56 Coco-nuts The Consols of the East 



some of the principal rubber companies put 

 upon the market, we have had several of 

 these coco-nut propositions submitted to us by 

 intending sellers anxious to know how the 

 public are likely to receive such offers, or to 

 what group of financiers it would be best to 

 apply. Some of the offers were simply out- 

 rageous, such as 200 palms and even more to 

 the acre, and annual yields of 200 nuts and 

 over per tree. Such returns are useless, 

 although it seems difficult to persuade the 

 sellers to believe so. A company recently 

 floated published in their report the following 

 particulars, which, being fair average returns, 

 we quote here as a guide for readers when 

 coming over to sell their coco-nut estates. 

 Fifty (strictly speaking, forty-eight) trees, 

 planted 30 by 30, are calculated to the acre, 

 and no well-planted estate, for reasons ex- 

 plained elsewhere, will place them closer than 

 than this, since, as stated on page 61, a full- 

 grown leaf can measure from 15 to 18 ft. The 

 basis of the valuation of the estate was made 

 on the average annual product of 50 nuts per 

 tree of nine years old and upwards, and 40 nuts 

 from palms of eight years. This, whilst a fair 

 return, is the full average allowance, although 

 of course many trees do exceed this number, 

 Returns of 200 to 400 nuts per tree in a year 

 are as rare as yields of 10 to 20 Ib. of dry 

 rubber per tree. Such returns may be obtain- 

 able, but should not figure in a prospectus. 



