124 COFFEE CULTIVATION AND MANURING. 
He seems of opinion that manure should be applied 
in large and deep holes, but the fertilizing substances 
must be well mixed with the soil. As planters’ opi- 
nions seem so to differ on this most important sub- 
ject, cannot you suggest some person whe would set 
us right on these disputed points? Perhaps Mr. 
Thwaites of the Royal Botanical Gardens might help 
us, aS he must be better able than any one else in 
Ceylon to explain scientifically the nature of the 
coffee tree and its requirements,—Yours faithfully, 
WILLIAM SABONADIERE. 
Extract. 
“As you have taken the trouble to send me the 
letters which appeared in the Observer on manuring, 
I beg to say Ido not at all agree with surface man- 
uring, except only in the case where very light man- 
ure in small quantities is used. In such cases the 
stimulant should be very near the surface, or it is 
lost. I quite agree with you, that, under existing 
circumstances, the mean course that you speak of is 
the best to follow. Now I beg to submit a few 
remarks upon various parts of the letters in the Ob- 
server. Weeding with tools of any kind is of course 
bad, but what is to be done? The supply of labour 
is so irregular, that that question rules the one of 
weeding. Say what he will at other times, no man 
will deliberately lose crop, while he can save it by 
taking off his weeders; then the weeds get ahead, 
and there is nothing for it but using tools of some 
sort. As to deep holes for manure, you will be 
surprised to find that, theoretically, I would advocate 
two feet deep; and, strange as it may appear, and 
much as it may seem to war against ‘‘A Shuck 
Coffee Tree’s” proposal to put the manure on the 
surface because Nature puts its there. I claim in 
my scheme to be strictly following, what Nature points 
out to be done. This is my reason. Nature provides 
the coffee-tree with a tap-root of two feet length. 
‘his tap-root is not merely to fix the tree in the 
ground, for every inch of its length and surface may 
be made by proper treatment to yield force and vi- 
gour to the trees above, by becoming covered down 
to the very tip with lateral roots. I should think 
there could not be two opinions about the superiority 
in every way of such a tree, over one possessing 
only a single dise of rocts at the collar, which latter 
is the effect of maauring on the eurface. You will 
probably say, manure at two feet depth, ‘madness’ ; 
but here is where I would show the mistake that 
is invariably made in deep manuring, in itself the 
most correct plan, but always spoilt by never being 
eompletely carried out. I say then to give your coffee 
