Holing or Pitting.—Around or beside each stake, a hole is dug, ita size depending much upon the kind of soil. In stiff, poor land, 2 ft. each way is not too large ; in good, light ground, 18 in. will suffice. They had better be too deep than not deep enough. The implements commonly used by coolies for thia purpoee, are the guintannie, or grubbing hoe, Fig. 497 ; the mammotie, Fig. 498; and the alavangoe, or spade-bar, Fig. 499. The earth thrown out is left to mellow until just before planting. The hole ia then " filled in " with the beat of the mould, which has been carefully freed from stones, roots, Sze., and mixed with a little manure. The filling in must be done very lightly, and the loose earth should rise in a heap above the hole. The operation ia beet performed while the ground is moist ; it is also a good plan to break down the sides of the bole somewhat, especially if they are hardened.
Planting.—When the holee have been duly prepared, theyoung plants are removed from the nurseries with the same care as they were transplanted to the nurseries from the seed-beds. For taking up the planta, an ordinary prong is much auperior to the spade-bar ; hand-pulling must be rigidly guarded against. The fibrous roots of each plant, as taken up, are carefully pruned off to about 4 in.,.so that they may not be doubled up in tbe planting; the tap-root is also shortened to about 9 in. by a clean sloping out, for the same reason. A ball of earth should surround the roots ; and if the plants are exposed to the air for more than a few minutes, the roots should be covered with wet moss, or some other damp material. A dull cloudy day should be chosen whenever possible ; in bright aunshine, the plants would all be burnt up. The plants are carried in batches on trays to the eatate. They are placed in the ready prepared holes by hand, great care being taken that no roots are doubled up, that the plants are upright, and that they are no deeper in the ground than they were before. In treading the earth down round the plant, every precaution is necessary to prevent leaving holes for the accumula tion of water round the roots. The surface should be mado firm and as level as possible. On a eteep slope, the outer edge may be made slightly higher than the inner, to check the effect of wash ; but in subsequent weeding, it will be necessary to guard against exposing the lateral roots.
There is some diversity of opinion as to the size and age most suitable for putting out nureery plants. When dull, rainy weather can be depended on for some little time, nursery plants of the second year are the most satisfactory. Plants of one season only are too tender for the operation.
Under ordinary conditions, and with due care, no serious loss of plants should be incurred in this way. A novel plan, which may be advantageously adopted in small plantations, is one resembling the method of planting cinchona. A number of calabashes are deprived of their small ,end and emptied of their contents ; into these, the seedlings are placed, gradually exposed to the sun as they grow, and finally planted in the calabashes; the latter soon rot, and form manure for the plants.
A plan that has been much followed is the substitution of " stumps " for nursery plants. Plants that have been in the nursery t'or about three years are dug up and pruned back, leaving only about 6 to 8 in. of stem. They are hardier and safer in a general way than whole plants, more especially in uncertain weather. They will strike readily, even without rainfall for some little time after being put in, provided the ground has become sufficiently moist to prevent their being burnt up ; but they cannot be used with success in districts where a long period of drought may be expected to succeed the wet season, The planting is performed in the usual way. The plants send up several shoots:from the parent stem ; of these, the finest is retained to form the future tree, and the rest are pulled off carefully. The shoot that is left grows rapidly ; but, from the way it springs from the stem, it is liable to be accidentally broken off, either by a high wind or by the weeders. The crookedness of the stems of stumps from native grown seed renders them very inferior. The best size for stumps is the thickness of a common pencil.
Dibbling .—Where the land is very rich and friable, holing may be replaced by the less expensive plan called "dibbling." It is performed in two ways :—(1) By the aid of the spade-bar, is made a sufficiently deep hole, into which the plant is dropped, and secured by treading the earth lightly round; (2) A patch of ground measuring about 1 ft. each way is thoroughly loosened, without the soil being taken out ; in the disturbed earth a hole is made with the hand, the plant is inserted, and trodden round as before. The latter method is preferable. Dibbling is only practicable in exceptionable cases. It is, moreover, open to objection, as a hole is often left, in which water may accumulate and rot the plant; and the roots are more liable to injury than in ordinary planting. On the other hand, very much labour is saved.