26 THE SELECTION OF A PLANTATION 



those with an impermeable substratum which are 

 likely to hold stagnant water, as well as all shallow 

 soils, should be carefully avoided. Mr. F. A. G. 

 Pape, a retired planter of wide experience, con- 

 siders that almost wholly level land, with just 

 sufficient slope to ensure drainage, is ideal 

 for a coconut plantation, provided the soil 

 consists of a good layer of humus and porous 

 substance underneath, plus, of course, a good supply 

 of water that is always on the move. In selecting 

 a locality for the plantation all these points have to 

 be borne in mind. According to one practical 

 authority " a very tangible proof of the fertility 

 or otherwise of a region is in all cases the state of 

 the surface growth. Where you find large and 

 flourishing trees and herbage, there you may be 

 sure that ideal conditions exist for your purpose ; 

 this surface growth may have been destroyed by 

 some agency not readily discernible, and then, of 

 course, it is necessary to employ the soil tests. . . . 

 If you should find that the surface growth has been 

 eradicated by hurricanes, and if you learn that 

 these occur frequently in the localities you have 

 marked out, then strike your tent and proceed 

 elsewhere, for you are in the cyclone belt, where 

 the labour and care of many years may be swept 

 away and utterly annihilated in a half-hour. 

 Those regions lying between the 13th and 18th 

 degrees of latitude on both sides of the Equator are 



