The Cultivation of Liberian Coffee. 293 
necessary for coffee cultivation. In parts not liable to 
destructive storms I would not advise the system of 
squares ; for reasons, however, given in a former number 
of Timehri, I am no advocate of any large unbroken 
extent of one cultivation, and, therefore, I consider 
occasional belts of trees advantageous. But these belts 
need not necessarily be of unproductive trees, for the 
planter should strive to get a return from every part of 
his land. Oranges, limes, and other trees of economic 
value, may be employed ; and, when forest land is 
cleared, the more valuable timber trees may be left. 
The Liberian coffee tree delights in the sun, providing 
it gets a sufficient amount of moisture. Full grown trees 
have very long tap-roots, and thus, when the surface of 
the ground is parched, they can get the necessary mois- 
ture from the sub-soil ; but, in the case of the younger 
cultivation, some shade is essential in the dry season, 
and the roots ol the plants may with advantage be 
' mulched,' that is, covered with dried weeds, cane trash, 
straw, and even wood shavings. For the purpose of 
shading the younger trees I usually plant plantains be- 
tween the rows of coffee, but I have found the pigeon-pea 
{Cajanus indicus) to answer equally well. This plant 
has the deserved reputation of enriching the soil by 
throwing down large quantities of leaves, besides which, 
its roots penetrate to a considerable distance, and thus 
when the stem is cut down, as it should be as soon as the 
coffee is well grown, the soil is improved by the decay- 
ing roots, and by the free entry of the atmosphere into 
the channels formed in the ground by such decay. When 
the coffee trees commence to bear, the shade plants had 
better be taken away altogether, for otherwise the coffee 
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