XII INTRODUCTION. 
to avail of it, and I find that, instead of drawing 
fresh laterals from the taproot, those that finally 
reach it grow from above downwards. My object in 
applying any fertilizer to my coffee tree is, that I 
may at the earliest possible date obtainan equivalent 
value in coffee beans, together with a fair profit on 
the capital invested; I therefore put my manure 
where there are thousands of sucking mouths gasping 
for it, and where the surrounding influences will tend 
to hasten the complete decomposition on which its 
value depends. If therefore I am obliged to put it 
in holes, I make them only nine inches deep, fill 
them with blended soiland manure, finished off with 
a surface covering of from one to two inches of well 
broken earth. I should, however, infinitely prefer, 
spreading it over the whole surface, and digging it 
into the soil. By this mode of application the whole 
region in which the rvots forage, for the plants’ 
sustenance, is rendered more accessible, any plant 
food already in the soil is brought under influences 
that hasten its solubility, while all the feeders will 
be equally stimulated and the reaction will be 
slower as the manure becomes exhausted. A friend 
objects, that by digging in the manure I shall destroy 
the greater part of the lateralroots: sobeit, Lreply ; 
I have never met with the cultivated plant, that could 
not avail itself of manure for want of roots, and 1 
have yet to learn that roots will be more injured by 
burning than branches are. If, however, the system 
of digging with or without manure, while the plant 
is still young, become an institution, the lateral roots 
will naturally run deeper, the stiffness and density 
of the soil being the sole cause of their horizontal 
extension, immediately under the surface ; the princi- 
pal laterals indeed branch off the stem close to the 
surface, but if the earth be broken up, and blended 
with the richer surface, they assume a descending 
angle, and retain it till they reach the hard earth 
that has not been stirred. I have heard that some 
planters have, for several years past, adopted the 
digging in system of manuring, with the most satis- 
factory results, even on old fields, and I believe that 
faith in the system is gaining ground among practical 
men. Ido not know, however, if I would venture it 
myself on a large scale, unless in conjunction with 
a complete system of surface drains. 
