20 



Where possible, the fields adjoin the main plant road and are laid off 

 about GO feet wide with a depth of 960 feet, where the ground is level. 

 Taking- off the places for the sheds, roads, and ditches, this gives about 

 1^- acres for actual cultivation. Between every two fields there is a 

 small ditch, which runs entirely around it, to show the dividing line and 

 to drain the land. The 960 feet depth of the fields is then divided, after 

 it has been cleared, into three parts, by ditches which run into the 

 maiu ditch on the side of the plant road. The system of drainage is 

 very perfectly maintained. There is also a narrow road of 3 or 4 feet 

 in width running between the three parts of the field. The growth is 

 cleared for about 60 feet beyond the limit of the field, in order to admit 

 the light and sunshine to the lower parts of the field. 



SUPERINTENDENCE OF THE COOLIES. 



About every 40 men have a foreman, called " tandil." He is a China- 

 man who has had a few years' experience and has been promoted from 

 the ranks of the coolies. This man receives usually 7 per cent of what 

 his division of coolies gets and is entitled on pay day to $4, to be charged 

 against his account. The head taudil is the head foreman of all the 

 Chinamen on the estate. He is usually a civilized Chinaman who has 

 been a coolie, then a tandil, and who has consequently had all the 

 experience which it is necessary to have. His position on the estate is 

 one ol great importance, and many a row and difficulty between the 

 coolies and the European assistants could not be fixed up without his 

 assistance. His income depends upon circumstances, but is always 

 more than any of the assistants, and is sometimes as much as the 

 manager receives. He does not get as large a stated salary as the 

 manager, but he has several perquisites, including the concession of 

 the gambling tables on great days, which, altogether, means a large» 

 sum. The working hours when the coolies are expected to be in the 

 field are from 6 a. m. to 11 a. m., then there is a rest from 11 a. m. to 1 

 p. m., then in the field again from 1 p. m. to 6 i), m., making ten hours 

 a day. In working in the fermenting sheds the hours are the same, 

 excepting that the noon rest is shortened one hour and the day ends an 

 hour earlier, as there would not be light enough after 5 o'clock to do 

 the sorting. 



A very complete system of espionage is maintained over the coolie 

 by the planters. They frequently run away to escai^e payment of their 

 debts, or for some crime that has been committed in the frequent affrays 

 that take place. There is an agreement between some of the planters 

 that a coolie shall always be given a letter of discharge when he leaves 

 a place honorably, and they will never engage a coolie outside of China 

 or Singapore unless he is provided with a proper letter of discharge. 

 This letter contains the name and a full description of the person.* 

 Nevertheless, there is a large traffic in these letters, and they often sell 

 for $10 or $15 apiece. If a person is caught using a discharge letter 



