The Hawaiian gazette., 1896-10-06

. the anu lucy W ldhCA Ou
by spade or Goa, together with the
earth surrounding them, according tt
the pilon system. Then they are care
fully conveyed in boxes, wheelbarrows
or in large baskets, the bottoms OF
which are covered with moist earth
to the pit, which should, one or two
days previously, have been prepared
with selected and fertilized earth. The
l&borer who has charge Of the plant
ing must open the hole sufficiently to
place the coffee tree and its accom-
panying roots so as to fit snuglY, and
then press the soil down firmly with the
hands or spade, so as not to leave
any hollows around the plant. If, In
taking out the young plants from the
nursery, the taproot and fibrous roots
stick out too far, they should be short
ened, so that they may not be doubled
up in the planting. The plants should
be set higher than the surrounding
earth; the object of this is to allow for
the subsistence which will occur after
wards, and on a steep slope, the outer
edge may be slightly higher than the
inner, to check the effect of any wash
that may take place. The ground
|
the day of transplanting, and, if dry
weather comes on suddenly after that,
the seedlings ought to be irrigated at
least once day, until they become
well rooted. Even when the young
plants are rooted, they require careful
nursing until they throw out several
pairs of branches.
The young plant should be protected
from both the wind and the strong
rays of the sun. The local surround
ings should determine the amount OF
shelter required, but generally in places
too much exposed, stalking and low
topping ought to suffice, in order to
| secure the stability of the plant The
coffee trees, while young, need some
shade, except in very sheltered and
damp places.
Trees planted on lands having plenty
of rains during the year and on those
whose temperature is between so deg.
and Y deg. F., require no shade after
one or two years growth, excepting
where the soil has a tendency to crack
or dry up and there are no facilities
for irrigation during a prolonged
drought.
The amount OF shade required must
be according to the exposure, descend
ing rate of elevation, and increase OF
temperature. But the conditions to be
borne in mind are that the shade must
not be total, but rather moderate; that
the trees which provide the shade, if
the plantation is not in a forest, must
be of quick growth, must preserve their
leaves throughout the winter, must not
hoo
which might affect the quality of the
crop tree itself, and their roots must
not grow laterally, but vertically The
natural trees left on the plot for shade
are cajete, capulin, jinicuil, chalahuite,
zapotes, huemba, guachipil, chanaqui,
Jonate, pagua, sangre de drago drag
on's blood, and tepeguaje; but for
artificial shade, aguacate, banana, cas-
tor bean, Nancy, mango, anona, chiri-
moya, papaw, guamachil, and rubber
are mostly used. When the coffee trees
begin to bear, the shade plants grow
ing among them had better be taken !
away altogether, and the shade trees |
thinned out or pruned.
CULTIVATION OF THE PLANTS.
After the young plants are estab-
lished in the fields, they will require |
constant wedding; this may be done at
intervals of three or four months by
using the machete, hoe, or a scraper
pulled by mule. Whichever plan is
used, the ground must not be penetrat-
ed more than or inches, to avoid
i1Juring the surface roots of the coffee
trees, but should be we'll loosened
around the tree and the weeds rooted
out. The weeds should be gathered
and placed in holes made in the middle
or every four trees (burying them in
holes, in each weeding) where
they will rot and become manure,
serving also the purpose of keeping
the moisture in the ground, thus pre-
venting the whitening of the tree
where irrigation is impossible. If the
ground of the plantation is very steep
and the soil inclined to be washed
away, it is better not to keep it too
clean of grass and not to root out the
weeds, as these retain the earth by
their roots and stems that lie on the
soil.
1t is question with many Mexican
;onee growers whether the tree should
be topped and pruned, as good many
rees have thrived splendidly and yield
ed we'll by merely taking off the suck
ers or sprouts and by keeping eacn
)ne entirely free from contact with the
)ther trees. But if the coffee trees
De allowed to grow unrestrained, they
will become very tall, especially the
myrtle and the liberia In these cases.
t is very difficult to pick the berries,
or the trees when not topped, general
y bear mostly at the top, as, frequent-
y, many of the lower branches die
'ut as the trees increase in height. A
ystem of topping has been devised,
nd it consists in removing the two
one or two top branches
by sloping outward cut close to
ne stem. and then the top by an
'blique cut, so that the stumps resem-
lie cross; but when the stem is thin
nd tender, its cutting should be done
y means of the thumb and forefinger.
his operation should be performed
fter the plant has borne its third or
ourth crop of flowers and reached 6
eet in height. Besides the above ad-
antage, the topping increases the
pread and fruitfulness of the lower
ranches, and prevents strong winds
rom having as much effect on the
fhox- MOULD A.