20 



and so mellow that the soil can be closely and properly pressed around the 

 roots by hand. 



Second. The orchard should be securely protected from the invasion 

 of cattle, etc. It is sometimes impossible to protect orchards against 

 entry of these animals. If the success of these precautions can not be 

 assured, then the nuts had better be grown in a closely protected nursery 

 until about a year old, when the albumen of the seed will be completely 

 assimilated and will therefore no longer attract vermin, and when the 

 larger size of the plant will give it more protection from stray cattle. 



In either case planting should be made concurrently with the opening 

 of the rainy monsoon, during which season further field operations will 

 not be required except when an intermittent, drier period indicates the 

 advisability of running the cultivator. 



The planting "pit" fetish, in such common use in India, has nothing 

 to commend it. If stable manures of any kind are available, a good ap- 

 plication at the time of planting will effect wonders in accelerating the 

 growth of the young plants. 



Where the necessary protection is assured, the young seedling planted 

 out as above recommended should start at once, without check of any 

 kind, into vigorous growth. 



The nursery-grown subject rp^eives an unavoidable setback. Its roots 

 have been more or less mutilated and, as we may not prune the top suffi- 

 ciently to compensate for the root injury, it is generally several months 

 before the equilibrium of top and root is fully restored. In most cases, 

 by the end of the second year, it will have been far outstripped in the 

 growing race by the former. 



The history, habits, and characteristics of the cocoanut tree indicate 

 that it needs a full and free exposure to sun, air, and wind; and, as it 

 makes a tree, under such circumstances, of wide crown expansion, these 

 indispensables can not be secured except by very wide planting. 



Conventional recommendations cover all distances, from 5 to 8 meters, 

 with quincunx (i. e., triangular plantings) urged when the 8-meter plan 

 is adopted. But the writer has seen too many groves spaced at this dis- 

 tance in good soil, with interlacing leaves and badly spindled in the des- 

 perate struggle for light, air, and sun, ever to recommend the quincunx, 

 or any system other than the square, at distances not less than 9 meters 

 and, in good soils, preferably 9.5 meters. 



The former distance will allow for 123 and the latter 111 trees to the 

 hectare. They should be lined out with the greatest regularity, so as to 

 admit at all times of cross plowing and cultivation as desired. 



From this time forward the treatment is one of cultural and manurial 

 routine. 



Annual plowings should not be dispensed with during the life of the 

 plantation. These plowings may be relatively shallow, sufficient to 

 cover under the green manures and crops that are made an indispensable^ 



