THE SEED-NUT AND THE NURSERY 87 



from one to four weeks, though some assure us 

 that it can be done in three or four days. This 

 4 'curing" must not be effected in full sunlight, 

 as the heat may cause the kernel to become 

 partially cooked, in which state its germinat- 

 ing power is greatly impaired, if not altogether 

 destroyed. 



The planter finds it necessary to buy more nuts 

 than he apparently needs, some authorities placing 

 the surplusage as high as 50 per cent. Even this 

 margin, if adopted, would seldom result in waste, 

 for there is always loss of seed to be made good 

 from many causes, including unsuitability, ravages 

 of insects and vermin, accidents during trans- 

 portation, and failure to germinate. For planting- 

 out purposes, therefore, extra seed is always 

 required. 



Whenever these nuts have to be moved from 

 place to place, such operations should be performed 

 with the utmost care, in order not to detach the 

 delicate germinating cores from their hold on the 

 upper end of the kernel, just under the germinating 

 holes, where the rootlets issue. Any resultant 

 damage would be likely to seriously interfere with 

 the subsequent growth, if not to arrest it altogether. 

 Some planters utilise donkeys for the transfer of 

 the seed-nuts, but the best and safest way is 

 to move them on bamboo stretchers carried by 

 men. 



