COCONUT PLANTER'S MANUAL. 109 



That is to say, there are a great many different manures which can '.c 

 used and they contai i different quantities of these foods. Just as sods 

 are of different qualities so are manures, some are rieh and some are 

 poor, and it is important to realise that the value of a manure depends 

 very largely on the amount of plant-food it contains. For instance, 100 

 lbs. of castor cake contain 5 lbs. of nitrogen, while 100 lbs. of sulphate 

 of ammonia, contain 20 lbs. and for this reason sulphate of ammonia is 

 much more valuable as a manure than castor cake. 



When buying a mixed manure, a common mistake is to consider 

 only the price per ton and to imagine that 10 lbs. of a mixture which 

 cost Rs. 80 per ton, will be of the same value as a fertiliser as 10 lbs. 

 of another mixture which costs Ks. 120 per ton. The real state of 

 matters is that 15 lbs. would be required of the cheap mixture to supply 

 the same amount of plant food as 10 lbs. of the more expensive one, 

 and that more money would have to be spent on rail freight, and other 

 transport charges, because a larger quantity of manure would have to 

 be handled. Generally speaking, a rieh manure at a high price per ton 

 is the cheapest in the end, because less of it has to be used. It is the 

 cost per tree which should be looked at. not the cost per ton. 



It is not proposed to discuss the theory of the action of manure in 

 this pamphlet, and it will be sufficient for our purpose to state in general 

 terms that the effect of nitrogen is to encourage the growth of the 

 green parts of a plant, that is, the leaves and young shoots ; phos- 

 phoric acid is chiefly concerned with the production of fruit and seeds; 

 while potash :s necessary for the growth of the woody portions, such 

 as stem and bark. All three are required if a healthy tree is to be pro- 

 duced, but different trees require them in different proportions. Some- 

 times the soil is rich enough to supply the tree with all that it requires, 

 but often one or other has to be added in the form of manure to bring 

 the food in the soil to the proportions needed by the tree. 



The proportions which are best for the coconut tree vary, therefore 

 to some extent according to the richness of the soil, but in most cases 

 the differences in soils are so slight that one general coconut mixture 

 is suitable for all. 



The following are good proportions for a general coconut mixture : — 

 Every 100 lbs. of mixture should contain 

 4£ lbs. nitrogen. 

 7 lbs. phosphoric acid. 

 5| lbs. potash. 

 The choice of ingredients to be used in making up the mixture 

 depends on many things, and a full discussion of them would be a 

 lengthy matter It will be enough here to note that the mixture shoul 1 

 not be made entirely of rich artificial manures, bqt should contain some- 



