COCONUT PLANTER'S MANtTAL, 129 



first sight. In a very large proportion of the Ceylon coconut districts 

 there is a permanent water table from six to eight feet below ,the sur- 

 face of the soil. Immediately over this water table, particularly on the 

 'Bast coast side, there is a layer of exfremely hard coral about two feet 

 thick. Where such conditions as these prevail it is easily possible to 

 break througn the coral and open water-holes at intervals all over our 

 estate. Once these holes are opened half a dozen small hand pumps and 

 a few hundred feet of flexible tubing will work wonders in the way 

 of saving our crops. This suggestion is open to all kinds of objections, 

 but to a very large extent the objections are specious. The expense, the 

 time and the trouble will all be amply repaid by the saving of many 

 thousands of nuts and by obviating the set-back which the palms in- 

 variably suffer when subjected to a period of excessive drought from the 

 effects of which it sometimes takes them several years to recover. When 

 it is really impracticable to water the entire estate it is frequently a 

 comparatively easy matter to water a portion of it, and it is obviously 

 better to save half the crop than allow the whole to be destroyed. That 

 this system is actually being carried out by a few of the more go-ahead 

 planters is sufficient proof that it offers no insurmountable difficulties. 



Another very useful system carried out in some districts is aa 

 follows : — A porous clay vessel of about two gallons capacity is buried 

 up to its lip alongside each palm and filled with water. The water seeps 

 through the sides of the "chatties" and so provides a certain amount 

 of moisture to the palms, not nearly sufficient to satisfy their normal 

 requirements, it's true, but still a little is better than none. (It might 

 here be mentioned that the normal requirements of a full grown healthy 

 palm are from 8 to 10 gallons of water per day.) The chatties themselves 

 cost little and the labour required to replenish them is not very great. 



The second direction in which we can proceed to combat drought 

 is by preventing as far as possible the loss of the water which is already 

 in soil. This we can do by suitable methods of cultivation and manuring, 

 and while seeking the best system to adopt it must be borne in mind that 

 our object is to encourage the process of capillarity, by which wat^r 

 is brought up from the subsoil, and at the same time to prevent evapora- 

 tion, by which water is lost into the atmosphere. 



Most of the salts which are used as artificial manures and ate 

 soluble in water increase capillarity in soils, hence an applcation of 

 salt, nitrate of soda, or, to a lesser extent, kainit, will lift more mois- 

 ture from the subsoil an'' thus maintain the top layer of soil in a moister 

 condition. On the other hand solutions of those organic manures which 

 contain a little oil decrease capillarity and bring about the burning of 



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