The rubber tree book . Fig. 63.—Hill Slope with Covering of Ageratum Mexicanum to prevent Circle-weeded. WASH OF SOIL 239 long water-pits, which serve the double purpose of retainingwashed-away soil and rain, which would otherwise run off inthe drains. These pits are dug along the sloping ground, as illustratedin the sketch given overleaf. They cost per acre to dig outin Java, but the great drawback is that every heavy shower ofrain leaves them filled up with soil and they require continueddigging Fig. 64.—View of Roots exposed by Wash of Soil. I have known them to be
The rubber tree book . Fig. 63.—Hill Slope with Covering of Ageratum Mexicanum to prevent Circle-weeded. WASH OF SOIL 239 long water-pits, which serve the double purpose of retainingwashed-away soil and rain, which would otherwise run off inthe drains. These pits are dug along the sloping ground, as illustratedin the sketch given overleaf. They cost per acre to dig outin Java, but the great drawback is that every heavy shower ofrain leaves them filled up with soil and they require continueddigging Fig. 64.—View of Roots exposed by Wash of Soil. I have known them to be filled level six times a year. Ateach time it costs nearly as much to dig them out as at the timethey were first made, and this expense has to be incurred atleast from four to six times a year on an average. The totaloutlay may average about per acre per annum. There is also the additional difficulty that on very steephillsides these water-pits cannot well be dug out at all, or, ifdug out, would be almost immediately filled up; and besidesthis, on steep land these pits are apt to induce the soil to slipaway bodily in large masses. Where hillsides are very rocky. 240 THE RUBBER TREE BOOK as is frequently the case in Ceylon, their construction is almostan impossibility. In such cases terracing—although the first outlay is ex-pensive—is a much better solution of the difficulty. Whereno stones are available, as in Sumatra, belts of guinea-grassare often employed to prevent wash. These cost little—likepoli
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidrubbertreebo, bookyear1913
