342 



cocos 



cocos 



in mind and plantations are laid out on sandy or shelly 

 tracts of land bordering the sea, where it is almost im- 

 possible to raise anything else of value. This soil con- 

 sists of coarse sand, broken shells and litter of the sea, 

 and is apparently very poor in quality, yet the Cocoanut 

 thrives on it and bears abundantly. Propagation is by 

 seeds only. These are selected from the most desired 

 strains, as the nuts vary greatly in size, shape, and 

 quantity and quality of the meat. They must be per- 

 fectly ripe before planting, which is usually done with- 

 out removing the outer husk. A shallow trench is 

 scooped out of the sand, the nuts are laid in thickly on 

 their sides and then the sand is thrown back over them 

 to a depth of from 4-10 in., according to the moisture of 

 the soil. After some months, when they have germi- 

 nated and the seed leaf is well developed, they are usu- 

 ally dug and planted out permanently about 20 ft. apart. 

 The young palms are kept free from weeds and en- 

 croaching beach creepers for 3 or 4 years, until they 

 reach a considerable size, after which they seldom get 

 any cultivation. A mulching of seaweed and other veg- 

 etable matter proves of much benefit, but as the profit 

 is so small in Cocoanut culture, thorough manuring is 

 not attempted. Cocoanut Palms are of tropical growth, 

 yet may be grown outside the tropics to a slight extent, 

 as in southern Florida, where occasional light frosts 

 <> ccur - E. N. REASONEK. 



As a decorative subject under glass, Cocos nucifera 

 is but little grown, owing to its large size, but when 

 given an abundance of water, a rich, loamy soil, and a 

 night temperature of 70, it is not especially difficult to 

 manage, and while the young plants do not give a proper 

 idea of the mature Cocoanut Palm, their development 

 is interesting to watch. 



The most valuable Cocos to the florist is the Dwarf 

 Cocoanut, C. Weddelliana, the seeds of which are sent 

 from Brazil to the large American and European palm 

 growers by the million each season. These seeds are 

 about half an inch thick. They usually arrive in the 

 spring, and should be sown at once in a warm green- 

 house and kept continually moist, and if they are in 

 good condition and kept at a temperature of about 75, 

 they frequently begin to germinate in 6 to 8 weeks. 



A light and rather open soil is preferable for Cocos 

 seeds, some growers using pure peat for this purpose 

 with good results. When the seedlings are making their 

 second leaf they may be potted off, and this is one of 

 the critical periods in the culture of C. Weddel liana, 

 the young roots being so stiff and brittle that much care 

 is needed to get them into a 2- or 2%-inch pot, and if 

 the main root is broken the seedling seldom recovers. 



Deep pots are, therefore, best for this purpose. The 

 seedlings should be kept rather close during the day for 

 the first few weeks after potting, and then may be aired 

 quite liberally, and also syringed freely. A night tem- 

 perature of 65-70 will answer very well for the young 

 plants, and they should never be allowed to become 

 very dry, or a yellow and unhealthy condition is liable 

 to follow. Through the summer the plants may be re- 

 potted as they may need it, but it is not wise to disturb 

 the roots after the middle of October, the root action of 

 these plants being rather sluggish during the winter 

 months. 



Soil should be well-drained, rather sandy in texture, 

 and may be enriched with some dry cow-dung, or a 

 moderate quantity of bone dust. 



Cult, by W. H. TAPLIN. 



The Cocoanut is the example most commonly cited of 

 dispersal of seeds by water. Its buoyant, impervious 

 husk is said to enable it to cross an ocean without 

 losing its germinating power. Its structure is interest- 

 ing and at first puzzling. Although it is a dry, indehis- 

 cent, 1-seeded fruit, it seems very unlike an akene, as 

 for instance, in the Composite. Structurally, it is more 

 like a drupe, for the fibrous husk is formed from the 

 outer part of the pericarp, and the hard shell enclosing 1 

 the meat from the inner. In other words the husk is 

 exocarp and the shell endocarp. The milk of the Cocoa- 

 nut is unsolidified endosperm. In the cereal grains it is 

 the endosperm which affords most of the material used 

 for human food. Only a part of the liquid matter of the 

 Cocoanut solidifies, and the milk is left in the center. 



The eyes of the Cocoanut (Fig. 506) mark the positions 

 of the micropyles, and germination takes place only 

 through the larger one. Palm pistils are 3-carpelled and 

 each carpel in Cocos has 1 ovule. The marks of the 3 

 carpels are seen in Fig. 506, but only 1 ovule develops 



506. End of a mature cocoanut. 

 The nut sprouts usually from the largest eye. 



into a seed. Fig. 507 tells the story of the growth of a 

 Cocoanut. In a, the young nut is enveloped by 3 petals 

 and 3 sepals. At &, the pericarp has far outgrown the 

 sepals and petals. The floral envelopes remain upon the 

 tree when the nut is picked. Cocoanuts, like many other 

 fruits, often grow to a considerable size without pollina- 

 tion, and then perish. 



In distinguishing tropical from subtropical regions, 

 the Cocoanut is an excellent guide. It flourishes best 

 where frost is never known. The oil extracted from the 

 nuts is an important article of commerce. The fiber re- 

 fuse is much used by florists and gardeners. Being 

 open, spongy, very retentive of moisture, clean and 

 easily handled, it is a favorite material in which to root 

 bedding plants and to start very small seeds ; but it is 

 not used for permanent potting. L. H. B 



A. Filaments present on the rachis. 



eriospatha, Mart. Stem 9-15 ft. high, 10-14 in. thick, 

 capitately thickened with the persistent bases of the 

 petioles; Ivs. ample, glaucous, finely pectinate : margins 

 of the rachis with excurrent filaments ; segments about 

 1 in. apart, the lower elongated, linear, 20-24 in. long, 

 very long-acuminate, the upper narrowly linear, short, 

 attenuate, 1 ft. long, 2 lines wide, all rigid, faintly ner- 

 vose-striate S. Braz. "The hardiest of the genus and 

 one of the hardiest palms in southern Calif. Fronds 

 bluish: fr. pulp tastes like apricots." F. Franceschi, 

 Santa Barbara. Rather coarse for cultivation under 

 glass. 



AA. Flaments absent. 



B. Rachis abruptly contracted above the insertion of 

 the lowest Ifts. 



flexudsa, Mart. Stem 9-12 ft, high, 2-3 H in. in diam., 

 arcuate-ascending, naked just above the base, thence 

 densely clothed with dead petiole bases; Ivs. lax, 3-6 ft. 

 long: petiole flat above, arcuate, at first tomentose, later 

 smooth : rachis abruptly narrowed above the insertion 

 of the lowest leaf-segment, thence linear-filiform at the 

 apex, excurrent ; segments 70-90 on each side, rigid in 

 opposite groups, the middle 10-14 in. long, % in. wide, 

 the upper 4 in. long, l-12in. wide. Braz. Cult, in north- 

 ern greenhouses. An avenue tree in S. Fla. and S. 

 Calif. "Similar in habit to S.plumosa, but with more 

 finely cut Ivs., and in S. Eu. considered to stand more 

 frost. "Francesch i . 



