Vol. XIV. No. 352. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



3 1 3 



here, d hi large numbei ol a mills, so the expense 



incurred is very little. 1 have arranged to have one tin 

 of the first mangoes packed in this manner sent to you so 

 tli it you may see it the mi (). K. 



PRODUCTION AND SELECTION OF COCO- 

 NUTS IN THE SEYCHELLES. 



The following extracts are taken from the inter- 

 esting reporl 1>\ the Curator oi the Seychelles Botanic 

 Gardens on the Agriculture and Crown lands of the 

 Colon v for L914: 



As anticipated in my reporl for last year, the rise in the 

 output of coco-nuts is proceeding by leaps and bounds. The 

 crop for the year under review amounts to 31,000,000 nuts, 

 being greater by 5,000,000 nuts than the crop for the pre- 



ryear. This result bears testimony to the gi 

 attention which is paid by planters to their coco-nut 

 plantations. The crop will continue to increase for a long 

 time, as during the last fivi ••• irs nearly 100,000 more 

 hi trees were set out and Lhi noes will be bearing in 

 five years. The present increase is solely due to the 

 plantations having been cleaned regularly and freed of the 

 fungus and beetle diseases I i - ime extent. The leading 

 planters are also taking the tro ible to manure with compost, 

 seaweeds, cowdung, etc., and tin- results already obtained will 

 gradually induce them to t mho, green manures and 



chemical fertilizers. A good ' i of subsoiling by hand has 

 also been done, but unfortunately the use of explosives for 

 the breaking of the hardpan a few inches underground has not 

 been attempted owing to the difficulty of getting explosives 

 at a cheap price. The practl i of digging trenches in which 

 all the refuse is thrown in, is more and more largely adopted 

 on level land. 



The question of selection of varieties of coco-nuts is not 

 lost sight of bj a few planters. This selection depends 

 however on so many factors that little progress in the right 

 direction has been made. One of these factors unobserved 

 hitherto is the number of female flowers produced bj the 

 different varieties, which is \>i\ variable. Mr. I 'etch, of 

 i q, has called in December 1913 the attention of planters 

 to this subject. The flowerings .1- not take place regularly 

 8 . i-helles and this accounts for the irregularity of the crop, 

 which generally reaches a maximum in July and drops to 

 a minimum in February. The number of female flowers per 

 bunch does not vary on the same tree, but during the 

 months of minimum crop there are much less inflorescences 

 produced by the tree, notwithstanding the weather conditions. 

 and many of these contain no female flower at all. It is from 

 trees producing the greatest number of female flowers per 

 bunch and per annum that set 1 nuts should be selected. 

 Admitting that the number of ripe nuts per tree is a -urticient 

 guide for selection, there is however another factor, i. e., the 

 fall of immature nuts, which has to be taken into consid 

 eration and which seems also to be of a character proper to 

 some kinds. Many trees which drop their nuts before 

 maturity seem to recover from this defect during the 

 months of raaximun production and should not be 



sarily discarded in the work of selection. From a tew 



rations made when the trees are young and in their 

 third year of blossoming, the natural tendency of the tree- 

 can be well determined, and there is no need to wait till they 

 are old and produce their full crop of ripe nuts, to carry on 

 the work of selection, for trees which flower after their 

 seventh year of growth the question of gaining time in the 

 work of selection is to be seriously considered. 



VANILLA GROWING IN THE 



SEYCHELLES. 



The Annual Report on Agi md Crown Lands 



in the Colony of Seychelles for the year 1914, contains 



ting particulars in CO with experiments 



i hi l out in the vanilla industry there. The shoi 

 in 1914 is attributed to unfavourable weathei condi 

 tions. August was the only month during which a small 

 rainfall favoured the (lowering, but the spell of dry 

 weather was too short, and the rainfall preceding and 

 : it was to heavy to allow the vines to flower under 

 normal conditions. This show- how difficult it is for vanilla 

 to lower in wet countries like Seychelles, and on what 

 a small factor the vanilla crop depends. 



It is noteworthy that included in the series of experi- 

 in :. J plots on the manuring of vanilla was that of mulching. 

 These consisted of mulching with leguminous weeds and 

 twigs, mulching with ordinary grass, with ordinary grass plus 

 lime, mulching with ordinary grass plus phosphate (Seychelles 

 rock guano), with ordinary grass, plus complete soluble 

 fertilizer (Trutl'aiit), with ordinary grass plus potash in the 

 form of potassium sulphate, with ordinary grass plus potash 

 in the form of potassium chloride, with ordinary grass plus 

 nitrogen in the form ol ammonium nitrate, with ordinary 

 grass plus nitrogen in the form of nitrate of soda, with 

 leguminous weeds and twigs plus complete fertilizer ( Biogine 

 Truffaut). 



A separate experiment was also made in connexion with 

 the us,, of certain shrubs as props in vanilla culture. In 

 this plot the props used were cuttings of (iliriridia 

 maculata, while in the other plots . the usual Pignon 

 d'lnde (Jatropna <■ ureas) props were used. The experi 

 ment was tried to determine the influence of the newly 

 introduced shrub as a vanilla support. The conclusion was 

 reached that the rapid growth of this leguminous shrub, 

 n- resistance to disease and to adverse conditions of soil and 

 climate, and the ease with which the cuttings strike roots in 

 all classes of soil, render it an idea one for vanilla culture. 

 So tar it has been successful, its abundant foliage being at 

 least ten times more vigorous than that of the Pignon d'lnde 

 without being too hea i \ . 



The following props are reported to have been uprooted 

 alter nine months' growth to examine the root system oi 

 and consider their suitability as props for vanilla, with the 

 results stated: — 



1. Bois chandelle (Dracaena angustifolia) from 

 cuttings: 7 feet high with two small branches giving 

 insufficient shade, four roots at right angles to each other 

 7 lilt long but provided with very few rootlets. 



:.'. Pignon d'lnde (Jatropha curcas) from cuttings: 

 7.1 feet high with three branches, three big roots sharply 

 tapering with line extremities and five very small roots. 



.".. Gliricidia maculata horn cuttings: 12 feet high with 

 twelve branches, tap roots 3 feet long together with fourteen 

 roots placed like the tubers of a :assava plant, the lo 

 measuring 5 feet and the. shortest I foot. This ppwerful 

 root system accounts for the rapidity of growth of this plant 

 and one may hope tin' the deep ro its deprived of i network of 



-s will not interfere too much with the roots of vanilla. 



I. Cashew nut (Anacardium oi om seeds: 



5 feet high with three branches, on,- slender taproot and 

 a few rootlets. The root system is weak as compared with 

 that of the other plants. 



The above results would appeal to justify the favourable 

 opinion entertained in regard to i iculata. Experi- 



ments with this shrub might lie made in the.se islands in the 

 West Indies in which Vanilla growing is carried on. 



