24 COCONUT PLANTER'S MANUAL. 



tractors have now found a place in their agricultural economy and is 

 well worth serious consideration by coconut growers in the Colony. 



The tractor to be an economical unit must find continuous 

 work throughout the year, and if an estate is not laige enough to pro- 

 vide this work then other arrangements should be made whereby the 

 maximum output is obtained. If such co-operation is possible or if 

 hiring companies can be formed there are good prospects before 

 tractors on the coconut estates of the Colony. 



The general consensus of opinion amongst progressive coconut 

 growers is that cultivation in the drier districts should not be carried 

 on at too frequent intervals. The maintenance of the humus-content 

 of the soil has to be kept continuously in view and if green manure 

 plants are not grown between the rows of coconuts then a certain 

 amount of grass and weeds should be allowed to grow in order that 

 they may be turned into the soil. 



The effects of the deeper ploughing which will be possible with 

 the use of tractors will be watched with interest and coconut planters 

 are asked to keep accurate records of the crops from those fields which 

 have been deep ploughed and subsequently thoroughly cultivated. — 

 [The Director of Agriculture in the "Tropical Agriculturist".] 



Draining will lie found dealt with by Mr. A. K. Beven, and th<' 

 subject of manuring exhaustively treated of by the Agricultural 

 Chemist (whose authority will be readily acknowledged) as well as 

 in the publications of the Colombo Commercial Company, and in 

 Trent Tale's Chapters. It should be mentioned, with regard to 

 packing husks round the trees and filling trenches with fallen 

 coconut leaves, that the Government Entomologist fears that this 

 may encourage the breeding of beetles. 



There are some people who think it a mistake to manure coconuts 

 for the reason that when once manured they must always be manured. 

 To this the only reply would be that if it pays to manure there is no 

 reason only it should not be done regularly and continuously. 

 Indeed, except on rich, virgin land, the intelligent planter will always 

 keep up the fertility of his soil by the judicious application of manure. 



There are three ingredients that should always be found in a 

 manure mixture or supplied in a manuring programme, viz. : nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid and potash. It may be stated as a general fact that 

 nitrogen is mainly directed to the production of leaf, phosphoric 



