uch as possible protected against
the south-east wind, because its dry influence is very injurious to
the coffee plant, and also prevents the growth of the _Erythrina_
(known here locally as the Dadap tree) which is so necessary for its
shade. Flat grounds, or gentle declivities, are better than steep
slopes; yet the latter can be well employed if proper care is taken.

_Cultivation_.--After the ground has been cleared in the dry
season--that is, after the bushes have been rooted out, the
undergrowth burnt off, and the thickets removed--ploughing is
commenced in September. When the ground has twice been deeply
ploughed, the weeds and roots must be brought together with the rake
and carefully burnt. The depth of the ploughing must be regulated by
the nature of the ground. In all kinds of cultivation, deep ploughing
is recommended, but in Java we ought not to plough deeper than the
stratum of fertile soil, as a kind of subsoil may be wrought uppermost
injurious to plants, and which, before it can become fertile, must for
a year at least have been exposed to the atmosphere.

The ground having been turned up, should be left exposed for some days
to throw off the vapor arising from it; and must then be again
ploughed and cleared with the rake. After waiting for some days, it
should be ploughed for the fourth and last time, and made as clean and
friable as possible. In small plantations this is to be done with the
spade, but on large estates the roller must be used. This roller
consists of a heavy piece of round wood, eight or ten feet long, to
which a pole is fastened in the middle to have oxen harnessed to it.
It is drawn slowly over the ploughed land, and presses the clods to
earth. To give it greater force, the driver sits or stands upon it.

Before the field has been properly ploughed and rolled in the above
way, the middle of October will have arrived, and we then begin to
open a path through the plantation from the highest to the lowest
point, about two roods broad, and the whole of the land is then
divided into separate parcels. Portioning off the estates into
divisions of equal size is a system to be much recommended. By this
means labor may be equally divided, superintended and inspected. Order
and regularity, which are necessary in all things, are most especially
required in cultivation on a large scale.

The size of these parcels is regulated by the nature of the estate. On
flat or gently declining land they m