58 CLEANING AND BURNING. 



upon an abandoned plantation, they are still surrounded 

 by a surviving remnant of Coffee bushes. The question 

 as to where shade is necessary is, however, one of climate, 

 as it has been proved that it is not universally beneficial. 

 The advantages to be derived from it in very hot cHmates 

 being : diminished exhaustion and consequently increased 

 longevity of the plant, reduced cost of cultivation, a con- 

 servation of the nutritious properties of the soil, and an 

 actual increase of them, as the cover given to the ground 

 causes the surface vegetable matter to decay more rapidly. 

 And provided the tree be a subsoil feeder, the shedding 

 of the leaves will yield a positive gain of surface matter 

 which the roots of the Coffee plant would otherwise 

 never have reached. In addition to these there is the 

 direct value of the timber grown on the estate. The 

 only serious drawback to shade would seem to be a 

 diminished yield of Coffee, but this is fully atoned for by 

 the increased longevity of the plant. 



When forest land is taken for cultivation the first step is 

 to effectually clear it of all timber and underwood, the 

 latter being first cut by means of a " cattie " or machete, 

 the large trees being felled from the top, and their 

 branches lopped off so as to compact the pile, as other- 

 wise the " burn " will only be partial. A fine day, after 

 the night's dew has evaporated, is best for setting fire to 

 the prostrate mass, the advantages of a thorough burn 

 being that subsequent operations are greatly facilitated, 

 and that the weeds and insects are thoroughly destroyed, 

 while the disadvantage is that the upper soil is burnt 

 and rendered unfit for filling into the holes. That injury 

 may, to a great extent, be obviated by " lining and pit- 

 ting " the land beforehand, by which means the surface 



