It is wise, therefore, to raise plants in a nursery to supply the vacancies in the hills. [Illustration: GALLE HARBOR] [Illustration: NEGOMBO CANAL] For a nursery, a plat of rich soil is selected, free from stone and cleared from brushwood, except the tall trees, which are left for shade. The ground is dug over and formed into beds from three to four feet wide and the seed is sown nine to twelve inches apart and shaded at eight to twelve inches above ground, by a pendall of leaves. The plants are kept watered on alternate days until they have one pair of leaves, but the shade should not be removed until the plants are six to eight inches high and are able to bear the sun. The seed will germinate in from two to three weeks. The planting takes place in autumn when the seed is gathered fully ripe. The seeds are heaped up in shady places, as the sun would crack and spoil them; the outer red coating will rot, turn black, and come off easily; the seed is then washed and dried in the air, but not in the sun; that which will float on water is rejected. The plants are taken from the nursery in October and November, and under favorable situations they will grow from five to six feet high in from six to seven years. A healthy bush will then afford two or three shoots ready for peeling, but should unfavorable results occur they will not yield for from eight to twelve years. After the plants are fully established in the field, very little cultivation is required, except to keep them free from the weeds. In a good soil from four to seven shoots may be cut every two years. Sometimes thriving plants may be cut first in four years and sometimes even in two years. The quality of the bark depends upon its position on the branch; that from the middle is the best, that from the top second, and that from the base, which is the thicker part of the branch, the third grade. Shoots exposed during growth to the direct rays of the sun have their bark more acrid and spicy than the bark of those which grow in the shade. A marshy soil rarely produces good cinnamon, its texture being cross-grained and spongy, with little aroma. The quality is determined by the thinness of the bark—the thinner and more pliable the finer. The finest quality of bark is smooth and somewhat shiny and of a light yellow color. The shoot bends before it breaks, and when the fracture occurs it is generally in the form of a splinter which has an agreeable, warm, aromatic taste with a slight degree of sweetness. Two crops are gathered each year—the first from April to August and the second from November to January. These particular seasons are selected for harvesting on account of their coming just after the heavy rains, just as the young, red leaf assumes the normal dark green. The sap then is more active and the bark is more easily detached. If there is not sufficient rain the garden may have to be cut over several times.