144 COCONUT PLANTER'S MANUAL. 



sufficient time to adequately drain the land and a large percentage of the 

 plants would be killed by stagnant water. Therefore only those portions, 

 which have been drained, are planted up when the rains come. By experi- 

 ments carried out at the Manning Trial Ground it has been proved that a 

 just germinated coconut plant could live on the food in the nut for about a 

 year without even water. Therefore if sufficiently small plants are used, 

 much loss is not incurred even if the rains are missed and planting is carried 

 well into the subsequent dry season. With this extra time available drain- 

 ing could be attended to leisurely and adequate provision made for the next 

 rains. If the soil is very dry and water available, pouring a pot of water 

 round the plant and covering up the wet soil with dry earth to stop evapo- 

 ration is beneficial. This will help the plant to give out roots faster. If 

 no rain has fallen watering may be repeated about a month later with 

 advantage. 



Young Stage 



On a new clearing the quantity of plant food immediately available is 

 much in excess of the requh*ements of the young plant. This surplus may lie 

 either converted into ready money by growing catch crops, if this proves 

 remunerative, or reserved for future use by growing and returning to the 

 soil any legume which suits the climatic conditions. The young plants 

 will not need much plant food till about the third year, therefore it is not 

 necessary to do much cultivation to liberate plant food till then. The soil 

 immediately round the plants must, however, bekept frequently cultivated. 

 This will keep down weeds, oxidise the soil, and act as a soil mulch at the 

 same time. The vegetable matter growing in the middle of the squares 

 maybe periodically weeded and mulched round the palms with advantage. 

 If the plantation is in a dry district with clearly defined periods of drought, 

 the soil of the whole area should be stirred to arrest evaporation at the 

 expiry of the rains. After the third year in order to enable ploughing and 

 disc harrowing, it is essential to remove all the stumps. To perform this 

 economically the use of a " Jack " is of great service. 



Manuring 



Manuring is the most important and expensive item in the culti- 

 vation of coconuts. Without it a remunerative income for an indefi- 

 nite time cannot be obtained. An experiment carried out at Manning 

 Coconut Trial Ground shows the total produce (including fallings) from 

 £ an acre to be about 3£ tons annually. If all this is removed, as is 

 done on some estates, it will amount in ten years to 70 tons per 

 acre. No land, however fertile, can stand a drain like this. An experi- 

 ment is being carried out at the Manning Trial Ground to ascertain if a 

 land's fertility would be maintained if oil only is removed and everything 



