THE SEED-NUT AND THE NURSERY 89 



authority points out that " in Malaya, the Philip- 

 pines, and certain other regions, the natives form 

 a natural nursery by collecting a lot of nuts side 

 by side under a heavy shade tree, like the mango 

 or the jackfruit, and leave them there until plants 

 of roughly 2 ft. in height have grown out of them. 

 Thousands of seed-nuts can be thus sheltered, the 

 chief drawback being the impossibility of giving 

 the nuts individual attention, owing to their being 

 too close together." Generally speaking, where 

 such shade is not available, it must be provided by 

 the erection of shade roofs, which can usually be 

 built at low cost from materials obtainable on the 

 spot. 



The soil of the nursery should be well forked to 

 a depth of from 16 to 18 inches, well pulverised, 

 and all large stones, stumps, grass, roots, etc., 

 carefully removed, so that the entire nursery is 

 thoroughly clear and clean. It should then be 

 divided into beds from 3 to 4 feet wide, with narrow 

 paths intersecting them to facilitate inspection and 

 general tilling work. 



Mr. L. C. Brown, Inspector of Coconut Planta- 

 tions in the Federated Malay States, regards the 

 selection of seeds as being of the greatest import- 

 ance, as we have already pointed out. His 

 experience shows that it is better not to plant 

 them for a month or two after they have been 

 picked, so that the outer rind may get thoroughly 



