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planting it was often the custom in planting out the seed- 
lings to give the plant when put in the ground a short sharp 
pull to straighten the tap root in case it had got bent in 
inserting it, an excellent plan. 1 well remember a now-long 
abandoned coffee estate which I visited some years ago, 
and which was then practically abandoned. It had been a 
failui e f 1 om more reasons than one. The trees were 
stunted and wretched looking, nearly worthless. On ex- 
amination of the number it was seen that the tap root was 
completely curled round in at least 80 per cent, apparently 
the seedlings had been conveyed to the ground with the 
roots twisted round in the baskets for convenience of carry- 
ing and then the coolies had planted them just as they were 
without straightening the roots, practically ruining them. 
It may be presumed that most planters are well ac- 
quainted by now with the difference in use of the green-, 
soiling or nitragenous plants such as Crotalaria , Mimosa 
and Tephrosia and the lalang-killing plant Passi flora 
foetid a but the large number of enquiries received show 
that there are a considerable number of persons interested 
in rubber planting who are quite confused as to the differ- 
ence, and who think that Crotalaria is intended to kill - 
weeds, Crotalaria is a weed itself but differs from white 
weed (Ageratum ) and other such herbaceous plants which 
appear in estates in possessing the nitrogenous bac- 
teria in tubercles of the roots which supply nitrogen 
to the soil. In fact it may be said to be a living fer- 
tilizer. Passi flora is only intended to kill laiang grass by 
creeping over it and cutting oft' its light supply. It is how- 
ever also useful in covering steep bare clay slopes on which 
one so often sees rubber planted and saving wash. It is 
not expected to supply nitrogen to the soil nor to kill harm- 
less or possibly useful little weeds which have crept in to 
the estate. We should be inclined to apologise to our readers 
for printing an explanation of this kind on matters of which 
so much has already been published but after receiving 
numerous confused letters from would — be planters who do 
not seem to have realized the difference between the two 
classes of plant and after overhearing planters elaborately 
explaining to strangers the virtues* of Crotalaria as a weed 
killer, we may conclude that there are a large number of 
people engaged more or less in planting, and anxious to do 
as every one else is doing without knowing what they are 
doing or why they are doing it. And it is for these that 
these remarks are published. 
If. N. Ridley, 
