320 coffee Culture on tbe Soutbern Coast ot Cbiapas, 



In transplanting in this manner, the root of the plant is placed in 

 the hole made for it beforehand, the plant being held upright in one 

 hand while the hole is filled in with earth with the other. When filling 

 the hole, the earth is to be pressed with the hand around the root of 

 the plant, care being taken not to detach the soil from it. After the 

 hole has been filled in, the earth is to be pressed down with the foot. 



Should the earth around the root be crumbly it should be enveloped 

 with large leaves, which should be tied around it to prevent its falling 

 apart. 



Sometimes the leaves are removed before planting the tree, but, in 

 my opinion, it is better not to remove them, as they will serve as a 

 good vegetable manure. 



The trees should be transported from the nursery to the plantation 

 by hand, or on the shoulders of men, placing the trees in a species of 

 barrow made of their branches, each barrow containing from ten to 

 thirty plants, according to the quantity of earth adhering to the roots. 



To fill in the hole, earth from the surface of the ground is to be 

 preferred to that which was dug out of the hole, as the former is always 

 better. Special care should be taken to observe this rule when the soil 

 is poor. 



The men who perform the transplanting must be closely watched, 

 to make sure that the work is well done, for if badly transplanted the 

 plants would wither, or at least would be a year later in bearing. In 

 no case should transplanting be done by the job. 



c. Quantity of Earth adhering to the Roots. The quantity of earth 

 adhering to the root, will depend on the size of the plant that is to be 

 transplanted, and on the nature of the ground where the nursery is 

 made. 



When the plants that are to be transplanted are small and farther 

 on it will be shown that it is advisable to transplant them while small 

 about four inches of earth on either side may be left on the root. 



When the plants are large, or when the soil of the nursery is very 

 loose, sufficient earth should be left on the roots to avoid the danger 

 of its falling away and leaving them bare. Seven inches on each side 

 would be a suitable size. 



d. Size of the Plants at the Time of Transplanting. The plants at 

 the time of transplanting should be small ; that is, they should be of 

 two or three crosses, as they then take root more readily, and grow 

 better and quicker. 



The plants should be transplanted very young, however, only when 

 the plantation can be kept free from weeds and when the soil of the 

 nursery is black, in which case it has little consistency. When these 

 conditions do not occur, the plants should be transplanted when they 

 are of four or five crosses. 



