September, 1912.] 



218 



Trenching. 



A regular system of trenching begun early would greatly benefit the 

 trees. On steep land, contour trenching, before planting, would conserve 

 soils. In the earlier years, it would be sufficient on ordinary flat or undul- 

 ating land to have narrow trenches, say 2 feet wide and 18 inches deep 

 between the rosvs of trees to hold up water and to prevent wash 

 in the portions of the land that require them. But when the 

 trees have developed, it would be advisable to have contour trenches, 

 embracing every little rise in the land and throughout the undul- 

 ating sections. Even where the surface i9 fairly covered over with 

 grass, and the slope is hardly appreciable, a trench often reveals, 

 after an average shower, an immense amount of moisture that would 

 otherwise have run to waste, perhaps carried out of the land altogether. 

 It is not only the water but the soil also that is often lost to the estate. 



The first object in trenching should be to conserve as much moisture 

 as possible on the higher portions. Then the wider the trenches lower 

 down, the greater the superficial area of soil reached and the greater its 

 porosity. It is usual to have trenches cut in sections say 20 ft, loug 5 ft. 

 wide, and 12 to 15 inches deep, the soil being banked up on the lower side. 

 The advantage of having trenches cut in sections, with firm ground 2 ft. 

 between, is that where they do not run at right angles to the slope they 

 prevent all the water rushing to the lower end to accumulate there and 

 probably burst the bund. It is to meet these two contingencies that the 

 sections are of use, each section holding the water that comes from 

 above it, to the benefit of the plants above and below. The bottom of 

 the trenches should be as level as possible. If the trenches be gradually 

 packed with husk, fallen branches and all the rubbish that can be collect- 

 ed, and finally receive a top-dressing of earth, the benefit will soon be 

 realised. 



A similar system of trenches carried on in alternate lines will 

 help to cover the whole estate by degrees with a net-work of re- 

 ceptacles for moisture and manures within easy reach of every tree. 

 Slowly but surely the entire surface soil will thereby be. worked. Nor 

 should the cost of these trenches be heavy, at least not to the practical 

 planter who refuses to be guided by the contract rates which are paid 

 by Government generally in their P.W.D., Railway, and Irrigation 

 Works. I believe the rate is somewhere about 75 cts. to a rupee a cube. 

 Now, I have had cut tens of thousands of feet of these trenches and have 

 found a cooly able to cut three trenches, each 20' x 5' x 1', or 20' x 4£' x 

 15", in a day in a medium soil. The cost works out at only 12 cts. a cube, 

 Task work is welcomed by the men, as the better workers find no 

 difficulty in completing their trenches and striking work at 3 and 

 4 o'clock in the afternoon. 



Vacancies. 



These should be promptly filled up; and, if uniformity is to be preserved, it 

 is well to have advanced plants in the nursery to take the places of the lost 

 ones ; but vacancies mean so much space wasted and income lost. Where the 

 plantation has grown beyond the reach of cattle, and they are allowed 

 on it, it is necessary to protect the supplies from destruction by them. 

 Fencing with dead sticks is expensive in that it has to be frequently re- 

 newed. The method I have found most successful is to have a hedge 

 of the much-abused lantana round the plant planted iu a circle i\ 



