176 

 PLANTING SEED COCO-NUTS.-II.* 



The following notes on the preparation of seed coco-nuts for 

 planting, from the Report of the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture, 

 are worth noting : — 



"In preparing nuts for planting the best results have been ob- 

 tained in the following manner. The nuts are selected from trees 

 known to be good bearers, bearing not less than 150 nuts per 

 year, these uniform in size, brown in husk, rich in copra and fully 

 ripe. Fully 98 per cent, thus selected will germinate successfully. 

 After cutting they should be placed immediately in the nursery 

 provided (of course in the shade), on the ground — not hung on 

 poles as the native is said to do. Prior to placing in seed beds, a 

 bit of the husk should be chipped off on one side, it should then 

 be laid, cut side up, and left to germinate. Nine months usually 

 elapses before they are ready for planting. The nut when placed 

 on end, as is sometimes done, sends out a spindling plumule, 

 easily broken at Ithe point of protuberance, and at best never 

 gains the vigour of those germinated according to the method 

 given. Two thousand nine hundred and thirty-one trees have 

 been planted this year, most of them on ground that has been 

 ploughed and pulverized and put in the same condition as for a 

 corn crop. The result has been a marvellous growth, the trees 

 being more than twice as large as those left to themselves." 



BRAZILLIAN COFFEE. 



The "Times" correspondent Rio Janiero says : — t 



EXCHANGE. 



The downward course of exchange continued apace from I7f 

 on the 1st February last to I4{ f; on the 14th of this month. The 

 recent movement was little short of hysterical. Between Good 

 Friday and Easter Sunday, there was no reason to believe that 

 there would be any greater demand for bills this year than usual, 

 yet the Banco da Republica changed the bank rate fifteen times ! 

 Every one of these changes is telegraphed up and down the coast 

 at enormous e.xpense, and yet the only difference between opening 

 and closing rates was 3% or three points — that is to say, the mar- 

 ket opened at four point's below the closing on the previous work- 

 ing day, and oscillated round I5d. at intervals of about 20 minutes 

 for no other visible reason than to jkeep the brokers running and 

 the cable busy. If the 15 millions for valorisation is borrowed 

 and remitted (a contingency not more improbable because it has 

 been repeatedly denied) the balloon will once more be filled with 

 gas, but otherwise the ballast thrown out by the Banco da Repub- 

 lica can only help for a little while, and we may soon rest again 



* Fro a the Hawaiian Forester and Agriculturist, April, 1906. 

 t See Bulletin, Oct., 1905 p. 215 ; June, 190C, p. ISr. 



