In even the humblest of these callings the evidence of much training, practice or long apprenticeship is noticeable.

To an amateur who has tried such work himself it will soon be apparent how crude his efforts are, how little he knows of the apparently simple operation.

The navvy seems to work slowly; but he knows well, because his task is a day-long one, that his forces must be economised, that over-exertion must be avoided.

This lesson was brought home to me when exasperated by the seeming laziness of the coolie cultivators, I would seize a man's hoe and fly at the work, hoe vigorously for perhaps five minutes, swear at the man for his lack of strenuousness, then retire and find myself puffing and blowing and almost in a state of collapse.
If an addition or extension is being made to the garden, the already cut jungle has to be burnt and the ground cleared in early spring, the soil broken up and staked: that is, small sticks put in regular rows and intervals to show where the young plants are to be put.

Then when the rains have properly set in the actual planting begins.