at this time the plant should remain in the nursery for, say, six months 

 longer. 



Transplanting should be done, if possible, only during the rainy 

 season. Large plants should not be exposed to tlie sun during the 

 process of removal to the field and the setting into the holes. 



A bolo or very sharp broad spade should be used in taking up the 

 plants from the nursery. Though it is seldom practicable to take up 

 the plants with the earth adhering to the roots, it must be remembered 

 that every injury to a root means delay in the income from the plant; 

 i. e., a few centavos' worth of care at this point may repay the planter in 

 as many pesos' worth of future crops from the tree. In handling small 

 plants great care should be taken to prevent breaking or even straining 

 the navel, or point of union between the plant and the mother nut; a 

 large percentage of the plants are injured in this manner in removing 

 them from the nursery. 



^Vhen large (10 to 18 months old) plants are set out, especially if 

 many of their roots are broken in handling, it is well to cut off about 

 one-half or one-third of each of the larger leaves; this prevents excessive 

 evaporation (and possible wind damage) before new roots are formed. 



Holes for the plants should be made at least a month before the trans- 

 planting; shortly before the plant is set in, the hole may be loosely filled 

 with "surface soil" from around the hole. The holes should be at least 

 1 meter in diameter and at least 50 centimeters deep. 



The nut should be set a few centimeters below the level of the ground ; 

 and the earth may be heaped up slightly around the base of the stem. 

 The distance between the trees should be never less than 8 meters; on 

 alluvial soil it should be 10 meters. The quincunx system is commonly 

 used ; i. e., each tree is set opposite the interspaces of the adjacent rows 

 on either side of it; this allows each tree a little more room than does 

 the "square planting" arrangement. The following plan is recommended 

 as the best, especially for large plantations on level land : Blocks of 4 

 trees are set at 8 meters apart and around this block extends a space 

 10 meters wide; in other words, the rows alternate 8 and 10 meters in 

 each direction. This induces a slight leaning of the tree, which facil- 

 itates climbing; it also leaves partially open a considerable space which 

 may be planted with beans and other crops, especially during the first 

 eight or ten years. Unless at least 8 meters distance is allowed between 

 the rows of coconuts the yield is seriously affected ; indeed, it is believed 

 that the yield of many plantations in the Philippine Islands is fully 

 50 per cent below nonnal, due largely to the excessively close planting, 

 The error of too close planting is on a par with the mistake of planting 

 a dozen grains of com in a "hill ;" if only foliage is desired the idea is 

 not so very bad, but if seed is the object the plants must be given a 

 chance to attain a normal healthy development. 



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