110 COCONUT PLANTER'S MANUAL- 



slow-acting bulky material such as poonac or fish. Bone meal or steamed 

 bono meal is a good ingredient on most soils and supplies a large amount 

 of phosphoric acid, while nitrate of potash or soda acts quickly and is a 

 good stimulant for sickly trees. A judicious mixture of materials such 

 as these arranged so that 100 lbs. of the mixture contain the quantities 

 stated above can be safely used as a good all-round coconut manure. 

 The quantity to be applied per tree is a question on which a good deal 

 of misunderstanding exists. There seems to be a very general id«\i 

 that 15 lbs. per tree is the proper dose for full grown trees, but after 

 what has been said on the variation in the richness of different manures 

 it will be seen that it is quite incorrect to say that 15 lbs. should he 

 applied in every case. It depends on the richness of the mixture. 15 lbs. 

 of castor cake would do very little good, while 15 lbs. of sulphate of 

 ammonia might do a gieat deal of harm. 



If the proportions stated on the previous page are used, then 10 lbs. 

 per tree should be applied to trees in bearing, but this is only correct for 

 those proportions. For young trees the dose should be less, starting 

 with about hall a pound the first year after planting, and increasing 

 gradually year by year up to 10 lbs. 



The Use of Cattle Manure. 

 As was mentioned before, cattle manure is oi great value in 

 sandy soils for increasing their power of holding moisture after rain. 

 It is in this improvement in the texture of the soil that the value of 

 cattle manure chiefly lies. It also supplies nitrogen, phosphoric acid, 

 and potash, but the quantities it contains are small compared with other 

 manures, and it consists mainly of a large bulk of decaying organic 

 matter which adds to a sandy soil just what it lacks in this respect. 



Cattle manure is of universal application, and there are few soils, 

 in Ceylon at least, which would not be benefitted by it. Its action as 

 a fertiliser ter>ds towards promoting leaf growth, for it contains more 

 nitrogen than it does phosphoric acid or potash, and for this reason 't 

 should not be used in large quantities if the soil is rich. Too much 

 nitrogen delays the ripening of the fruit. 



In the ca:o of most sandy coconut soils, however, it would be almost 

 impossible to apply torj much cattle manure, and the difficulty generally 

 is that sufficient cannot be got. Where more is needed than can be 

 obtained it is much better to apply what you Have in heavy doses to 

 a small numbei of trees than to spread it over the whole estate. The 

 driest and sandiest paits of the soil need it most, and the trees with 

 yellowish drooping leaves will respond to it best. It should be applied 

 at the rate of not less than 10 baskets per tree, and even 20 baskets 

 would not bo too much in many cases. By choosing the worst parts of 

 the estate, ana the most needy trees and continuing with them for 



