COCONUT PLANTER'S MANUAL. Ill 



a year or two they will be gradually improved, and the applications of 

 cattle manure can afterwards be extended to other portions until the 

 whole estate is brought into good condition. The improvement will be 

 much more marked and more rapid in this way than if small doses of 

 the cattle manure were given to all the trees. 



The Storing of Cattle Manure. 



After the proofs which have been given above of the in- 

 jury done to trees by growing grass it should not be necessary to add 

 much on the subject of tethering cattle to coconut trees. This is only 

 done on slovenly, ill-kept estates, and when the grass is removed the 

 practice cannot be continued. It is at best a wasteful way of applying 

 manure. In a tropical climate a very large proportion of the manure 

 is lost if it is left to lie on the surface, and what little does find its way 

 into the soil comes in contact with only a very few roots. If it is to 

 be economically used it should be collected and stored until sufficient u 

 obtained to enable it to be applied in heavy doses as described above. 



It should be kept under cover on a cement or hard mud floor, well 

 pressed down whenever a fresh lot is added to the heap, and covered 

 from time to time by a layer of dry earth. This is a cheap and effective 

 way of preventing loss, and the manure can readily be dug out as re- 

 quired. 



The Use of Wood Ashes. 



Wood ashes make a very useful addition to cattle manure, but liko 

 the latter, can seldom be obtained in large enough qualities for applica- 

 tion to the wnole estate. Their value lies chiefly in the potash they con- 

 tain, but they also contain a little phosphoric acid and so are well 

 suited to supplement cattle manure. When wood ashes can be had they 

 should be mixed with cattle manure at th e rate of about 2 parts of 

 ashes to 1 pan of manure at the time of application, or they may be 

 added to the heap in the manure shed from time to time before the 

 layer of dry earth is placed upon it, and the mixture dug out as 

 required. 



The Use of Lime. 



Lime is what is called an indirect fertiliser. It is not itself a plant 

 food, but it brings about chemical changes in the soil by which plant- 

 food is produced. Potash in particular is formed in this way and the 

 effect of liming is ofte-i the same as if potash salts had been applied. 



Lime ha,-, also a good effect on the texture of sandy soils. It 

 cements the small particles together and makes the soil less open and 

 porous and therefore not so apt to lose all its moisture after rain. Its 

 action is slow and th^ treatment is only required at intervals of several 

 years. All sandy coconut lands should, however, be limed at least 

 once in five years. 



