COFFEE CULTIVATION AND MANURING. 115 
the stems into the drains. When ‘‘Orum” wrote 
‘‘We-must take to surface manuring,” he should have 
added, ‘‘where the lay of the land is not too steep.” 
I cannot see the force of his reasoning why the earth 
from the water holes ‘‘should be quickly washed 
back into the holes again” (if the land is drained) 
any more than the manure he tells us to ‘‘ put round 
the stem of the trees,” covered only with a slight 
layer of earth ‘‘to prevent evaporation.” Anoth+r 
objection to surface manuring would undoubtedly be 
weeds: the ‘‘Shuck Coffee Tee” tells its master, ‘““My 
branches will be so full of leaves, that only the rank- 
est weeds will grow under them, and if they are 
pulled up and laid over my roots, I shall feed on 
them when they decay.” Very true, as applied to 
very fine thick old coffee, but what about ‘‘ Cootch,” 
‘*Ammaley,” and other bad grasses, which would 
become rampant in patches of old coffee? And it is 
generally admitted that nothing is more impoverish- 
ing to land than bad grasses. Still I agree it would 
be better to have your estate a little weedy if it gave 
good crops, than have it perfectly clean and not yield- 
ing good profits. Another difficulty would be pre- 
venting contract weeders from weeding out the man- 
ure from under the trees, especially where the land 
is not water-holed, which plan ‘‘Orum” objects to. 
The best plan assuredly is that of our ‘‘ Shuck Coffee 
Tree,” who insists on water-holing in old coffee, and 
it might be made part of the contract weeders’ duty 
to empty out water-holes, as well as weed, and dig 
out bad grass. ‘‘Orum” is dead against the use of 
scraper and mamoty, yet he contradicts himself when 
he says, over the manure thus deposited (round the 
stem) ‘‘put a thin layer of earth taken off the raised 
surface generally found in the middle of the rows.”’ 
Now in old coffee that has been properly weeded, and 
the loose soil and weeds drawn in round the stem, 
no raised surface ought to be found. Therefore to 
get sufficient earth to cover the manure, he must 
scrape away the surface soil and expose the very feed- 
ing roots which he tells us are damaged by hoes and 
scrapers. Query? would it not be better—especially 
in young and clean estates—to cut a small hole, lay- 
ing the manure well amongst the roots, and cover it 
over very carefully with the fresh soil obtained from 
the hole; and leave the surface which may have always 
been hand-weeded, and have never suffered seriously 
from wash, undisturbed? Drains.—I agree altogether 
with ‘‘Orum” and ‘Shuck Coffee Tree” about the 
absolute necessity of drains, and do not think eight 
trees apart too near. Experience shews me that 1 in 
12 to 1 in 15 is the best gradient at which they 
