168 TROPICAL AGRICULTURE CHAP. 



" by its waters without injury to the tree, until it is actually 



"undermined. It is likewise remarkable, that those trees 



dSfgirtl 1 " " which are nearest the shore all bend their heads towards 



in the sea ' ; the sea, notwithstanding the violence of the south-west 



"winds, which blow incessantly from that quarter from 



" May to September inclusive ; and the regular sea-breezes 



"which prevail in the day, during February, March, and 



" April. In addition to which circumstances, they are per- 



" fectly sheltered from all winds blowing on the land side." 



PROPAGATION. The cocoa-nut palm is propagated by 

 seed, ripe nuts being sown in nursery beds until they ger- 

 minate, and then they are planted out in the places where 

 the trees are to grow. The greatest care must be exercised 

 Care to be in obtaining good ripe nuts for seed. It is well to select a 



observed in,,, ,,, , 



the selection healthy middle-aged tree and to allow the nuts to ripen on it 



of seed nuts. for seed When the nuts are thoroughly ripe they must be 

 picked before they become dry, and then kept for a month 

 before planting, in order that some of the moisture may be 

 absorbed and the outer skin rendered water-proof. The 



Nurseries, nursery beds must be made in a sheltered place where the 

 soil is light, and the earth must be dug up to the depth of 

 two feet all stones and roots being removed. Trenches 

 should then be made about six inches deep and the nuts laid 

 in them on their sides with the stalk ends slightly raised, an 

 interval of about a foot may be left between each nut. As 

 much earth is then returned into the trench as will cover all 

 but about two inches of the crown of the nuts, and over all 

 should be laid about six inches of straw or grass or cane- 



The nur- trash. If the weather be dry for some days after planting, 



series to be J 3 



watered. a good watering will prove beneficial, as it will settle the 



earth around the nuts. A considerable number of the seeds 



All the seeds will usually not germinate, or will produce bad or weakly 



will not , . ; ' 



germinate, plants, so that it is well to sow fully 50 per cent, more nuts 

 than the number of plants desired to plant out in the field. 

 An occasional watering is necessary in dry weather, and the 



