ay be greater than on steep
grounds, because, in order to prevent the washing away of the soil on
precipitous land, the water must be led off by trenches, which of
themselves make the divisions of land smaller. On flat ground the
divisions may be each 625 square roods, each of which may contain, if
planted--

Trees.
12 feet by 12 625
10 " 10 900
8 " 8 1406
6 " 6 2500

The distance between the coffee bushes cannot be definitely laid down,
as it depends on the nature of the soil. On the most fertile forest
lands twelve feet by twelve is a good distance. Only on low and meagre
grounds, where the tree grows less luxuriantly and strong, can six
feet by six be reckoned a proper distance.

Between the divisions a path should be left, one rood in breadth.
Along the middle paths and by the side of the divisions drains must be
cut, the former two feet in breath and depth, the latter one foot. The
drains along the divisions must be cut in such a way as to conduct the
rain-water to the larger drains which flank the middle paths. On
precipitous ground, when the coffee is planted, small ridges should be
raised between the rows, to prevent the rich earth from washing down
in the heavy rains. The steeper the land is, the closer these ridges
should be; and care should be taken to incline them, so as to break
the descent, the direction of which they should in some degree follow.
The first ridges may be made with the branches of the trees which have
been felled, or with the rubbish cleared from the ground on the first
raking of it.

_Placing the pickets._--When the ground has been worked and divided in
the above manner, the pickets are placed. These are slips of bamboo
one-and-a-half to two feet long. First--two long canes (which do not
stretch like string), each one hundred feet long, are marked off in
feet according to the distance at which the planting is to take place;
heavy stakes are made fast to each end of them, by which they can be
well secured on the ground. At the places where they are marked off in
feet, strings are fastened so tightly that they cannot be displaced;
and then the canes are laid down and well fixed in the ground, one in
the length and the other in the breadth.

Picketing does not give much trouble; it ensures regular planting, and
makes the daily inspection simple. The planting thus takes place in