56 COFFEE. 



land is then divided into separate parcels. Portioning off the 

 estates into divisions of equal size is a system to be much recom- 

 mended. By this means labor may be equally divided, superin- 

 tended and inspected. Order and regularity, which are necessary 

 in all things, are most especially required in cultivation on a large 

 scale. 



The size of these parcels is regulated by the nature of the es- 

 tate. On flat or gently declining land they may be greater than 

 on steep grounds, because, in order to prevent the washing away 

 of the soil on precipitous land, the water must be led off by 

 trenches, which of themselves make the divisions of land smaller. 

 On flat ground the divisions may be each 625 square roods, each 

 of which may contain, if planted 



Trees. Trees. 



12 feet by 12 . ' . 625 I 8 feet by 8 . . 1406 



10 10 900 I 6 6 . . 2500 



The distance between the coffee bushes cannot be definitely 

 laid dow r n, as it depends on the nature of the soil. On the most 

 fertile forest lands t\vel\ e feet by twelve is a good distance. Only 

 on low and meagre grounds, w r here the tree grows less luxuriantly 

 and strong, can six feet by six be reckoned a proper distance. 



Between the divisions a path should be left, one rood in breadth. 

 Along the middle paths and by the side of the divisions drains 

 must be cut, the former two feet in breath and depth, the latter 

 one foot. The drains along the divisions must be cut in such a 

 way as to conduct the rain-water, to the larger drains which flank 

 the middle paths. On precipitous ground, when the coffee is 

 planted, small ridges should be raised between the rows, to pre- 

 vent the rich earth from washing down in the heavy rains. The 

 steeper the land is, the closer these ridges should* be ; and care 

 should be taken to incline them, so as to break the descent, the 

 direction of which they should in some degree follow. The first 

 ridges may be made with the branches of the trees which have 

 been felled, or with the rubbish cleared from the ground on the 

 first raking of it. 



Placing the pickets. "When the ground has been worked and 

 divided in the above manner, the pickets are placed. These are 

 slips of bamboo one-and-a-half to two feet long. First two long 

 canes (which do not stretch like string), each one hundred feet 

 long, are marked off in feet according to the distance at which the 

 planting is to take place ; heavy stakes are made fast to each end 

 of them, by which they can be well secured on the ground. At 

 the places where they are marked off in feet, strings are fastened 

 so tightly that they cannot be displaced ; and then the canes are 

 l;d down and well fixed in the ground, one in the length and the 

 other in the breadth. 



Picketing does not give much trouble ; it ensures regular plant- 

 ing, and makes the daily inspection simple. The planting thus 

 lakes place in straight lines, which give an ornamental appearance, 

 and afterwards renders the view over the whole plantation easy. 



