152 
HISTORY OF THE [book v. 
the coffee trees served as a shade, and my intention was, 
when the clove tree should extend itself, to lop or cut down 
the coffee tree nearest to it. Every possible care was taken 
of this plant; it was kept clean, and every time I went on 
my estate I visited it; knowing of what consequence it 
would be to the public in general, and to me in particular, 
if I could bring this experiment to succeed. It may be 
easily supposed with what anxiety I viewed the growth of 
the plant; but, alas 1 what was my grief, when I found 
the clove tree hardly vegetating, losing its old leaves as 
new 7 ones sprung at the top ; and in the long space of near 
six months, not gaining an inch in height: disappointed in 
my hopes, I informed my friend of the little success I had 
had, and intreated his assistance in procuring other trees, if 
possible. In the month of December 1789, two more 
trees were sent to me. From my first disappointment, I 
wished to plant these new trees nearer to my house, and in 
a place that would be convenient for watching and promo¬ 
ting their growth. My dwelling house is situated on a hill, 
to the eastward, which hill is composed of a stiff, red-clay 
soil; at the foot of this hill, and on the east side, is situ¬ 
ated my garden; to obtain a flat of about one hundred and 
twenty feet square, one part of that hill has been dug and 
levelled, which in some parts has made a bank of nearly 
eleven feet high; the ground w 7 as spread over in order to 
fill up the inequalities of the surface: it will readily be ob¬ 
served how poor some parts of that surface must be, parti¬ 
cularly on that side, where eleven feet w'ere cut from the 
hill. Here I planted the above mentioned two trees, bur, 
at the same time, took care to place them as far as I could 
from that side of the hill which had been pared down, as I 
had observed its soil was a stiff, red-clay ; I therefore dug 
two holes at about twelve feet from each other, of about 
eighteen inches diameter, and two feet deep: finding the 
substratum to be of a yellow, strong, gravelly nature, I 
