has been previously pointed out that charcoal trees are valuable as
nurses. They may be raised by clearing and burning a small piece of
jungle, or by putting some virgin jungle soil in a bed and watering it,
when charcoal plants will spring up. When a few inches high, take the
plants up carefully with a ball of earth and transplant into baskets
filled with jungle top soil. Put out the plants with their baskets in
holes about the size of those usually made for coffee plants, and early in
the monsoon, and see that they are well protected from cattle.

In conclusion, I think it well to mention that we have on my property, so
far as I am aware, by far the oldest artificial shading of coffee in
India. For many years all the estates in Mysore relied on the original
forest shade, but mine was partly destroyed by a running fire when the
clearings were first made, and some of the land was cleared wholly down,
burned off, and planted with the most desirable kinds of shade trees. Our
experience on this property dates back to the year 1857, and is therefore
particularly valuable, for the defects connected with some trees were not
apparent for as much, in one important case, as thirty years.

FOOTNOTES:

[52] I regret that I am unable to give the botanical name of this tree,
and of some others subsequently mentioned. I have drawn up a list of
trees, some of which may be retained till better trees can be grown to
supply their places, and also of other trees which are positively
injurious to coffee, but do not publish them, partly in order to save
space, and partly because I have not been able to ascertain the botanical
names of all the trees in question.

[53] My manager last year weighed and counted the Jack fruits from a
single tree. There were forty fruits which weighed 572 lbs. The largest
fruit weighed 30 lbs.

CHAPTER XII.

MANURE.

The question of shade is, as we have seen, a highly complicated one, and
is also, as we shall see, a cause of complication in the subject we are
now about to consider; for, were no shade required, the subject of
manuring the land for coffee would, comparatively speaking, be a simple
one. And it is very important to call attention to this point, because
hitherto planters have not in any way allowed shade to disturb their
manurial practices, but have applied their manures equally to land under
the direct shade of the trees, and to the open spaces between them, which
are only under the