On the method of preparing ground prior to forming a plantation.—­In forming a plantation, the first object of attention, both in the hills and in the Deyrah Dhoon, is a fence.  In the former, to prevent the depredations of wild animals, such as wild hog, deer, &c., which abound in the hills, and though they do not eat tea leaves, yet hogs, in search of tubers, in the space of a single night will do much damage by uprooting young shrubs—­in the latter, to prevent the straying of cattle.  The first thing to be done, therefore, is to dig a trench three feet broad and two deep, and to plant a hedge, if in the hills, of black thorn (Cratoegus); if in the plains, the different species of aloe are best adapted for the purpose.  The fence being formed, all trees and shrubs are then to be uprooted; this is very heavy work, both in the hills and plains, from the vast number of shrubs, allowed by natives (from indolence to remove them) to grow everywhere throughout their fields.  Roads are then to be marked off.

After this has been accomplished, the land is to be drained, if necessary, by open drains—­under drainage, for want of means and the expense, being impracticable—­and then ploughed three or four times over.  The beds for young tea-plants are then to be formed; these ought to be three feet in breadth, alternating with a pathway of two feet in breadth.  By arranging beds in this manner much time and labour is saved in transplanting; in irrigation the water is economised, and in plucking tea leaves a road is given to the gatherer.  In transplanting, each plant is allowed 41/2 feet; this is at once gained, the beds and pathways being formed by placing in one direction the plant in the centre of the bed.

Trenching.—­On the tea beds being marked off, they are to be trenched to a depth of from two to three feet, in order to destroy all the roots of weeds, which are to be carefully removed.  The trenching is to be performed by the fowrah, or Indian spade.

In the hills, in many places the fowrah cannot be used, owing to the number of stones.  The work is then to be done by the koatlah, a flat-pointed piece of iron, of about eight inches in length, which is inserted into a wooden handle.  It is in form like the pick, and is much used in hill cultivation for weeding and opening up the ground.  It is, however, not much to be commended for trenching purposes, as natives, in using it, never penetrate the ground beyond a few inches.  For weeding, however, it is particularly useful, and to such soil is much better adapted than most other implements.

Formation of roads and paths.—­In addition to the pathways of two feet in breadth, recommended to be formed between each bed, there ought, for general use, to be a four feet road carried round the plantation, and one of 10 feet through the centre.  This applies to a limited plantation,