COCONUT PLANTER'S MANUAL. 93 



22*77, potash salts 13200, phosphate of lime 920O, carbonate ami sulphate of 

 liuie 6T50 lb. and silica 13" 20 lbs. The greater proportion (or about 36 per 

 cent.) of the potash ami phosphate of lime is to be found in the leaves. 

 Most of this is returned to the soil when the leaves drop off, and it shows 

 the importance of utilising the mineral matter in the fallen leaves to the 

 best advantage. A young palm about live years old was analysed at ray 

 Laboratory and the analyses of the various parts were very similar to those 

 made by others. A feature of the analysis was the large amount of silica 

 in the leaves, root and stem, especially the two former, the silica amount ng 

 to 36 and 56 per cent, respectively. On carefully burning a portion of the 

 leaf a skeleton of every cell was obtained consisting chiefly of this silica. 

 This shows that the roots of the coconut palm are able to attack the silica 

 of the sandy soils more than most other plants. Lime is an important 

 constituent both in the leaves and stem, and to a less extent the root, 

 while potash is chiefly in the le .ves and stem and phosphoric acid fairly 

 evenly distributed throughout. Another constituent that is generally 

 present in fairly large amount is sulphuric acid, so that the Calcium Sulphate 

 in superphosphates and the sulphuric acid in sulphate of potash no doubt 

 add to the value of these m nures, Much of the potash, but little of the 

 phosphate of lime, is to be found in the immature fallen nuts and there 

 again the advisability of utilizing them as manure either before or after 

 burning is indicated. The amount of mineral matter estimated to be 

 removed from the soil by one acre of coconut palms annually at 62 palms 

 per acre is said to be salt 52 lb., potash salts 32l, phosphate of lime 194, 

 carbonate and sulpha.te of lime 14'', Magnesia 2, silica 28, equal to 737 lb. 

 The leaves and fallen fruits remove most, viz. — 370 and 250 lb. respective'y. 

 while the trunk utilises 70 lb. and the remainder 47 lb. These figures show 

 the importance of including a good proportion of lime, potash and 

 phosphoric acid in a manure mixture even for the growth of the palm, 

 especially, if the soi's are deficient in these constituents. Bub it must be 

 remembered at the same time that the coconut palm roots penetrate through 

 several feet of soil, so that a comparatively poor analysis may still mean a 

 very large amount of plant food. A foot of sandy soil over one acre weighs 

 abont 4,200,000 lb. and this increases with greater depth by about 7 per 

 cent per foot, so that at 4 ft. it would >veigh over 5, 000, 00 J lb. and the 

 total 4 ft. of soil about 18,480,000 lb : — 



Total... 18,480,000 lb. 

 Taking an average poor sar.dysoil as containing - 22 percent, lime, irol I per 

 cent potash, 0"03 per cent phosphoric acid and - r>4 per cent nitrogen, such a 



