66 
THi^ TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[July i, 1891. 
iive headings, enter the nnmber of pounds of tea leaf 
ifiluo'ked (or boxes of cofifee cherry gathered) off that 
field. You will find this very useful information as you 
go along; and it will fully compensate you for the very 
Bttlo trouble it has caused you. Have also a column 
for number ol coolies employed Plucking and see 
that it agrees with your journal, and one to record 
the total average number of lbs. gathered per cooly 
per diem. 
In the same field book a few pages further on 
have a page ruled almost similarly, for the purpose 
of recording the month and number of coolies em- 
ployed Pruning each field during that time. You will 
find this nsefm for reference as well as to afford you 
at a glance information as to what your pruning 
has cost, and be of some assistance to you in estima- 
ting the cost of pruning tea in the future. 
Weeding. 
It will also be your duty to see that the weeding 
OOntraotors do their work properly, and let me tell 
you there is no work on an estate more liable to 
be scamped than weeding, and generally it is the 
knost expensive. The estate you are going to, we 
will suppose is weeded once a month, still it is not 
clean and the contractors are making very little if 
ttny profit off their contracts, so that much of the aa- 
Blstant's time is spent having frequently to visit 
the different weeding contract gangs. lam quite 
aware this is often the case, but think the contractors 
Should pay for their own overseer. 
Thus if your estate is 800 acres, and weeded by 
contract at so much per acre per mensem, it is an 
easy matter getting the contractors to agree to a 
reduction of three or four cents per acre, and you 
appoint one of themselves on the sum obtained by 
the reduction, to be overseer of all the contracts. 
His duty will be to visit every contract, daily ex- 
amine the previous day's work, and make them do 
It over again if badly' done. See that the coolies 
have the regulation weeding tool, whatever that may 
be, that each ot them have a cooty sack to put 
the weeds into, and that one or more large sacks 
are being used for receiving and carrying the weeds 
from the oooty sacks to the weed depot, that none are 
misaed, or allowed to lie amongst the tea or in heaps 
on the roads. The weeds ought to be transferred from 
the cooty sacks to the large sack and not thrown on 
the road in a heap, to be gathered afterwards. At 
4 pjoa. the weeding overseer reports to you in the 
jrresence of the kanganies, and on the work gene- 
rally the number employed on the various contracts, 
which statement you enter in your check-roll. 
If you find that with monthly weeding with the close 
supervision of an overseer, and your own periodical 
visits -that the estate is still far from clean, then 
insist on the contractors weeding the same ground 
'three times in two months for the same money 
■as allowed for weeding twice in two months. 
'It is - only a matter of a few extra coolies the first 
•IBonth or two ; afterwards the work becomes lighter 
;and contractors will reap a profit where formerly 
• they had a loss-. 
Factory work. I '11 leave your P. D. to give you the 
necessary hints: it is bo much easier doing so on 
•the spot. 
But if I haven't tired you out, I would strongly 
advise jou to carry an umbrella and use it as° a 
protection from the rain; it is more wanted than 
a waterproof coat is for protecting you from rain. 
Never go out without a sun hat, while the sun is 
•np, no matter vt'hether it is shining or not, even 
fluxing a cloudy or wet day you are liable to get 
headache, fever or sunstroke. 
Confine your drinking to the bungalow, and unless 
you are on one of the most highly favoured estates 
as regards climate, have the water you drink boiled as 
well as filtered before using. Don't mix anything 
Btrong with your water. It vk-iil be quite time enough to 
do BO when the doctor orders you; meantime the 
Bqiieeza of a lime in water with a little .sugar is quite 
enouf^h when you get in tired and liuist have soiiie- 
thing^before breakfast. Now, as a rule, is the time 
for vour bath, and a very great luxury tlie bath in 
("oylon is to a new arrival. The big plunge or the 
Bpout of cold Wftter, the very thought of it makes 
me wish I were young again. But be careful not to 
stay in too long; one can have too much of a good 
thing even. Enjoy your bath and get into dry clothes 
as quickly as you can, for by tliis time I am sure 
you will be ready for breakfast. Two hours are 
usually allowed for breakfast, but if you have been 
unable to spare the time for a bath before breakfast, 
don't neglect to change your flannels : they are bound 
to be damp, and to sit damp in Ceylon in most 
bungalows, means catching a chill, and a chill is fre- 
quently the first stage of nearly all the ailments 
planters are heir to. 
After 4 p.m. you should have a cup of tea or coffee 
(if you can get it) and if very peckish b little bread 
and butter but nothing stronger. 
Water is also the safest and best beverage to din- 
ner in youth, and should be persisted in unless 
otherwise ordered by a doctor whose medical advice 
on all other points you would equally value and act 
up to. 
If cards happen to be introduced after dinner and 
you are invited to join in the same to make up the 
set, if money are the stakes, don't be afraid to 
decline to play for money. Stand firmly by your 
home training and you will never regret it. 
Make your little bungalow as neat and comfortable 
as your means will permit, having a few pictures to 
enliven the walls, but only of such a nature as your 
sister or mother might look on and admire. 
Do not forget the friends at home, they are 
always anxious to hear from you. To write a letter 
home does not take many minutes after it is com- 
menced and the postage is now within the means of 
all, so there ought to be no excuse for omitting to 
write at least twice a month to those who have cared 
for you, probably from infancy. If you have not 
brought a few books with you, consult some of the 
Colombo price lists, you have Cave & Co., the Colombo 
Apothecaries' Co., or for practical instruction, the 
Observer Office list containing all sorts of books useful to 
planters or your P. D. will be glad to lend you if you 
are careful of, and return them. Make it a rule 
not to keep a book long and return it when read. 
However small your income may be,, live within 
It. Pay as you go, or at latest during the following 
month. 
Do not order anything unless you are certain you 
will be able to pay for it the following month. 
Credit has been the curse of many a young man in 
Ceylon. My pariing advice to you is " don't get into 
debt." — Well, good-bye, I must be off — shall be glad to 
hear from you, how you get on. You know my 
addr<<nss. 
[We shall bo glad to receive suggestions, or 
additions to above, and to put all in our " Planting 
Directory " so as to be easy of reference in a 
permanent form. — Ed. T.A.I 
COCONUT CULTIVATION. 
{By an Old Planter.) 
DIGGITIVENE3S : A BEVOLTJTION IN CULTIVATION. 
The coconut planter, who turns over the 
whole surface of his field, to a doplh of, from 
six to eight inches, or one mamottie, may fairly 
expect the following effects : — 
Ist. That the withering and aeration ot the 
newly exposed surface will aid in rendering solu- 
ble any inert organic matter it contains. 
2nd. That breohing up and loosening the soil 
enables the roots of the cultivated plant to extend 
more freely, anil cons.'quently more quickly. 
3rd; That one digging is more efficient, in 
cleaning foul land, than ten surface weedings. 
4th. That the natural herbaceous cover of the 
eoil, whon turned in, acts as manure, in the 
course of its decompoailion. 
5lh. That in the course of the season, a richer, 
cleaner and closer pasture is produced, tha» that 
destroyed by the digging. 
