Miscellaneous. 



238 



[March, 1910. 



of saving much time. As an instance of 

 what is meant, a certain estate, which 

 may be said to be typical of many others, 

 had a steep and rocky field with a ravine 

 running down through it ; this ravine 

 was too steep and rocky to be crossed 

 except some distance down. When the 

 pluckers had finished plucking the Tea 

 on one side of the ravine, they had to go 

 down to the crossing and up the other 

 side, over which they contrived, as 

 coolies usually do, to waste much time. 

 A little path cut through the jungle 

 above the ravine enabled the pluckers to 

 •' nip " through in a few minutes, from 

 one part of the field to the other. In 

 the same way little paths and short cuts 

 here and there cost very little to make 

 and often effect much saving of time and 

 therefore labour. 



It is also of the greatest importance to 

 keep roads and paths in first-rate order, 

 not only does it save time to the 

 Superintendent and coolies in getting 

 about, but it is actually cheaper in the 

 long-run to keep roads in good order 

 than in a neglected state. In heavy 

 rains the damage is reduced to the 

 minimum if the roads are in good order, 

 otherwise a road is often converted into a 

 watercourse, the drain gets choked, and 

 the water runs down into the Tea and 

 all over the place, washing away soil 

 and manure. 



Repairs to roads is not a heavy item 

 in an estate expenditure, a saving of 

 Rs. 100 in one year might quite well 

 mean the necessity for spending Rs. 300 

 the following year, and yet it often 

 appears as if men grudged expenditure 

 on roads. 



The road should be made or repaired 

 in such a way that the water will run 

 off it quickly into the side drain, and 

 into the Tea. The middle of the road 

 should be the highest part, that is, there 

 should be what is called a good camber. 

 Roads done in this way last longer 

 without need for repairs. Coarse river 

 sand is a splendid covering for roads, 

 it does not wash off like earth or fine 

 sand, earth should never be used for 

 repairing roads if sand can be got 

 handy, So much for roads. 



In draining a clearing, if it is desired 

 to open as cheaply as possible, or to get 

 through quickly, I should think drains 

 50 ft. apart would be good enough to 

 begin with, the intermediate drains could 

 be put in afterwards. Where the trees 

 are so far apart as Rubber is, there 

 should be no difficulty in tracing and 

 cutting the drains clear of the Rubber 

 trees. 



But before tracing and cutting the 

 drains, a very necessary thing is to open 

 out all the natural drains, heaping logs 

 and stones on the sides, and leaving a 

 good wide channel for the rush of water 

 from heavy rains. This is a work that 

 is often neglected, but it is of the 

 greatest importance, for not only does 

 it save the soil at the sides of these 

 natural drains or ravines from being 

 washed away by floods, but the logs and 

 stones, acting like terracing, catch any 

 soil being washed down the slope. 

 These natural drains should be made 

 wide but not too deep, they deepen 

 themselves. They should be made the 

 most of, they are what nature provides 

 for draining the land. When they are not 

 attended to they get choked up with 

 stones and debris, and when heavy rains 

 fall, the flood waters wash all over the 

 Tea, carrying away soil, and exposing 

 the roots. This work is of special im- 

 portance with estates situated, as many 

 are, under high hills covered with 

 jungle, the drainage from which has to 

 find its way through the estates, and 

 in heavy rains often plays havoc with 

 the roads and drains. 1 have seen 

 damage done in an hour that took weeks 

 to repair, and of course where soil is 

 washed away the loss is irreparable. 



When the natural or leading drains 

 have been opened out thoroughly, begin 

 tracing from the bottom of the slope 

 it is proposed to drain, and the best way 

 is to go to the brow of the slope, tracing 

 the drains from the brow down on 

 each side to the natural drain. When 

 the land is very broken, it is difficult 

 always to run drains parallel, the most 

 important thing to bear in mind is to 

 ruu the drains in such a way that they 

 will cross, as nearly as possible, at right 

 angles to the flow of water down the 

 slope, Tracing drains is work that is 

 rather trying to the temper, especially 

 if the unfortunate cooly who holds the 

 sight stick has only a hazy notion of 

 what is wanted fi'om him, and when, 

 after a long and painstaking trace, one 

 comes bang up against an obstacle in the 

 shape of a boulder or tree stump, one is 

 apt to explode. To avoid an obstacle 

 the better plan is to go to it, and begin 

 tracing from it in such a way that your 

 drain will pass above or below it. 

 Drains should, if possible, be made to 

 run in the same direction as the roads, 

 so that they do not cross, or empty into 

 the road. 



As a rule it is a mistake to cut leading 

 drains, they should be avoided if possi- 

 ble. The rush of water eats into the 

 land and makes chasms, the sides of 

 which often fall in wtih the Tea bushes, 



