XI 



FOREWORD TO THE FIRST EDITION. 



COCO-NUT PLANTING. 



BY SIR W. H. LEVER, BART. 



I KNOW of no field of Tropical Agriculture 

 that is so promising at the present moment as 

 coco-nut planting, and I do not think in the 

 whole world there is a promise of so lucrative 

 an investment of time and money as in this 

 industry. The world is only just awakening 

 to the value of coco-nut oil in the manufacture 

 of artificial butter of the highest quality, and 

 of the by-product, copra cake, as a food for 

 cattle ; this is of very great value, especially 

 for dairy cows, where food is required that will 

 not give any added flavour to the milk or 

 butter. 



Given reasonable precautions and care there 

 is very little risk of failure in coco-nut planting. 

 Experience has greatly increased in the last 

 ten years, with the result that the possibility 

 of failure is reduced to a minimum. A large 

 amount of capital is not required if the planter 

 is willing to grow and cultivate annual crops 

 during the period that his coco-nut plantation 

 is coming into bearing. The cost of clearing 

 and planting is not of itself heavy ; it is the loss 



