88 Coco-nuts The Consols of the East 



one man can clear an acre in twenty days. 

 This at $0.25 a day would make the cost work 

 out at $5. Others again talk of $3.60 an acre. 

 Estimates vary considerably, therefore, even by 

 those who have paid for the work under dis- 

 cussion to be done for them. 



It will be noticed how at all centres the 

 leading authorities, when speaking of preparing 

 the land for coco-nuts, urge the importance of 

 adequate ploughing and cultivation. At least 

 once a year, according to the Bureau of Agri- 

 culture in the Philippines, the land should be 

 ploughed, even after the palms are planted, 

 and on lands infested with cogon grass it may 

 be necessary to do so twice. As already stated, 

 the cultivation must not go too near the trees. 

 If the ground near the trunks is inclined to 

 crack during the dry weather, it must be raked 

 over, not dug, as the spade or fork may damage 

 the roots. Barrett prefers the disc-harrow to 

 the plough when the soil between the palms 

 needs being lightened. On a well-kept estate 

 Worcester reckons that one man can look after 

 1,000 trees, that is, 20 to 25 acres. 



San Pablo, claims A. E. Byars, Agricultural 

 Inspector, is the largest and richest in agricul- 

 tural products of all the towns in Laguna 

 Province (P. I.), and is the centre of the coco- 

 nut industry, from which the town derives its 

 wealth. The nuts are not gathered at stated 



o 



seasdns, but every two or three months. The 

 nuts are detached by means of a hooked 



