The History of Java, v. 1-2Raffles, Thomas Stamford, Sir
History
The History of Java, v. 1-2
Raffles, Thomas Stamford, Sir
Java (Indonesia) -- History
Of the _dádap_ tree there are three kinds; the _seráp_, _dóri_, and
_wáru_: but the first is preferred on account of the greater shade
it affords. It is propagated by cuttings, and in selecting them for
the coffee plantations, care is had that they are taken from trees at
least two or three years old, and that they be three or four feet long,
of which one foot at least must be buried in the ground. After the
_dádaps_ are planted, holes are dug, from a foot and a half to two feet
deep, for the reception of the coffee plant, which is then removed from
the seed place or nursery, and transplanted into the gardens.
In coffee gardens of four or five years old, are found quantities of
young plants, that have sprung up spontaneously from the ripe berries
dropping off the trees, and when these can be obtained about fourteen
inches long, of a strong healthy stem, large leaves, and without
branches, they are preferred to others: but as the plants thus procured
are seldom found in sufficient quantities, nurseries for rearing them
are formed as follows: When the berries are allowed to remain on the
shrub after maturity, they become black and dry: in this state they
are plucked, and sown in seed beds lightly covered with earth: as soon
as two small leaves appear, the plants are taken from the bed, and
transplanted, about a foot asunder, under the cover of sheds prepared
for that purpose; in about eighteen months, these plants are fit for
removing into the garden or plantation where they are destined to
yield their fruit. In taking the young plant up, the greatest care is
necessary not to injure the roots, especially the tap root, and with
this view it is generally removed with as much earth attached to it
as possible. This precaution has the additional advantage of not too
suddenly bringing the plant in contact with a new soil.
The plantations are generally laid out in squares. The distance between
each plant varies according to the fertility of the soil: in a soil not
considered fertile, a distance of six feet is preserved, and in each
interval is a _dádap_ tree for the purpose of affording shade; but in a
rich soil, where the plant grows more luxuriantly, fewer _dádaps_ are
necessary, and the plants are placed at a greater distance from each
other.
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