52 



rapid growth ; whereas if these leaves get safely through the trans- 

 planting, the plant starts into vigorous growth immediately. 



In the actual planting out great care should be exercised in organ- 

 ising the work in such a way as to prevent a hitch occurring causing 

 loss of time ; after repeated trials of various methods I have found 

 the following to be the best and quickest — procure eight stout pegs 

 and two rough mallets ; put four pegs into the ground on each side of 

 the field at a distance of three feet apart and stretch lines between the 

 first two pairs ; start one man with a six pointed dibbler from each 

 end to make the holes, with one man following each to fill the holes 

 with water as they are made, whether the soil be moist or dry ; three 

 planters may follow each waterer. 



Care should be taken to see that the roots are put into the mud formed 

 by throwing in ihe water, to secure this thrust two fingers into the 

 centre of the small puddle and draw half on one side ; insert the roots, 

 then press the moved half back again to the plant and smooth down 

 the surrounding soil ; no water will be required after this. 



As soon as one line is holed and planted it can be moved to the next 

 pair of pegs over the one on which the planters are working ; the pegs 

 may be moved in the odd moments whilst the planters are changing 

 over from the finished line to the one newly holed and watered. 



This is a brief outline of a plan that may be modified to suit vary- 

 ing conditions ; for instance the water may be some distance off, neces- 

 sitating more hands in this part of the work ; and again, women can 

 apply the water just as well as men. A dibbler capable of making 

 six holes at once can be very easily made out of 2 in. x 3 in. pitch pine 

 scantling : — six 3 ft. lengths planted smooth and pointed with iron, 

 held 15 inches apart by a hand bar at the top and a foot bar 1 ft from 

 the points ; the lengths should be 15 in. from centre to centre, that is, 

 from point to point. An acre of tobacco planted three feet by fifteen 

 inches should contain 11,600 plants ; these in a fair season will yield 

 about 10 quintals of cured tobacco = 1,000 lbs. 



COFFEE FERMENTATION. 



By B. fe. Gosset. 



Coffee is made or marred during the first three days. The practice 

 in the Blue Mountains is to pulp the coffee as soon after it is picked 

 as possible, drain the water off, and leave it in a heap either in tank 

 under the pulper or one adjacent, to ferment for about 48 hours ; if 

 the weather is cold it may take longer to ferment, but that is a mat- 

 ter of judgment on thecurer's part. If the syrup does not come away 

 freely when it is washed, the coffee will not be first class. 



"When the pickings are small it is often pulped into a cistern day 

 by day, into running water to prevent fermentation, till the end of the 

 week when the water is drained off and the coffee left in a heap to 

 ferment, this can only be done where there is plenty of water from 

 cold streams, such as we have in the Blue Mountains. 



If the weather is wet and there are no available barbacues, coffee 

 after washing is often left with water running over it in the washing 

 tank, till a favourable opportunity arises to put it on the barbacues ; 

 it can be kept like this from a week to ten days or more. 



