396 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



" His orchard consisted, at the time of my visit in 1902, of 23 

 trees and was then probably the largest in the colony. It was from 

 eight to ten years old, having been planted with two-year-old trees 

 which were sent him as a present from the Malay peninsula. The 

 selection of a site for his orchard was a very happy one ; a moist spot 

 in his coconut plantation, a part of which had at one time been used 

 as a rice field. The ground was so moist that open drains were cut 

 through it to carry off the superfluous water and these are still kept 

 in order. The soil of the squares on which the trees are growing is 

 so moist and soft that, were it not for a layer of coconut husks, one's 

 feet would sink in up to the ankle as he walks across them. The 

 roots, under these circumstances, are bathed continually in fresh, 

 not stagnant, moisture. Mr. Wright attributes his success in growing 

 mangosteens to the fact that he has planted them on soil that never 

 dries out, but has, at a few feet from the surface, a continual supply 

 of fresh moisture. The water in his well, near by, is six feet from the 

 surface of the ground. H. L. Daniel, who has been for 15 years 

 trying to grow this fruit, and who, during that time, has planted over 

 a hundred young trees, assures me that this is one of the secrets of 

 the culture of this difficult fruit, and gives Mr. Wright credit for 

 first finding it out. 



"Another important detail relates to the matter of transplanting 

 the young seedlings. Mr. Daniel plants the seeds in a small pot 

 or coconut husk, and keeps them well watered and slightly shaded 

 with a coarse matting of coconut leaves. He transplants them from 

 this small pot to a larger one when the roots have filled it ; and in 

 removing he cuts off the tap-root if the latter is exposed. For two 

 years these young plants are kept in pots and grow to a height of two 

 to two and a half feet. It is useless to transplant them before they 

 are at least two feet high, for the check given them, if too young, 

 by the transplanting is so great that they refuse to grow. 



" When transplanted, the plants are set in a hole three feet cube 

 in size. Stiff soil is best but is not absolutely necessary, as they will 

 grow in a light soil if the subsoil is a good paddy mud. From the 

 first the young trees should be shaded with a matting of coconut 

 leaves, which is suspended two feet or so above the top of the plant. 

 This is to prevent wilting and subsequent death of the two red, partly 

 developed leaves, which first appear from the seed, and which must 

 be kept alive if the plant is to make a rapid growth. If these pre- 

 cautions of potting, shading, and selection of soil are followed, trees 

 should come into bearing seven years from seed, producing a small crop 

 of a hundred fruits or so. The subsequent treatment of the mangosteen 

 orchard seems to be very simple, no pruning of any kind is commonly 

 practiced, although it might be advisable to prune ; and little culti- 

 vating is done. A mulch of coconut husks about the base of the tree 



