es, and the dash of the rain, the soil
becomes exceedingly hard immediately after, or at least very shortly after
the rain. Here, then, the planter finds himself between the devil and the
deep sea. Is he to leave his soil in a hardened state from the beginning
of November to the end of January, or perhaps the middle of February, or
is he to violate the axiom which tells him not to disturb the roots till
after the crop is ripened? And here I think the condition of things is
such that he should come to a compromise, and dig up at the end of the
monsoon a space of about 2 to 2-1/2 feet up the centre of the lines, which,
being the part always walked upon, is necessarily liable to be puddled and
hardened, and then, after crop-picking is finished, lightly dig, or pick
over and stir, the remainder of the soil, breaking, of course, all clods
at the same time. By such a process we should prevent the central portion
drying up and cracking, and aerate laterally the rest of the soil, and at
the same time do as little damage as possible to the roots. I need hardly
say that it is of great importance to begin with all those places where
the soil is most hardened, as, should the planter not be able, from
shortness of labour, to complete his digging before crop, he will at least
have dug those places most urgently in need of cultivation. If the soil of
the estate is pretty even in character, the hottest aspects will of course
harden soonest, and should be dug first, but it may so happen that a hot
aspect may have a soil of a loose and open character, while a north aspect
might have a soil of stiff character, and here the planter must alter the
rule so as to suit his particular case.

For digging, or rather loosening the soil at the end of the monsoon, my
experience is that the four-pronged Assam fork is the best tool, and that
for the light picking over of the whole of the soil after crop a light
two-pronged digger is best. This last tool is shaped like a mamoty, but
with two prongs rather widely set apart instead of the broad blade of the
mamoty. It being very light, it can easily be turned in the hand, so that
clods may be broken with the back of the tool, and it can be used by
women, which of course is of great advantage for pushing forward the work.

Renovation pits, as they are called, were once regarded as an excellent
means of deeply stirring the soil, but, of recent years, have fallen out
of favour with many planters, and I think