THE COST OF A COCONUT ESTATE 65 



allowance is made for catchcrops or the system of 

 goiya, or gratuitous labour, in vogue in Ceylon, 

 which would represent a notable increase in 

 revenue, while the receipts, at current prices for 

 coconuts, would be more than double the amount 

 specified. Thus, for the eighth, ninth, and tenth 

 years the receipts would be nearer Rs. 40,000 than 

 Rs. 21,000. Moreover, the crop would increase 

 year by year until it attained about 750,000 nuts 

 in the 15th year. And, with liberal cultivation and 

 fertilisation, it should attain 1,000,000 nuts per 

 annum. This yield should be maintained, if not in- 

 creased, up to the 70th year, so that, altogether, 

 very substantial profits would ultimately accrue, 

 rendering this 200 acres of land, with its very 

 moderate yearly rental, a most attractive in- 

 vestment, yielding high dividends over a period of 

 about sixty years. 



Considerations of space preclude the inclusion of 

 other examples, but it may be said that every 

 region has its peculiar advantages and drawbacks, 

 which serve to equalise, to a great extent, the 

 general results achieved. In some regions land 

 may be cheaper or labour more plentiful ; while in 

 others the markets may be closer, or climatic con- 

 ditions more favourable. Thus, while the geo- 

 graphical distribution of the coconut is extremely 

 wide, ranging from the West Indies to the far 

 Pacific, the prospects for profitable exploitation 

 are in most regions decidedly bright, for reasons 

 which have already been explained. 



F 



