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Tlie coolie often attempts to plant short, as it is called — that is, to 

 plant less than 2 by 3 feet — iu order to get a larger number of plants on 

 the field. It is the duty of the European assistant to enforce the rule 

 of planting very rigidly, and sometimes the coolie is compelled to pull 

 out his plants and replant them the next day. Many disturbances arise 

 over this question and serious quarrels are the consequence. When 

 the short planting is discovered by the European assistant the next 

 day after it is done it is a good lesson for the coolie, and he is not apt 

 to plant short again: but after a few days have passed and the plants 

 are growing it is rather hard to have to pull them out and reset the 

 plants pulled out. 



>TIRRING THE SOIL AND WATERING. 



The cultivation of the crop is never done as in this country by plows 

 or cultivators, but is all done by hand with the tjankol. Tlie field is 

 usually cultivated three times during the season. The first time the 

 plants are about 9 inches high. The coolie places himself between two 

 rows of i>lauts and makes a little gutter in the middle, al)out the width 

 of his tjankol, which is about 8 inches wide. He takes dirt and loose 

 earth up with this instrument and i^uts it against the plant, evenly 

 divided on each side. It is absolutely necessary to make this quite 

 level, as the plants under no circumstances must be allowed to stand 

 in a hole where the water could accumulate. This first cultivation 

 leaves a small gutter between the rows about 4 inches deep, which 

 also serves the purpose of allowing the rain water to run off to the out- 

 side ditches. Before planting the coolie goes around and carefully 

 clears out the ditches around the field so that they may be prepared 

 to i^erfectly and rapidlj' carry ofl" the heavy rains which can still be 

 expected. While cultivating his crop he does the same thing and uses 

 the mud out of the ditches, after first drj^ng it in Ihe sun, to put 

 against the plants. If the weather shoukl be very dry for a few days 

 immediately after planting, the coolie often has to water his young 

 I>lants by hand. For this puri)ose and for watering his seed bed he 

 uses clean water from a stream or well and not the dirty water from 

 the ditch. 



The heavy rains commence to fall sooner on the uplands — that is, 

 thos3 in the south part of the tobacco district — than in the lowlands, 

 therefore the transplanting and cultivation begins sooner on the higher 

 estates than on the others. 



The second cultivation takes i)lace when the plant is about 12 or 15 

 inches high. The little gutter in the middle of the row is made deeper 

 and the soil which comes from it is again put against the plants, as in 

 the first cultivation. Before doing so, however, the coolie takes oil' the 

 leaves on the bottom of the plant to the height of about .3 inches and 

 puts them around the stem and i)acks the soil on these. He is exceed- 



