THE COCONUT 



127 



Moisture. Since it has no fine roots and no root 

 hairs, the coconut cannot get the water it needs, except 

 from a very moist soil. It needs a uniformly distributed 



1 > 



Fu;. 90. Coconut groves along Ihe Dumaka River, Tayabas province, with nipa at the 



water's edge 



rainfall of as much as 120 cm in the year; or else it must 

 be irrigated; or there must be more water in the ground 

 than is due to the local rainfall. Alone: sea beaches 



O 



there is always water in the ground, which flows slowly 

 from higher land through the soil to the sea. Enough 

 of this water moves upward through loose soil so that 

 trees in this situation are less injured by dry seasons 

 than are trees anywhere else. 



