a
distance in those odd corners here and there in the plantations where
vacancies are apt to occur.

After the above suggested preliminary tracks have been opened out, the
whole underwood should be cleared and piled in heaps, and as far as
possible, of course, from the trees which are most desirable for shade.
Then the trees positively injurious to coffee should be cut down and their
branches lopped and piled on the stumps of the objectionable trees, and
after this a certain proportion of the less desirable kinds should be
felled. All burning should be carried on in separate piles, as a running
fire through the clearing would be fatal to the standing trees, and, when
firing the piles they should be burnt off in detail at as great a distance
from each other as possible, as the bark of many of the forest trees is
easily injured by the heat arising from many blazing piles in their
neighbourhood. The land having thus been thoroughly cleared, should be
planted.

But by the process I have recommended much more shade will be left than
will ultimately be required, and I have found that it is impossible to
clear down at once all the trees you wish to get rid of, as, if you did,
you would be sure to require such a number of piles as would, when they
were burnt, be sure to injure the trees to be preserved. It is therefore
necessary to complete the clearing during the season following. Such
trees, then, as you may wish further to remove may be thrown down between
the rows of coffee, and others which may be likely to do much damage,
either to the coffee or to the shade trees to be preserved, may be lopped
and barked, and they should be barked as high up as a man can reach, as we
have found that trees barked close to the ground die slowly.

It sometimes, however, happens that the forest land is much cut up with
narrow and deep ravines, and in that case the bottoms of such ravines
should be cleared off entirely, and this can be done without injury to the
standing trees above, as, when the wood in the bottom of the ravine is
being burnt the flames will be too distant to inflict any injury to the
trees left for shade higher up the slopes, but, as I have said, great care
must be taken to prevent any running fire through the shaded land; and I
can speak of the effect of such a fire from a melancholy experience. In
the event of bottoms of ravines being thus cleared down, it may afterwards
be found desirable to supply fresh shade on the s