24 LAYING OUT A COCOA PLANTATION 



As this frequently occurs several years after the planta- 

 tion has been established many valuable cocoa trees 

 are destroyed by the faU of the huge, foliage-laden 

 branches. It therefore wiU be found preferable to clear 

 all vegetation from the land to be planted, and plant 

 the necessary shade trees at regular distances apart. 

 In felling useful timber trees the prudent planter wiU 

 arrange to preserve a good supply of logs for buildings, 

 drying platforms, fermenting-houses, bridges, and similar 

 purposes. 



AB. brush and wood not required should be burnt. 

 The extraction of large tree stumps is a costly operation, 

 but it can be facilitated considerably by scraping the 

 soil off the large surface-roots, piling on them a large 

 stack of brushwood and firing it. By this means the 

 base of the trunk and the largest stumps of the main 

 roots often may be completely destroyed, or at any 

 rate burnt to such an extent that they can be quickly 

 chopped out. Stump-extractors should be employed to 

 remove all the small tree stumps. If left in the ground, 

 many tree stumps develop new growths which require 

 constant lopping. 



The ashes resulting from the burning, if spread over 

 the land, wiU provide a valuable fertiliser, as they contain 

 rich supplies of potash and phosphoric acid. 



Plotting out the Plantation. — If no plan exists of the 

 estate it is advisable to have it surveyed and a plan 

 made. The whole area should then be divided into 

 rectangidar — preferably square — blocks to facilitate the 

 keeping of records, inspection, and for reference purposes. 

 Taking as a base-line the longest boundary line, com- 

 mencing at one end pegs are put in at 10 chains apart. 

 Lines at right angles to the base-line should now be 

 made through these points, then starting from the base- 

 line pegs should be placed 10 chains apart on the lines 

 made at right angles to the base-line. Each peg will 

 mark the corner of a square block, which is approximately 

 10 acres in area. To fix these points permanently, 

 plant a particular tree or shrub, each with a distinctive 

 mark or number. If each block be numbered in rotation 

 reference may be made to any line of trees in a block, 

 or even to a single tree in a particular block, by mentioning 

 the number of the block and the number of the line and 



