is that of the sur- 

 face, is burned out and is therefore lost, at least for some time. 



2. The quantity of ashes that remains is injurious to the coffee, 

 while, on the other hand, if the fragments of trees and bushes are left 

 to decay they will in process of time be converted into a fertilizer^ 

 which will enrich the soil and prove highly beneficial to the coffee. 



For this reason, therefore, it seems preferable not to burn the 

 ground. 



B. Simultaneous Sowing. The custom prevails in Soconusco of 

 sowing corn at the beginning of the rainy season, as soon as the 

 ground is cleared and the waste matter burned, and shortly afterward 

 laying out the plantation. It is true that in this way the slight advan- 

 tage is gained of utilizing ground already prepared for the cultivation 

 of the corn ; but, in exchange, the corn draws from the earth some of 

 the elements required by the coffee for its development, for which 

 reason it is better not to plant corn in land intended for coffee, but to 

 leave for the exclusive benefit of this all the elements which the ground 

 contains. 



C. Forming of a Plan for a Plantation. The work of gathering 

 the fruit will be greatly facilitated if the plantation be divided into 

 squares of from twenty-five to thirty cuerdas each, making them, when- 

 ever possible, accessible on every side. 



In some estates the plantation is divided into squares of smaller 

 dimensions; but the size mentioned satisfies every requirement. Be- 

 tween the squares a path, five yards wide, available for carts, should,, 

 if possible, be left. 



In level ground this operation is very simple, but even there it 

 would be well to lay out a plan showing the situation of the various 

 parts of the plantation, the roads, etc., but this will be of even greater 

 utility when the ground is hilly. 



Without such a plan there would be the danger of planting trees in 

 places where the paths would have to pass, which would cause the use- 

 less expense of planting trees that would afterwards have to be 

 uprooted, besides the loss of the time occupied in their growth. 



D. Staking. The following points relating to the staking of the 

 ground will be now considered: 



a. Object, advantages, and time of staking. 



b. Staking in Soconusco. 



c. Staking in Ceylon. 



Each of these points will be considered separately. 



