THE CUBA REVIEW 



19 



Coconut Trees. 



clay soil, plantations are not usually healthy and the yield is seldom satisfactory, which is due 

 largely to moisture conditions. The coconut needs a constant and plentiful sui)ply of moisture, 

 but it does not thrive in stagnant water. It may, therefore, be grown successfully along river 

 banks or irrigation ditches, while it would make no progress in swampy soil where the groimd 

 water could not be kept at least four feet from the surface. 



In most islands the trees are subject to bud-rot, which Ls^ a serious disease and in such 

 places it is not advisable to plant except on coast lands where the soil is suitable and the mois- 

 ture plentiful. 



For planting select only the largest and heaviest nuts, lay them on the side close together 

 in a shady place, cover with seaweed or leaf mold, which should be kept moLst by sprinkling 

 from time to time. After the nuts have sprouted, when the tops have reached a height of from 

 one to two feet, transplant into the field, setting the plants about 30 feet apart. The ground 

 between the trees should be utilized for small crops suitable to the locaUty, and if the usual feed 

 crops are not paying, leguminous crops should be planted and turned under occasionally. 

 While the coconut thrives best when exposed to the breeze, the young plants need wind pro- 

 tection, and the cultivation is, therefore, similar to that of other orchard crops. The trees are 

 gross feeders and they need an abundance of plant food. Wlien leguminous crops are grown 

 and plowed under, nitrogen may not be needed, but phosphoric acid and potash will often pay 

 handsome returns in fruit and vigor of tree. 



HENRY SHALER WILLIAMS 



Professor Henry Shaler Williams died in 

 Havana on July 31st. This eminent geolo- 

 gist occupied the chair of geology at Yale 

 University, subsequently the same position 

 at Cornell University. After a distinguished 



career as a scientist, he retired from active 

 university work in 1913. Since then he has 

 made important investigations in Cuba which 

 have resulted in the recent development of 

 the oil fields in the provinces of Havana and 

 Pinar del Rio. 



