126 COFFEE CULTIVATION AND MANURING. 
Surface Manuring—by making the following extracts. 
A superintendent gave his experience in favour of 
Surface Manuring as follows :— 
‘* For the last six years I have manured the lower 
portion of the estate of which I have charge with 
pulp. Its lay is a gentle slope backed with steep 
face, the coffee being old more or less shuck, For 
the first three years I put the pulp into holes from 
one to two feet deep, with the usual fair résults. 
But for the last three years I have applied the pulp 
on the surface, covering it over with a little earth, 
and with apparently very much better results in all 
respects. A rapid general improvement, a rush of 
young wood, a darkening in the colour of the leaf, 
and an increase of crop. Of course I took the pre- 
caution to drain the steep part, and I ought also to 
have hand weeded. Still if karandies did scrape away 
any of the pulp, yet what remained has done, as L 
have said, more good than if it had been ali pre- 
served in holes. I have this year applied one of our 
best animal manures on the surface, and already I 
see a far better effect than I did after burying the 
same kind of stuff in the orthodox way last year.” 
To him replied another experienced manager :— 
“‘T am inclined, however, to think that a. good 
plan would be, on estates manured, say once every 
three years, to apply the manure in deep holes one 
year, so as to induce feeding roots down the tap- 
roots; and near the surface the third year to form 
feeding roots there. An accurate account of this would 
of course require to be kept. But this, on estates 
where manuring journals are in use, would be very 
simple, I can’t think it advisable to apply manure 
actually on the surface, be the land drained ever so 
well, as, no doubt, much is lost by wash and other 
causes. I have seen pulp applied as described by 
‘ Superintendent,’ and, though the land is carefully 
drained, yet | saw much washed into the drains and 
on to the roacs: and of what remained any that was 
perfectly covered was dry and shrivelled, and this too 
in a wet district not 25 miles from Kandy, where we 
have not seen much sun lately. Let the manure be 
even put in holes 6 in. deep, and it will, I consider, 
be sufficiently near the surface, and can be covered 
£0 as to save it from being dried up or washed away. 
To apply manure as ‘Superintendent’ suggests, hand 
weeding is absolutely necessary: and there is no doubt 
that, though there are estates sufficiently clean to allow 
of hand weeding, yet there are many many more on 
which it is impossible to do away with karandies.’’ 
A etill older planter favoured us with an analogous 
case to coffee manuring and some practical remarks :— 
